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. :)

Room 237

RATINGS

IMDB: 6.3

MY RATING: 7

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 29 March 2013

Genre: Documentary
Director: Rodney Ascher
Running Time:  1 Hour and 42 minutes

Staring: Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks and Juli Kearns

Rating? Unrated

SPOILERS? YES

STORYLINE

A subjective documentary that explored the numbers theories about the hidden meanings within Stanley Kubrick s film. The film may be over 30 eyes old but it continues to inspire debate, speculation and mystery. Opinions are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments. Together they'll dray the audience into a new maze, one with endless detours and dead ends, many ways in, but no way out.

MY REVIEW

Let me begin with this statement. I love Stanley Kubrick. I love his evocative music and the use of set design. His movies are what made me love MOVIES. Spartacus, Dr. Stragelove, Lolita, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and so fourth. I loved the Shining and when I saw this pop up in my feed on Netflix, I had to watch!

I am not one to fall for conspiracy theories but I do love to see how other peoples minds work. I think this was a good documentary. Was it great? No. Did I believe everything? No. Did they reach for some really out-there theories? YES!!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• I loved the weird shit that the movie pointed out that I NEVER would have noticed unless someone had pointed them out to me, such as:
• In the opening sequence, the Torrance's are driving a yellow VW Bug and drive by a wreck of a red VW bug. The theory was that this was Kubrik's way of telling Stephen King (red car = Christine) that this was HIS movie.
• When Jack is reading a magazine before his interview- it's a PLAYGIRL magazine

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• While I do agree that there are more likely than not subliminal and hidden messages neatly placed by Kubrick, I highly doubt that there is a solid theme or even an overarching concept to his plans. I mean, Kubrick is a cinematic genius and I am sure there are hundreds of subliminal items in the Shining. This is an agenda from the documentary maker. Kubrick's family was not involved.

What observations were made by the filmmaker?

1. The movie is an admission by Kubrick that he helped to fake the moon landing. This one is really off the charts! Danny is wearing an Apollo 11 sweater, room 237 refers to the stage number where they faked the footage. The moon is 237K miles from earth. There are a ton on Tang cans in the pantry. The pattern in the carpet where danny is playing while wearing the Apollo 1q1 sweater matches the launch pad where the Apollo 11 rocket took off from.
2. The movie is the story of the holocaust. This was a stretch! The typewriter that Jack is using to write his book, is an Alder manufactured in Germany, a so called"bureaucratic killing machine". The number 42 is on Danny's sweater, Wendy swings the bat at Jack 42 times. 42 refers to 1942, the final solution or the Holocaust. Many references to eagles, symbolizing state power and finally, there is a Dopey ticker on Danny's door before and then it is gone, attempting to say that he is no longer Dopey about the situation.
3. It's about the genocide of the American Indians. So, the theory is that the Overlook was built on top of an Indian burial ground. There are Native American themes throughout the whole movie from the rugs in the main reception, the wall hangings and Native American art. In the pantry scenes, the Calumet baking powder is predominant and is seemingly placed for effect. In some scenes they are all facing different ways and in some there is a single can. Calumet is the Native American word for Peace Pipe which symbolizes the broken peace treaties. and the documentarian literally suggests that the only way out is to get out is to retrace our steps with the image of Danny in the Maze.
4. It's the minotaur in his maze. Apparently, this is a thing! The hedge maze is the key evidence. The labyrinth of the ridiculous layout of the hotel and there are hidden minotaur posters.

Oz the Great and Powerful

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 8 March 2013
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Staring:  James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis
Rating? PG
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.4 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 59% Audience: 56%
MY RATING: 5

MY REVIEW:
The cinematography was beautiful. Some of the acting was great and some was passable. CGI was good and some of the good casting and effects were able to mask SOME of the real issues that I had with this movie.

The script is pretty subpar to the point that the supposed plot twists were glaring from the very beginning. But the script was just the first issue. James Franco. Generally, I can stand him in some movies, but here he was the Franco-ist of Franco. I'm sure someone else could have done better. He's quite nearly distracting with his performance. Really, it made me care very little for his character. In the same vein, I also felt that Mila Kunis was not at her best. Not horrible, just not quite right for the part. She's just not believable as the Wicked Witch of the West. For me, the sisters played by Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz were brilliant. They carried the movie for me.

It's a beautiful movie, like I said. Some of the CGI gave me a headache, but the outcome was decent.
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The Devil's Pass

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 28 Feb 2013
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Staring:  Holly Goss, Matt Stokoe, Luke Albright
Rating? R
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 5.7 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 53% Audience: 29%
MY RATING: 5

STORYLINE
Devils Pass follows a group of  American Students on a trek to investigate the true life mystery of nine Russian skiers who befell unexpected deaths int eh Russian Mountain Pass, Dyatlov, in 1959. TO this day, their deaths have been one of the most bizarre unsolved mysteries of the 20th Century.

MY REVIEW:
I am a history buff and had read about eh Dyatlov Pass several years ago so this movie sounded like something that I would be interested in seeing. I did give it a 5 of 10 just for the simple fact that there were some sections that just could not be looked over.

It's not a "found footage" film, but the camera work is really interesting. I liked the angle that they were going for. It was different and interesting and a little odd. Like I said, i know some about the incident from 1959, and decided that the best way to deal with facts in this case is to put them all aside and just watch. That was the best choice.

There are some good aspects. The filming is beautiful. I would love to see that location in real life. Decent acting and the writing was pretty well done even through the weird story plot twists and turns.

The story does do some back-and-forth and leaves a lot of loose ends. Maybe a little too much Russian Fear than I would prefer.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie enough to watch it again. Watch it for what it is and do your own research about Dyatlov.

Dark Skies

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 22 Feb 2013
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Staring:  Keri Russell, Jake Brennan, Josh Hamilton
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.3 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 40% Audience: 49%
MY RATING: 4. Mediocre

STORYLINE
As the Barrett family's peaceful suburban life is rocked by an escalating series of disturbing events, they come to learn that a terrifying and deadly force is after them.

MY REVIEW:
I do love science fiction and thrillers, so this seemed like a good idea to me so I gave it a shot.

So, the movie starts with introducing the Barrett family, who loves in the suburbs, the dad is out of work and they are struggling. The families two sons are very different, one is a teenager discovering girls and one is a eight-nine year old who seems a little different. The family starts seeing odd things happen in the house and think it might be intruders or even the younger child. The things keep getting stranger and stranger.

Its slow paced, but has enough scares to propel the to the end. There are some classic horror influences.. a little Poltergeist and maybe a little Close Encounters...

It was a pretty run of the mill thriller/horror movie with a few decent scares tossed in. Solid 4 for that and a little creep factor. This movie is not nearly as well done as those two, but it was working with the right ideas. It works as a thriller, but not a great scary movie.

Safe Haven

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 14 Feb 2013
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Staring:  Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.7 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 12% Audience: 67%
MY RATING: 5

MY REVIEW:
Yep, I did see this one. I was a little surprised myself. Kyra made me!

It was not horrible, but definitely not in my wheelhouse. A little too much on the attempts to pull a the heartstrings.

Typical for a romance. Good Boy meets Mysterious girl. Girl has a past brought with a dangerous bad guy. Bad Guy comes looking for girl. Girl falls for the good boy. Bad guy arrives and stirs up a butt load of stuff. Girl and Boy live happily ever after. YUCK!