Monsters University (2013) Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion and Helen Mirren
Definitely not as good as the first one, but I wasn’t really expecting it to be, since Monsters Inc is one of Pixar’s very best. But it was still very enjoyable, and has a few good laugh-out-loud scenes. My son and I had a very good time watching it, and it’s always a good sign when a film can keep both an adult and a child completely engrossed. A solid 8/10.
I’m pretty sure this film is on Netflix, so enjoy! 🙂
Maniac (2013) Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, Megan Duffy, Jan Broberg Felt, Joshua de la Garza, America Olivo, Liane Balaban, and Genevieve Alexandra
The “see through the eyes of the killer” aspect was interesting, and well done, but unfortunately it was the only thing this picture had going for it. I spent the majority of my time humming and hawing. Elijah Wood was amazing, as usual, but I dunno. The film just didn’t grip me. I didn’t care about the characters, and, biggest turn off of all I guess, I just don’t really like these “violence for nothing” films. Which is a little strange, considering how much true crime stuff I watch, but in movies, I just really need a reason more than just insanity. So for me, it gets 3/10, and that’s cause I’m feeling generous, and I like Elijah Wood.
This movie is currently on Netflix. Watch at your own peril.
Gravity (2013) Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and Ed Harris
Quite a good little film. Visually stunning and well acted. Based on the trailers, I wasn’t all that interested, I thought it looked pretty but boring. But then, after reading a few reviews, I changed my mind. And boy am I glad I did, it was quite the fun ride. Even the 3D was nice, and I generally dislike 3D. It’s a big task to ask an actor to act by him(her)self for more than half the film, but Sandra gave the performance of a lifetime. She’s never been more on top of her game than she is in this film. All in all, a good movie watching experience. A solid 8.5/10.
This movie isn’t on Netflix yet, but I imagine it’ll make it’s way there eventually. Till then you should really track it down and watch. Preferably on a huge screen! 😀
The Conjuring (2013) Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Shanley Caswell, Hayley McFarland, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, Kyla Deaver, Shannon Kook, John Brotherton and Joseph Bishara
A little slow in some parts, this was nevertheless an excellent film. The acting, atmosphere and effects were all top notch, and the reliance on boo!scares were kept to a bare minimum. I don’t buy for a second that this is anywhere near to true, but it makes for a damned good film. There really isn’t anything else to say about this film, just that it’s great, and if you haven’t seen it, go! Go now! It gets 9.5/10, it’s darn near a perfect horror film.
I don’t think this film is currently on Netflix, but it’s well worth the price of a rental, or even the price of buying the dvd/blu-ray, so go track it down!
The Black Dahlia (2006) Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw, and Mia Kirshner
Halfway through the film, and I was already super disappointed by it. It’s really quite boring, and the acting is pretty shaky all round. After debating on whether or not I was going to finish it at all, I decided on not once it had gotten so boring that my eyes crossed. And, I’m not sure, but there might have been some drool. And, I know it was set in the 40’s and it was a thing, but god, so many cigarettes! It’s nauseating. If I took a shot for every cigarette lit in the first 55 minutes of this film, I’d get alcohol poisoning and die. Twice. I give it 1/10, and that’s purely for the eye candy. The film itself gets a big, fat zero.
The film isn’t currently on Netflix, but do yourself a favour: don’t bother.
World War Z
(2013) Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, Fana Mokoena, James Badge Dale, Ludi Boeken, Peter Capaldi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Ruth Negga, Abigail Hargrove and Fabrizio Zacharee Guido
Hollywood blockbuster or not, I truly enjoyed this film. It was fast paced, never dull (despite it’s 2 hour running time) and well acted. Zombie films aren’t generally my favorite genre, but since this (much like 2010’s The Crazies) isn’t “really” a zombie film, I guess that explains it. I also haven’t read the book yet (my to-read list is even longer than my to-watch list, if that’s even possible…), so I can’t comment on how different the film and book are. A lot of people seem to be unhappy with how it translated to the screen, that it was hardly even the same story, but since I went into it completely ignorant, maybe I enjoyed it more than I would have if I’d read the book? I don’t know. All I know is that much enjoyment was had on my part, and that’s the whole point of a film right, right? It gets a solid 9/10 from me.
This film is currently streaming on Netflix. Enjoy!
M.
ps – There seems to be more than one version of the film floating around. The copy I, err, “acquired” was not the same copy that was on the dvd my mother bought. My copy seemed to have a few extra scenes in it.
The Iceman (2013) Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, David Schwimmer, John Ventimiglia, James Franco, Stephen Dorff, Robert Davi, McKaley Miller, Danny A Abeckaser and Megan Sherrill
Amazing performances saved this films’ stars. Without it, I may have had to give it a lower rating, because in some places, the tempo slowed down to almost a crawl. If the performances hadn’t been as good as they were, I probably would have gotten too bored sometime during the film, and turned it off. But Michael Shannon is such a strong actor that he was able, along with Winona Ryder, to keep even the dullest parts of the film above water. 7/10
This film is currently on Netflix, and is worth a look despite it’s slow pace. Enjoy!Â
Dead Silence (2006) Ryan Kwanten, Donnie Wahlberg, Amber Valletta, Michael Fairman, Joan Heney, Judith Roberts, Bob Gunton and Julian Richings
I bought this movie in the bargain bin for 5$. I didn’t actually think I’d enjoy it, seeing as how I’m terrified of dolls like this. However, it’s a surprisingly good movie. Made by the team who brought us Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring, I should have known it would be scary. Scarier even than the dolls was the old woman. I couldn’t sleep that whole night until the sun came up. A sign of a job well done. A solid 7.5/10.
This film is currently streaming on Netflix. Enjoy 🙂
Earth Girls Are Easy (1989) Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Julie Brown, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Charles Rocket, Michael McKean, Angelyne, June C Ellis, Rick Overton and Stacey Travis
So silly, so fluffy, so utterly ridiculous. And yet I absolutely love it. It always makes me laugh when I see reviews of this film that say things like “what the hell is this ridiculous thing??” because they’ve missed the entire point of the film. It’s SUPPOSED to be ridiculous. That was the point. It’s obvious while watching it (to anyone with half a brain, anyways) that this film isn’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s a musical about horny, furry aliens who crash land in a ditzy valley-girl’s pool, and she shows them around town and stuff. Just hearing that synopsis should be enough to tell you that it’s not a serious film. But it’s great fun. Not all the songs are good (I always skip “Cause I’m a Blonde“), but there aren’t that many, most of the dialogue is spoken, so I guess it’s not a true musical, hehe. Best part of the film? When Jeff Goldblum steps out of the machine at the hair salon (after having a full body shave). Hubba hubba… Great fun, it gets a solid 8/10.
This film is currently streaming on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it and are looking for a good laugh, I reccomend it 🙂
Absentia (2011) Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine, Morgan Peter Brown, Justin Gordon, James Flanagan, Scott Graham and Doug Jones
This film was surprisingly good, despite its obvious independent-film-ness. I was expecting crappy acting and crappy cinematography, but the story looked really interesting, and that’s usually enough for me (to a certain point of course. Some actors are so bad that no amount of good story can save the film, hehe). But I’m happy to report that the film exceeded my expectations. It wasn’t a masterpiece, and it did get a little laggy in a part or two, but on the whole it was a well-acted, well-shot very interesting story. The only negative thing I might have to say about it is that I wish there were more explanation as to what’s really going on. I loved the vagueness of what was going on at first, but eventually I was expecting an explanation for what the thing was, not just the “this is what it’s called” segment we got, which just felt slapped on and rushed, almost as if the writers themselves couldn’t figure out what was going on, and just decided to not include a reason in the story. But, despite all that, it still gets a solid score 8/10. Well done.
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