Daily Awesome #103

Daily Awesome #102

The Imitation Game (2014)

The Imitation Game
Director: Morten Tyldum
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kiera Knightley, Matthew Goode
My Rating: Loved It!!

The Imitation Game is one of the most captivating movies I've seen in 2014. The story is an incredibly important and interesting one, but the way the story is spun and edited draws the viewer in like few other movies can.

It's about Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician, as he tries to crack the nazi enigma code, a code that, if broken, would allow them to intercept and translate all German communications. Alan Turing and his crew cracking the enigma code is one of the main reasons that the Axis powers lost WWII. The movie is also simultaneously about Alan Turing having to keep secret that he was a homosexual, during a time when homosexuals were sentenced to prison for indecency.

The film hops around to three specific times in Turing's life: as a young middle schooler figuring out who he is and what he is good at, as a mid-twentysomething while he is cracking the enigma code, and at the end of his life after he has been ordered by the court to take hormone pills because of his homosexuality. The film hops from one to another to great effect. One example is: once the viewer figures out he is gay, the movie goes back to when he was a kid and experiencing these feelings for the first time. It's because of this that the movie has a very brisk pace and is always interesting. And the dialogue is always quick and witty a lot of the time, keeping the viewer on their toes.

The acting by Benedict Cumberbatch is absolutely top-notch, and is probably the best performance I've seen all year. He has my vote for best actor and The Imitation Game absolutely should be up for best picture. "Sometimes it's the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."

The Houses October Built (2014)

The Houses October Built
Director: Bobby Roe
Starring: Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe
My Rating: Didn't like it

I can definitely see this movie scaring some people; mostly teenagers, probably. This is not a good film by any means, but the situation the people get themselves in is absolutely terrifying; when you get down to it though, they asked for it. It's about a group of friends trying to find the ultimate haunted house experience. For the majority of the movie they go around "safe" haunted houses. Eventually they get word of an extreme haunted house in Louisiana. Extreme is an understatement. For a movie that slowly built up and up for about 70 minutes of its 90 minute run time, the ending was a bit underwhelming. The situation is horrifying, but the climax was a bit flat, just like the rest of the movie.

The Houses October Built is an intriguing idea for a horror movie, but it's boring 80% of the time, has bland characters all around, and the ending didn't go nearly as far it should've.

Daily Awesome #101

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

The Purge: Anarchy
Director: James DeMonaco
Starring: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford
My Rating: Loved It!

I wasn't looking forward to watching this movie, to be honest. The first one didn't really explore the idea very well, had stupid gaps in simple logic, and was a little home invasion movie with bigger, hopeless aspirations. The Purge: Anarchy is an improvement over the first film in every. single. way. I assume that the first movie was limited because of the budget. I see the first one as simply a bridge to get to the movie that James DeMonaco actually wanted to make.

I still maintain that the concept is at once intriguing and preposterous, and it certainly made for a highly entertaining movie this time around. Anarchy puts the viewer right in the middle of the city following a group of stranded survivors amidst all of the chaos, as opposed to being confined to one house the whole film. Throughout you encounter a slew of characters with many different motives, including greed, revenge, anarchy, etc.

The most interesting part of it was how it painted the rich as sick and twisted, verging on psychopathic, voyeurs. These scenes are by far the most disturbing of the film, and I loved them! The Purge: Anarchy may not have a whole lot to say about America's problems and the 1% running things, but it's an excellently entertaining action/horror movie. Skip the first and go straight for Anarchy!

Daily Awesome #100

The Interview (2014)

The Interview (2014)
Directors: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Lizzy Caplan
My Rating: Liked It

This movie absolutely did not warrant all of the hoopla. The hackers should've actually watched the movie and realized it was nothing. Well, I guess any movie showing the death of a totalitarian leader is a big deal. Even so, I think The Interview is incredibly stupid, but it's a goofy, fun, and entertaining time. I'm the type of person who is probably in the key demographic of the movie, though. I love Rogen's goofy movies. You just need to get into the right mind state and realize what you're about to watch; it's not a political satire with any sort of message, it's just silliness aimed at the ridiculousness of North Korea as a whole.

I laughed out loud a lot throughout the movie, so that makes it a success. There's no doubt this will become a historic movie because of the whole situation; to the point the whole thing almost seems like a marketing scheme by Sony. Either way, if you like Knocked Up, Superbad, or This is the End, I can bet you will get a kick out of The Interview.

"They hate us cause they ain't us!"

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
Director: Christopher Landon
Starring: Andrew Jacobs, Jorge Diaz, Gabrielle Walsh
My Rating: Didn't like it

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones isn't a horrible watch, but it convolutes the on-going "story" of the series. It's fairly entertaining, but all of the scares and happenings are completely derivative of the past four films and other paranormal/scary movies. What makes The Marked Ones semi-watchable is the different locale and a good, action packed 5-10 minute finale. What makes it ridiculous is its attempt at the very end at tying this movie and all of the other ones together with ... time travel. Yep.

The on-going story is so thin to the point that trying to tie it all up is pointless. I think the series would be fresher if it ditched that story and created a completely new one each movie. And there will be more. Paranormal Activity is a cash cow, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon.

Daily Awesome #99

Daily Awesome #98

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (2014)

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero
Director: Kaare Andrews
Starring: Sean Astin, Currie Graham, Ryan Donowho
My Rating: Didn't like it

This is how you know I'm simply a movie lover and no movie critic: although stupid a lot of the time, Cabin Fever: Patient Zero is pretty entertaining, especially to a horror movie lover.

It's easy to tell this will be a stupid movie right from the get-go. Patient zero is in a glass cube, clearly quarantined, and then the main scientist strolls right in to the cube beside a couple of guys in suits and masks, yet he doesn't have any kind of protection on him. Very smart. Or how about when the blonde scientist voluntarily goes in to the quarantine and, again, voluntarily holds down the highly infected, which leads to her getting infected. There are preposterously dim witted moments like this throughout the movie.

The characters aren't very interesting and the acting is that of a hallmark channel movie, but the last 30-45 minutes of Patient Zero are highly entertaining, to me at least. There is one fucking amazing horror moment in this flick. I live for new, creative moments in horror movies, and this was definitely a new, very hilarious one! I won't explain it for fear of ruining it, but it involves a highly infected person shooting a revolver.

As one would expect from a flesh eating virus movie, the blood runs thick in the second half of the film. And all of the effects are practical, which is a blessing to horror movie lovers. Cabin Fever: Patient Zero is yet another one of those so bad it's kind of good movies.

Daily Awesome #97

Daily Awesome #96

Housebound (2014)

Housebound
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Starring: Morgana O'Reilly, Rima Te Wiata
My Rating: Loved It!

I loved Housebound. It starts out as one type of movie and ends up a completely different one, all the while remaining consistently hilarious throughout. I can't say I've seen many comedies this year, but this is the hardest and most I've laughed at a movie all year; and it's not even a flat-out comedy, it's a comedy, horror, mystery, thriller!

It's about a young woman who gets arrested for trying to steal the money out of an ATM. Instead of going to prison, the judge sentences her to house arrest with her mom and step dad. The mom has always thought that their house has had supernatural happenings, and once the daughter is there for house arrest, she begins to experience them too. After a bit of research she learns the dark past of the house. Now, I should stress this, that plot is simply a set-up for something much, much grander.

Housebound finds a great balance between taking itself seriously and being loveably goofy throughout the whole duration. There are moments of great suspense followed by things like a Bruce Campbell-esque moment where the main character is choking out a teddy bear. It's very goofy, yet it still manages to be taken seriously because the characters really are scared in their situation, and it's acted to a tee.

It changes genres like flipping a switch, and the story twists and turns more than a long mountain road, yet it still is able to maintain a consistently eerie air in the atmosphere throughout. It's a wild, fun, hilarious, and bloody ride. I highly recommend it.

Daily Awesome #95

Daily Awesome #94

Starry Eyes (2014)

Starry Eyes
Directors: Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer
Starring: Alex Essoe, Amanda Fuller, Noah Segan
My Rating: Liked It

Out of the horror movies I've seen from 2014 so far, Starry Eyes is easily in the top tier. It's about an aspiring actress who is working a shitty job while auditioning for parts in movies. She lands a horror movie audition that will change her life for better and worse.

It's easy to tell that this film is competently made by all parties involved. The filming is consistent, plus the lead, Alex Essoe, gives a star worthy performance. This movie isn't "boo!" scary; It's fucked-up scary. Starry Eyes is an independent gem. Don't miss it.

Semi-Spoilers

You know the saying, "I sold my soul to the devil." It's usually in reference to getting famous. That's precisely what this movie is portraying, in an absurdly literally fashion. It's saying that people become famous at a price; they lose their friends and practically become a different person. The film slowly amps up to a pretty fantastic final third that horror lovers are sure to adore.

And I loved her being reborn at the end! She was on a deathly downfall, then she cuts ties (and by cuts ties I mean she fucking kills them) with all of her "friends" who were weighing her down, becomes reborn, and turns into this beautiful new person/actress.

Daily Awesome #93

Daily Awesome #92

The One I love (2014)

The One I Love
Director: Charlie McDowell
Starring: Elizabeth Moss, Mark Duplass
My Rating: Loved It!

Finally! A romantic comedy I can really get behind! The One I Love is essentially a full length film episode of The Twilight Zone about couples therapy. The couple in the movie are in a rut in their relationship. Their therapist suggests a get-away to a specific vacation home and says that it has helped many other couples before them. They arrive and discover that the property has a guest house with supernatural capabilities. That's all I'll say!

The premise in which I can't speak of creates some hilarious and intriguing moments. I loved the ambiguous note it ended on, also. It was the perfect way to end this film. If the movie has a message about relationships, I'm honestly not quite sure what it is. But I am quite sure about this: just watching this film with your significant other could work as couples therapy.

Duplass and Moss shine here. This kind of movie must be an actors dream, because you have to be skilled to pull something like this off. I really enjoyed this flick. It's gutsy, and out there, and fun, and very entertaining. Watch it!

Daily Awesome #91

Daily Awesome #90

The Babadook (2014)

The Babadook
Director: Jennifer Kent
Starring: Essie Davies, Noah Wiseman
My Rating: Loved It!

Now this is a real psychological horror movie! The Babadook represents the mother's demons, and how one cannot ignore them nor should one dwell on them. I love that the movie relies on creepy, slow burning dread, rather than loud noises cranked up to 11. And wow, The Babadook features two incredible performances from its leads. Essie Davies plays this role perfectly. The movie wouldn't have worked nearly as well without her.

Spoilers

At the end of the movie, after she has "defeated" her depression (defeated the babadook) and locks it up in the basement, she has to bring food down to it every day. This was the cherry on top for me. It's a brilliant way to end it. Symbolizing you cannot ignore depression. You have to face it on a day to day basis and feed your demons, it's the only way you'll get better. If you repress harmful memories or ignore the way you feel, it will come back to haunt you, just like The Babadook. You can't ignore it, exactly like how the mom ripped up and ignored the babadook book. And then it came back. Then she set it on fire and then it came back again, each time stronger and stronger.

I didn't find it particularly frightening, but I know for a fact that if any kids see this, they will have some sleepless nights. No wide release American horror movie in 2014 even comes close to The Babadook. I had a fun time with As Above/So Below and The Sacrament, but The Babadook is another beast all together (see what I did there).

Don't let the babadook in! Baaa Baaaa, Dook.. Dook.. Dook

The Pyramid (2014)

The Pyramid
Director: Gregory Levasseur
Starring: Ashely Hinshaw, Denis O'Hare
My Rating: Didn't like it

(The Descent + As Above/So Below + Egyptian lore) - IQ points = The Pyramid. 

Okay, hear me out. This movie has atrocious acting, terrible dialogue, and a shotty plot, but The Pyramid achieves where so many horror movies fail: it has fun with itself. Damn near every death in this movie revels in goofy, bloody B-movie glory. I found myself smiling from ear to ear at a few of the death sequences. Just like my rating implies, this is not a good movie, but it's a bad movie that I definitely enjoyed watching.

But seriously, the dialogue is awkward and painfully elementary. The characters act consistently cavalier even though their friends are being killed off and their lives are on the line. Every now and then a character reacts appropriately, but then in an instant they'll be calm and collected like they didn't just see anyone die.

I truly believe that if this movie ended about 2 minutes earlier, it would be a better movie. Because (spoilers) that scene when the Egyptian jackal demon guy had the main girl tied up was absurd. That beast had been ruthless the whole movie, in fact he had just smashed the cameraman's face in with his foot! So why in the world did he stand there forever and wait to tear out her heart and weigh it? It just doesn't make any sense. He stood there and waited for her to get loose. And then after she did get loose, he had plenty of time to grab her or whatever, but didn't do anything. Therefore, if it ended right when the girl gets dragged back down, you won't get that stupid scene, making the movie overall better, in my opinion.

If you like horror, especially B-movie horror, there are some things to be admired about The Pyramid, unfortunately it has the mind of a 10 year old. But some may say that adds to its B-movie charm.

Daily Awesome #89

Daily Awesome #88

Daily Awesome #87

Daily Awesome #86

Wild (2014)

Wild
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Gaby Hoffman
My Rating: Loved It!

Wild has the distinction of being my favorite film I saw a few weekends ago at the Virginia Film Festival. Last year my favorite was Blue Ruin. Wild is about a woman who is trying to find herself and find peace and happiness by walking a 1,000 mile hike from Mexico to Canada. She used to be a heroin addict and her mother passed away, the latter being the ultimate catapult for her journey.

So many movies tell their stories through intermittent flashbacks, and Wild does this exceptionally well. The whole film has beautiful cinematography. Some of the credit goes to the crew, but most of it is because of the sheer beauty of the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). And the story can resonate with anyone who has ever felt like the odds were against them; so everyone.

Wild is bound to garner a few Oscar nominations, and probably a win because of Reese Witherspoon's amazing performance. It's a very entertaining and visceral movie that everyone should watch.

"It was my life - like all lives, mysterious and irrevocable and sacred. So very close, so very present, so very belonging to me. How wild it was, to let it be." Cheryl Strayed

Daily Awesome #85

Daily Awesome #84