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Scream 2

Scream 2

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superior to the original!
Review: "Scream 2" is possibly the best horror movie sequel ever, and that's because it stays in touch with the ideas and plot structure of the first film, relying on the old cliches to give us another fresh and involving thriller. I'd even go so far as to say that this movie is superior to its predecessor, and that judgement lies with the character development and its comical treatment of the subject matter, while also being as cunning and inventive as "Scream," keeping us at bay until the unexpected resolution.

"Scream 2" is a parodical look at the first film, beginning with a special screening of the new movie "Stab," which is based on the book "The Woodsboro Murders" written by Gale Weathers. At the screening, two college students are brutally murdered by a man in that same old ghost mask. Not that he/she would be easy to spot: the studio gave away "Stab" costumes to all the audience members, and everyone is running all over the place. The whole movie angle provides for some of the tension, because no one believes that the murders are interconnected, perpetuating the action.

Soon, news of the murder gets back to Sidney Prescott, now a college student, who consults Randy, also at college, on what he thinks is going on. She now has a potential boyfriend, Derek, who appears to genuinely care for her, and friends Mickey and Halle, typical college students who are put into the story for good measure.

Or are they? Like "Scream," the sequel also makes everyone out to be a possible suspect through their actions and their words, which keeps the suspense unbearable in wanting to know who the killer is. As Sidney and others have their own opinions, reporter Gale Weathers, now a network reporter, retrieves her old ambitions and does everything to get the story, with exhonerated convict Cotton Weary, the man formerly accused of Sidney's mother's murder, chasing her for airtime. Not to mention the pesky reporter who looks up to Gale with every inch of her being.

The film's shock quotient is extremely high, keeping us involved and wanting to know who is going to get killed next. Most of the murdered characters are secondary, leading up to murders of certain important actors that point to other as the suspects. The plot has all the machinations and cliches of the first film, again using it to its advantage in propelling its plot forward while giving those old horror tactics a fresh new look.

What really makes this movie shine over the predecessor is the characterization of its characters. The Sidney of this movie is much stronger, much more stable than in the first movie, which provides a lot in keeping the movie going. Neve Campbell reprises her role, and does some of the best acting of the movie. The relationship between Deputy Dewey and Gale Weathers is intensified further here, and Courteney Cox and David Arquette are the perfect pair for the job. Cox especially shines here, bringing out more of Gale's ambitions which later become replaced with fear. Liev Schreiber portrays Cotton Weary, who really has nothing to do here but follow people around, but watch out for his chance to save the day.

Telling you anymore than I already have will spoil the movie, which is full of surprises and stunning twists. This movie has a more adult feel than the first, which will provide for even more entertainment to moviegoers. There is so much fun to be had with "Scream 2," which is solid entertainment full of suspense and intelligence.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Very, Very Good Sequel!
Review: Scream 2 begins at a movie theatre, were a movie called 'Stab" (based on the book "The Woodsboro Murders" which in turn was based on the killings in the first "Scream" film and was written by Gale Weathers) is playing. Two college students (Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett/Jada Pinkett Smith from The Nutty Proffesor) are murdered by yet another killer clad in black and wearing a "Father Death" mask. The next day, Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is horrified to hear this on the news and runs to her new boyfriend, Derek (Jerry O'Connell) and her old friend from the first film, Randy (Jamie Kennedy) for protection, but no matter, she is soon attacked by the killer and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox/Courteney Cox Arquette from Friends) is on the case like a lightning bolt. This annoys Sydney, but she has bigger things to worry about. The body-count is beginning to rise, and anyone is a suspect! Is it Derek ("Hello, Billy Loomis!"). Is it wounded deputy Dewey Riley (David Arquette),who seems to immediatlly show up right at the time of them murders? Is it Randy, who may have seen one to many movies and gotten brainwashed? Is it Gale, the annoying reporter who always in on the case? Is it Mickey (Timothy Olyphant), another movie freak? Is it Cici Cooper (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who defends the right to have violence in movies? Or, is it another reporter, Debbie Salt (Laurie Metcalf from Rosseanne)? Now, this mystery is going to be murder to solve!

Scream 2 is an excellent thriller and wonderful sequel to a smash hit phenomenon, Scream (1996) which was also a great movie. Scream 2's great becuase it, like 1994's Wes Craven's New Nightmare, has the courage to talk about things most horror movies would avoid. Scream 2 asks the question "Do violent movies cause our violent actions?" Wow, that's a good question. Scream 2 asks the question, and leaves it up to us to answer the question. That's the courage of this film. It's got guts.

Of course, people not looking for a real point and who just want slasher entertinment will adore this movie. Is it gory? Yes, quite. Lots of blood and goo (and brains). Some of the deaths include, stabbings in the head, guttings, regular old stabbings, a fall from a second story building, slit throat, and a pole through the head. Lots of blood and gore which is impressivly done. Also, the acting is swell. All the actors returning from the first are excellent, and the new cast is good, too. The writing from this movie is good, and once again, Wes Craven makes the film look very good. All the actors are on key, thnks to him, and he still has that style from the first.

Th Scream 2 is available in two DVD releases. If you get the film separately (and not in The Ultimat Scream Collection box set) you get a pretty mediocre DVD. The picture is OK, though non-anamorphic and stretched out on widescreen TVs. The sound is a great 5.1 surround in which dialouge is clear and the music and sound effects are booming in action scenes. But where this disk really lacks is the extras. All you have is one trailer for Scream 2 and a few recommendations. Big dissipointment.

However, if you get the truly awesome DVD box set you've got an exclusive Dimension Collector's Edition of the movie. It's really great. First off, the widescreen format is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs (which is nice) and the sound is the same booming 5.1 Surround and it's just as good as the other disk. Then.... we get to the extras! First is a nice and informative commentary by Wes Craven, producer Marriane Maddelini, as well as the director of photography. Writer Kevin Williamson is no where to be heard on this track. This is a shame, because he brought a great wit to the track on the first Scream, but this commentary is still very good. Lots of interesting information to be found here! Also, we have a nice documentary on the making of the movie, some production notes, a few music videos, and lots of trailers and TV spots. A very nice supply of extras.

Scream 2 is a great movie, and getting the box set is worth it for the Collector's Edition.

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of my favorite sequels
Review: At the time of it's release a lot people I know didn't like it at all. I have no idea why either. The lines are funny, the cast good and it even has it's scary moments. I have no idea why they did part 3 without Kevin Williamson doing the screen-play. His scripts made the movies clever, funny and down to earth. Plus the cast in part 3 is laughable compared to the telented cast in 1 and 2. I mean in this one you got David Arquette "in no doubt his best role", Neve Campbell "in possibly her best role as well", Courtney Coxx, Liev Shrieber, Jamie Kennedy, Jada Pinkett Smith, Timothy Olyphant "Go!", Jerry O'Connell, Omar Epps and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Oh and Roseanne's sister from...Roseanne is in it too. Also look for Joshua Jacksan "Dawson's Creak" in a small role as a film class student.

Anyway this movie is a lot of fun and entertaining. Some things don't work of course though. Like how they use Han Zimmer's score from Broken Arrow whenever they show Dewey. Jerry Connell "singing I think I love you" to Sydney. Things that make it clever though for example, is when it pokes fun at other movies and even at itself. I like how Timothy Olyphant trys to come up with sequels that out-due the originals to Jamie Kennedy's character. It discusses sequels when it itself is one...trying to out-due the original and in some ways it does.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Sequel That Works
Review: It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Sequels to horror films often disappoint and discourage audiences, offering less thrills and scares than their predecessors. This solid sequel to the 1996 original disproved that theory, thanks to Kevin Williamson's smart script. The surviving cast returns to form. They're now in college, and a masked killer is on the loose again. Sidney is less trusting this time around, screening all calls with her caller ID and using heavy-duty locks on her doors. But that doesn't stop the masked killer from making rounds and offing people left and right. "Scream 2" works even better this time around, avoiding the conventions of the Hollywood sequel and making hip references here and there. And Courtney Cox is in even better form as the sleazy journalist who just can't seem to get off Sidney's bad side. Jada Pinket Smith and Omar Epps are also pretty good in the opening scene, which is sure a jaw-dropper. "Scream 2" is an above average slasher film that won't insult your intelligence, and that's really saying something.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Probably the best sequel in the history of sequels.
Review: And I mean what I say when I say that. Watching Scream 2 is a rocket-ride to the world of hilarity and suspense, and the sheer fact that writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven can craft a movie with both of these elements working together will alone make this sequel better than any other. All the characters left alive in the previous film are brought back to this film in various places, most of them after two college students are murdered at the premiere of the movie "Stab," modeled after Gale Weathers' book, "The Woodsboro Murders." In comes Campbell as Sidney, who hears of the murders and goes to resident horror buff Randy, played by Jamie Kennedy. As the now-married Arquettes return to their roles, more murders continue, and this time, the guessing at who is the real killer is a lot more involving than the first. The murders are just as gruesome as the previous film, but the finale is a little less satisfying than the first. But still a good movie, by all means.

And now, I would like to take the time to underline a point that has been bothering me very much: Buena Vista does nothing for its DVD releases. All you get is a widescreen version with [poor] resolution, as well as two crummy soundtracks with bad fidelity, a lousy theatrical trailer and scene selections. Do you think you could give us a few more special features without having to make us pay for Special Edition DVDs? You could do a lot more business, trust me.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Definitly a step down from the original
Review: Scream 2 is a good horror/slasher film and is the Sequel to the box office hit Scream. It offers even more chaacter development then the original and in my oppinion is a great film. However I still believe its a step down from the original Scream. The movie is just not as fresh as the original and doesn't do as good of a job of entertaining you as the first film did. The freshness of the first film, was a huge reason why I liked it.

But dont let any of the negative of this movie fool you. Scream 2 is definitly worth watching. It's all about a few movie goers coming in to see Stab, a movie based on the book by Gale Weathers and on the first Scream movie. Of course the theatre gives out the costumes used by the killer in the first one to compliment the movie Stab and everyone is going nuts wearing these costumes. Actress Jada Pinkett is killed along with her boyfriend by the new killer, while she is watching the movie. Unfortunatley for her nobody takes note of it, thinking it's all fake and a publicity stunt during the movie. But once the deaths gets back to Sidney (Neve Campbell) she realizes that maybe her life won't be being so normal after all. Sidney, is now in college when she hears about the news and once reuniting with others from the original scream like Randy(Jamie Kennedy) Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) she begins to run for her life and search for the killer.

The movie takes place when both Randy and Sidney are both in college. The movie attempts to use the original formula that made the first Scream movie a hit. Unfortunatley the formula just isn't as fresh in Scream 2, especially with bascially the same characters. Another thing Scream 2 attempts to do is build on character relationships which is done to perfection. Dewey and Gale become closer. Sidney seems to be stronger in this movie and alot more independent, thanks mostly to the great acting by Neve Campbell - who in my oppinion did a great job in this movie. Gale shows a nicer side to herself and shows that she might genuinely care about Sidney and her well being, which was not present in the first movie. Randy is the only character who seems to not have changed since his high school days, but then again he's a very likeable character - and whod ever want him to change? The movie also attempts to throw in a few new characters and keeps you on your feet about who really is the killer. You'll never point to just one person, but 2 or 3 people at all times. At one point you might think Gale so that she could get high box office publicity, Randy because him and Sidney never went out and her new boyfriend just because her boyfriend did it in the last Scream. But you'll never know who it actually was until the final 10 minutes or so.

Overall Scream 2 is a great movie with more highs then lows, but just isnt as fresh as the original, which is a hugeletdown in my oppinion.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superior to the original!
Review: "Scream 2" is possibly the best horror movie sequel ever, and that's because it stays in touch with the ideas and plot structure of the first film, relying on the old cliches to give us another fresh and involving thriller. I'd even go so far as to say that this movie is superior to its predecessor, and that judgement lies with the character development and its comical treatment of the subject matter, while also being as cunning and inventive as "Scream," keeping us at bay until the unexpected resolution.

"Scream 2" is a parodical look at the first film, beginning with a special screening of the new movie "Stab," which is based on the book "The Woodsboro Murders" written by Gale Weathers. At the screening, two college students are brutally murdered by a man in that same old ghost mask. Not that he/she would be easy to spot: the studio gave away "Stab" costumes to all the audience members, and everyone is running all over the place. The whole movie angle provides for some of the tension, because no one believes that the murders are interconnected, perpetuating the action.

Soon, news of the murder gets back to Sidney Prescott, now a college student, who consults Randy, also at college, on what he thinks is going on. She now has a potential boyfriend, Derek, who appears to genuinely care for her, and friends Mickey and Halle, typical college students who are put into the story for good measure.

Or are they? Like "Scream," the sequel also makes everyone out to be a possible suspect through their actions and their words, which keeps the suspense unbearable in wanting to know who the killer is. As Sidney and others have their own opinions, reporter Gale Weathers, now a network reporter, retrieves her old ambitions and does everything to get the story, with exhonerated convict Cotton Weary, the man formerly accused of Sidney's mother's murder, chasing her for airtime. Not to mention the pesky reporter who looks up to Gale with every inch of her being.

The film's shock quotient is extremely high, keeping us involved and wanting to know who is going to get killed next. Most of the murdered characters are secondary, leading up to murders of certain important actors that point to other as the suspects. The plot has all the machinations and cliches of the first film, again using it to its advantage in propelling its plot forward while giving those old horror tactics a fresh new look.

What really makes this movie shine over the predecessor is the characterization of its characters. The Sidney of this movie is much stronger, much more stable than in the first movie, which provides a lot in keeping the movie going. Neve Campbell reprises her role, and does some of the best acting of the movie. The relationship between Deputy Dewey and Gale Weathers is intensified further here, and Courteney Cox and David Arquette are the perfect pair for the job. Cox especially shines here, bringing out more of Gale's ambitions which later become replaced with fear. Liev Schreiber portrays Cotton Weary, who really has nothing to do here but follow people around, but watch out for his chance to save the day.

Telling you anymore than I already have will spoil the movie, which is full of surprises and stunning twists. This movie has a more adult feel than the first, which will provide for even more entertainment to moviegoers. There is so much fun to be had with "Scream 2," which is solid entertainment full of suspense and intelligence.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Complete and total crap, along w/ scream 1 and 3!
Review: OK, first off, the entire scream series is the stupidest series i have ever seen. i mean "i know what you did last summer" is better then this! personally i thing spongebob squarepants: Halloween is about 598,769,234,907 times scarier and better...and a better storyline and plot! this movie really isn't scary! i could watch it before i go to sleep and have some of the best dreams i have ever had! seriously, if you like this movie (and series) you have absolutly no taste!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Average sequel. Exciting, but lacks the richness of Scream.
Review: Maybe a good sequel, but Scream 2 was very mediocre. I mean, it has good thrills but it didn't raise the bar any higher, which is expected in a sequel. I have a few good things to say. The suprise ending was really chilling. The characters seemed to deepen more than in the original. Overall the death scenes were pretty fresh and new, but they weren't as nail biting as the first. It was predictable, and mediocre. See it if you are a fan of the trilogy, and definately do not see it if you hate sequels.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Another scream. 15th april 2004.
Review: If you have seen the first and not the second, you would probably prefer the 1st, it is way better than scream 2.


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