The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 22 Nov 2013
Running Time: 146 Minutes
Staring:  Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7.7 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 89% Audience: 89%
MY RATING: 8 of 10

STORYLINE
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games and spark a rebellion in the districts of Panem.

MY REVIEW:
Again, this seems to be repetitive for me. If you liked the first one or were a fan of the books, you'll like this movie.

Loved it.

Gravity

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 4 October 2013
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Staring:  Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7.9 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 97% Audience: 80%
MY RATING: 8.5 of 10

STORYLINE
Dr. Ryan Stone is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone - tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness.

MY REVIEW:
This will be a pretty easy review. It was good, almost great. Based on the trailer, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. I think that may have been a good thing. I felt like the story was unfolding in front of me. I enjoyed the vastness and blackness of space used as a set.

I did see it in IMAX 3d, so the space portions were pretty amazing. George Clooney basically plays himself if he were an astronaut. Sandra Bullock does a great job of making her character become likable and someone who you want to survive and succeed.

This is visually stunning. I know a lot of it was CGI and that's fine. It still felt authentic to the movie. I enjoyed it very much!

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Insidious: Chapter 2

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 13 Sept 2013
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Staring:  Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey
Rating? R
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.6 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 38% Audience: 57%
MY RATING: 6 of 10

STORYLINE
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

MY REVIEW:
If you liked the first one, then you will like this one. For me, it was fine; pretty average for a scary movie.

We meet the Lamberts , Josh and Renai, again {Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne} and their son Dalton {Ty Simpkins} immediately after the end of the first movie. Lots of stuff happens and it's interesting but not perfect.

There were some solid scares in this just like the previous. Some are less subtle than others. Some are over the top and in some ways, I felt that they may have showed the baddie too soon. There were some issues with some of the plot lines for me. Some things made no sense and were a little hard to swallow.

This movie isn't bad. It's not great, but not bad. It has some really good twists and leaves a few things open for a possible sequel, which makes sense.

The Conjuring

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 19 July 2013
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Staring:  Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston
Rating? R
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7.5 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 86% Audience: 82%
MY RATING: 8.5

MY REVIEW:
This was a really good horror movie. Quite possibly one of the best I have seen in a while. I love a good scare but the scare has to be original for it to really get to me. This one did.

There was tension that seemed to build and make you clinch your fists before you realize what's happening.  I feel a note of classic horror film making in this one... More subtext and suspense. Not really getting a good look at the "baddie" that's making you crazy for the longest time!

I didn't feel like the scares were contrived and really had much more of a natural flow. Script was pretty good. Acting was solid as well. There were a few things that took a few points away, such as repeated sections or a quick resolution, but not enough to really change my mind about the solid 8.5 that I feel it was deserving.

Jug Face

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 8 July 2013
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Staring:  Sean Bridges, Lauren Ashley Carter, Kaitlin Cullum...
Rating? R
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 5.2 of 10
MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE
This is the story of a pregnant teen trying to escape a backwoods community when she discovers that she may be sacrificed to a creature in a pit.

MY REVIEW:
I think that this was a pretty successful, well written southern gothic type horror flick. Well done!

The acting is pretty amazing for such a low budget movie. Lauren Ashley Carter plays Ada, a young woman who is living in a back woods rural area with some weird worship fetish for a pit demon that demands sacrifice to ensure the health and well-being of the small community. The main characters are believable and well cast.

The soundtrack is amazing and haunting with a bit of guitar that adds to the weird sense of oddness. Its a feeling of lonliness and isolation that is forced upon the watcher. It is extremely dark and plenty of blood... though the dialogue is far more disturbing.

This is a slow paced movie but does not lose your attention. This is well worth a watch!

World War Z

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 21 June 2013
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Staring:  Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz
Rating? R
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 68% Audience: 72%
MY RATING: 7

STORYLINE
Life for former UN Investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning the whole human population into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before humanity falls.

MY REVIEW:
First, I LIKED the fact that this movie strayed  from the Max Brooks novel. I didn't expect anything different, which is likely why I did enjoy this movie. I enjoyed the concept and the speed at which the "zombies" were able to get to was a novel piece of modern Zombie Film Making. (28 Days Later set that in motion).

I enjoyed the dialogue and the performances. I think that this was a successful movie.

This is the End

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 12 June 2013
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Staring:  James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogan, etc.
Rating? R (Really strong R)
SPOILERS? NO 

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.7 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 83% Audience: 71%
MY RATING: 8.5

STORYLINE
All Jay Baruchel expected coming to LA was a fun time with his buddy Seth Rogen but instead they end of at James Franco's housewarming party Suddenly, the Rapture hits and the biblical apocalypse has begun. Now, Jay and Seth are desperately taking shelter in James' house for rescue alone with some other famous friends. Together, they must band together and attempt to survive the end of the world only to discover that they are all too dumb and superficial to figure it out!

MY REVIEW:
This is pretty brilliant filmmaking! Here's just a short list of guest stars in this movie: Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera (in what could quite possibly be the movie that I find him to be the most intriguing and utterly disturbing!), Emma Watson, Rihanna, Channing Tatum, and the Backstreet Boys!

This was funny and self-indulgent and full of unexpected fun! There is so much imagery that just cannot be described in this post. It's a must see!

Iron Man 3

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 3 May 2013
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Staring:  Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle....
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? NO-Well, not enough to matter

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7.3 of 10
MY RATING: 7 of 10

STORYLINE
Iron Man, enough said.

MY REVIEW:
If you liked the first two and you like Tony Stark as played by Robert Downey Jr., then you will like this movie.

I enjoyed this one. There were a lot of very interesting and creative ideas brought out in the movie that seemed new.

What i most appreciated what the idea of the Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley, who at first you are introduced to as a cutthroat terrorist, but then find out that he's just a washed up actor who has been paid to act out these scenes. I find it interesting as well that the story focuses more on Tony Start and not on the Iron Man Suit, which I think its deserved of its own character.

Just enough humor to make it feel right. However, some of the jokes felt forced at times. Forced into the wrong places.

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. :)