Movie Review: SCREAM 4

SCREAM 4

2011
R

Scream 4 is a 2011 horror-comedy directed by Wes Craven that serves as the latest installment of his Scream franchise. It's been eleven years since Ghost Face last graced the silver screen in Scream 3, and Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson have given Scream 4 a dose of 21st-century psychology. Once again, we're given a string of murders surrounding the return of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) to her hometown of Woodsboro. As some of the local teenagers are killed, it becomes alarmingly certain that there's a connection to Sidney and her younger cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts). Along with the help of now Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and his wife Gale Weathers-Riley (Courteney Cox), Sidney sets out to find the culprit behind the latest deaths and put an end to the terror that's once again plagued Woodsboro.

I know the above synopsis is a little bit sparse, but if you've been following the Scream franchise at all, you'll know the basic plot: someone wants to kill Sidney and kills everyone around her in order to get close to her. I don't want to get into any specifics with the storyline for fear of giving away too many spoilers, so that's all I'm really going to leave you for the moment. That's how they've all gone, and there was no reason for Craven and Williamson to stop that tradition now. This time they tackle the concept of remakes and reboots, and they do so to near-perfection. The strength of these films lies in the execution of the screenplay. What separates them from other horror-comedies is their ability to satirize the target sample (in this case, the consistent onslaught of remakes and reboots we've seen in the last decade in the horror franchise) and poke fun at them while still maintaining a legitimate aura of suspense and horror. Sure, there are a lot more horror flicks that will make you jump out of your seat every two minutes, but none is going to make you do that while you're laughing at an incredibly delectable pun at the expense of Rob Zombie's Halloween flicks.

Another strength is the level of acting which, as is the usual case in the Scream franchise, is head and shoulders above the level of acting seen in your standard horror fare. Campbell, Arquette and Cox bring back their beloved characters who have somehow managed to survive the original trilogy, and there's not much change in their overall portrayal, but they're still solid in their respective roles. However, what you're going to notice very early and very often are the many instantly recognizable faces playing smaller roles. Here's a list of names of actors and actresses in the film that you should recognize pretty easily:

Adam Brody (from 2005's Mr. & Mrs. Smith and 2009's Jennifer's Body)
Anna Paquin (from the X-Men franchise and television's "True Blood")
Anthony Anderson (from 2006's The Departed and television's "Law and Order")
Erik Knudsen (from 2004's Saw II and 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Hayden Panettiere (from 2000's Remember the Titans and television's "Heroes")
Kristen Bell (from 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall and 2010's When in Rome)
Rory Culkin (from 2002's Signs)

Fortunately, the exuberant amount of "names" in this flick never weigh it down. I had that fear going in, but everyone's screen-time is spread out pretty evenly. Kudos to Craven on managing such a big cast. (As I re-read that list, I'm sure there's a couple people that I might only know because I'm a huge movie nerd, but I suppose they were still worth mentioning here).

All in all, I'm not sure what else I can say about Scream 4 without giving away too much of the movie, which is something I really don't want to do. I think Craven and Williamson crafted a great return to the franchise, but that could easily just be my fanboyishness showing its true colors. That being said, I think that fans of the franchise will love and accept this one rather readily. It garnered a hearty round of applause from my theater, which was about halfway full despite being an 11:30am showing. I can't rave about it enough, so if you take my opinion seriously, then you should definitely give Scream 4 a watch.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: A-
Two Thumbs Up
Addition to Rankings
Best Horror/Thriller - #27

Movie Review: HOODWINKED!

HOODWINKED!

2005
PG

Hoodwinked! is a 2005 animated film directed by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leech that gives a little bit of a twist to the age-old story of Red Riding Hood and the wolf. In this version, Red (voiced by Anne Hathaway) is on her way to see her Granny (voiced by Glenn Close) in order to talk about keeping her recipes safe from the Goody Bandit who's been stealing recipes from every critter in the forest. When she reaches Granny's house, however, she finds a Wolf (voiced by Patrick Warburton) in her bed disguised as the old woman. A fight ensues, and it's only broken up after a woodsman (voiced by Jim Belushi) comes crashing through the window in an apparent rage. We immediately cut to a police investigation at the home. When special investigator Nicky Flippers (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) arrives on location, he questions each of the persons involved, and a deeper and more nefarious plot is soon uncovered...

I heard about this flick back in the day when it was first released, but I never had the opportunity to actually see it. The premise had seemed relatively interesting, and although I never expected anything brilliant, I figured it'd be a good watch. The first thing you're going to notice is the very different-looking animation. It took me out of the film in the beginning, but after a while, I grew accustomed to the strange look. I'm not sure how I feel about the animation, but the physical look of a film (i.e., animation or special effects) does not - and should not - affect my personal grade for a movie, and it really shouldn't change your opinion either (here's looking at all you Avatar fans - terribly movie with great special effects is still a terrible movie). But I digress... The film looked a little awkward from the get-go, but it eventually settles into your consciousness, allowing you to fall into the story.

We actually get a pretty good story, but I did figure out the final resolution pretty early in the film. We're given a twist a minute as the four "suspects" give their version of the day's events, and once it's all said and done, we do get a rather satisfying ending. The story progresses rather well, and the laughs do come relatively consistently. The dialogue is pretty good, especially for some of the characters. For example, the Wolf and his trusty friend Twitchy (voiced by Cory Edwards) are both given fantastic one-liners throughout the film; in addition, Nicky Flippers brings a certain intelligent bravado that definitely draws you to him. Each character is actually well-written, even if it's all a little too goofy to be considered "great."

There's no one who's truly offering a brilliant bit of voice acting (although Warburton definitely comes close), but we do have some big-time names in the film, as I'm sure you've already noticed. In addition to those aforementioned names, be on the listen for the likes of Anthony Anderson, Andy Dick, Chazz Palmentiri and Xzibit.

I'd also like to make mention of the music in the film. We've got a couple of original songs that prove to be quite good ("Great Big World" and "Top of the Woods" were my personal favorites), but the entire soundtrack is actually quite original.

Overall, Hoodwinked! is a fun little film that's probably worth giving a watch at some point or another. Apparently there's a sequel due in theaters on April 29th, but I hadn't heard about it until tonight. Will I see it? Perhaps, but I definitely won't be racing to the theater to be the first in line. Like I said, this movie's a little too goofy to be considered great by any means, but it's still fun for it's nearly-80 minute run-time. Give it a go, I suppose.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B
1 Thumb Up
Addition to Awards