Let's see, in the last week:
Jaws - Great classic horror movie. Written and directed just right. Stands well the test of time, sans some clothing and hairstyles. Schieder and Dreyfus are fantastic. If you haven't seen it, you should.
Jaws 2 - An acceptable sequel to such a great film. Schieder reprises his role and it's like the movie was made back to back with original because he doesn't lose his drive and momentum from one film to the next. Sadly one of the things the film misses is the chemistry with Dreyfus as he's woefully absent. They lead you to believe it's the shark from the first film, though never really explain how it survived. Movie moves away from the suspense as they tend to show the "monster" more than before, and moves toward the gore aspect with a higher body count. Still, good film.
Jaws 3 - This movie suffers alot. Nostalgia Critic nailed this movie a short while back pretty accurately. It has none of the cast that made the film great, though the addition of Dennis Quaid is good if you're a fan. The movie was made during the 80s attempt at 3-D films and it does not translate well today. Things like the shark not being animated in it's movements at all, some things being "thrown" at the viewer etc. They obviously focused too much on trying to find ways to incorporate the 3-D and forgot the plot, the pacing, the horror elements etc. It even seemed to have a lower body count than the 2nd, and that's a major DO NOT in horror sequels.
Jaws 4 - Well this movie is universally panned and I can understand why, though I do not agree. I think this is when Jaws finally became a Movie Monster instead of a Realistic Thriller/Horror. The Shark is on a blood vengeance quest to eat the members of the family, of the man who first stopped him. It's campy, the Shark actually roars at times, but the body count is higher and the acting is actually pretty decent. Plotwise the story falls apart pretty fast with some ridiculous scenes and pointless actions on some of the characters part, but as a Monster Movie I liked it.
Meat Market - In an attempt to find something on Netflix Instant Watch that I HAVEN'T seen yet, I gave this amateur film a try. I mean it had a sequel right next to it, it was about the Zombie Apocolypse, how could it be that bad? Oh it was bad. I don't even know how to describe how bad it is, but I'll try: It's got a High School Theatre Project on a $300 budget feel. The acting is drowned out by passing cars in the backround of most scenes. 25% into the movie, the two main characters run into 3 latex bound vampire girls who help them escape. 40% into the movie there are multiple sex scenes between the all of them. The entire film is just "Scenes from Horror Movie Cliches" mostly. It's just bad bad. I got 45mins into 1hr 31mins and couldn't go further.
Batteries Not Included - To make up for that horrendous previous film, I decided to watch a movie from my childhood that forever remains in my heart. This film by Speilberg still remains a strong film of heart and imagination. The effects surprisingly hold up well over the years, though mostly due to their simplicity, and the acting is top notch. Grandma especially, you don't see heartfelt emotional acting like that much these days. This is the kind of movie you can watch with your kids, a date who likes cute films, or even alone. I highly recommend it and it's available on Instant Watch.
