Was Dawn of the Dead meant to be a real zombie movie, or a parody of one? For someone who is terrified of scary movies, I was convinced I was going to get nightmares from this one, especially since the DVD menu scared me to bits.
Instead, I found myself chuckling through most of it, when I wasn’t shaking my head at the senseless blood and guts exploding everywhere.
Perhaps, since I am not a connoisseur of zombie flicks, I’m not the best person to be writing this review. But I am so here’s my take on it: it’s really dumb but somewhat entertaining.
Sarah Polley stars here in what is her first big blockbuster American flick as Anna, a nurse who comes home from work one night, has a romantic evening with her husband and peacefully goes to sleep. She wakes up in the middle of the night as the neighbour’s daughter shows up in her bedroom. As if that wasn’t freaky enough, the girl takes a flying leap at the husband, takes a chunk out of his neck and he starts to bleed to death. He dies, then comes back to life as a zombie trying to kill Anna. Anna manages to get away and meets up with a group of people who take refuge in a mall.
As they enter the mall, freaked out and guns blazing, the cheesy musak over the PA is “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” It’s little touches like this that make the film a little funny.
Dawn of the Dead is probably a very successful zombie movie and great addition to a horror flick library. But it makes a good comedy as well.

Although movies where the parents die and the kids get passed on to someone who fumbles and bumbles to try to raise them shouldn't be comedies and aren't really our cup of tea, we quite enjoyed the puffball movie that is Raising Helen. The plot isn't that good and neither is most of the acting, but Kate Husdon saves the flick along with Joan Cusack who is one of the funniest ladies out there. We hate John Corbett (he annoys us) but Raising Helen is a pleasant traipse through a romantic-comedy-family-drama.

Van Helsing (3 out of 5 stars)
Universal Pictures/ Release Date: October 19, 2004

Expecting the worst movie ever made, based on recent reviews in newspapers, instead, I was pleasantly surprised by Van Helsing.
It’s true that the plot is thinner than Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, but the special effects and sheer entertainment more than make up for that.
Van Helsing is a guy in search of his past, having been discovered by priests crawling up the Vatican City steps. In the meantime, he goes out and kills evil beings like Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and warlocks. He is sent to Transylvania to kill, who else, Dracula, and there meets pretty pretty Anna (Kate Beckinsdale), the last one standing of a family who has been trying to kill Dracula for generations. And yes, they make out.
We encounter werewolves, Frankenstein, Igor and vampires as Van Helsing tries to kill Dracula and figure out why his ring bears the same symbol as one found in Dracula’s castle.
The story is full of holes and contradictions (Van Helsing has to kill Dracula before the final stroke of midnight and once the strokes start sounding out they go on for about 15 minutes) and some characters can get a little annoying, like Dracula’s brides who, played by supermodels, overact like crazy. But this movie does have some genuinely funny moments and the special effects are pretty spectacular. For cheesy entertainment you couldn’t do better.

Aladdin (5 out of 5 stars)
Disney/ October 5

One of the funniest animated movies ever made, Aladdin, has finally come to DVD in a fantastic two-disc set.
Disney hasn’t made a movie with writing this good since the success of Aladdin years ago, in 1992. Robin Williams did a masterful job as the Genie, in probably the best voicing of a cartoon character we’ve ever seen.
Even if you’re not all that into the love story between Aladdin and Jasmine, the hilarious one-liners from Robin Williams and Gilbert Gottlieb as Iago, make this movie worth owning, whether you’re 4 or 84. It’s funny, it’s sweet, and it’s one of Disney’s classics. They went on to create two sequels to Aladdin, neither of which having a speck of the wit found in the first one.
The DVDs are packed with extras like all-new music videos (by Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey and the ever-geeky Clay Aiken), Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Adventure, Inside the Genie Lamp, the Genie World Tour, Three Wishes Game, Deleted Songs and even more.
The quality is amazing and the picture and sound are both enhanced and crystal clear. This is one Disney classic where it would be a crime not to purchase it before they put it back in their darned vault.

Does your significant other like to watch westerns? Odds are, that's a resounding Yee-haw! Here's a tip: if you want him to sit through the latest episode of The O.C. you need to give a little too. Preferably, giving as in "I bought you a movie dear, aren't I thoughtful?" and have him watch it on the other tv. If you have to sit through one, we previewed Blazing Across the Pecos, a new release your honey night like, and it's quite watchable. Who doesn't love the Durango Kid right? Right?