Sunday, August 31, 2014
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Director: Drew Goddard
Starring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison
My Rating: Liked It
Budget: $30 Million
Box Office: $66 Million (according to wikipedia)
(there are spoilers, but it came out two years ago, so yea)
Being the movie connoisseur and horror buff that I am, I was beyond excited to see The Cabin in the Woods. That opening day finally came, I went to the first showing, and I downright hated it. I thought the story was absurd and stupid. A group of people behind the scenes ensuring that young adults get killed in order to sacrifice their blood to the gods to save the earth?! What. The. Fuck. I went to see a horror movie and I get this meta, quasi sci-fi, horror bullshit? Seriously, I hated it. But then I saw it again, and again; and I warmed up to it.
The Cabin in the Woods is purely a satire; so yea, it's absurd, because it's supposed to be. Sacrificing the kids to the gods in order to keep the world going is actually kind of genius and flat-out hilarious: it's the reason why we keep getting all of these horror films that are practically the same damn thing, because the world depends on it!! Pretty hilarious, but that didn't really sink into my head during my first viewing. Ultimately, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard expand upon their satirical base story in funny and smart ways.
The moments at the cabin with the redneck zombies are actually pretty badass, although few and far between. But, as you probably know, The Cabin in the Woods offers up some of the most bat-shit crazy film moments in recent memory. The nightmares being unleashed is absolute satirical horror movie magic! It took me a few tries, but The Cabin in the Woods is definitely a unique and highly entertaining movie.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
The Ring (2002)
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox
My Rating: Loved It!!
Budget: $48 Million
Box Office: $249 Million (according to wikipedia)
I truly think The Ring is one of the most frightening films of the 2000's so far, and one of best made horror films of the 2000's, as well. I was 11 when it came out, and it truly scared the crap out of me. I was having nightmares about Samara for weeks, if not months. I couldn't walk around the house at night without turning on each and every light. No other movie in my whole life has ever gotten a response that extreme from me.
The Ring stands out because it isn't some mindless flick only trying to get scares out of you. It genuinely has an interesting story that adds to the suspense of the scares; not to mention truly disturbing images that will be engrained in your brain for days. Plus, especially for a horror movie, the whole film is made exceptionally well.
The last scene, in which Samara climbs out of the TV, is one of the coolest horror movie moments in the history of horror. Moments like that are why I watch horror films. The Ring is probably the scariest PG-13 movie of all time. There isn't any gore, but I figure it should've been rated R just for the sheer terror and amount of nasty images on screen. The Ring will forever scare the shit out of young kids and adults alike! Just hope your phone doesn't ring when the credits roll.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Director: Fred Dekker
Starring: Jason Lively, Jill Whitlow
My Rating: Loved It!
Budget: $5 Million
Box Office: $591 K (USA) (according to wikipedia)
How in hell is Night of the Creeps not more popular? It's top shelf horror/comedy b-movie deliciousness. And if you're into 21st century horror, it's pretty easy to tell that Creeps paved the way for a bunch of movies. Most notably Slither, the fantastic 2006 James Gunn horror/comedy starring Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks. These movies go in different ways but the base story is practically the same.
Night of the Creeps is full of great, cheesy pre-cgi gore, and full of equally cheesy and hilarious one-liners... "blader dude." Classic. The most surprising part of this movie to me is that the cinematography is incredibly on point and focused, to the point that it doesn't really feel like a b-movie at all. Plain and simple: I loved this movie and it deserves more love. I can now add Night of the Creeps to my list of great 80's films!
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2014)
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Stacy Martin
My Rating: Liked It
Budget: $2.4 Million
Box Office: $14.4 Million (according to wikipedia)
"The secret ingredient to sex is love."
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I is a very interesting and thoughtful meditation on sex, love, and lust. I've seen people and critics alike bash this film, saying that it's a horribly written, pretentious soft-core porno. I do not agree. It may be grotesque and a little unbelievable at times, but Nymphomaniac: Vol. I has a surprising amount of substance behind all the sex.
There are some superb moments and ideas in this film: the comparison between Seligman's knowledge of fishing and Joe's young adult train escapades; Uma Thurman's fantastic appearance as a crazed, heartbroken ex-wife; the Edgar Allen Poe quote compared with Joe's life; Joe signifying three specific lovers as three different parts of a musical piece; the list goes on.
My only gripe is that it maybe shouldn't have been two movies. There are definitely a bunch of ideas put forth, but there were some parts that did feel superfluous. I have yet to see Vol. II, so maybe that will justify why it is two films, or maybe it won't. Either way, Nympomaniac: Vol. I is a sprawling and thoughtful movie about a damaged soul, filmed by a true auteur.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Need for Speed (2014)
Director: Scott Waugh
Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Kid Cudi
My Rating: Didn't like it
Budget: $66 Million
Box Office: $203.3 Million (according to wikipedia)
Need for Speed is flat-out absurd. The dialogue between everyone is way too over-dramatic, the story hardly makes much sense, and the stunts are unbelievable, but I would be flat-out lying if I said I wasn't entertained by Need for Speed.
Surprisingly the cinematography in Need for Speed is beautiful, and in a couple instances it actually reminded me of the beloved video game series. And the racing and cop chases are pretty good; a.k.a. the only reason people want to see this movie. Ultimately it succeeded in what it was trying to do, but, just like the video games, the story and acting are both garbage.
During the races and chase sequences the camera is placed in very basic places, but I found the rawness of the angles appealing in these moments. Pretty much, if you want to see some cool action/racing scenes, then see Need for Speed; and if not, you could definitely go without seeing it. Overall the Fast and Furious series is much better: it's not so dramatic, it's more lighthearted, it has better characters, story, and acting, but Need for Speed gives the Furious series a run for it's money in the racing area.
P.S. Good lord, Imogen Poots (is that her real name? lol) is my new celebrity crush. She's stunningly beautiful.
ParaNorman (2012)
Directors: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck
My Rating: Loved It!!
Budget: $60 Million
Box Office: $107 Million (according to wikipedia)
ParaNorman is not your average animated movie. It's more an entertaining horror/comedy, brilliantly put into the box of a children's movie. The film caters more to adults than kids, which is rare for a PG movie.
Norman can see and communicate with the ghosts of dead people. And sometimes he has these strange visions, which completely take him out of his body and to another place in his head entirely. Now do you see what I mean when I say it's more adult oriented? Since Norman has this ability, he is the only one who can solve the problem that is happening in his town. Even though there are obvious themes of death and weird head trips into the protagonist's mind, ParaNorman still has a very light hearted nature.
The story is great, but what makes this movie is the art direction. ParaNorman is gorgeously realized. I can't think of too many stop motion animation films that I've seen, but ParaNorman has to be one of the best stop-motion projects of all time. And it all amps up to an amazingly colorful and creative climax that you really need to see for yourself. Even though the movie isn't necessarily "scary," ParaNorman is a horror movie through and through, and a very good one at that. I don't say this about very many animated movies, but honestly, I consider ParaNorman a masterpiece
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Locke (2014)
Director: Steven Wright
Starring: Tom Hardy
My Rating: Liked It
Budget: $2 Million
Box Office: $4.6 Million (according to wikipedia)
On the poster I have provided above, the first quote says, "One of the most nail-biting thrillers of the year." "Nail-biting" and "thriller" are two words that I absolutely would not use to describe Locke. Maybe the Brits just have different tastes than my American self. I definitely got into the story, but "gripping" and "nail-biting" are really pushing it.
Locke is a simple, real-to-life story; It takes place in a car with Ivan Locke during the worst night of his life. He's a well respected worker, husband, friend, and father, but he made a big mistake on one drunken night seven months earlier. Ivan seemingly has created a perfect life for himself, but during the span of the movie his life is completely torn down, yet he still remains calm and collected and is able to do the right thing.
The only reason that Locke gets a 4/5 from me is because of Tom Hardy. The film is competently made, no doubt about it, but you only see the inside/outside of a car for the whole movie, so Tom Hardy truly is the one reason to see Locke.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
10 Must See Films From 2012
Just to make it clear, these probably aren't the all out best movies of 2012, but they're the ones I had the most fun with.
It's refreshing to see a "super hero" movie not attached to any comics. It's just a group of normal high school guys who come across a mysterious formation under the ground that gives them powers. One of the better found footage films I've seen, also.
Silent House
It's not even funny how underrated this movie is. 5.3 on IMDB? And 41% on RT? I flat-out, whole-heartedly disagree with those numbers. This movie is filmed in real-time. There is no cutting to other cameras or other shots, just one camera - one point of view the whole time. And it's done brilliantly, in my opinion. Maybe the ending is a little played out, but this is a well made and entertaining horror movie.
Goon
"Two rules, man: Stay away from my fuckin' percocets and do you have any fucking percocets, man?" Goon is oddly heartfelt and flat-out hilarious.
Safety Not Guaranteed
Safety Not Guaranteed is one of those movies that just makes me really happy. And the ending makes it that much more magical. I also have a huge crush on Aubrey Plaza.
Celeste and Jesse Forever
Down to earth, real to life, funny as all get out rom-com. Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg are the perfect movie pair.
ParaNorman
Looper
ParaNorman has groundbreaking stop motion animation. The whole movie is breathtakingly gorgeous. There are some goofy moments for kids, but I think adults appreciate this one more than kids.
Looper
A time travel movie that doesn't hurt my brain to think about. I heard in an interview that the director/writer didn't want the audience to be confused about the time travel; he only wanted them to be entertained and not have to mull over the logistics of the story. He succeeded with flying colors.
Flight
Flight is a masterpiece. Denzel Washington is phenomenal. And it features one of the best air plane crash sequences ever on film.
Silver Linings Playbook
Silver Linings Playbook is probably my favorite film from 2012. The story is top notch, the directing has a magical feel at times, and it's the best Robert De Niro has acted in years.
Django Unchained
Another Tarantino masterpiece. Django Unchained is utterly badass revisionist, pulpy history.
Boyhood (2014)
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater
My Rating: Loved It!!
Budget: $4 Million
Box Office: $26 Million (so far)(according to wikipedia)
Boyhood is an American classic, period. Movies are great because they show a snapshot of a time and a place; Boyhood simply multiplied this by 12. The worst part about Boyhood for me was when the credits rolled.
I've read a lot of people say in reviews that there isn't any plot in this movie. Well, there is: the kid's life. Not only do we get to see the kids and the parents age throughout the film, we get to see Linklater excel as a director throughout the years; which was even more interesting to me than the aging aspect. Each year is better than the last, and that made the almost 3 hour run time fly by.
It's astounding that this film was even made, really. There are so many factors that could've completely messed the movie up. The kids could've grown up to be something different than Linklater had envisioned. IFC, who funded the film, could've easily gone out of business during the 12 years. The adult actors, or even Richard Linklater, could've died during the 12 years. It's actually incredible that anyone funded this movie, but man, I'm glad they did.
There was only one scene in this movie that I didn't care for - only one, out of three hours. And it was when Mason was in 8th grade and hanging out with his friends and their older high school siblings. I get that Linklater wanted to show peer pressure in action and he wanted kids fooling around and being hard on each other, but this scene was horribly acted by the other kids. It obviously didn't ruin the movie for me, but the whole scene was awkward because of the way the dialogue was delivered by the kids.
I think Boyhood stands alone as the movie that best captures the essence of life. It's just a series of moments. In my opinion, Boyhood should be on this year's list of Best Pictures at the Oscars. It's a landmark in the history of cinema.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Transcendence (2014)
Director: Wally Pfister
Starring: Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman
My Rating: Didn't like it
Budget: $100 Million
Box Office: $103 Million (according to wikipedia)
I know that anything goes when it comes to science fiction stories but occasionally good sci-fi ideas escalate into all out silliness, and Transcendence is a good example of this.
The first 30 - 45 minutes of this movie are obnoxiously boring with honestly some of the blandest cinematography I've seen in such a big budget movie. Luckily, as the story spirals out of control the movie does get more entertaining, and the visuals get prettier. There were a handful of ideas that were intriguing, but for every one of those there were a couple of cringeworthy exchanges between characters.
There is better sci-fi, better filmmaking, better acting, better writing, and better cinematography elsewhere.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Friday, August 8, 2014
Thursday, August 7, 2014
The Hours (2002)
Director: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman
Starring: Liked It
Budget: $25 Million
Box Office: $109 Million (according to wikipedia)
The Hours is essentially about a Virginia Woolf novel, Mrs. Dalloway, and how it is involved in a mid-to-late 20th century, multi-generational story. The first and most important story follows Virginia Woolf in the midst of life struggles and writing the novel Mrs. Dalloway. The 2nd story follows a 1950's housewife with struggles of her own, and it happens to be during the time she is reading the novel Mrs. Dalloway. The 3rd and final story follows a woman in 2001, who is effected by a character in the 2nd storyline.
I could definitely see how the movie could be boring to some, but I found it captivating. I see why Nicole Kidman won the oscar for her role as Virginia Woolf. It's pretty hard to even tell that it is Kidman doing the role. And sometimes that's when the best performances happen; when you can't even tell who the actor on screen is, but it happens to be a very famous actor whom you've seen in countless other movies.
The Hours is more on the pessimistic side of life, so stay away if you want a real happy movie. This is obvious if you know anything about Virginia Woolf, though. Overall, it's very well acted and it's an interesting story about the ripples through generations of people and artists.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Gaurdians of the Galaxy (2014)
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel
My Rating: Loved It!!
Budget: $170 Million
Box Office: $504 Million (so far)(according to wikipedia)
This is my 40th review on this blog. Guardians of the Galaxy is honored with my first perfect score. Come on, how could any one not like this movie? It's infectious. It's the best star-wars movie since the original trilogy. Fuck you little Annakin, with your race pods; I'm going to watch Rocket Raccoon and Groot.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a phenomenon already, it seems. My town got a big fancy theatre recently, and I've rarely seen sold out shows of anything, mainly because big movies always have loads of showtimes these days. Between IMAX 3D showings, 3D showings, and a lot of normal showings, there are 18 showings a day for Guardians this weekend. But there were sold out showings today already. That's kind of astounding given there were 18 showings in the span of 12 hours.
James Gunn hit one way out of the park. Lest not forget that this is a huge, 170 million dollar budgeted movie. Big budgeted films are rarely this good. Guardians mixes comedy and stellar sci-fi space action to a charming point. See it! It's my favorite super-hero/star-wars movie in decades.
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