Oblivion

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 19 April 2013
Running Time: 124 Minutes
Staring:  Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 54% Audience: 61%
MY RATING: Solid 6.

STORYLINE
One of the few remaining one repairmen assigned to Earth, its surface devastated after decades of war with the alien Scavs, discovers a crashed spacecraft with contents that bring everything into question he believed about the war, and may put the fate of mankind in his hands.

MY REVIEW:
I left not knowing how I felt about this movie. Still unsure as I write this if I even liked it or not!

I think they could have done more with the storyline. I think the majority of the characters were underdeveloped and less three dimensional than I need to immerse myself in the movie. Even when the idea of more humans on the planet is introduced and things go a little crazy, theres still not enough to make me care for the people. I felt some homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey is a fairly predictable clone twist that reminded me of Moon.

The first part is slow but interesting. Stunning post-apocalyptic imagery. But the remaining sections seem less new and a little generic. The ending seemed rushed, cliched and quite frankly, a little cheesy. It's mildly entertaining. 

Evil Dead- 2013

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 5 April 2013
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Staring:  Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas
Rating? R
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.5 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 62% Audience: 63%
MY RATING: 8 of 10.

MY REVIEW:
First, I would like to say that I love Sam Raimi and his need for excess blood will always be a soft spot for me! I loved the original and definitely went into this one with lower expectations. That was a cult classic to me!

This movie hit the spot for me with the horror blood porn genre. Thumbs up!

The story in this one has leanings toward the original plot but that's really all there is. We meet Mia, played by Jane Levy and her brother David, played by Shiloh Fernandez. I miss Bruce, but this story played better to me in this age. Five friends gather at a cabin in the woods to help Mia beat her drug addiction. Stuff happens and they discover some demonic witchcraft stuff in the basement and thats where the Evil Dead comes out to play.

There is enough tension that builds up into a creep factor that to me feels like it's off the charts. There are little bits that are reminiscent of the original but I think they gave the 2013 version its own identity. Just enough to know that they are totally f*cked after they read form the book!

The filming felt real, not CGI. The effects seemed to be true to the spirit of the original. I thought that this was a pretty decent example of how a horror movie should be made. The actors delivered performances that seemed believable. They cast this one pretty well.

My one and only critique is that they set this movie in the current time but NO ONE had a cell phone? No one even checked to see if they had cell service? Why would they not have just called 911? That's it. :)