snowdog-14 Reviews

Glass House: The Good Mother (2006 Video)

Damned scary, stellar cast & BEAUTIFUL photography

[10/10 · 20 October 2006]

Having lived with an abusive stepparent, this hit the nail bang on the head. DAMNED scary. Soundtrack was nice, acting superb all around, and the photography lush and brilliantly planned.

Actually, I'd rate this as an 8.5, because the enabling stepfather was just a little TOO accommodating, although the writing is otherwise well-crafted. The reason I gave this a ten is to offset the overly biased previous postings which don't give this movie its due. The visuals are truly stunning, the sets gorgeous, and the camera-work clever and innovative.

Oh, and the actresses are unbelievably beautiful. The "stepmother" is a latter-day Ali McGraw, and it's testament to her talent that she can go from dazzlingly, breathtakingly sexy to skin-crawlingly scary within a matter of seconds.

The "stepdaughter" is also great, absolutely believable and so pretty and vulnerable you know she's going to be a major heartbreaker as she matures.

Don't listen to the negative voices. Judge for yourself. A solid, high-tension, superbly-crafted thriller.

(And no, I have no connection whatsoever to anyone involved.)

Salvage (2006)

Wow...

[10/10 · 29 June 2006]

It's seldom that a modern movie appears that really shocks and really scares.

Throughout "Salvage" -- from the first five minutes, to the final mind-blasting seconds -- you'll be feeling either those creepy, tingling chills, outright shock and revulsion, or genuine fear.

This movie delivers.

Perhaps one out of every twenty movies in any genre is genuinely good at what it does. This is one of those exceptions. The soundtrack in particular, with the low cello bowing and dijiridoo, is masterful, as is the ballsy, full-in-your-face heaviness of modern girl slash-rock Devola, and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics are synced to the story brilliantly.

Clever, believable dialogue, pacing from a director that understands tension, superb acting for characters that garner sympathy and could well pass for your neighbors, a charismatic, talented lead, subtly powerful use of filtering and slick camera work.

This movie has it all.

Scared the Hell out of me.

Bravo.

If there's any justice, this is destined to be a classic.