Thomas Cline

It sucks to see this rated quite so badly, it's a fun movie. I highly recommend it, but honesty demands that I can't give it 5 stars. Here's why: * heads up for mild spoilers* This dude is supposed to be so smooth and manipulative, but during the time he's at the concert, he's almost totally inept. Comparing it to a D&D type of game, it's as if everyone is rolling a 1 on perception. The merch counter guy probably even continued to roll 1's on everyone's free roll, but I give that a pass for being entertaining. ...Yet, suddenly, in everything following being caught, he's a complete mastermind, to the point of impossibility. Like, how did he get out of that car again? Anyway, a thumbs up from me. If you're looking for something fun to watch, you could do a lot worse.

The most I've enjoyed stealth gameplay since the original Tenchu games. Pickpocketing is back, and with all the major missions, you have options on infiltration and assassination, not just either rushing in or slowly trying to stealth kill until you get caught. I loved Valhalla, but enough was enough, it was just way too big. Mirage was exactly what I wanted following that. It's big, but not too big. Combat has a bit of challenge to it. You need to focus, be clever, and have a bit of rhythm. If there's any failing, I think it's just that I'd have liked to see something outside the Animus. Overall, it's underrated.

So... If I was rating this normally, I'd rate it higher. I walked into this one blind. "Found footage" movies can be an interesting journey. I was with it for a good long while. Most of the movie. It'd never be one of my favorites, but it's not a bad watch until... Other things happen... If you're reading reviews of this, you have some idea. Moving on to what I feel I need to say, the movie Amber Alert is the kind of movie that can state, with a straight face, a sort of public safety statement. And including some horror, gore, and horrific elements is always fun... Until it's not. So, the one thing that makes me feel better is that the actresses were NOT minors, but... We've got to differentiate something here. There are some seriously disturbing scenes in movies that are a valid and necessary as a part of the movie. The rape scene in this was something different than that. It's not that it's badly done or something. It's the fact that she is supposed to be like 13 or 14, and the scene is graphic in a way that will probably never fully leave most people. And when I say it's something different, it feels really sinister. You wouldn't normally make a scene quite like that, and not just because of the controversy... It kept going past the point it needed to. So yeah, it's something different from anything tasteful, largely because of the age thing. Like, more than just worries of keeping children safe as a society, we can't ignore that there are actual markets for movies such as that scene. For real minors getting hurt. I feel like this movie is kind of promoting and helping that market along, even if unintentionally. So THAT is my problem with it.

Well... I do feel like this movie was made for people like me. I love all kinds of horror, from serious to humorous to just plain bad. This has all of those and then some. I also gotta give the directing props. I thought I was going to hate it for the tropes, but it wasn't predictable like that. Sometimes it was unexpectedly entertaining from them. Anyway, I hated it when it first came out, and I still don't like it overall. Or do I? I'm fence-sitting on this one. It's not exactly good, or even good at being bad, but it is pretty unique. The disease in this movie is pretty gross. Just be mindful of that. If you can't handle the graphic illness aspect, then don't traumatize yourself. Otherwise, enjoy seeing college kids on vacation die in new and exciting ways. The humor can actually be pretty on-point too.

It looked really good before I saw it, and it was even better when I did. One of the best horror movies out there imo.

CANNIBALISM TRIGGER WARNING. We were totally unaware of that aspect going in. So how good is it? Uhhh... I can see why it has really mixed reviews. It's... Uniquely creepy. Great characters and acting. Honestly, almost too good in a way. It's slow paced, but that's not so bad for a movie like this. My major beef has to do with the ending. I just... Feel like one certain character wasn't explored enough, and that fact makes me dislike the ending a bit. Anyway, there's my opinion, I hope it helps you know what to expect.

Aside from -too many- references to Die Hard... This is actually my new favorite Christmas movie. It was fun, hardcore, and had a sense of humor. Also, John Leguizamo plays the villain really well in this.