veritable32

So much Autism in my family and such a rinse to see it portrayed in a respectful and yet, unhappy and troubled way. Autism is not for the Hallmark Card set - it is not for the After School Special digesters - it is difficult and rife with woe but also filled with newness and, forgive the hyperbole, wonder.

I thought the director and Danes went to important extremes that were so vital to telling this great, great story.

I have A.S. and I will tell you - the moment Temple realigns the uneven wallpaper in her mind - it had me. THAT is the mind of someone outside the room of traditional music. This is a great film and Claire Danes is giving the performance of unbelievable honesty and valor. Bravo to Jackson - Brava to Danes.

'When A Stranger Calls' is the essence of great horror cinema. That's a huge statement so I'll back it up. When was the last time you watched a horror film that had horror in it? I'm not talking about suspense, Lord knows that's hard enough to come by but I mean white knuckles, run up the aisle to get out of the theater - horror? Of all the would-be horror films, maybe a dozen have the goods. 'Halloween', 'Jaws', 'The Exorcist', 'Alien' (not 'Aliens', that's fine on suspense but hasn't a clue about horror) all have the essence of what makes a movie going experience terrifying. And so does this little film starring Carol Kane.

I have read a number of reviews that trash this film, complaining that it has a soft middle and no focus and yet, they all agree the opening (and some concede, the closing) sequence(s) are truly terrifying. Well folks, any horror film that can boast a 20 minute sequence that comprises one of the best suspense build ups to a terrifying conclusion goes to the top of my list. The horror film that actually horrifies is as good as it gets, no matter the complaints about a soggy center. (for the record, the middle section is, in my opinion, not as strong as the first and third acts but certainly is watchable and creates a different type of tension)

'When A Stranger Calls' electrified audiences in 1979 because it worked on your nerves, slowly and with disturbing confidence. The score creeps up on you and somehow mimics the audio equivalent to a stomach dropping in dread. The lighting is low key and vignetted creating any number of black shadows for who knows what to hide in. Carol Kane has the face of a silent film star, her large frightened eyes conveying so much that's unspoken. Her building hysteria is timed perfectly. I've never seen a film where audience and lead actor are in such sync.

For these reasons and for having probably one of the best lines ever in a horror film, 'have you checked the children?' - 'When A Stranger Calls' deserves to be included in the top horror films of all time.

"Open Water" finally marks a worthy sequel to the classic film, "Jaws". There's a quiet and confident build to the storytelling as the predicament goes from 'good grief' to 'good God'. When the likable couple isolate themselves from their fellow divers, a childhood dread of being left behind at the mall begins to grip the audience. The low budget look, use of real shark footage (which includes the principal actors in the frame) and terrific use of music works the nerves like few movies have. Perhaps the film's strongest asset is credibility. Few could argue that being left alone in the middle of the ocean with sharks is not the stuff of nightmares.