Rating: Kids say it's a must-own

Major Players

• James P. Sullivan voiced by John Goodman
• Mike Wazowski voiced by Billy Crystal
• Boo voiced by Mary Gibbs

Monsters, Inc. is the local corporation responsible for providing Monstropolis with power. One of the most coveted jobs in the land is that of best scarer, a title currently held by James P. Sullivan, lovingly known as Sully. His assistant is Mike Wazowski, the best tank and door changer in the business. Mike, however, is not always timely with his paperwork. This forgetfulness leaves Sully alone on the scare floor one night, where he discovers that a door has been left unattended. Sully opens the door to see if anybody is working, only to find himself face to face with a human child, known to be toxic and feared by monsters above all else.

Sully falls victim to the child, which he names Boo, as she makes her way through the land of Monstropolis wreaking havoc and mayhem. With the help of his assistant, he seeks only to return her to the safety of her bedroom and rid himself of the burden. Along the way, Sully finds that humans are not toxic or scary, and this particular human is quite adorable.

Sully and Mike uncover a plot to kidnap children, starting with Boo, in a last ditch effort to save the power grid of Monstropolis by creating a continual supply of screams that will be extracted from the kidnapped children by machine instead of the old fashioned way of scaring them in their beds at night. They also discover that there is a far more powerful source of energy to be had if only knew how.

Sully discovers a love deep within himself that pushes him to fight to protect his precious Boo against all the obstacles and dangers that may befall her. In the end, love and friendship save the day while treachery and deception are uncovered.

Viewers will wonder what will happen next as they sit on the edge of their seat waiting for the next twist. With so much excitement and adventure, even the adults will enjoy watching this movie, which is good because this movie will be watched - over and over and over and over....

Parent's Note: There is some minor to moderate cartoon violence and off-color jokes.

Directed by Matt Reeves

Running Time: 1 hr and 25 minutes

Don't see Cloverfield.

Ironically I have to work harder on bad films then good ones. It's not generally enough to say it sucked I try to say why. So this is an extra tough writing assignment. Let me put it this way. For the first time ever I walked out of a film. I wanted to stay so I could at least make fun of it, but I was getting sea sick. This will be an unfortunately short review, but there's nothing else to say. It sucked!

What about the “PG-13” Rating? It's a monster flick.

Larger Story? Nope, nothing.

But horror isn't just limited to the supernatural. Sometimes the monster in a horror film is a very human one, such as a serial killer or other type of demented person. People you could very well meet on the street and not know what they are until its too late. Here's a list of some of the best and most deranged or horror's human villains, who could be the scariest monsters of them all.

ANNIE WILKES (MISERY)

“I'm Your Number One Fan. You Have Nothing To Fear From Me”

Misery's Annie Wilkes has made it so that phrase, once heard, makes celebrities run like hell. A fan of writer Paul Sheldon and his romance novels featuring the character Misery, former nurse Annie was elated when she found Paul following a car accident in the mountains near her farm. Never mind that she doesn't take him to a hospital, she really shows her colors when she learns that Paul has killed off her beloved Misery in the latest book, sending her into a mad rage. She then forces Paul to write a new Misery novel to bring the character back, just for her. And any time Paul tries to defy her, she punishes him, the worst being when she hobbles his foot when he tries to escape.

We hear about people like Annie all the time in the news. Celebrities are always being stalked by obsessed and deranged fans, who make the objects of their affection so a part of their lives that any change in the routine causes them to snap. Some celebrities have even been attacked and killed by these fans, the most notable being John Lennon at the hands of Mark David Chapman. Other films such as Play Misty for Me and The Fan have used deranged fans as their antagonists, but Annie Wilkes, created by horror master Stephen King, tops them all.

JOHN DOE (SE7EN)

Nothing's worse than a serial killer who feels he has a moral message to send out via his victims. And that's what John Doe, the killer of the psychological thriller Se7en, is. He not only picks his victims based on the seven deadly sins (gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust and envy), he also kills them in ways that he feels are appropriate for the sin. The overweight man he targets for gluttony he forces to eat until he literally bursts. A greedy lawyer is forced to cut a pound of flesh from himself. To tell you more would spoil things, especially as the best is saved for last and shows just how twisted he is.

Morality killers are common in horror films, especially slashers, as the victims are always teens doing things they shouldn't be doing, like drugs and premarital sex. John Doe, however, is truly one of a kind in not only his methods, but mainly his character. He shows a rare intelligence you usually don't see in the movies, having carefully laid out plans and staying one step ahead of the police, adapting when necessary. He's even the calmest of movie killers, almost literally stone cold save for his angry justifying the killing of his victims. That's what makes John Doe so frightening and comparable to his real life counterparts: an utter lack of remorse.

JOHN “JIGSAW” KRAMER (SAW SERIES)

Speaking of killers with moral messages, how about one who puts you in an elaborate trap you have to escape from by any means necessary, even mutilating yourself or killing someone else, to prove you want to live? That's what John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, does in the Saw films. Discovering he was dying of cancer, Kramer realized he had wasted his life and, after seeing others doing the same, decided to teach them the value of life. Under the identity of Jigsaw, he devised his signature traps and schemes and placed his victims in them and then watched to see if they could figure out how to escape. And all without hardly getting his own hands dirty.

Like John Doe, Jigsaw is highly crafty and intelligent, with his carefully laid out plans and always staying one step ahead of his pursuers. You might think Jigsaw might be a little too over-the-top to exist in real life, but don't be too sure. The traps used in the Saw films are based on actual devices used in medieval times and the Inquisition to bring about so-called “confessions”, which Jigsaw made his own modifications on. And some serial killers are known to torture their victims before killing them, usually psychologically by putting them through all sorts of mental anguish before killing them. Add to the fact that he manages to inspire others to see things his way and carry on his work and that he really has nothing to lose since he's already dying, and you can see how a person like Jigsaw can be dangerous.

NORMAN BATES (PSYCHO)

Raised by a domineering mother, Norman Bates had the idea that women and sex were evil. Still, he loved her and couldn't do without her, so after he killed her and her new boyfriend, he stole her corpse and preserved it using his taxidermy skills so he could be in her presence. He then added to the illusion by dressing and acting like her, to the point where “Mother” became a separate individual in Norman's head. And if anyone tried or even seemed to come between them, like poor Marion Crane, “Mother” would take care of it. With a very sharp knife.

Very rarely is a killer truly crazy, but Norman Bates is, to pardon the pun, a textbook example. He was even inspired by an actual person, Ed Gein, who had a similar background to Bates and even had a penchant for cross-dressing. But while Gein always seemed disturbing to those who knew him, Norman Bates came across as so normal that you'd never know how dangerous he really was just by looking at him. Whether it's the pudgy, middle-aged man in Robert Bloch's original novel or the handsome, boy-next-door type played by Anthony Perkins in Alfred Hitchcock's hit movie, you'd probably never think Bates was a killer. Until, as they say, it was too late.

FREDDY KRUEGER (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET)

Okay, I know what you're thinking. What's Freddy Krueger doing on this list? He's a dead guy who haunts dreams, not very realistic. That's true that in death Freddy couldn't be real. But in life, he was just as real as you or me.

Known as the “Springwood Slasher”, Freddy Krueger was a child murderer. He'd lure unsuspecting kids to the boiler room where he worked, then proceeded to slowly kill them using his signature weapon, a glove equipped with razor-sharp blades at the fingertips. He claimed numerous victims before he was caught and, after being let go on a legal technicality, torched to death by a mob of angry parents, thus kicking off the events of the Elm Street films.

What makes Freddy Krueger truly scary is not that he was a killer, which in itself is scary enough. It was that the law, which is supposed to protect decent citizens and punish criminals, failed to keep him locked up. Krueger was arrested, but a mis-signed search warrant was all that it took to allow him to be let free. And even if that didn't happen, a lawyer could still have probably gotten Krueger off on a psychiatric basis due to his background, being the product of a rape and growing up in an abusive environment. Criminals can and do escape justice thanks to being able to find loopholes in the legal system, and Freddy Krueger is an example of how easy it can be.

RAYMOND LEMORNE (THE VANISHING)

He wanted to see if he could do something evil. That's what Raymond Lemorne's motivation was when he kidnaped Sasika Wagter, girlfriend of Rex Hofman. As Rex spent three years frantically searching for Sasika, Lemorne went on with his life until he sees Rex on TV, pleading for help. He then meets Rex and admits to the crime, engaging in a cat-and-mouse game with the poor man knowing that Rex won't kill him because he knows where Sasika is. And with that kind of power, he can get Rex to do anything.

They say a killer is often the last person you'd expect to be one. This is definitely true of Raymond Lemorne, the antagonist of the 1988 Dutch film The Vanishing. He's not your traditional cinema killer in that he's a demented individual with a history of abuse, nor does he have any bizarre quirks or behaviors. He's actually a perfectly normal person, with a job as a chemistry teacher and a family who just wanted to see if he could kill someone. And when you compare him to killers who do have histories of abuse or have problems with psychosis, that makes him even more frightening and disturbing.

THE KRUG STILLO GANG (THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT)

Most criminals who escape from prison try to lay low and avoid trouble to keep from getting caught again. Krug Stillo and his partner Fred “Weasel” Patowski, after being broken out by Krug's dimwitted son Junior and girlfriend Sadie, try that at first, but then end up kidnaping a pair of girls, Mari and her friend Phyllis. They spend proceed to put the girls through all sorts of torment, torture and rape before brutally killing them. All in the woods behind Mari's house, where her parents remain unaware of what's happened to their daughter. They even, after a quick change of clothes, manage to con their way into getting Mari's parents to put them up for the night after the deed. The crooks get their's in the end, but the damage has been done on numerous levels.

You have to admit escaped prisoners are scary. This may be one of the most realistic portrayals of what could happen (barring, of course, the comical scenes of the two dimwitted cops who don't realize at first what's going on and then can't get there in time when they do), and Wes Craven captures it perfectly in one of his earliest films. Krug and company (save for Junior, who is at least somewhat sympathetic) are sick, mean, twisted individuals with little regard for human life, exactly as you'd expect criminals to be. The brutal and graphic murder of Phyllis (in which Sadie proves she may just be sicker than her boyfriend) and Krug's pressuring Junior to take his own life more than proves what could happen in such a situation.

HARRY POWELL (NIGHT OF THE HUNTER)

A preacher is someone we're supposed to trust and confide in, right? Self-appointed preacher Harry Powell is definitely not in that category. After being released from prison, he goes off to woo the widow and children of his cell mate, Ben Harper, who was hanged for robbery and murder. Powell wants the money Ben stole and hid, and his only clue is that the children know something. He's able to marry Willa, Ben's widow, to get closer to the family, but can't get the trust of the children, John and Pearl, the only ones who know where the money is. Armed with his trusty switchblade, Powell's not afraid to kill to get what he wants, especially not young John and Pearl.

You'd have to know something's not right with Powell when you first see him. True, his little trick of telling the story of the battle between love and hate using his tattooed knuckles (LOVE on the right hand and HATE on the left) is rather clever. But I doubt many real preachers go around sporting tattoos, nor would I trust one who just got out of prison. Powell's twisted use of religion, pretending to be a preacher and claiming to kill people in the name of the Lord, truly makes him despicable, probably even more so than his conning his way into the hearts of the Harper family and his willingness to kill the children to get the money. Even scarier is that this man was based on a real preacher who was hanged for killing several people, which shows how evil a person who twists religion to his own ends can be.

ALEX FORREST (FATAL ATTRACTION)

Ever had a bad date that just wouldn't go away? Alex Forrest was just that. When married attorney Dan Gallagher has a weekend affair with her while his family's away and then ends it, Alex refuses to let the “relationship” be over. She calls and visits him repeatedly (“I won't be ignored, Dan!”), claims she's pregnant with his baby, and even spies on and targets his wife and daughter. She really hits below the belt by killing the pet rabbit and boiling it on the stove. It ends up having to fall to Beth, Dan's wife, to kill Alex, shooting her with Dan's gun, after Dan fails to drown her.

Stalkers are right up there with obsessed fans in that they're pretty much the same thing. They just seem to be two different labels, depending on who they're going after. But they both amount to the same methods: they obsess on a certain target, and when said target wants nothing to do with them, things get ugly. They follow around, make threats, and even go so far as to kill either any obstacles perceived to be in the way or the target him/herself. And as far as the stalker is concerned, it's no the stalker's fault, but the target's. Sick, isn't it? Alex Forrest and Fatal Attraction both prove perfect examples not only of what can happen if you cheat on your respective loved one, but also what the pinnacle stalker can be like.

JERRY BLAKE (THE STEPFATHER)

All Jerry Blake wanted was the perfect, all-American family. The kind he saw on The Brady Bunch and Leave it to Beaver. But when his family doesn't quite meet up to his expectations, Blake kills them, assumes a new identity and relocates. He then meets and marries a widow with a teenage daughter, hoping to start anew. But his new stepdaughter distrusts him, and it isn't long before reality sets in again and Blake has to kill again.

There are numerous reports on the news about people, most often mothers, who have killed their families because things aren't turning out the way they want them to. Jerry Blake is not only a psychotic killer, he's also delusional and a bit rather childish when it comes to facing reality. And his solution, of course, is killing those he feels are responsible for ruining his ideal life. It seems rather petty, but people tend to do things for petty reasons all the time. Murder is not in the least an exception, and the reasons for them, petty as they may seem, may be even more shocking than the crime itself.

BUFFALO BILL (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS)

Hannibal Lecter may be the most recognizable face and name from The Silence of the Lambs, but Jame Gumb, AKA “Buffalo Bill”, was the real villain of the story. Bill desired to be a woman, but was found mentally unstable for a sex-change operation. So he decided to do it another way: he'd kidnap women of a certain size, kill them, and then cut off sections of their skin to make a “woman suit” for himself. Some victims, like Catherine Martin, he kept in a basement pit to fatten up and make sure they kept their skin nice. It was thanks to FBI trainee Clarice Starling, getting cooperation from Lecter, that Bill was caught and his would-be victim rescued.

Buffalo Bill is another inspired by Ed Gein. In addition to his cross-dressing, Gein was also infamous for making his own “woman suit” that he paraded around his property in. But while Gein used the skins of corpses he dug up, Bill killed live victims and used their skins for his little project. Bill even showed all the classic signs of a serial killer: in addition to his demented psychosis and reasoning for killing, he sadistically tortured both his victims and their families, and led law enforcement officials on an insane chase to try and catch him, even while deliberately leaving clues to be found and interpreted. Real serial killers do this all the time, and sometimes they're never even caught. Which makes them even scarier.

Are you scared, yet? You should be. After all, who needs vampires and werewolves when we got these guys? Monsters of these types have existed for years, probably long before we even had terms for them. Remember that the next time you watch a horror flick... or better yet, when you watch the news.

After the deal is negotiated, this thing kicks into a high- geared monsterama. Great scenes of Q sailing around NYC, snatching up confused citizens and terrified police alike. All the subplots are woven rather nicely together, and Carradine gets the bean- eater that started all this shit in the first place.

Larry Cohen is one of our favorite schlockmeisters for so many reasons. Q is the perfect example... His writing is crisp and energetic, never telegraphing the next shock. His casting seems inspired, with actors playing characters that were written FOR them. His special effects are cheapish but never ostentatious. His subplots are always seamless and never lost in the bigger story. For example, Micheal Moriarty's' character uses the monster to rid himself of the dangerous gangsters that are threatening him. This increases our enjoyment while setting up another subplot. We have seen many of Mr. Cohen's films and they all bear the stamp of thoughtful craftsmanship that we have come to expect. Spielberg should study these so he wouldn't be such a fucking hack. His remake of "War of the Worlds" was a huge mistake; made unwatchable by lost subplots, intrusive special effects and hideous casting. If Larry Cohen had been given that kind of cash to remake "War of the Worlds", you could bet the last of your food stamps that it would have been the masterpiece that it ought to have been.

We recommend Q to anyone who likes a good movie. This one is perfect; no one should ever have to remake it. All Twelve of us stand tall and proud, our jury slips unanimous in their verdict.

This is a fantastic movie for men age 13 to 50. Women will probably find it ok. Cool cars, hot women, guns, planes, trucks, explosions, monster robots, I can't figure out why I was so sure this movie would flop. There are plot devises, like a secret map etched into old glasses, which might have been used to make the movie more suspenseful and dynamic but the editors made the call to minimize such things to keep the fast, adventure pacing.

What about the “PG-13” Rating?

There are several strong innuendos and it would be tempting to judge a couple scenes of Megan Fox looking hot in tight clothes as pure objectification but for two things. First is that the perspective is clearly not between us and the actress, but between an unpopular teen boy and a popular teen girl. The flirtation, etc. makes sense in context. The second factor is the conversation they have about being superficial and seeing deeper into who she is. It's very redeeming.

The larger story

This is a movie about honor and sacrifice. See if this sounds familiar there's a war between good and evil somewhere in the stars and the great evil comes to earth seeking power, and the hero of the good guys comes to save the day even if it means giving his life.

What this movie shows, that many films don't, is the role humans play in all this, and the care and concern these powerful beings have for them. It's a very inspiring thing.