I'm currently 44 films behind on my reviews. I find myself skipping movies at night, simply because I don't want to get further behind. Which is not what I want to do. I want to watch as many movies as I can. So there will probably be more postings like this in the future, with mini-reviews. Today I'm going to focus on three 2007 films that could fall under the horror genre. One near classic, one mediocre film, and one terrible film; can you guess which is which yet?

(Seen on 5/27/08) Vacancy was a film I didn't have a ton of interest in seeing, the trailer made it look okay, with nothing special or unique. I still have the same feeling after seeing it, the only part that truly stood out was the opening credits. But I'll recommend it as a decent thriller, that's pretty well made, and not too stupid.

I was actually surprised by how smart they made the lead characters. Instead of constantly putting themselves in harm's way, they were making the right decision. The bad guys kept one step ahead for most of the film, simply because they were on their home turf. There were a couple of good jumps and I was pleasantly surprised they were restrained in the ending and didn't go for the obvious horror cliche'. Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale have a good bickering chemistry together, it convincingly felt like they'd been together a while. And I think this is the first time I've liked Luke outside a comedy, he doesn't seem to do drama well. You could do a lot worse in the thriller genre than Vacancy; it's a tight film, moving along quickly and smartly, without any truly dumb moments to drag it down. - Grade: B-

But within a few minutes it was fairly evident that this sequel wasn't going to be much better. They take way too long setting up the characters that are mostly going to end up fodder for the two species of aliens to maim and kill; with none of them are memorable. Where's our Ripley, Dutch, Hicks or "I ain't got time to bleed" Blain? I couldn't care less about a single one of these folks, they couldn't kill them off fast enough. I'll admit that the fight scenes in this film are done much better than the first Alien vs. Predator, but they're the only scenes in the film worth watching. I actually found myself getting bored about half way through the film, a real no-no for something so stupid.

Directors Greg & Collin Strause try way, way too hard to make us think about the classic film Aliens, there are a ridiculous amount of allusions to that film; from the music and sound effects ripped straight from that film, to the character archetypes and they even include military vehicles and weaponry extremely similar, even though this film takes place now and Aliens is hundreds of years into the future. The second half of the film is pretty much nothing but a bad Aliens rip-off, with a few Predators thrown in to kill an alien here or there. Another worthless addition to both series. - Grade: D

(Seen on 5/23/08) Ultra-talented writer/director Frank Darabont could go on making Stephen King adaptations for the rest of his career and I think the world would be a better place. His film Shawshank Redemption, is the absolute best King movie ever put on film; yes, I believe it's even better than The Shining. The Green Mile, was another excellent adaptation, a little long in spots, but tonally just right. With The Mist, he moves away from the prison-drama setting, into more familiar King territory, a horror story. And in my opinion he made the best horror film of 2007. One whose reputation will grow with time; because like many great films it was misunderstood upon it's first release.

The Mist takes the classic horror cliche' of trapping a bunch of people together with monsters banging on the door, and turns it on its ear. Darabont started out in horror films, writing the best of the Nightmare on Elm St., sequels with The Dream Warriors and also wrote the completely underrated remake of The Blob. So it's with no surprise that he's created a wonderfully built, incredibly well thought out B-Movie. If it weren't for a few spottily built computer monsters, The Mist would be an almost perfect horror film. There are great characters to root for in the hero David Drayton, a painter and dad, who stays calm under pressure; played nicely by the underused Thomas Jane. I particularly dug the character of Ollie; he's a chubby, balding, overage bag-boy, who has a big brain and a kick-ass action hero brewing inside him. They gave them a great human villain, in Mrs. Carmody, an over-zealous religious nut, who believes the monsters are God's apocolypse and she's ready to sacrifice the sinners to save the believers who begin to follow her. Marsha Gay Harden, brings this woman to life with such ferocity, that she is often more terrifying than any of the creepy-crawlies outside.

Although there are definitely a couple of classic monster scenes; the first time they get a taste of what's really happening, some incredibly creepy spiders, and I thought the "fishing for monsters" scene was darkly hilarious. I like how the monsters have an ecosystem all their own, with creatures of all size, from insects to dinosaurs, feeding on each other, and only turning to the humans as another source of food. The grocery store setting is the perfect place to bring characters from all walks of life together and it gives them ample food and shelter. It's only when things start to go so wrong on the inside that the heroes dare to venture out into The Mist. Once they do, it brings a whole other level to this already excellent film. The end is one of the most pessimistic I've ever seen, it leaves you with an ache in your gut, for what these characters have gone through. And I believe that's why the film didn't catch on like it should have, it's not the typical "everything is going to be okay" type of wrap up, and the film is much more powerful because of it. - Grade: A-

I was slightly intrigued by the trailer for this film. It looked fairly original, at least it wasn't a sequel, remake, or adaptation; which is fairly rare for a genre picture these days. David S. Goyer directing it also made me want to see it; even though he's responsible for the abomination that was Blade: Trinity, by far the worst of the series. But he's written some good sci-fi/action films in the last few years; Batman Begins, the first two Blade's and one of my all-time-favorite films Dark City.

Nick, played decently by Justin Chatwin, seems to have the world by the balls; he's very smart, good-looking, and well liked. But he's got a chip on his shoulder, his father's dead and his mother is ultra-controlling. He has a plan to get away from it all. He's been accepted into an art college in London and is planning on leaving the country without telling his mother. But before he gets the chance to leave, he pisses off the wrong person.

And this was my main problem with the film; the reason I could never buy into it. The person he angers enough to beat him almost to death, leaving him stuck in this state-of-limbo, which is the premise of the film; is this cute 90 lb. girl. Sure they stick her in a skull cap, dark clothing, and a pissed-off demeanor for the whole film, but I could never buy her as this ultimate-badass; she's a leader of a gang of thugs, she bullies everyone around her, she out-runs the police, and so on. It was like all these films where they stick the beautiful girl in glasses and all expect us to see her as the dork, only we're supposed to believe she's this total hard-case.

I appreciate that they were trying something different with this film. I can't remember seeing a film, where the lead character tries to figure out the mystery of his own disappearance. That's what made me want to see the film in the first place, but ultimately it wasn't that well executed and not all that interesting. At first it's sort of interesting to see Nick, walking unseen among the living, trying to figure out a way to get people to find his body. But it gets old after a while, the plot seems stuck in place for too long. That mixed with the phony-bad-ass-girl, made for an under-inspiring film.

I can see how this film might have its fans. It is different and fairly well made; an audience is out there for it. I think it's aimed at a teen audience, and who knows, I may have loved it then, maybe it would have made me feel smart for "figuring it out". But now I can't recommend it.

In my opinion this is the best movie of the year. (Of what I've seen up to this point.) It was emotionally engaging, gorgeously photographed, and extremely well acted; really top-notch in all filmmaking aspects. Sean Penn has stepped it up as a filmmaker, and I'm excited to see what he'll do as a director in the future. That's not the way I felt after his last two films; The Pledge and The Crossing Guard.

I think the main thing holding it back from being universally loved, is that not everyone can relate to Christopher McCandless. I've read and heard quite a few people calling him an idiot, and writing it off there. Which, I can sort of agree with on his being so unprepared to go into the Alaskan wilderness; but his journey up to that point, I completely respect.

When I was in my early twenties, I too wanted to drop out of society, travel the world and see what it brings. Really learn about who I am. And part of me still regrets not doing that before I had responsibilities that tied me down. I wouldn't have gone so far as to throw away all my money and then ultimately go into wild Alaska with little more than a sleeping bag and a .22 rifle.

But watching his travels around the U.S., meeting all kinds of different people and picking up work where you could, really got me going. I haven't had a chance to read the Jon Krakauer novel yet, but I plan to now that I loved the movie so much. I want to know more about his adventure.

One of my favorite aspects of the film was that Penn and crew shot on location in most of the places that Christopher went. After the film is over, you feel like you've taken a journey across the country. It's all beautifully captured in a documentary style, so it's like you're right there with him on his journey of self-discovery.

Emile Hirsch is wonderful a Christopher, he's completely believable, a star-making performance. And it was great to see some veteran actors show up in the supporting roles, I especially liked Catherine Keener as the old hippie who becomes a surrogate mother for Christopher. Vince Vaughn is fun in his small role as a farmer who employs him for a short time. William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden are devastating as his normal-seeming, but abusive parents.

Eddie Vedder's score is beautiful; it's a bit invasive at times, that's my only real complaint about the film, that Penn leaned on it for some of the emotional impact; but for the most part it plays with the film perfectly. Into the Wild is an all around wonderful film.