Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over a 100 years ago. From our earliest days, we use our vivid imaginations to see ghosts in shadowy shapes, to be emotionally connected to the unknown and to fear things that are improbable. Watching a horror film gives an opening into that scary world, into an outlet for the essence of fear itself, without actually being in danger. Weird as it sounds, there's a very real thrill and fun factor in being scared or watching disturbing, horrific images.

Horror films, when done well and with less reliance on horrifying special effects, can be extremely potent film forms, tapping into our dream states and the horror of the irrational and unknown, and the horror within man himself. (The best horror films only imply or suggest the horror in subtle ways, rather than blatantly displaying it, i.e., Val Lewton's horror films.) In horror films, the irrational forces of chaos or horror invariably need to be defeated, and often these films end with a return to normalcy and victory over the monstrous.

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Jungle and aviator adventure serials were also popular. Famed animal trainer Clyde Beatty encountered the dangers of the jungles of Africa in Republic's 12-chapter serial The Lost Jungle (1934) and in the 15-episode Darkest Africa (1936). To counter their popularity, Frank (nicknamed 'Bring 'Em Back Alive') Buck starred in Columbia's 15-part The Jungle Menace (1937). One of the best jungle serials was the 15-part Jungle Girl (1941), based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel and starring Frances Gifford (in her sole appearance in a serial). A submarine voyage to the underwater world of Atlantis was featured in the 12-chapter fantasy The Undersea Kingdom (1936).

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After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in late 1941, the mood of Hollywood changed dramatically. Once the war began, the US film industry bolstered American support by churning out many war-themed movies. Most of the films were propaganda depicting the U.S. entry into the war as a noble cause, but some displayed the human side as well. The all-time film classic of pre-World War II intrigue, patriotism and romance, Casablanca (1942) was released just weeks after the liberation of the city itself. The popular film emphasized the atmospheric intrigue and tension surrounding Humphrey Bogart's decision to assist the war effort and get involved by securing transit visas - and give up the one-time love of his life, the often tragic consequences for lovers caught up in wartime experiences. Director Vincente Minnelli's The Clock (1945) another war-time film with a romantic sub-plot, was about a NYC office worker Judy Garland (Minnelli's wife) who fell in love with Robert Walker, a soldier on two-day leave.

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Annie Hall (1977), from director-actor-co-writer Woody Allen, is a quintessential masterpiece of priceless, witty and quotable one-liners within a matured, focused and thoughtful film. It is a bittersweet romantic comedy of modern contemporary love and urban relationships (a great successor to classic Hollywood films such as The Awful Truth (1937) and The Philadelphia Story (1940)), that explores the interaction of past and present, and the rise and fall of Allen's own challenging, ambivalent New York romance with his opposite - an equally-insecure, shy, flighty Midwestern WASP female (who blossoms out in a Pygmalion-like story).

Annie Hall clearly has semi-autobiographical elements - it is the free-wheeling, stream-of-consciousness story of an inept, angst-ridden, pessimistic, Brooklyn-born and Jewish stand-up comedian - much like Allen himself (who started out as a joke writer for The Tonight Show) - who experiences crises related to his relationships and family. His unstable love affair with aspiring singer Annie Hall begins to disintegrate when she moves to Los Angeles and discovers herself - and a new life.

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In other later roles, Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, and Olivia de Havilland represented powerful, liberated females on screen, and helped to create long-lasting examples of this genre. Crawford starred in the trashy, high-strung, musical melodrama Humoresque (1946) as an older, wealthy society patroness who sought revenge after being scorned by a struggling, talented violinist. She also played an emotionally unstable nurse in Possessed (1947), a playwright/heiress wise to a plot against her by her scheming husband in Sudden Fear (1952), and a middle-aged typist grasping for love with a younger man in the psychological soaper Autumn Leaves (1956). Melodramatic elements were found in the socially-conscious drama regarding mental illness and institutionalization The Snake Pit (1948) with Olivia de Havilland's showcase performance as a woman descending into madness in a brutal mental institution. De Havilland also played a courted, plain-jane spinster in the moody and somber melodrama The Heiress (1949).

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It took until 1912 for American comedy to emerge. The first comics were trained by performing in the circus, in burlesque, vaudeville (music halls), or pantomime. Film entrepreneur Mack Sennett, soon nicknamed "The King of Comedy" and "The Master of Slapstick Comedy," formed the Keystone Company (and Studios) in 1912 - it soon was the leading producer of slapstick and comic characters.

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Starring Andy García
Val Kilmer
Richard Coyle
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Rupert Friend
Johnathon Schaech
Dean Cain
Rade Šerbedžija
Antje Traue
Heather Graham

Review:

This is one proof why I don’t understand the objective of wars in the world. I have seen many movies of this kind where war has really no justification. The Platoon, The Pianist, Enemy at the Gates, or Schindler’s List, the lost of civilian lives is just so unspeakable. 5 Days of War (5 Days of August) is no exception.

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Cast
Dolph Lundgren as Icarus aka Edward Genn
Stefanie Von Pfetten as Joey
Katelyn Mager as Taylor
Lindsay Maxwell as April
Samantha Ferris as Kerr

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Cast:
* Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers
* Mila Kunis as Lily
* Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy
* Barbara Hershey as Erica Sayers
* Winona Ryder as Beth MacIntyre
* Benjamin Millepied as David
* Ksenia Solo as Veronica
* Kristina Anapau as Galina
* Janet Montgomery as Madeline
* Sebastian Stan as Andrew
* Toby Hemingway as Tom
* Sergio Torrado as Sergio

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A lot of projects fell through on Little Miss Sunshine filmmakers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris in the five years since their film exploded at the Sundance Film Festival but their streak finally came to an end with their next movie, He Loves Me, starting production shortly.

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