THE KIDS ARE ALLRIGHT

THE OMEN (1976)

Robert and Katherine Thorn seem to have it all. They are happily married and he is the US Ambassador to Italy, but they want more than to have children. When Katharine has a stillborn child, Robert is approached by a priest at the hospital who suggests that they take a healthy newborn whose mother has just died in childbirth. Without telling his wife he agrees. After relocating to London, strange events - and the ominous warnings of a priest - lead him to believe that the child he took from that Italian hospital is evil incarnate...

Two endings were filmed. The original ending featured a child's casket with Robert and Katherine's, indicating Damien was also killed. But the studio head, Alan Ladd, Jr., said whilst The Omen was a great movie the first ending was a mistake: you cannot kill the devil! He gave Donner additional funds to refilm the ending. The site used for the Megiddo archaeological dig is a real dig, just not in Megiddo. It is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, on the southern end of the Temple Mount. An original score for the film was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, for which he received the only Oscar of his long career.
A remake, The Omen, was released on June 6, 2006.

Director: Richard Donner
Writter: David Seltzer
Starring: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Billie Whitelaw
Running Time: 111min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PuIBNLOeEU

Rating: 10/10


THE ORPHANAGE (2007)
(Spanish: El Orfanato)


Laura, a former orphan, raises her adopted son Simón together with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. While at the orphanage Simón tells Laura that he has five invisible friends which she believes are a product of his active imagination. Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to cater for disabled children and throws a party. During the party Simón tries to persuade Laura to go and take a look at his friends cabin but she's too busy. Later on she sees a mysterious masked boy and realizes that Simón has also disappeared...

The film's script was written by Sergio G. Sánchez in 1996 and brought to the attention of Bayona in 2004. Bayona asked his long-time friend, director Guillermo del Toro, to help produce the film and to double its budget and filming time. Bayona wanted the film to capture the feel of 1970s Spanish cinema; he cast Geraldine Chaplin and Belén Rueda, who were later praised for their roles in the film.
It received critical acclaim from audiences in its native Spain, winning seven Goya awards. New Line Cinema bought the rights to the film for an American remake.

Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Writter: Sergio G. Sánchez
Starring: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Geraldine Chaplin, Montserrat Carulla
Running Time: 105min
Country: Spain - Mexico
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUZQgqxIZ6s

Rating: 9/10


HANSEL AND GRETEL (2007)

When Eun-soo gets lost in a country road, he meets a mysterious girl and is led to her fairytale ike house in the middle of the forest. There, Eun-soo is trapped with the girl and her siblings who never age. Eun-soo finally discovers a way out which is written on a fairy tale book. But the book tells a story of none other than himself!

Director: Yim Pil-Sung
Writter: Kim Min Suk
Starring: Cheon Jeong-myeong, Eun Won-jae, Shim Eun-kyeong, Jin Ji-hye
Running Time: 117min
Country: South Korea
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlfnhVsbyeQ&playnext=1&list=PL8E4BCAB3B615465E

Rating: 7/10


THE OTHER (1972)

In the summer of 1935, 9-year-old twins Niles and Holland Perry live with their family on a Connecticut farm. Their loving grandmother Ada has taught them something called "the game." A number of accidents begin happening, and it seems to Niles that Holland is responsible. It is Ada who begins to see the truth, and she is the only one who can stop this macabre game of murder...

Adapted for film by Tom Tryon, from his bestselling novel. This is the only movie appearance by the twins Chris and Martin Udvarnoky, the featured stars. Despite the grotesque nature of the plot, composer Jerry Goldsmith elected to give the film a mostly upbeat score to reflect the childish innocence of its main character. More often than not, the film's darker scenes feature no music at all. Goldsmith's compositions for the film can be heard in a 22 minute suite found on the soundtrack album of The Mephisto Waltz. This CD was released 25 years after the release of the film.

Director: Robert Mulligan
Writter: Tom Tryon (also novel)
Starring: Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, Chris Udvarnoky, Martin Udvarnoky
Running Time: 108min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMmMqWkudgA

Rating: 8/10

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