Many reviewers compare Saw to Silence of the Lambs or Seven. It is neither. It is psychological thriller done with a lesser known cast. There is blood, there is gore and there is also a story.

The movie opens with two men chained to pipes on opposite sides of the room. Their instructions are simple: if stranger A want to live, he must kill stranger B. And so begins the journey.

Relentlessly flashing backwards and forwards to present time, Saw employs a non linear story structure. Perhaps there are reasons for this, but excessive use of the technique can compromise clarity. In this movie the abuse is borderline.

After allowing several days to reflect on this film,the main shortcoming still nags me – tremendous effort went into the beginning and ending while the middle, well muddles.

What works about Saw

1) Ending – the best of any film this year and last.

2) Opening – definitely one of top five opening scenarios.

3) Very grungy, real look adds to the experience.

What needs more work

1) Danny Glover. Completely miscast here.

2) A tiny hint as to Jigsaw’s ( the killer’s ) motivations would have been nice.

3) Less flashbacks

Based solely on the ending, if you like thrillers or even quasi thrillers, see Saw.

Verdict: Matinee / DVD.

September/October releases are the bowels of cinema, a time for leftovers ditched by the studios. Often denied marketing dollars, distribution or any semblance of decency; each year they march to screens like lemmings.

As a service, I offer these movie viewlets. Shorter than their full length counterpart, they deliver the essence of a film review in a fraction of the time. Because if the studios don’t give it their undivided attention – why should ticket buyers?

1) Friday Night Lights � MTV vs. football. Viewers lose.
2) Woman Thou Art Loosed � powerful, well written and timely. How the hell did this ever get released? It’s a keeper in limited release.
3) Garden State � Brilliant, topical and stars lesser known and up and comers. A stunning debut by director Zach Braff. The Jersey film of the decade. Touches on the big themes – life, death, love and Xanax.
4) Cellular � Poke your eyes out instead.
5) Without a Paddle � Lots of fun, decent story, good cast, stupid title. It’s a comic adventure about three boys brought together by a death, trying to recapture their childhood. Rent to own, own to rent or see it now!

All in all, not a bad September/October for movies. Sorta.

I had high hopes for the new psychological thriller The Forgotten and in spirit the hopes proved correct.

The setup of this film is effective, even stunning. From the interplay of the narrative and sparse yet razor sharp dialog – to the performances, it works. In terms of execution of the script, the movie works. Julianne Moore, the star works. Visually, the Forgotten works. Plot wise, the movie needed a few more passes at the old word processor.

The concept is creative. A woman grieving the loss of her son discovers that everyone around her but her has forgotten the child ever existed. How and why do they forget? Those conflicts are the movie and they try to deliver. But the resolution is a major problem. It’s too convoluted, too implausible given the story up to that point.

If the ending were a beverage it would be burnt coffee laced with saccharin. Yes – its possible to drink such things, but why?

Verdict: Video or DVD rental. Matinee – but only if you must see Julianne Moore strip down to a bra and panties for two seconds on a forty foot screen.

Resident Evil – Apocalypse – is perfectly evil and it’s a good thing. Imagine a world where an all powerful corporation unleashes a virus that turns people into zombies. Now imagine that the only one who can stop this company is the former head of security for that corporation, whose own DNA was altered by their research experiments. Enter Alice – professional butt kicker. She’s Rambo, Arnold and Beatrix Kiddo all rolled into one, only much, much more charismatic.

For a movie based on a video game there’s sure a lot of story here, one that delivers non stop chills and thrills. I noticed many people playing shoot-em-up in the theater during the fight scenes. A pure adrenaline rush!

Things that rock about this movie:

1) Tight pacing

2) Excellent action sequences

3) A cliffhanger ending that works, rather than annoys.

4) Good use of narrative over dialog to convey story.

5) Three words – Milla Jovovich naked.

Things that need improvement:

1) When is Resident Evil 3 coming???

Verdict: like action? like explosions? like Milla ? SEE IT NOW!