Adventures in Redboxing 3: The Redboxening!

So I've been inspired to give this Review thing another go, and what better subject matter than three Red Box flicks selected by a well meaning comrade who is more concerned with release dates than content?

1:  The Grey

The Grey is a film that I wanted to see in the theater, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it among the new release grab bag that my associate picked up.  It tells the story of a group of oil drillers who's flight home to Anchorage Alaska crashes in the wilderness.  A handful of survivors are soon set on by a pack of wolves, and they must continue their struggle to survive.  But that's only the superficial veneer of the story, this film is really about nature and the frailty of human existence and facing the looming oblivion of the final end.  One of the better films I've seen recently, highly recommended.  9/10

2: Chronicle

Next on the docket was Chronicle, and I have to admit, if I had been excited to see The Grey, I had the absolute opposite attitude towards this film when it came out.  I wrote it off as a cliche'd found footage, teenage angst ridden, effects heavy snoozer, but I have to admit, I was almost completely wrong.  With the exception of the plot saturated with teenage angst and a few painfully obvious effects shots, it's a solid take on the idea of power corrupting with a lot of heart and some genuinely entertaining comic relief.  7.5/10

3: The Devil Inside

As if to score a Hat-trick of "expectations vs. the actual film" responses, The Devil Within was next.  And if The Grey was a film I was looking forward to that was better than I expected, and Chronicle was far better than I anticipated, then The Devil Within took my already abysmal expectations and limbo'd under them.  This film is not really a film, it's a vague framework for a few sub-par shock scenes.  It's shot in a documentary style that completely fails to be convincing, the acting is ridiculous, the characters are ludicrous, and the scares are laughable.  It would be a more productive use of your time to smash your toes with a tack hammer than to watch this... whatever this is.  1/10 for being Not as Bad as The Room.