The Movie Guys: Craven's 'Scream 3' not a copy of the original

The Movie Guys, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun (Movie Buzz written by Thomas Feeney). They can also be seen on the 11 a.m. Friday newscast on KVVU Channel 5. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies and themovieguys.com.

Grades: Jeff B, Dave C

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette, David Arquette, Parker Posey, Scott Foley, Deon Richmond, Lance Henriksen, Jenny McCarthy and Patrick Dempsey

Screenplay: Ehren Kruger

Director: Wes Craven

Rated: R for graphic violence, language and adult situations

Running time: 115 minutes

Playing at: UA Rainbow Promenade 10, UA Green Valley, UA Showcase 8, Rancho Santa Fe 16, Century Orleans, Century Cinedome Las Vegas, Regal Cinemas Boulder Station, Regal Cinemas Colonnade 14, Regal Cinemas Texas Station 18, Regal Cinemas Village Square 18

Synopsis: "Scream 3" takes place in Hollywood, during the filming of "Stab 3, Return to Woodsboro," a movie that probes troubling questions about the events that terrified the small town of Woodsboro. Things take on the spooky feeling of deja vu as the actors in the production get slaughtered, one by one, as someone is re-creating the murders based on the events of the film.

Jeff: Get ready to scream loud and long as the final chapter of the successful horror trilogy comes to a fantastic and horrific conclusion. This being a "Scream" movie, there are certain rules you must be aware of concerning a trilogy: Chapter one sets the rules. Chapter two bends the rules. But in the finale, forget the rules. You know what that means: Anything can happen.

This is by far the bloodiest and most suspenseful film of the series and I have to admit that after the crummy dramatics of "Scream 2," I wasn't expecting anything more than a sorry conclusion. Boy, was I wrong. This film is so scary that you soil your theater seat and watch most of the terrifying murders and chases peeking through your fingers (at least I did.) The rules are out the window and it shows. We can't even talk about the film much without revealing the twists and turns that make "Scream 3" a devilish delight. Expect the unexpected.

Dave: Wait a minute. Wait just one damn horrific minute, here! You are saying, "Expect the unexpected"? I'm completely baffled by you Jeff. The lack of thrills, bloodly spills, and devious mystery that made the "Scream" flicks such a success are thrown to the predictable wind. As an enormous fan of the 1996 original, I must say that not once did I lift my hands to cover my wide eyes, or once hang on the edge of my seat. First off, we have to set up the premise, which is a little confusing until you repeat it to yourself a couple of times. "Scream 3" follows the mysterious killings centered around the production of the movie-within-the-movie "Stab 3, Return to Woodsboro" -- the sequel to "Stab 2," which was based on the events of "Scream 2." (Pause). Got it?

Of course, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is still haunted by the terrifying experiences she survived, and a ghostly past now seems to have been unlocked by recent terror on the Hollywood set. Also involved are the familiar faces of TV personality Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox Arquette) and Deputy Dewey Riley (David Arquette), who now serves as a technical advisor on "Stab 3." Much like the second film, suspicion falls upon the entire cast, making you guess everyone's possible motive. However, as the rules for a trilogy are defined by the deceased Randy Meeks (a clever appearance by Jamie Kennedy, who was slashed off in the second film), all bets are off!

Jeff: Now that Dave understands the plot, I just can't see how he doesn't fully understand the "rules" of a trilogy. Wes Craven is a genius. He takes tired old situations that we've all seen in past horror films and provides a terrifying new spin that takes the genre into new realms. He caught me off guard numerous times and you can't help but laugh out loud in amusement and pat your neighbor on the back while sitting next to you with his hands over his eyes. "Scream 3" is a movie-going experience unlike any I've had in a long time, and when the audience, the film and your mind are all on the same wavelength, it creates this energy and unity. Credit has to go to the ingenious script by Ehren Kruger, who has done his horror homework and had, quite possibly, a few nightmares trying to pound out a fitting and final tribute.

Dave: Are you absolutely insane, Jeff? No discredit to Kruger, who also wrote the upcoming "Reindeer Games," but the film's biggest flaw is the absence of the series' original writer Kevin Williamson. His signature touch for dialogue and insight into the film's characters are noticeably missing. Sorely lacking are the hip, pop culture-savvy references that laced the first two movies with the distinct delivery that only Williamson could have supplied.

The occasional one-liners, cheap frights and parodies alone do not make a classic horror-fest such as the original "Scream." There is no questioning horror veteran Craven's craft as a cinematic artist, but thankfully, "Scream" has reached its final act. I wanted to enjoy the film more than I actually did, but I know as well as the filmmakers that there really isn't much to recapture after the original.

Instead, "Scream 3" makes for an entertaining addition to a franchise that claims it revitalized a forgotten genre, but overall there is nothing like the original.

Jeff: What's missing, Dave, is Williamson's poisonous touch that was certainly present in his past films like "The Faculty," "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" and "Scream 2." "Scream 3" isn't the original, but the final chapter of a trilogy that answers to its own rules. Who would want to see the first film all over again? This final version is a crossbreed that remains faithful to the original. The cameos, the one-liners, the scares do work (for me at least) and the story is exciting and fresh with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor. This film is bloody, violent and scares you down to your bones.

Movie buzz

Brando and De Niro together? Yes, they both won Oscars more than 25 years ago and for playing the same role: mob patriarch Vito Corleone in "The Godfather" saga, but the two actors may soon be sharing the silver screen for the first time. Brando is currently in talks to appear with De Niro and Edward Norton in the upcoming crime drama "The Score." De Niro and Norton already have signed on to the picture, to be directed by Frank Oz ("Bowfinger"). The film is about a young criminal (Norton) who blackmails a retired thief (De Niro) into pulling off one last heist. Brando would play the veteran thief's fence and mentor. Filming is slated to start in late April in Montreal.

"GoodFellas" sequel: Well, kind of. Variety reports that the children of Henry Hill (the central character in Scorsese's true drama about life inside the mob) are negotiating to sell tales of their experiences in the witness protection program. The book rights have been sold for just under $120 million and Disney is already developing a script, with Scorsese being mentioned as the obvious choice to direct. The book and movie would focus on the lives of Hill's kids, who were hauled out of the New York-area and into the Midwestern suburbs, trying to fit in with other kids and coping with their father's recurring troubles with the law.

"Turnpikes" takes a wrong turn: Universal Pictures has officially dunked the basketball comedy "New Jersey Turnpikes," pulling the Kelsey Grammer project off its schedule and putting the movie up for sale.

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