"Red Lights"

Margaret Matheson is an expert in the field of psychic phenomena. Both she and her assistant, Tom Buckley visit Mediums, Psychics, and debunk what the mystics claim to be as their special powers. Tom is always on the lookout for red lights, the little something that gives away the fact they are fake. Between the two of them they have become quite a formidable team.
The film opens quite nicely with them visiting a possible poltergeist in a house, and then they visit a Medium performing on stage. Naturally with their combined efforts, they proof that here is another fake at work.
They have a lab set up with a local university, which is where a lot of there work is conducted. They also have to contend with bureacracy at the University, struggling with funding etc.

Then they are faced with the ultimate psychic investigation. A world famous Blind psychic, Simon Silver, is returning to the stage after an absence of some 20 years. He left the limelight, when his last show ended with disasterous results. For Tom this is an opportunity that he cannot turn down, the chance to debunk one of the greatest Psychics to set foot on the stage.  However, Matheson is strongly against it, she argues that she tested Silver some years ago, and that he passed all the tests. But this is the chance of a lifetime for Tom, so he sets the wheels in motion.
But naturally Silver is reluctant to take part, could his act be revealed as a fake, or is he genuine and wants to keep the mystery a secret? Is there something more sinister behind his powers?

The scene is set for the battle between relative novice Psychic Investigator and one of the leading Psychics of our time.
During the journey to the showdown, some rather unexplained and unusual things start to happen. Could it be that Silver's power really is as strong as they say? 

There are some wonderfully played moments, at times quite chilling, and they succeed in getting the hairs on the back of your neck to stand. There really succeed in setting the tone of the film. With this film, in that nothing is 100% as it seeems, you do start to wonder whether Silver's claims are genuine. Obviously I will not reveal anything here, but it is a worthy end to the film.

All the cast are excellent in their respective roles. Sigourney Weaver has finally been given a decent role, she plays Matheson with an almost maternal love for Tom. Her own Son is hospitalized, so I guess he is the next best thing. Clearly he is someone she cares a great deal for, and as said, she plays the role really well.
Murphy is as reliable as ever. And De Niro plays the role of Silver with the right amount of mystery and menace as required. He does get a little hammy towards the end, but I did not mind, as the build up of a journey was well worth it.
I cannot say much more about the ending of the film without giving anything away. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, nicely played out with a great cast, and there was excellent direction from Rodrigo Cortes.

Great movie, that really keeps you guessing til the end......8 out of 10

"The Cabin In The Woods"

A group of young people head off into the woods to find a nice deserted cabin to spend some quality time together. There are the usual characters, the geek, the sports jock, the token girls to excite the male members of the audience. There is also the local red neck hill-billie type warning them of impending doom. Sounds all too familiar.

All the regular ingredients are there, but with one added extra. The film opens in a huge complex, and we see accomplished actors like Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford in white coats, looking over a huge bank of television screens.
I suppose one might say that it is "Big Brother" the next level, but there is still more to the story.

When the teeny boppers arrive at their venue, they find it quite accomodating....that is until the Zombies arrive to start terrorising them. Soon the group are being picked off, one at a time.
Back in the complex, it seems that it is more than just an extreme version of B.B. taking place. And that a greater evil is at work. I won't reveal anymore about that, incase anyone who watches this film, might actually find it enjoyable.

My biggest fault with the film is if you do want to terrorise a group of young people with Zombies then at least allow them a sporting chance. It makes it so much more enjoyable for the viewer.
There is very little I can think of to commend about the movie, the final few scenes are ok, but to be honest by that time, the damage has been done, and you really don't give a sh*t.

And for the love of God, PLEASE will someone get Sigourney Weaver a new Agent, and give the  lady a chance of appearing in some decent films, as the poor dear is turning into a joke.

Don't believe the poster....for it lies......3 out of 10

"The Cold Light of Day"

Will Shaw is a man with problems. The firm he owns is about to go belly up, and despite wanting to stay at home and try to rescue his firm from financial disaster, he has to endure a far worse fate. Having to spend the weekend on board a yacht with his family. Clearly there are some family tensions.
When tensions get the better of Will, he heads to the mainland. He makes his way back to the yacht, but it is not where it should be, and also his family are all missing.

The local Police provide no help whatsoever, in fact they wish to hand him over to a gangster, who will do lord knows what with him. But in the struggle he is helped by his Father, played by Bruce Willis. It transpires that his Father Martin works for the CIA, and has in his possession a briefcase with sensitive and a whole host of nasty characters want to get their hands on it, including his Superiors, who come in the guise of Sigourney Weaver.

What follows is a travesty of a film, with below par dialogue, a mess of a story, lots of car chases, shooting, bad acting, in all a general mess of a film. The camera work at times can induce vomitting, in fact so can many other aspects of this film.
The cast member I feel most sorry for is Sigourney Weaver, she should give real consideration to firing her agent, what with this following "Abduction", she really needs some decent material to work with.
Aside from the hope that the new "Die Hard" movie will erase the memory of the dire "Die Hard 4.0", maybe Mr. Willis should consider retiring, as he clearly is suffering from a similar fate to that of Miss. Weaver, and given that he is 67, the action roles will not exactly be flying in his direction.
And my only hope is that Henry Cavill can do a far better job with the new "Superman" franchise that what he has displayed here.

A mess, save your time, your money, and your sanity......3 out of 10

"Abduction"

Nathan (Taylor Lautner) enjoys his life, for the most part. Socialising with his friends, trying to capture the heart of the girl who lives opposite, but also having to deal with his law laying father, who likes to instill some discipline in his son. During a class project, he is paired up with the girl of his dreams, but problems ensue when they visit some missing children websites for the project, and it seems possible that Nathan may be one of those pictured on the website as missing, and if he is, who are the two people he lives with pretending to be his parents?
It would also seem he is not the only one on the website as an East European terrorist has created the website for the very purpose of tracking down Nathan, as his father is actually a Spy, as happens every day, and the terrorist wants to kidnap Nathan to force his Spy father to return some property he stole. Lots of chases follow yadda yadda yadda.

Hmmm....this is not a great film, good is being over generous. The story is farcical, and not at all compelling. There is little to no tension, for the most part a very talented cast are very wasted. And when I say talented cast, I mean the more veteran actors, wonderful stars like Alfred Molina and Sigourney Weaver.

Save your money, you will thank me......3 out of 10