Movies Watched The Week of 10/19 - 10/25

Welcome back gang.  We are almost close to the end of Horror month, and this week is once again horror centric.  But yet again, the top movie is not a horror flick.  So I gotta change some shit up because this is just getting silly.  Either way, it's a really good week.  A classic high, and a mediocre low and all between.  So sit back, and lets get nuts.

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (October 19th, 2014)

Director: Charles B. Pierce

Starring: Andrew Prine, Ben Johnson, Charles B. Pierce, and Dawn Wells

Now this is a movie I've been looking to see for a while now, thanks to being name dropped in Scream and kind of being ripped off in Friday The 13th Part 2.  It was hard to find until the amazing Scream Factory released it on Blu Ray.  That and the remake coming out with some good buzz behind it, now was as good a time as any to see it.  And it's a solid little horror/procedural.  A mad man is attacking and killing couples every 21 days, leaving this little town in a state of fear.  There's some good kill scenes.  Creepy stalking moments to make this a nice, early example of the slasher genre.  There's only one really goofy moment in one of these scenes that kills the scene in its tracks.  Another really misguided element that is way too corny is a comedic relief cop, a guy so stupid and worthless he'd be kicked out in a day if he did even a quarter of the shit he pulled.  It ruins the murder mystery elements of the story.  The movie isn't perfect, obviously, but it has a nice low budget charm to it.  What really sets this apart from others in the two genres it plays in, especially of the time, is that there is no real ending to the story.  The case is never solved and the killer is never caught.  It wouldn't be surprising to if David Fincher saw this movie, since it's spiritually similar to Zodiac.  For those interested in 70s cinema and/or horror in general, this is a nice little movie to see.  It probably isn't for everyone though.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Cabin Fever (October 19th, 2014)
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, and Joey Kern

Well, directors have to start somewhere and not everyone starts out fully formed.  Much like Rob Zombies debut last week, we jump to the debut of fellow splat packer Eli Roth.  In his debut, he follows a group of young bloods as they go to a cabin to have fun, but end up catching a flesh eating virus.  It's that simple.  And simplicity can usually be a boon to horror films.  But in this case, it's way too one note.  In this case, its just waiting to see people die.  Theres no tension of a chase or a fight.  Someone drinks dirty water, then they die.  It's a bit of a non starter as a horror movie, especially with such a long time to get to the killings.  It also doesn't help that the movie is really contrived and cliched, making the characters do stupid shit to make the plot go along inorganically.  Really stupid moves that are just insulting to a viewer, especially a horror viewer who sees these movies all the time.  The cast is ok, but are stranded with the pretty crap script.  One final thing that really kills the movie is some really terrible comedic relief bits.  Just, beyond awful.  Next level stupid shit that is embarrassing.  Now, the movie isn't complete crap.  There's some base entertainment to be had with the violence and what not, but it's just kinda DOA.  Not Troll 2 or anything, just very disappointing.

Rating: 5/10

The Fly (October 22nd, 2014)
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and John Getz

David Cronenberg really is afraid of his body melting away.  There's no other explanation for his constant motif of bodies being mutilated throughout his early career.  This is another example of it, but maybe the best and definitely the most commercial/human of them.  Goldblum is playing a scientist trying to perfect teleportation when he meets Davis' reporter.  She decides to follow him for the exclusive story rights when they start to fall for each other.  But when an experiment goes wrong, Goldblum is merged with a fly and all hell breaks loose.  First off, this movie is really gross.  Amazingly so, expertly crafted makeup effects really heighten this movie.  Secondly, the acting is great.  Goldblum and Davis really sell the connection and it makes the story all the more heartbreaking.  Really, the only negative is that the movie could be a little longer.  It feels a little bit rushed and maybe could have used a bit of more fleshing out.  But aside from that, the movie is great.  There are those that won't be able to handle the weird nature of the story, but fuck them.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

John Wick (October 24th, 2014)
Directors: David Leitch, Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Willem Dafoe, and Alfie Allen

What a fucking year for action movies.  This movie is an honest to god action masterpiece, and it's not even the best of the year.  That honor goes to The Raid 2.  But whereas The Raid 2 is a brutal masterpiece of nasty violence, John Wick is a masterpiece of precise murder.  And what I mean by that is that Wick (Reeves) is the best assassin ever, the boogeyman criminals tell to one another and he is clinical in his killing.  Headshots all around.  The amount of bullets to the dome is astounding.  Wick is like a shark, just pure violence.  When his wife dies, she leaves him a puppy to love and to grieve with.  But when the spoiled son of a crime boss kills the dog, Wick goes on the hunt and nothing will stop him.  The movie is simplicity in its finest form.  Revenge is on the mind and that's it.  Theres some honest emotion in the movie with his motives, nothing played for irony.  Reeves is perfect as the killing machine, his blank persona playing perfectly like a shark smelling blood.  The rest of the cast is great, with a lot of bigger names showing up for smaller parts to round out the world.  One of the smartest things about the movie is the world it builds, a world with organized assassins guilds where this stuff is just part and parcel of the world.  For those itching for some amazing action, a masterful piece of kick ass cinema, there's no better option on cinema screens right now.  These directors have shown some major skills in their debut.  Here's hoping they work a lot more in cinema.  Hell, get them a comic book movie.  They'd work perfectly, since this feels like an adaptation of a graphic novel that never existed.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 10/10

The Return of The Living Dead (October 25th, 2014)
Director: Dan O'Bannon
Starring: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, and Thom Matthews

It's an odd experience when you see a movie that is referenced a lot and you never knew it.  Well that happened here.  I never knew that zombies moaning "braaiiiinnnsss" came here.  Or maybe it didn't and I'm a dumb shit, but whatever.  This movie, either way, is a really good movie.  It takes place in a world where Night Of The Living Dead exists, but is secretly based on a true story.  There are some zombies missing, boxed up in sealed containers and the army is looking for them.  Turns out they're in warehouse of medical supplies, and they are accidentally released.  But they aren't the typical zombie.  They can't be killed by headshots.  The only way they can die is being burned into oblivion.  But that releases some toxic waste into the air, contaminating others.  They can also talk, a big change.  But they are absolutely controlled by the need to eat brains, kinda poignantly because it makes being dead hurt less.  O'Bannon really kinda did some really good work here. Its obvious he's friends with Carpenter, as they have a similar sense of humor.  This movie plays more like a comedy, which is fine cause it is funny a lot of the times.  It has a nice little anarchic sensibility, which works in the typically anarchic genre.  This is a good movie to watch to shake off the cobwebs of the tons of zombie media that just rips off Romero.  The only thing that keeps this movie from great status is some obvious low budget problems creeping in, like reusing footage.  But it also has a lack of something great, like a set piece.  It is consistently good, but never reaches higher than that.  Which is fine.  Just a shame.  I'd recommend it.

Rating: 8/10






Top Movies 

1. John Wick
2. The Fly
3. The Return of The Living Dead
4. The Town That Dreaded Sundown
5. Cabin Fever



Top 5 Moments

1. Wick Goes To The Club - John Wick
2. Brundlefly Attacks - The Fly
3. Braaiiinnnssss - The Return of The Living Dead
4. Seth Wins Arm Wrestling - The Fly
5. Home Invasion - John Wick




Top 5 Performances 

1. Jeff Goldblum - The Fly
2. Keanu Reeves - John Wick
3. John Getz - The Fly
4. Michael Nyqvist - John Wick
5. Geena Davis - The Fly

- Tom Lorenzo

Movies Watched The Week of 10/12 - 10/18

Welcome back folks.  Pretty busy week.  And while horror month is in full force with the majority being of the genre, the top two spots are fully not in the genre.  So, pretty interesting turn of events eh? Whatever, I find it funny.  Take a look at what I've delved into once more and enjoy the ride.  Thanks.

House of 1000 Corpses (October 12th, 2014)

Director: Rob Zombie

Starring: Bill Moseley, Sherri Moon Zombie, Chris Hardwick, and Sid Haig

This is most definitely the work of a first time director.  It is a very amateurish movie that tries very hard to be violent and clever, but falls flat on it's face most of the time.  It's filled to the brim with cliches of the genre, stupid assholes getting picked off by crazy rednecks.  But it has a weird structure where the murders don't start for a long time.  That and the movie all of a sudden turns supernatural and it is a tonal clash that brings whatever modest entertainment was there before.  It's really kinda crazy the leap Zombie made from this to The Devils Rejects.  Not just in film making talent, but in fixing all the problems that this movie had.  These characters are barely reminiscent in the movies.  It's almost like this is the camp fire story of the Firefly family.  There are two saving graces in this movie.  Mosely and Haig.  Mosely is very different as Otis in this as he is as Otis in the sequel.  But he is still a great performer who brings life to a pretty terribly written role, making him magnetic in a different way than he will later on.  And Haig is just Haig, a great B movie magician who is transfixing with dialogue, making Spaulding a hell of a guy to watch.  Everyone else is either stranded with nothing roles (like Hardwick) or are just not good at all.  Sherri Moon isn't the greatest actress in the world, but she has done good stuff after this.  But here she is awful, a shrill pain in the ass that doesn't shut the fuck up.  And again, she kinda does really good work as Baby in the sequel.  This movie is pretty garbage, but I'll give it a pass as an exercise for a man who'd go onto make a handful of movies (some flawed) that I really like.  Overall though, I'd say pass on this.  

Rating: 5/10

Fright Night (October 13th, 2014)
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots, and David Tenant


This is the kind of remake that should be made.  Take a movie that isn't exactly perfect and try to do something new with it.  And this movie works pretty well, never exactly reaching classic status or even greatness.  But it has a good energy to it and a lot of that is due to Farrell.  Farrell is on fire in this movie, really going for broke.  He plays the vampiric role as a smooth talking douche, but also plays him a bit like Wile E Coyote.  He's a cartoon and is having an absolute blast.  It adds a lot to the proceedings.  Not that everyone else isn't good.  David Tenant actually gets to show that he has talent, instead of riding the wave of playing a pretty shitty sci fi icon.  I'd like to see him tackle some more stuff outside of tv.  Poots is always an adorable addition to a movie, but is in a thankless role.  And Yelchin plays the typical blank hero, but gives him enough quirk to not be useless.  The cool thing this movie does that is different than the original is that it forgoes any mystery that Farrell is a vamp.  Where the original went for a Rear Window-esque mystery, this just kinda skips act 1 and goes into it.  And it works for the most part.  It's a fun movie with some good beats.  I'd recommend it, if only for Farrell.

Rating: 8/10

Edge of Tomorrow (October 13th, 2014)
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, and Brandon Gleeson

It's a shame that this came out after Oblivion sort of hurt Cruises reputation, because this movie is awesome.  It doesn't really matter that this didn't make money in the long run because it's not like a sequel is needed, but that it sends a message that fun Sci Fi can't be done.  But it can, and it doesn't have to be 3 hours of Michael Bay jerking off onto his audience he seemingly can't stand.  Long story short, this movie is the sci fi war version of Groundhog Day.  Except it doesn't happen because some deity or what have you decides the protagonist needs to learn a lesson.  There's sci fi reasons it happens and it's explained, although Cruise does go through a change.  The move smartly uses Cruises smarmy charm as a deficiency, making him a smug coward who tries to use his words to stay safe.  It's sort of brilliant, and it shows how smart that writer Christopher McQuarrie is who is now gonna be a constant collaborator with Cruise (previously in Valkyrie and Jack Reacher, coming up with MI 5).  Cruise is great, but Blunt is a revelation. Nothing I've seen her in has really wowed me until now.  She is a badass with real emotion underneath the armor, not just some damsel and she sells it like a boss.  While Oblivion sort of put people off Cruise, the marketing didn't help.  They sold this as a dead serious action movie, when in actuality it's a really funny movie with a good heaping of clever.  It's hilarious watching Cruise die over and over.  What keeps this from being a classic is the ending.  Without getting into it, it's a huge cop out that changes what the movie was.  It's unearned and really deflates the movie.  It felt like a studio note and it really sucks.  But, it doesn't kill the proceeding 99% of the movie, so it is highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Pet Semetary (October 14th, 2014)
Director: Mary Lambert
Starring: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Miko Hughes, and Fred Gwynne

This is a movie that could have been a classic and it has elements in it that are really great.  But with a short run time that moves through the story too quickly and some effects towards the end that are kind of laughable and added with some bland acting it kind of hobbles the movie.  Following a young family as they move to a small, idyllic town in Maine, things aren't what they seem and a darkness comes out of hiding.  Even having read the book, this is a movie that surprisingly goes very dark.  It's always a surprise to see a movie go right out and kill a kid, but this movie goes for it.  There is a lot of unsettling stuff here, from the dead kid to the flashback of a sick sister, this movie may leave some a little more than unsettled.  Midkiff plays the patriarch of this family and he is serviceable.  Crosby is ok as the wife, who gets the short end of the stick despite being pretty fleshed out in the book.  Hughes is very adorable as the little boy, a real cutey that makes it even tougher considering his fate.  But the MVP is Gwynne, perfectly portraying the older Maine man who becomes very close to this family, but also accidentally dooms them.  Towards the end though, when the kid comes back to life and starts to kill, it gets a little silly with some puppetry and camera tricks to make it seem like this two year old is killing.  It's dated like a lot of 80s horror movies, more ambitious than they could realistically reach.  But it's a noble, not exactly failure, but double instead of a home run.

Rating: 7/10

Sleepy Hollow (October 16th, 2014)
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon, and Christopher Walken

Hey look, the last good movie Burton actually made.  And even in that, it shows a lot of problems that would go on to plague him more as he went on.  First off, the story is boring and way too convoluted.  It also goes for a murder mystery approach instead of being a horrific fairy tale.  The horseman, when played by Walken, looks way too much like a early version of Edward Scissorhands.  Depp tries but fails at the mincing ninny he has lazed into in his career, never being as funny as Burton or himself think.  And honestly, this is a surprisingly ugly looking movie.  Typically you can at least be ok with his visuals, but this was just not a good looking movie.  And worst of all, the violence is surprisingly tame.  And not in a bloodless way.  It somehow manages the task of being very graphic and bloody, but being bland and it doesn't look like it hurts.  It's a very clean movie when it shouldn't be.  But despite being quite a mess, it is a fun movie to watch.  There is an energy to the movie and the cast, aside from Depp, is fun to watch.  This isn't for everyone, and it comes with only the barest of recommendations.

Rating: 7/10

Fury (October 17th, 2014)
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, and Jon Berenthal

It's nice to see Ayer out of cop flicks.  He doesn't change things up too much, this being a bit more like the WWII version of Sabotage and Training Day, but it's a breath of fresh air.  It's also nice to see a movie set in WWII that doesn't make every single solider look like the best person to have ever lived.  Like in any big group, there are some absolute shit heels, and this movie is filled with them.  It's also nice to see some ugly violence and make the war seem nasty.  And it's also great to see Ayer get more great performances out of some good actors, and a great performance out of the much maligned LaBeouf.  He's an actors director and it shows very much here.  The action scenes are also really unique, being more tank battles than straight up shoot outs.  The finale is also a claustrophobic nightmare of violence.  And he even manages to bring some real emotion and heart to a scene in the middle section of the movie.  But it's not perfect, and that's mainly from the structure of the movie.  We follow Lerman as a rookie being trained by Pitt and his crew to the harsh realities of war.  But having it set in about a 24 hour time period, the movie feels rushed in the arc of Lerman.  And Pitts arc feels muddled, not really coming through completely or believably.  It drops the movie down and keeps it away from greatness.  But this is still a rock solid movie with a lot to like.  It's also another sign that Ayer is a great choice to take on Suicide Squad for DC.  Morally murky action movie filled with lovable lowlives?  That's Ayers bread and butter.  This comes recommended.

Rating: 8/10

Survival of The Dead (October 18th, 2014)
Director: George A. Romero
Starring: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, and Richard Fitzpatrick

After the debacle that was Diary of The Dead, it's nice to see a minor comeback for Romero.  This is a far from perfect movie, and not even his best zombie movie of the decade (Land of The Dead ftw).  But it has a nice story to it, a mixture of horror and western that is nice to see.  It's also nice to see a more personal story, about a family feud playing out in the apocalypse.  The performances are alright, the same sort of average quality thats a Romero staple (not really a performance guy).  It's also a bit slower than usual from him, his age starting to show in the movie.  There's plenty of violence to keep things interested for gore fans, but it's sadly a cgi affair for a good part which is a shame from the man who kick started Tom Savinis career.  It's a perfectly serviceable movie, but it is flawed and won't satisfy everyone.  But if you can dig into this worthy (but lower) entry in Romeros zombie output, there is some fun to be had.

Rating: 7/10











Top Movies


1. Edge of Tomorrow
2. Fury
3. Fright Night
4. Survival of The Dead
5. Pet Semetary
6. Sleepy Hollow
7. House of 1000 Corpses



Top 5 Moments

1. Training Montage - Edge of Tomorrow
2. Gage Goes Into The Street - Pet Semetary
3. Fight in Peter Davids Home - Fright Night
4. The Lunch Scene - Fury
5. The Murder Ride - House of 1000 Corpses



Top 5 Performances

1. Emily Blunt - Edge of Tomorrow
2. Colin Farrell - Fright Night
3. Fred Gwynne - Pet Semetary
4. Shia LeBeouf - Fury
5. Sid Haig - House of 1000 Corpses

- Tom Lorenzo

Movies Watched 10/5 - 10/11

Welcome back gang.  After the marathon that was last week, I had to slow down a bit.  Comic con hit so I didn't really have the time to see too much.  So enjoy the relatively small selection here, but none of them are similar at all.  And they are all good, so there's that.  So sit back and enjoy.

Dominon: Prequel To The Exorcist (October 5th, 2014)

Director: Paul Schrader

Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, and Ralph Brown

The backstory behind this movie is a lot more interesting than the actual movie.  That's not meant to be an insult, because the movie is actually really solid.  But when Schrader was finishing it up, Morgan Creek got second thoughts and essentially canned the movie.  Yet instead of letting it lay a mystery, they decided to essentially redo it but with action director Renny Harlin instead.  And when that didn't make back the budget of both movies combined, this version was deemed releasable.  Which is good, because this is a worthy entry to the series.  Following a young Father Merrin (a wonderful Skarsgard) as he himself battled with a crisis of faith.  While on an archeological dig in Africa, an odd discovery sets off a series of events that help turn Merrin into that Exorcist that tried to help the young McNeil girl.  Schrader may not always be the best writer/director on a consistent basis.  But the idea of faith and sin, broken men trying to find redemption in the world is a consistent theme he works with and that is perfect for this movie.  And while the idea of prequels is usually not the best idea, this movie is pretty canny in the way it informs the original movie.  Mainly in the way that we see that Merrin has been through the same crisis that Karras was going through, so their interactions now have a weight to them on Merrins end.  He knows what is going to happen and he knows it is going to shake Karras to the core.  The movie has a very creepy and foreboding tone, fitting right into the original tonally.  Schrader gets good performances out of a game cast and directs it less like a horror movie and more like a character piece, much like Friedkin.  There are some moments of weakness on his end, but that's mainly due to being dicked over by Morgan Creek.  Terrible special effects and some clunky editing could have been avoided if the studio believed in him.  But they didn't.  It doesn't kill the movie so it's easy to get over.  There isn't any moments that elevate it to classic status like the original, but it maintains a consistently solid quality throughout.  It may only work for those who have seen the original though.  I can't speak to that, since I've seen the original.  But I'll recommend it and hope for the best.  

Rating: 8.5/10

Cold In July (October 5th, 2014)
Director: Jim Mickle
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepherd, Don Johnson, and Vinessa Shaw

Sometimes you can hear a lot of good things about a movie and it'll match the hype.  Other times, the movie won't reach that level.  But sometimes, a movie just barrels over the hype and enchants you with such a gigantic show of quality that it floors you.  That happened with this movie here.  Jim Mickle has just made quite the calling card for himself, because he can play this into a serious career.  This movie is not a twist filled affair.  No Sixth Sense stuff at play.  But it is a movie that changes up what it is a few times throughout that it can be a bit dizzying to catch up with it.  The most amazing thing is that it changes up the story throughout, and it all feels natural.  This is a movie about what it means to be a man, what it means to be a father, and responsibility for those we love.  It'll be best to keep the movie pretty fresh for anyone looking to watch it.  But a quick setup isn't too bad.  The whole thrust of the movie starts off when mild mannered Hall shoots a home intruder.  What happens after puts him on the path of Shepherd, Johnson and Wyatt Russell (who really looks so much like his dad Kurt).  Hall is mesmerizing, playing someone so completely different than Dexter Morgan or David Fisher.  Shepherd brings some old, war grizzled grit to the proceedings and is great.  Hell, Don Johnson is continuing his run of being one of the best character actors around, bringing some gravitas but also a lot of levity to the movie.  This is a no nonsense movie, filled to the brim with testosterone. It's also filled with John Carpenter homages, to the synthy score right on down to the credits font so it's already playing with an advantage.  Either way, this is an expertly crafted southern fried neo noir.  An absolute masterpiece, it is a must see.

Rating: 10/10

Frozen (October 6th, 2014)
Director: Adam Green
Starring: Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, and Emma Bell

Adam Green is a very smart film maker.  One wouldn't think so after seeing Hatchet, but that is a movie that knows exactly what it wants and succeeds heartily.  But in a bid to show his range, he decided to make a Hitchcockian thriller about three friends trapped on a ski lift with 5 days until the mountain opens and no one knowing they are there.  He flexes some real filmmaking muscles here, managing to use the isolated and unique setting to wring some real tension out of the proceedings.  It helps that he also has a very good cast, making each of the three very sympathetic and the impending doom they may or may not face all the more harrowing.  Its a short and simple movie, a nerve wracking experience that is a hell of an experience.  Green isn't wanting for work, but it would be nice to see him work for a long time and hopefully without having to fight for budgets.  But even if he does, this shows he can make due with a nothing budget.  A real treat, highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10








Top Movies

1. Cold In July
2. Frozen
3. Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist





Top 5 Performances

1. Michael C. Hall - Cold In July
2. Stellan Skarsgard - Dominion
3. Sam Shepherd - Cold In July
4. Shawn Ashmore - Frozen
5. Don Johnson - Cold In July




Top 5 Moments

1. He's In The House - Cold In July
2. Dan Takes The Leap - Frozen
3. You're My Dad? - Cold In July
4. Climbing Down The Cable - Frozen
5. Don Johnson Gets Into a fist fight - Cold In July

- Tom Lorenzo

Movies Watched The Week of 9/28 - 10/4

Welcome back gang to the newest addition to the weekly update.  We are no officially in week 1 of horror movie month and this week was a doozy for me.  There's two non horror in there because I'm only human and fuck you I don't get paid for this.  The horror may not be too varied, as I watch the entirety of a series and two exorcism movies.  But I was very busy this week and hopefully I am again next week.  So sit back and enjoy the blood drenched ride.

Hatchet (September 28th, 2014)

Director: Adam Green

Starring: Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, and Kane Hodder

God bless Adam Green.  In a time when horror movies have to be deadly serious and deal with ghosts or remakes.  So thank him for deciding to make a straight up 80s slasher movie, complete with over the top gore, gratuitous nudity and a mentally challenged murderer.  This movie is just fun.  It's not deep or subtle.  Hell, it's not even scary.  But Green isn't trying to.  The movies these are inspired by are the Friday The 13th sequels and they hit the target.  It doesn't hurt that Jason himself, Kane Hodder, plays killer Victor Crowley.  The cast is all game, knowing what movie they're in.  Except for Feldman  Not that she'd bad, she just plays everything like this is a dead serious horror movie with no sense of fun.  Which is fine, since she's essentially the hero of the story, but it's a bit of an odd tonal discrepancy.  The gore is unbelievably done, topping the 80s stuff since it seems like there was almost no trimming for a rating the way the 80s movies were.  The movie is a blast, but it isn't for everyone.  For those with a fond memories of watching Jason, Freddy or Michael running rampant on sex starved teens, this is the movie for you.  Anyone else might not get it or act superior to it.  

Rating: 8.5/10

The Last Exorcism (September 28th, 2014)
Director: Daniel Stamm
Starring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum, and Caleb Jones

This was a pleasant surprise.  It had good word around it, and Eli Roth produced it so there was no reason to be dreading it or not seeing it.  But the found footage angle really kept me away from this until recently.  And its a shame, because this is a really good movie.  Focusing on Cotton Marcus, a preacher who has lost his faith and is trying to disprove the notion of possessions.   So he goes to a small town to deal with a potential "possession" and gets in over his head.  Now, first off, this movie is very low key.  And not like Paranormal Activity where nothing happens.  This is a movie with real characters with arcs and real sense of mounting tension.  Cotton is a great character and Patrick Fabian plays him superbly.  You really believe this man and understand his problems.  There's also Ashley Bell as the girl who may be possessed and she is astounding.  She goes from innocent little closed off wallflower to demonic force and it is all believable from a performance stand point.  The rest of the cast is solid, but it's these two that anchor this movie.  Now, the movie goes off to points that are very surprising and break free from typical possession movies.  It may come off as random, but it is all laid out in the movie.  It's a big and bold story and ends with a bang.  The movie is a little short and I wish it was longer, cause this world is so interesting and the story is much more so.  More time wouldn't have hurt but what we got is good enough.  For those that wanna see found footage done well, this is a damn good example.  It's a pretty solid exorcism movie too.

Rating: 9/10

The Exorcist III (September 29th, 2014)
Director: William Peter Blatty
Starring: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Douriff, and Jason Miller

This is a movie that didn't do well at it's time of release and it's not surprising.  The second Exorcist movie was an abomination and it was close to 15 years between that and this.  That and there is only one cast connection to the first one (barely) and it almost barely has anything to do with exorcisms.  But it's reputation has gotten better as time has gone on, and rightfully so.  This is the sequel that, if not necessarily needed, the one that the original deserved if it was to be sequelized.  Set 15 years after that fateful day, Scott takes over as Detective Kinderman from Lee Cobb.  A serial killer is haunting Georgetown after a long absence, seemingly copy cat killing like a serial killer who died 15 years earlier.  But this killer knows things anyone not involved in the case would know.  And when the case comes to a personal level for Kinderman at a hospital, the rug is pulled out from under him when it seems that Father Karras may actually be alive.  Or is he?  First thing first, this is barely a horror movie.  It has some tense and creepy scenes, but it's a murder mystery and character piece before horror.  Scott is an old man, who still hurts from losing his friend Karras and he has no faith.  So when all this starts to happen, he is lost at sea.  It's a haunting movie that, fittingly, is about faith like the original.  Douriff shows up for a bit and knocks the creepy killer role out of the park, as per usual.  Miller shows up for a bit, and it's nice to see Karras back.  But he only really plays Karras for a little amount of time.  But for a movie that is essentially about a fight for his soul, it only makes sense for him to not be him the whole time.  And Scott is fantastic as the detective in a world he doesn't get or necessarily even like.  The weakest part of the movie is Blatty as director.  He is competent and does some decent work, but his lack of experience shows a lot.  A better director could have made something really special here.  But that's neither here nor there.  This is a very good little movie that is nowhere near the original, but is a fitting entry into the series.

Rating: 8/10

The Drop (September 30th, 2014)
Director: Michael Roskam
Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, John Ortiz, and James Gandolfini

Tom Hardy is the best actor working today.  Maybe a week ago it would have been a contest between him or Fassbender.  But this movie seals the deal.  Between this and Locke this year alone, he's taken the crown.  He has not repeated himself at all, making big choices and nailing them.  He fully disappears into a role and you never feel a false moment from him.  It's quite a feat, going from the precise welshman in Locke to this, a simple and friendly man with a dark side.  There is nothing in this performance that is similar than anything in Locke, Bronson, The Dark Knight Rises or RockNrolla just to name a few.  It helps to have such a dedicated performer in a role like this, since this is a simple movie that isn't going to change the world.  It's a low key crime film that is more performance driven.  Watching as Hardy does his best to do the right thing and not go bad, to stay his own man is very riveting thanks to him.  Gandolfini showing up as a Tony Soprano who lost all power.  A weasely, desperate man with an ego and an axe grind.  Rapace playing the woman who helps bring Hardy out of his shell, as well as the puppy they bond over.  There is no groundbreaking material here, just a story told very well with performances that let us know what these actors are capable of.  

Rating: 9/10

Gone Girl (October 3rd, 2014)
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Kim Dickens, and Tyler Perry


David Fincher strikes again.  Going back to the well of a super popular pulp novel, Fincher adapts a twisty turny mystery that has captured the attention of the world.  What sets this apart from his last movie, an adaptation of a twisty turny mystery is that it has a lot to say and it isn't about raping/treating women like absolute shit.  On their fifth wedding anniversary, Affleck comes home to find that his wife (Pike), is missing.  What follows is a look at an investigation that wants us to figure out if Affleck is involved and what happened to their marriage.  Tackling the very nature of marriage and the absolute shit show that is the news media, Fincher shows a hunger he hasn't shown in a while (either since Zodiac or Social Network).   There is a lot in this movie that shouldn't be spoiled since it is all about the unfurling nature of the story and the turns it takes, especially this close to release, so this is going to be quick.  Affleck gives one of, if not the, best performance of his career.  Perry shows that he is actually talented when he's not doing a minstrel show.  The star though is Pike, a knockout performance for the ages that has just made a star.  To go into any reasons why these performances are great would be to give away even the tiniest of bits.  While most would assume this is a mystery with some thriller or suspense aspects, this is really a black comedy.  To keep the mystery, I'll just say to take a dive into another powerful film from a man who has been on a roll since 2007.

Rating:  9.5/10

Hatchet II (October 4th, 2014)
Director: Adam Green
Starring: Danielle Harris, Tony Todd, AJ Bowen, and Kane Hodder

Once again, thank God for Adam Green.  Returning with a sequel to his cult hit, Green ups the ante and the hilarity with the bigger and bloodier entry into the Victor Crowley series.  Set literally at the same point as the ending of the first one, we follow Marybeth (Harris stepping in for Feldman) as she once again runs afoul of Crowley.  But this time she isn't alone. She is now accompanied with a hunting crew out to take Crowley down.  Obviously, it doesn't go so well.  This movie is a blast.  Now, it's not going to change anyones minds.  This is firmly for fans of the first/the genre.  But for those into these things, it's like heaven.  Deepening the mythology and running Marybeth through the ringer, this works better than those 80s sequels it so obviously loves.  It also has one of the funniest sex scenes I have ever seen.  It's insane.  That's really the key word for this whole movie.  Insane.  Bigger and bloodier than the last, this is a winner.  

Rating: 9/10

Hatchet III (October 4th, 2014)
Director: BJ McDonnell
Starring: Danielle Harris, Zach Galligan, Caroline Williams, and Kane Hodder

The Victor Crowley saga comes to a close (for now at least).  Stepping down as director but still working on it as producer and writer, Adam Green helps bring the series that launched his career to a close.  Yet again kicking off at the ending of the last one, Marybeth finally thinks she has ended Crowley.  But looking a little too suspicious since she's holding a shotgun, covered in blood and holding Crowley scalp she is arrested and is the suspect in the massacre the police find in the swamp.  But Crowley isn't dead (obviously) and all hell breaks loose.  Upping the ante yet again in blood and humor (much of which is meta at this point), the movie is still a blast.  Not as perfectly tuned as the last, but it's still fun and better than the awesome original.  The weakest part of this is the sort of sidelining of Harris while more murders are taking place, all of whom are new characters.  Not that it really matters since everyone is just cannon fodder, but it would have been nice to have more with the only character we've followed for three movies.  But that is all moot with a great finale with Marybeth and Crowley.  We seemingly have the end of the Crowley/Marybeth saga, and it ends nicely.  Would I like more insane Crowley stories?  Sure.  But it would be great if a series so indebted to 80s slasher sequels knows when to call it quits.  That itself would be the best meta joke of it all.  Final words on the series.  Well made on every technical level, filled with performances that get the tone it's going for (for the most part) and written much better than would be assumed, this series is a winner.  I'm glad to have seen them but sad I wasn't in the know at the beginning.  Special shoutout to the makeup effects crew for truly astounding work.

Rating: 8.5/10

Top Movies

1. Gone Girl
2. The Drop
3. Hatchet II
4. The Last Exorcism
5. Hatchet III

6. Hatchet
7. The Exorcist III

Top 5 Performances

1. Tom Hardy - The Drop
2. Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
3. Ben Affleck - Gone Girl
4. Patrick Fabian - The Last Exorcism
5. Ashley Bell - The Last Exorcism

Top Moments

1. The Sex Scene - Hatchet II
2. Nick Finds The Shed - Gone Girl

3. Victor Crowley Arrives - Hatchet
4. You Embarrass Me - The Drop
5. Nicks TV Interview - Gone Girl

- Tom Lorenzo