This week's highlight: REC!

It's that time of the year where most of Western civilisation dress up in costumes and knock on strangers' doors for assorted candies. Generally, there should also be an onslaught of horror movies also, but apparently we're only getting Saw V this year (unless you count Painted Skin and High School Musical 3 as horror movies). I guess the current financial crisis is enough horror for the year.I'm not sure if Thailand's The Coffin is good, but Spain's REC sounds pretty interesting, judging from the feedback at Rottentomatoes.com. One critic said that REC is "a demonic, barnstorming, cinema verite horror experience that pulls few punches, fears no genre taboo, and reaches for the throat with delightful intimidation."

This week's highlight: Tropic Thunder!

Some people might consider Ben Stiller and Jack Black's movies to be the epitomes of bad comedies. And they're both headlining a movie I'm actually recommending we all should take a look. Why?

Four reasons. One: Robert Downey Jr. Two: It's a parody about Hollywood people. Three: Robert Downey Jr., playing a white actor playing a black character. Four: Tom Cruise's cameo.

This week's highlight: Max Payne!

Max Payne was one of my greatest video gaming experiences, mainly because someone was finally able to translate the John Woo style of slo-mo action frenzy into a working game format. It was one of the very first to allow players to effectively participate in the "bullet time" action instead of merely watching it transpire during cutscenes.

Ironically, while the game was highly influenced by cinema, now we have a movie that's inspired by the game. I'm not sure how it's going to avoid being yet another John Woo-inspired B-movie, made worse by the fact that its violent action has been reduced to PG-13 levels a la Die Hard 4.

Damn! I was about to use that title for my next movie...

First saw this on Aintitcool.com.

This week's highlight: The House Bunny!

Gasp! The Big Movie Freak's standards have dropped to a new low, just like the current financial markets. Well, life is so depressing nowadays, with the greedy corporations finally stripped of their sheep clothing, and the impact of their greed finally hurting just about everyone on this planet, why watch depressing-looking, violent flicks like Eagle Eye when you can watch the comedic genius Anna Faris play an ex-Playboy Bunny causing unintentional mischief at some prestigious college?

There's Rock n Rolla and the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading, but it's likely their humour is of the darker variety. So, hmm...