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Everyone knows this one; it's a pop culture gem and an icon in the realm of detective/thriller movies. Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lector, an unstoppable pairing and a pleasure to watch - Anthony Hopkins' performance is amazing, and Jodie Foster is always smart, snappy and cute as hell. The supporting actors are okay, sometimes becoming a little hammy or whatever, but never distracting from the film.

I think the main selling point of this is Hannibal himself, whose psychological musings and mind games make this movie stand out from others of its kind. Just take a look at his talks with Clarice Starling in the mental asylum - that is chilling. The other inmates are kind of creepy, but they're more silly than anything, and are overshadowed by Lecter himself. The dialogue in these scenes is just great, worth the whole price of admission by itself.

The movie flows well, wasting no time and generally being solid in every area, albeit not truly astounding in any of them, either. The story is basically as solid a detective story as you'll get, with every scene making you wonder what is about to happen next. Perhaps the most exciting part of the movie has nothing at all to do with the whole serial killer deal, as it is when Hannibal escapes from prison. You have to see it to find out what I mean - it is truly electrifying and suspenseful.

If you haven't seen this yet, you should rectify that immediately. This is a definite genre classic and certainly one any self-acclaimed movie buff needs to see. Recommended.

Okay. Okay, I'm just going to...throw my hands in the air and disregard everything I ever knew about movies, because this film is just so...flat out bizarre, weird and boneheaded at times that there's nothing else to do about it. Let's just address the first and foremost question: Why John Malkovich? Did you just pick an actor's name out of a hat? Maybe I'm just too young or something, but god damn. You could have theoretically picked any actor, couldn't you? Did you just pick him because his last name is so catchy to say? I think that's why. Yeah, that must be it.

Second...IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT A PORTAL INTO HIS BRAIN. Which is admittedly a really interesting idea; it sure sold me. This movie is just...I don't know, it's really strange and it really leaves an impression on you. There are a lot of things I like about this. It's artistic, it's cryptic and it's got really excellent writing. As much of a head trip (ha-ha) as this movie is, it sure is good at keeping you drawn in. There really is a sense of comedic genius at work here, just in the plot itself, and it's underscored with a heavy layer of remorseful sadness: this is, at its core, a movie about longing and chasing one's dreams. When you cut out the weird bullshit, that's what it is, and the unique way in which the movie shows you this just makes it stellar.

But I do have some problems with this, like...god, what is up with some of the other comedy in this film? Like that stuff with the monkey with "childhood trauma"? And the whole first quarter of this is pretty much just completely insane. A lot of the time it just leaves you gaping at the screen rather than laughing, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. The jokes are rarely funny and are more confusing and odd than anything, and it hurts the film, especially in the beginning.

Being John Malkovich is one of a kind. It's really just...strange, but the gems here are hard to deny if you are actually crazy enough to stick around long enough for them.

Horror has been real stale for a long time now, with only foreign movies like (REC) and the borderline-horror Let the Right One In bringing anything worthwhile to the table. But what about America, the country that spawned the most popular icons of the genre? It's mostly been wallowing in silly remakes of shitty Japanese movies or bad PG 13 ghost stories - and let's not even mention SAW and Hostel - since the last half of the 90s. It's time for a real turn-around movie to bring America back to the forefront. The Descent was good, and those horror comedies like Planet Terror and SLiTHER were nice distractions, but we need a really good, kickass return to why horror is good in the first place. With that said...Orphan.

I mean, good god. Where did this even come from? It's the most terrifying, depraved, downright evil movie I've seen out of a mainstream US theater in years! This movie is ballsy, not afraid at all to take risks or make you feel completely hopeless. I had no idea what was going to happen next at any turn in this movie; everything was shot in the dark and masterfully suspenseful. And yeah, of course the kid is evil, but she's built up in a way that makes you like her and feel sorry for her at first - something that even a good movie like Omen didn't do.

I was honestly completely surprised at a lot of the things this movie did, from the twisted opening sequence to the final bloody chase through the snow. This movie is brutal and does not hold back, and I like that a lot about it. It doesn't even try to sugar coat the children from harm - I'm obviously not going to say I like this about it, but that's what makes it so goddamn SCARY, and that is why it rules. Where other movies would come off as silly doing some of the stuff here, and while some of it is a bit "been there done that," it's all just executed so well that I can't say no.

Oh, and there are even a few comedic moments scattered throughout, adding an unexpected element of humor to the darkly chimeric mix here. They aren't too prevalent, but they're definitely noticeable. It doesn't lighten the mood, it just makes the movie more real. That's what any humor in a movie like this should do.

Yeah, there are a few dull moments, and a few kind of generic scares, but those are in the minority. This movie is just supremely good, definitely the best horror movie I've seen out of the US this decade. Highly recommended to those of you who can't turn down a good headtrip every now and then.