In space, everyone can read your opinions.
Did you know there was a new Blair Witch movie coming out? Yeah, surprised me too - and after realizing how little about the first one I actually remember, you would think that I would cash in on that by doing the original or it's mostly down-trodden sequel right? Wrong! You get creepy folktale witch movie without found footage nonsense! How do you like them golden snitches eh?
Read MoreWith so many Sherlocks floating about, one could wonder what sets one Holmes apart from another Holmes. Sure, we have the "best batman movie ever" action-fiesta Holmes staring Iron Man, and we have the Cumberbatch Holmes, and of course modern-spin Holmes and old-fashioned Holmes. Of all the Holmes on the market though, I've only really noticed this one Old Holmes movie. Dress for success, and let's see if this old Holmes still got it.
Read MoreIs it too late to cash in on the Ghostbusters crazy? Wait, you mean to tell me that it wasn't a craze? Well, with my home theater finally back in commission, this weeks "dark offering" is a drafty tale of a ghoulish romance that just might paint he peaks blood red.
Read MoreDid you enjoy that found footage giant-monster/alien thing movie Cloverfield? You did? Oh, wait, you said you didn't? Well, I'm not gonna call you crazy, because I can find reasons to not like it just as I can find reasons to enjoy it, but regardless I was pretty shocked to hear that there was a pseudo-sequel coming out when I heard the news. I mean, sure, I enjoyed the first, but most people seemed to be distinctly in the "nah, pass" crowd. Either way, color me interested and off we go to the prepper dream of 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Read MoreNo one to trust. Everyone to hate.
I mean, most people already know if they will enjoy watching a Tarantino flick before they watch it. He has that particular style that bleeds into near any movie he's attached to. I'd say that this is at least in some extent true with The Hateful Eight, so the question becomes more if someone wants to sit through a near three hour long Tarantino drama. Well, I can't tell you for sure if you'll like it, but I can sure report what I thought of it.
Our plot here is one part who-done it and in a way a bit like a slasher movie. You see, this is a slow burn kind of plot - heck, you don't even really get to the main setting till about 40 minutes in! We start off with a horse carriage coming across a man standing in the snowy path in front of it. He declares who his is and his desire to hitch a ride with his three (dead) bounties, and the driver informs him that it isn't his call, but the man inside. The man inside would appear to be rather a bit untrusting - which is understandable considering his live bounty inside that he'd rather not share. Still, after having the man give up his weapons to the driver, he allows him to hitch a ride. The two exchange some banter, and we learn that they are both bounty hunters looking to cash in on their respective bounties in the next town.
It isn't long until they come across another man on the road - again without horse - looking to catch a ride. This time, it's a rather known southern rebel who claims to be the next-in-line for sheriff at the town they are heading to. He is allowed to catch a ride, but not trusting him at all the original passenger decides to re-arm his first hitchhiker - whom he does know to at least some extent - before letting him do so. We get some more exchanges passing out more information about the characters pasts, until they finally arrive at the midway point - the main setting of the movie. It is here the main story unfolds, and it is here we will spend most of our time.
Suffice it to say, there are plenty of little details sprinkled about the story (felt more so like a story thanks to "Chapter" text blocks intersecting portions of the movie) that end up being returned to at a latter point when the movie finally reveals everything that happened it previously left everyone guessing on. The characters, stuck in this environment and mostly all distrusting and with little knowledge of each other play off of each other rather well and the little stop-house ends up turning into a powder keg of paranoia threatening to explode into that typical Tarantino violence.
The main setting.
The main portion of the "who done it" comes from just plain trying to peace together what's all going on in the first place. One character will let on accusations or observations about something, while other characters may have something seemingly unrelated going on with each other. At first, it's all just a jumble of seemingly unrelated things that are to convenient to not be more than coincidences but by the end it all ends up laying itself out in a rather believable fashion - even with some things still feeling a bit like more than coincidence. A strange thing happens between two sections, where a narrator elaborates on something that the movie was apparently too busy to show previously after not existing for the entire movie until then by backtracking into the last chapter - and promptly isn't heard of again until pretty near the final act. I do suppose it works fine, but it would have been just as easy to show it the first time and not need to spoon feed the audience that particular part - especially after already leaving all sorts of bread crumbs throughout.
Actors do a splendid job here, as one would expect. It's a good thing they do, as well, as it's pretty near the only main draw to this movie in the first place. It's a bit of an issue when your playing out a big drama like this, so I won't particularly blame the movie itself, but it really is that slowly burning line of powder leading up to a keg - and despite those tensions rising, there isn't a whole lot that actually happens as it goes on. Still, the line delivery is great, and even though parts of the world cease to feel authentic each character is at least distinguishable from the rest at a glance and listen. It feels like there was care to give each character a personality, even if you don't care in the slightest about the character and whatever length of time they spend on screen.
Costumes play well into lending each character their own feel, and the set does a good job of setting the mood as well. There were moments when the imagery and music evoked images of The Thing as I watched, and although it may not have involved aliens it still provided an ample feel of isolation to make the tension easier to build. Outside of those few particular moments, I don't recall much of the soundtrack on display here, but that isn't a terrible thing considering that most the time my focus was on the characters and the story being told.
The bulk of the cast.
If you don't like Tarantino's movie DNA, then I can't say that this one will particularly be breaking any molds for people. It's a decent enough story that's told well and very well acted, but one can also expect that certain level of violence and language and subject matter than is oft displayed in one of his works. The ending wasn't entirely expected - at least not in the details - but it also felt that there was a bunch of the movie that probably could have been shaved down to get it a bit away from that 3 hour run time without causing a whole lot of damage.
We just did something on the water, so why not follow it up with something UNDER the water? Yeah yeah. it's a lame connection, but it'll do for this week. This flick promises aliens and underwater mystery, so it could go as terribly wrong as the situation for the characters in the movie. Let's dive into the picture and see just how much it does or does not sink.
Read MoreRemember when I mentioned back in Kingsman that it's been a while since I saw a spy flick that I really enjoyed? Well, I'd try and use the same setup for the whole under-ground art selling circuit movie, but I couldn't really think of any of them. I mean, my memory is bad yes, but totally drawing a null there - The closest I can come up with is Monuments Men, but that was more of a war-kind of flick then it was particularly a particular art-thief kind of flick. The closest thing I could think of with this installment of "Depp plays a weird character" was actually (maybe not so oddly) Mr. Bean. Is that a good thing? I guess that's a real mustache question.
Read MoreI find myself watching found footage movies as though one of these days the perfect one is going to happen around, and the entire world will realize how awesome they could be if done right. It's theoretically not something that should be that hard to do - and if anything building tension should be easier than through normal means, since it adds to the effect that the viewer is there (theoretically). It never seems to happen though, it always seems to somewhere go so terribly wrong - from either holding onto it's suspense for way too long, or pacing that's so dull you would rather go to sleep. Can this movie dig up some fun, or will it be destined to make your bones ache?
Read MoreWhy do I keep watching found footage movies? I can only imagine that somewhere inside me I still believe that their is this completely untapped potential that each movie of the type I watch might be the one to be the Highlander or one ring to rule them all. Well, I can't say it's particularly a great hope to hold onto, but As Above walks calmly into the circle and throws off it's gloves to try and impress. Can this foray into the french underground prove to come out on top, or way below any expectations?
Read MoreEverybody knows Hitchcock. If you haven't ever heard the name, then chances are you are probably super young or something - as most people I've run into have at least heard of at least one of his works - such as Psycho. The man had a way with twists, although it would certainly appear that some seem to have less twists than others - but beyond that he knew how to make a movie for the time. In this take, we have a little less supernatural or epidemics, and instead focus on a small group with a big problem. Will the movie end up feeling like it tries too much, or will you know this man knew what he's doing?
Read MoreThe title scroll did more for my interesting in this movie than most title scrolls can claim to try and do. Sam Neill from Jurassic Park (and numerous other things), combined with one of my usually-enjoyed directors John Carpenter, all wrapped in a rolling rock song? Call my interest spiked, right? That being said, I hear before hand that this is one of the best Lovecraftian movies around, and although I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan myself, I know enough about it (him) from hearsay to figure it could make for a great movie if it comes off well done. So then, let's find out if it's gonna make you lose your mind or mouth your distaste.
Read MoreGet ready to travel into cinema's past again with me! Come now, it's a fantastic journey to a time when color was shades of black and white, the over-use of all things CG was unimaginable, movie posters were still something of an art. Not to lose out on the October-ly spirit however, this haunting journey back is a bit of a ghost tale. Do you believe in haunted houses, or won't you give them the ghost of a chance?
Read MoreAn old movie redone as a SyFy original movie? How could this possibly go wrong, am I right? Hahaha, jokes aside, this is kind of accidental (I had meant to rent the original, and silly me got this one instead), but I haven't shied away from SyFy original movies before and I tend to get some form of amusement from them. The real question is will this boat movie sink like the Titanic, or will it be as electrifying as a Tesla coil?
Read MoreThe Thing, again! Surprisingly, although you would assume it from the name being the same as Carpenter's earlier version, this one is actually a prequel instead of a remake! Now we get to experience what happened to all those Norwegians at the hand of our creepy extraterrestrial friend. Granted, I'm gonna spin this a bit - we are gonna start this thing off with an approach where it's all it's own movie (as though you haven't seen the other Thing), and then get into how it ties into it afterwards. So what'll it be? The perfect copy, or just a cheap imitation.
Read MoreI'm a fan of Kurt Russell movies, and I'm relatively sure that part of the reason is because I enjoy him as an actor. Bigger then that, I believe a lot of the movies he's in are just highly entertaining in some way or another for me more so than just him being in it. The Thing is one of those films that's in my general go-to films for when I'm bored and inevitably comes up at least once a year. Obviously, I like it - but will it click for you? Will it have you looking at the people around you in a new light, or will it be a gooey dead mess?
Read MoreGoodness, it took me long enough to get to this one didn't it? You see, the biggest issue is I wanted to take the time to re-read the book, as there are some pretty substantial differences between it and this movie - but of course I'll get to that later. For now, the world's most beautiful part-man returns with another job to kill another vampire. This time, things aren't quite as they may seem, and D isn't the only hunter on the case! Can this addition to the video collection bring it's fangs to bear, or is it just a stake to the heart?
Read MoreSo, it comes to me via recommendation, and it comes from me as an interesting movie that I can't elaborate on too much. You see, there's quite a few twists in the plot of this movie, so that means I'll either need to spoiler block things for your safety, or just skip over it entirely. Granted, it's certainly a good flick, so I can't just write it off altogether, and everyone likes a challenge right?
Read MoreCharming movies are something I like, and this one here is certainly fitting into that category. With humor ranging from slapstick to some levels of more adult humor, it never ceases to keep you amused at the on screen antics. Heck, it even has some notable actors in it, such as Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, and Eileen Brennan. Easy to follow, safe for the entire family, and more quotable then your standard explosion-laden action flick, the only reason you might not have seen this one is because you aren't old enough!
Read MoreI know, I know, "Another horror movie? I hate horror movies!" Well, this is the last one for a while okay? I promise. Granted, it's not like you all are particularly making any outcries about it. I guess it's fitting at least that the last horror movie I do in a while is a proper 'scary movie' then. Last time, we had a brief chat about how horror is so diverse - well, to classify this one, we are gonna call it a ghost story. When I say ghost story, I don't mean it is entirely to do with ghosts, but more that it feels like the kind of story that you would tell around a campfire to scare the pants off of your fellow campers. You know what though? It would do a pretty good job of it!
Read MoreHorror in its own right comes in many forms, and is something that could be debated widely and hotly across countless hours of time. Let us suffice it to say that this movie focuses more on the areas of a psychological horror - one that makes you think and involves much mystery and atmosphere - than it does in other forms of horror. The tagline "Fear is a Place" aptly describes what they aimed for with their form of scare-induction, and now that you are aware of that, let us proceed into the mundane form of me elaborating to you my experiences with Session 9 .
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