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The movie is inspired by an event from director Bryan Bertino’s childhood, among other things. The screenplay is also inspired by the events of the Charles Manson murders. Some of the earlier disturbances, (such as the smoke detector being moved), are based on ‘creepy crawling’, a game played by Manson and his followers where they would enter a victims house at night and rearrange furniture and other objects while the occupants slept. The core of the story is based on the murders that took place in Cabin #28 at Keddie Resort, in the remote township of Keddie, CA, where three people, Sue Sharp, John Sharp and Dana Wingate; were found tied up, stabbed, bludgeoned by a hammer. A fourth victim, Tina Sharp who had been with the group was found some years later, the body dumped 90 miles away at Feather Falls near Oroville.

The story begins with Kristen McKay and James Hoyt, a couple who return to James’ father’s isolated summer home in South Carolina, after coming back from a wedding reception, where we learn that Kristen refused James’ marriage proposal. The home is covered in rose petals and candles, indicating that James had planned a romantic dinner with the expectation that Kristen would accept his proposal. After the awkward arrival at the house, James calls his friend Mike (who helped him set up the whole vacation) and asks him to pick him up in the morning. The couple discuss their relationship, which results in a passionate clinch. Their passion is interrupted by a loud knock at the front door. James thinks it’s too late for someone to be coming to his home. As they get closer to answering the door, the knocking becomes louder and more abrupt.

James opens the door, and find that is a young woman (which we later find out is Dollface) who is asking if Tamara is home. James tries to turn on the porch light, but it was not working, not revealing her face. They tell her that nobody with that name lives there, and she then walks away. Kristen believed that she was probably lost. Kristen then finds that she is out of cigarettes, and James leaves the house to go and buy her another pack, after lighting her a fire.

After James leaves the house, Kristen hears another knock at the door. She finds it to be the same girl who knocked on the door prior to James leaving. The knocking is very aggressive, and Kristen becomes scared. She gets her cell phone out of her purse, but realizes it has no battery life. She charges it, then uses the house phone. She calls James, and tells him that the girl keeps knocking on the door, after Kristen told her she had already come by their house. Kristen wants James to stay on the phone with her, but James hangs up. While Kristen is in the kitchen, the masked man is in the dark corner behind her, just watching her. Kristen then hears the smoke alarm go off, so the disconnects it, and tosses it onto the ground. She decides to call James yet again, and finds that someone had cut the cord to her charger.

Frightened, she goes to the kitchen and gets a knife. She goes back into the room, and now finds that someone had put the broken smoke alarm on a chair. She goes into the next room, and hears something at the window. She slowly opens it and the masked man is at the window, and she is frightened. She screams and bumps into the record player, causing it to skip the same line “Quick Silver Girl” over and over again. Kristen finds that the front door is open, and as she peeks out, Dollface is trying to break in, but Kristen closes the door, then hides in the bedroom. The strangers are banging on the doors and windows, and Kristen pleads for them to leave her alone. Then, the banging stops. She hears footsteps coming from down the hall, and believes in to be the killer, but it’s James. She’s tells James that there’s someone outside, but James claims he saw nothing.

James then notices his phone was left in the car, and he goes to get it. While in the car, he finds that his phone is gone, and someone touches his back. He turns around, and there is nobody behind him. He gets out of the car, and he notices Dollface is standing in the driveway. He tells her to leave, but then hears Kristen call him. By then, Dollface has disappeared. After going inside, James tells Kristen they need to leave. They both get into the car, but a truck drives into their driveway behind them. James looks at the driver’s seat, and it’s Pin-Up Girl. She begins ramming their car, and Kristen spots the masked man in front of them. They both get out of the car, and run back inside.

James gets his father’s shotgun and bullets. Outside, they see Dollface standing on the lawn. They go back to the front door, and James tells Kristen he’s going to open the door, and he wants her to just run. But before James can open the door, the masked man hacks the door with an axe. Kristen is screaming, and they both push a desk to block the door. The masked man keeps on breaking the door, but James shoots at him. He did not know if he missed or if he got him, but the couple hide in the hallway closet, waiting for the killers to come down the hall so he can shoot them.

Outside, James’ friend Mike has arrived. He can’t reach either of the two by phone. Mike enters the house, and a record is playing. He also notices a broken glass on the floor and a few signs of forced entry. He walks down the hallway, and the masked man who is equipped with an axe, follows behind him. James, believing Mike to be the killer, shoots and kills Mike. James turns to Kristen, and tells her that he wasn’t wearing a mask. They go up to the body, and identify it to be Mike. James then decides to go to the farmhouse and use and old radio there to call for help. As he leaves, the couple notice that the killers mock James by writing “KILLER” on the window in blood.

As James is going to the farmhouse, he then finds Pin-Up Girl searching for the couple with a flashlight. As James plans to take his shot on her, she spots him and the masked man runs up behind him, and knocks him unconscious. Meanwhile, Kristen is scared out of the house. In an attempt to simply run away, she trips and injures her leg. She limps into the shed nearby, (which actually turns out to be the hiding spot of the killers) being secretly followed by Pin-Up Girl. Kristen attempts to use a radio there, but her conversation is cut short by Pin-Up Girl, chopping the radio into pieces. Kristen flees back into the house and sees the masked man walk into the bedroom. She then hides in the cupboard and watches the masked man sit down at the table and look around. As she is doing this, Dollface whispers “You’re gonna die.” The masked man then throws James’ injured body into the house, and he tells Kristen to run. She goes into the bedroom, and tries opening the window, but it’s shut. The bedroom door slowly opens, and Kristen slowly walks to the door. She goes out, and the masked man grabs her by her hair, and slams her face into a picture on the wall. He then drags her unconscious body into the living room.

The shades are opened to show that morning has come, and the three strangers begin taking off their masks. Kristen, in a desperate attempt to be saved, tells them that ‘they don’t have to do this.’ She then asks them why they did it, to which Dollface replied “Because you were home,” which remains unexplained. A possible meaning would be that the strangers just kill for the fun of it.

Although their faces are never fully revealed to the audience, removing their masks shows that they will soon carry out their plans to kill the couple.

Ignoring Kristen’s pleading, the strangers each take turns stabbing James in the stomach, who moans in pain while Kristen is forced to watch. Kristen is then stabbed in the chest and shots of their home and the outdoors are shown while her screams can be heard. The three strangers are then seen driving away in a pick-up truck and stop beside two boys who are walking around handing out religious pamphlets. Dollface asks for a pamphlet and is asked if she is a sinner, to which she replies, “Sometimes”. Pin-Up Girl then proclaims, “It’ll be easier, next time”, as the truck drives off.

The last scene shows the two boys entering the home and discovering the couple untied and James dead, with Kristen presumed dead. One of the boys kneels down to Kristen and is about to touch her when she suddenly wakes up and begins screaming hysterically.

The movie was reminiscent of Vacancy, Funny Games, and When a Stranger Calls (and the other “home invasion” genre movies). This is obviously a psychological thriller as well as a horror movie. You know from the beginning things won’t end well and as the movie progresses, you wish the plot would move a bit faster. I think you could get the same effect, or maybe intensify it a bit, if the movie has been cut 20-30 minutes. Even from the trailer ads, you know that the outcome will not be good, so you just wonder if they can make it gory, diabolical, sadistic, and right down scary. Well, this one did elicit many jumps and even a few screams from an unsuspecting (albeit stupid) audience. Probably the scariest thing is that this was based on true events and anyone that keeps up with the news knows that such things as this are happening with increasing frequency. Buy a gun, keep your doors locked, put a peep-hole in your entrance doors, and preferably ignore anyone knocking on your door late at night. Oh, yes, one other thing, keep your cell phone charged.

Rating: 2.5 our of 5 Jalapenos

The Tattooist is a New Zealand film directed by Peter Burger and starring American actor Jason Behr (who you may remember from the TV Series, Roswell) and New Zealand actors Nathaniel Lees, Michael Hurst and Robbie Magasiva among others. The film is the first in a series of official co-productions between New Zealand and Singapore,^[1]and was released on August 30, 2007. ^[2]

The film is described as a supernatural thriller in which American tattoo artist Jake Sawyer (Behr) is a global wanderer who explores ethnic themes in his designs. While he is in New Zealand he unknowingly plays a role in releasing a deadly spirit as he attempts to learn tatau, the Samoan tradition of tattooing.

An interesting plot, rather off-beat movie, not a big budget but pretty well done. Worth a rental.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Jalapenos.

The Love guru is a comedy movie casting Jessica Alba(as Jane Bullard) and Mike Myers(guru pitka) on lead. Jessica plays the role of the owner of maple leafs toronto and mike as a a non residential american who was raised by a group of indian gurus.

The story advances as guru pitka returns to america to break into a self-help business. He faces a series of challenges which are romantic and comic. Justin Timberlake also plays a very significant role of Jacques Grand.

The Love Guru received negative reviews from critics. As of June 21, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 15% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 49 reviews — with the consensus that the film “features far too many gross-out gags, and too few earned laughs, ranking as one of Mike Myers’ poorest outings.” Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 23 out of 100, based on 25 reviews.^[8] The movie received an average score of 40.3% from 54 film critics according to Movie Tab.

Jay Stone of the National Post gave the film one star and said the film “is shockingly crass, sloppy, repetitive and thin.” Stone said “Chopra is used almost as a product placement, taking a proud spot alongside a circus, a brand of cinnamon buns, the Leafs and, of course, Mike Myers.” Stone also wrote, “the sitar-based versions of pop songs like 9 to 5 are oddly watchable – but mostly the film is 88 minutes of ridiculous sight gags and obscene puns.”

A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote “The word ‘unfunny’ surely applies to Mr. Myers’s obnoxious attempts to find mirth in physical and cultural differences but does not quite capture the strenuous unpleasantness of his performance. No, The Love Guru is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again.”

The movie has a few funny gags but most are over done and banal. Most attempts at humor were ruined by unnecessary crudeness. I guess if you liked Austin Powers you might like this movie. For me, this is the last movie with Mike Myers I will ever go see. While he was a respectable talent on SNL, in my estimation he has landed in the crapper.

Rating: 0 out of 5 Jalapenos

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan  was written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, Robert Smigel and was directed by Dennis Dugan. Sandler’s production company Happy Madison produced the film, and Sony Pictures Entertainment distributed it. The movie stars Adam Sandler as Zohan Dvir, an Israeli anti-terrorism commando, who fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream: becoming a hairstylist in New York.

The movie begins with Zohan on vacation and partying on a beach in Israel, attracting several women and capturing the attention of every beach-goer with his Hacky Sack prowess. He cooks fish in the nude (using copious amounts of hummus) for himself, his friend and several women. As he finishes cooking, an Israeli Army helicopter arrives, stealing him away from his presumed well-earned vacation.

During a subsequent briefing, Zohan expresses his displeasure about being held by the Israeli Defence Forces for too long. After being haggled by his officer, he eventually agrees to do yet another mission of recapturing a key Palestinian terrorist, the “Phantom” (John Turturro), who had been freed by the Israeli government in exchange for a captured Mossad agent, plus an additional “to-be-named-later” spy. Later, as Zohan expresses his desire to leave Israel and become a hairdresser in New York City, his wishes are met with laughter by his mother and father, who had fought in the Israel’s Six-Day War.

The disgruntled Zohan fakes his own death during the pursuit of the Phantom, who is tricked into believing he had killed Zohan. Zohan smuggles himself into a flight to New York City in a pet crate of two dogs named Scrappy and Coco. Changing his hairstyle into a 1980s Paul Mitchell style and taking “Scrappy Coco” as a new moniker, he sets out to pursue his dreams in the Big Apple.

Initially unsuccessful in getting hired at an upscale Paul Mitchell salon (as well as an African-American salon and a children’s salon), Zohan’s military expertise and passion for 1970s disco has earned him a new friend, Michael (Nick Swardson), who gives him a place to stay. Michael later regrets the decision as he is forced to endure Zohan’s disturbing sexual activities with Michael’s mother, Gail (Lainie Kazan). Zohan also runs into a fellow Israeli named Uri, a Zohan fan who is aware of Scrappy Coco’s true identity but agrees to keep it a secret. Uri introduces him to a block in lower Manhattan filled with middle-eastern Americans, who are split between a Palestinian side and an Israeli side of the street.

Zohan attempts to land a job in a struggling salon of a Palestinian woman named Dhalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui). After succumbing to Zohan’s pleas to sweep floors for free, she eventually allows Zohan be a stylist after he pleases a senior lady with satisfactory haircut and a back room service. Zohan’s reputation spreads instantly among the elder women of lower Manhattan, who comment that “besides the sex, he gives a pretty good haircut.” Dhalia’s business booms, upsetting Walbridge, a corporate magnate who has been trying to forcibly gentrify the block.

Eventually Zohan is identified by a Palestinian cab driver named Salim (Rob Schneider), whom Zohan had bullied in the past. Salim tries to enact his revenge by building a makeshift “explosives” or utility bombs/bomb shells. Thinking that he needs “chemicals,” Salim walks into a pharmacy and tries to ask for nitroglycerin. Hearing Salim’s mispronunciation, the pharmacist instead presents Salim with Neosporin. Seeing that the neosporin doesn’t destroy Zohan’s workplace, Salim then informs Phantom, now a successful fast-food chain owner. Phantom then pays a visit to New York to hunt Zohan down.

In the meanwhile, Zohan realized that he fell in love with Dhalia when he discovered that he lost the ability to physically please the old ladies. Dhalia rejected Zohan’s feelings for her, since he is an Israeli counter-terrorist operative. Zohan decided to leave Dhalia, but as he is confronting Phantom, news of the middle-eastern block being attacked by redneck gangsters steals him away, and as he and Phantom are working together to save the block, they discover that Dhalia is a sister of Phantom – or “Fattoush” as she calls him. The Israelis and the Palestinians of the block band together to save their shops, defeating the redneck gangsters. As it turns out, the rednecks were hired by Walbridge to instigate an inter-ethnic riot in order to kick out the Middle Eastern residents, thereby allowing him to build his mall.

With the Israelis and the Palestinians united, the block is transformed into a collectively-owned mall, in which Zohan and Dhalia realized their dream in opening a beauty parlor. The Phantom also fulfills his lifelong passion of opening up a shoe store. The movie ends happily as Zohan’s parents approved of his Palestinian wife and hair salon, becoming customers themselves in a surprise visit.

The movie is filled with typical Sandler crudeness and toilet humor. Although it didn’t get good reviews and Kung Fu Panda kicked Zohan’s rear end, it still had enough laughs to make it good matinee fodder.

Rating: 3.5 our of 5 Jalapenos.

When we last saw Indiana Jones on screen, it was 1938, and the world stood on the brink of war as Dr. Jones chased down evildoers to find the Holy Grail. Nineteen years later, he’s cracking his whip again, and many things have changed … but some have remained the same. Again, the world is at a precipice, this time caused by the specter of nuclear annihilation, and Indy’s struggle is once again to ensure that a precious, mysterious object remains safe from those bent on destroying humanity.

Typical Indy and again, aside from the rediculous plot line, a romping good time. Fast paced, good special effects, and of course a female villain with a foreign accent (Russian this time, rather than German). Shades of Area 51 and Stargate. Interesting twist with Indy coming face to face with his heretofore unknown son (are there sequels to follow). Bring on the aliens, shades of cyborg civilization, Aztec/Mayan temples,  and even Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Not one dull second in the whole movie. The worst part of it was Shia LaBeouf’s hairstyle – move over Fonzie. This kid has burst on the scene and has a couple of more entries throughout the Summer and Fall. He should change his name.

Definitely worth seeing, even the second time.

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 Jalapenos.

Marcel Langenegger makes his feature-film directorial debut with the aptly titled DECEPTION, a film about secrets and lies. Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) feels that life is passing him by. He completes short-term audits for a large firm, but doesn’t really feel any connection to his employer and finds it difficult to make friends at his assignments since he’s never there for long. Jonathan’s circumstances change overnight when charming lawyer Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) befriends him. In an instant, the shy accountant is playing doubles tennis with his new friend and beautiful women and visiting upscale clubs. Just as mild-mannered Jonathan is getting used to his new lifestyle, Wyatt leaves town on business. When Jonathan finds himself mistakenly in possession of Wyatt’s cell phone, he also discovers a whole new world of anonymous sex in elite Manhattan hotels with powerful women known simply as “The List.” But soon Jonathan is in over his head: he’s the prime suspect when a woman goes missing, and the threat of extortion looms. This tale weaves an intricate web of lies and treachery. Jackman is both charming and chilling as Wyatt, a man utterly without conscience, while McGregor falls easily into character as the bespectacled Everyman, Jonathan. Nerdy but likable, Jonathan really just wants to connect with someone. Along the way, he learns that he is capable of more than he ever expected.

The movie takes a few unexpected twists and you certainly don’t expect Hugh Jackman to be such a sinister character. A predictable ending, but enough plot twists to at least make it interesting. A somewhat steamy movie. It’s a shame they didn’t have Ewan McGregor doing the Tome Cruise “tidy white” dance since he had several scene opportunities. I keep trying to think of a few analagous type plots from some older movies, but apparently they were less memorable.

Rating: 3.5 our of 5 Jalapenos

The characters of C.S. Lewis’s timeless fantasy come to life once again in this newest installment of the “Chronicles of Narnia” series, in which the Pevensie siblings are magically transported back from England to the world of Narnia, where a thrilling, perilous new adventure and an even greater test of their faith and courage awaits them. One year after the incredible events of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” the Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy. The four children will soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia’s rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. With the help of the kindly dwarf, a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep, a badger named Trufflehunter and a Black Dwarf, Nikabrik, the Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and Caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Aslan, rescue Narnia from Miraz’s tyrannical hold, and restore magic and glory to the land.

While not as “epic” as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy this movie is well done. I liked this one a bit better than the first one. This series is probably more designed for the younger crowd unlike the Rings which can be appreciated by any age group. This is not as dark either. I found it to be very intertaining and well done. It is not an Oscar contender, but it is good fantasy entertainment. Have the first two installments really probed the underlying theology, I think not. It is however well worth the price of admission.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Jalapenos

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), based on the real life Massachusetts Institute of Technology card-counter Jeff Ma, is an MIT senior who applies for the prestigious Robinson Scholarship, a full scholarship to Harvard Medical School. Despite Ben’s perfect resume, the official administering the scholarship tells Ben that his application essay must “dazzle” him in order to win it. In his non-linear equations class, Ben impresses his professor, Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey). One night while Ben is studying, Fisher (Jacob Pitts) tells him to come with him. He leads Ben to a card counting session led by Mickey. His team travels to Las Vegas every weekend to count cards and win money, which the members then split. Other members of the team are Ben’s crush Jill (Kate Bosworth), Choi (Aaron Yoo), and Kianna (Liza Lapira). Mickey tells Ben that he has a great mind and is able to get past his emotions, and that’s why he chose him.

Ben initially declines but after some persuasion, Ben joins the team to generate $300,000, the amount he needs for medical school. Life gets complicated; for every weekend he spends in Las Vegas, he ignores and lies to his friends and family. As Ben becomes the big player and makes the most money, former big player Fisher gets jealous. One night, Fisher joins the same table as Ben and screws up. Mickey is furious and sends Fisher home and kicks him off the team. Back at home, Ben’s friends decide to continue the 209 robotics competition without him after Ben gets the wrong microcontroller. Shaken from losing his former two best friends, Ben loses a massive amount of money in one night, and Mickey and Ben angrily part ways. Mickey tells Ben that he needs to pay Mickey back the $250,000 he lost that night. Ben decides to take over the team and make the money back, but Mickey reports them to casino security. After being caught and brutally beaten by Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne), the sinister “head” of the casino security team, Ben returns to MIT. He finds that Mickey has revoked credit for one of his classes, and Ben cannot graduate from MIT. Upon entering his dorm room, he finds his room trashed and all the money he saved for Harvard Medical School gone. Finally, he asks Mickey for a second chance to make his money back.

In disguise, the team arrives in Vegas for their last run. Ben and Mickey are winning big, but Cole Williams arrives. Ben and Mickey split along with Jill, deciding to separate. Mickey convinces Ben to throw him the bag with the winnings and they will meet up later. But Mickey decides to just leave and runs to the limo and asks the driver to go to the airport. But he has been tricked: he finds that the bag is actually filled with chocolate dollars, and that the driver of the limo is actually Williams’s partner. Ben’s secret plan is to trick Mickey as revenge for stealing his savings. That night, Cole Williams made a deal with Ben that he would not be hurt if he could bring Mickey back to Vegas. When Mickey asked for the bag with the winnings, Jill had already switched the real bag with another bag in her purse with the fake chips. Mickey is caught by casino security while Ben is let off the hook. Ben pays off casino security with that night’s winnings, returns to MIT, and “dazzles” the Harvard dean with his Las Vegas adventures.

Well acted movie even if Kevin Spacey didn’t enjoy his time in Vegas. Scenery was good and acting was well above average. Jim Sturgess is turning into quite a versatile actor. Highly recommended. The movie moves quickly and it is an all around good time.

Rating: 4.8 our of 5 jalapenos

88 Minutes opens with an intricately choreographed murder that finds a young Seattle woman trussed up like a hog for slaughter. Cut to the present. The murderer has been caught, and the man who helped put the villain on death row is Dr. Jack Gramm (Mr. Pacino), a forensic psychiatrist and professor with young Amazon students (Alicia Witt and Leelee Sobieski) and a sympathetic foil with a badge (William Forsythe). Dr. Jack fields lots of calls from his assistant (Amy Brenneman), but one day he receives a ring-a-ding from someone who says that he has 88 minutes to live … then 82 minutes … and so on.

The narcissistic Dr. Gramm is a typical Pacino character. The plot makes a few twists and since I was looking for some mindless entertainment, I wasn’t overly disturbed that I didn’t figure out who was the guilty party until near the end. While the movie was about 88 Minutes to live, it took a little longer on the big screen.

The movie got horrific reviews, the NY Times blew it out of the water, and Rotten Tomatoes hit only 6%. It was characterized as shockingly inept psychological thriller that expertly squanders the talent at hand. However, I enjoyed it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 jalapeños.

Cops countermanding the law, using the close-knit nature of their badge to secretly settle scores on the street, have long since become a cinematic cliché. The police have gone from donut-munching jokes to felons in blue and black finery. From the decent beat officer taking bribes to buffer his paycheck, to the undercover operative in so deep he no longer remembers what side of society he’s on, “to protect and serve” has been modified — at least in the movies — to “pervert and steal.” Street Kings, th e latest motion picture inspired by a story from James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential), dabbles freely in this kind of corrupt no man’s land, and for the most part, it’s a thrilling journey.

This movie has a great cast: Keanu Reeves, Forrest Whittaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, and John Corbett just to name a few. There is considerable interplay between corrupt Forrest Whittaker as the unit commander looking to make chief, Keanu Reeves as the gunslinging cop, and Hugh Laurie as head of internal affairs.

Needless to say there is sufficient lead poisoning of the bad guys to keep you entertained. The plot twists back and forth, albeit a bit predictable.

Although the movie got mixed reviews, I found it one of the better releases so far this Summer.

Rating: 4 out of 5 jalapenos.