Horns Review

Director: Alexandre Aja
Writers: Keith Bunin (screenplay), Joe Hill (novel)
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Max Minghella

Synopsis:
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples. 

Review:
I wasn't sure what to expect from the pictures of this movie. Having watched it I would say at points it does have a bit of B movie appeal to it, while other parts are well shot. Overall I liked the look of the whole movie. Lots of colors and a few psychedelic scenes. This being said, some of scenes were stretched out and seemed a little redundant.

I would say this is Daniel Radcliffes best role since the "harry potter" movies, though I am not a fan. The role he plays in "Horns", offers a polar opposite to what he played in "kill your darlings," and I think he did a pretty good job.

The philosophy behind this movie is interesting, and provides a fresh change on what constitutes an image of both good and evil. I liked the progression of experiences the main character went through, and i always enjoy watching Juno Temple in all the work she does, as she brought a nice light hearted, feel good energy to the movie (as usual).

At times this movie reminded me of "stand by me," with a touch of Steven Kings "needful things." Otherwise was a 'fairly' interesting (psychologically accurate) murder mystery, while at the same time offering enough to ponder with the spiritual aspects taking place.


As the movie continued to progress, I was thinking that it was just going to be another generic murder case movie, with some supernatural stuff thrown in at a surface level in order to try and make it seem like something new. But, while it was another murder case solving mystery, there were enough other elements added to mix to make a good stand alone film, and make it one that is worth the watch for a good time at the movies! 

Star Rating: 3 Stars

Interstellar Movie Review

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain

Synopsis:
When a wormhole (which can theoretically connect widely separated regions of spacetime) is discovered, explorers and scientists unite to embark on a voyage through it, transcending the normal limits of human space travel. Among the travellers is a widowed engineer, Cooper (McConaughey), who must decide whether or not to leave his two children behind to join the voyage and attempt to save humanity from an environmentally devastated Earth by finding a new habitable planet in another galaxy.

Review:
This movie felt like it tried to accomplish two simultaneous and somewhat incompatible endeavours

First, it was thought-provoking. Many questions were raised. What would life on earth be like if our climate runs amok? What happens to government when we all have to live hand-to-mouth? Are "they" out there communicating with us? Is it the essence of humanity to survive, or is it to pioneer, and, by extension, evolve? Second, it was also an adventure. I watched this in a full IMAX theater, with eighty bajillion watts of Super Thunder-Round Sound, or whatever the kids call it now. The visual effects definitely shine on the IMAX screen. The format switches occasionally, and usually imperceptibly, between 70mm for the scenes with dialogue, to IMAX format for that full-on dose of retina-overload spectacle. This movie is a wonderfully fun ride through a strangely familiar extra-galactic world. There are also plenty of tense moments, after which you realize you've been holding your breath.

I'm glad I went to watch this. That said, I think the film suffers a little from trying to be both an adventure thrill about the dangers of space travel, let alone an actual confrontation with a nemesis, and also a multi-layered allegory involving the dimensional tangle of time, gravity, love, and what it means to survive.

It asks more questions than it explores. While it fills in for the missing answers with white-knuckled brushes with death, it wasn't as intellectually satisfying as I hoped. I spent an hour discussing the thoughtful components with a friend. In the end, we were grasping to find symbolism, metaphors, or other messages about humanity. We never coalesced "the message" of the movie.

But did we need to? It was, as I said, also a thrill ride. The adventurous climax was a little less than terrifyingly dramatic; I can't say I had the same post-climactic cathartic experience as I've had for other movies. But it was a definite end, closing most of the open plot points. I certainly felt moved by the characters' resolutions.

I was suspicious that Matthew McConaughey could convince me that he was a space-ready engineer; it turns out that he didn't need to, because he did convince me that he was a dad that loved his children as much as any dad could. I think all the leads delivered solidly: Caine, Lithgow, Hathaway, Damon, Chastain, Affleck... I connected with the characters and felt their pain and happiness.

Hans Zimmer played up the drama in the music a little heavily, I thought, and unnecessarily. It wound up creating the opposite of the effect I think he intended. Many of the scenes could have used a lighter touch, musically. Some of them worked brilliantly.

Although I had my quibbles, the final analysis is that I would definitely choose to watch the movie a second time, but I'm not making plans to, for now. 

Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

Nightcrawler Review

Director: Dan Gilroy
Writer: Dan Gilroy
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton

Synopsis:
Nightcrawler is a thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling - where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

Review:
In his directorial debut, Dan Gilroy offers a chilling and disturbing look at crime journalism.

Louis Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is a lonely, twisted man. After he comes across a violent crime scene, he decides to try his hand at freelance camera work, and slithers through the nocturnal underbelly of Los Angeles searching for gory footage to sell to news teams, with disturbing results.

This character is not unlike anything we've seen before; echoes of the leads in 'Drive' and 'Taxi Driver' are felt through Gyllenhaal's performance, and utilized very effectively. We're introduced to Bloom as a thief, but one that if very quick witted and pensive, which makes our initial impression of him as a hard worker desperately trying to get a job both sympathetic and unsettling.

A role like this seems perfect for Gyllenhaal. Seeing the sleek and dark world crafted by Robert Elswit's brooding cinematography through his eyes makes you realize how lonely a city can make a person. He is, and always has been, an outsider, but will stop at nothing to get what sells. Gyllenhaal's portrayal of this is so powerful that you end up rooting for this sick character, but it also makes you re-evaluate morals and peoples personal rights. He also brings across the dark humour of the film, as his character has a stark cynicism that works well against his goal of the 'American Dream'.

A film that showcases Gyllenhaal's brilliant acting chops, 'Nightcrawler' is a wonderfully satirical look at the media industry today, and will make you think twice when you next turn on the news.

Star Rating: 4 Stars

The ABCs of Death 2 Review

Directors: Rodney Ascher, Julian Barratt, 28 more credits
Writers: Robert Boocheck (segment), Alejandro Brugués, 19 more credits
Stars: Tristan Risk, Martina García, Béatrice Dalle

Synopsis:
A is for Amateur (directed by E.L. Katz)
A hitman's meticulously planned hit doesn't go quite as planned.

B is for Badger (directed by Julian Barratt)
A wildlife documentary goes awry when the team encounters a giant badger.

C is for Capital Punishment (directed by Julian Gilbey)
A man is violently executed for a crime he didn't commit.

D is for Deloused (directed by Robert Morgan)
A stop-motion animated short about a large bug that helps an executed man get revenge on his killers.

E is for Equilibrium (directed by Alejandro Brugués)
Two castaways have their friendship tested when a beautiful woman washes ashore.

F is for Falling (directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado)
An Israeli woman is caught in a tree by her parachute and is found by a hostile Palestinian boy.

G is for Grandad (directed by Jim Hosking)
A young man discovers his grandfather has been sleeping under his bed.

H is for Head Games (directed by Bill Plympton)
A man and woman kiss, which turns into a surreal power struggle.

I is for Invincible (directed by Erik Matti)
A family tries to kill the matriarch for her inheritance.

J is for Jesus (directed by Dennison Ramalho)
A young man is violently martyred for being a homosexual.

K is for Knell (directed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper)
A woman experiences the effects of a black liquid that turns people into killers.

L is for Legacy (directed by Lancelot Imasuen)
A ritual sacrifice goes wrong.

M is for Masticate (directed by Robert Boocheck)
A man runs down a street in slow motion, attempts to eat someone, and is shot by police. It's revealed that he did bath salts 34 minutes earlier.

N is for Nexus (directed by Larry Fessenden)
A man hurries to meet his girlfriend on Halloween.

O is for Ochlocracy (mob rule) (directed by Hajime Ohata)
A woman is sentenced to death by a courtroom full of zombies.

P is for P-P-P-P SCARY! (directed by Todd Rohal)
An homage to black and white comedy in which three prisoners encounter a strange man and a baby.

Q is for Questionnaire (directed by Rodney Ascher)
A man takes an intelligence test on the street, juxtaposed with footage of the man's brain being transferred to a gorilla.

R is for Roulette (directed by Marven Kren)
Two men and a woman play Russian roulette while hidden in a basement.

S is for Split (directed by Juan Martinez Moreno)
A woman is attacked in her home while on the phone with her husband.

T is for Torture Porn (directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska)
A woman is treated misogynistically at an audition, but when asked to strip, reveals tentacles where her vagina should be.

U is for Utopia (directed by Vincenzo Natali)
An unattractive man is singled out in a mall full of seemingly perfect people and publicly executed.

V is for Vacation (directed by Jerome Sable)
Two men are killed by a prostitute they hired while on the phone with one man's girlfriend.

W is for Wish (directed by Steven Kostanski)
Two kids wish themselves into a fantasy world, only to be violently taken prisoner by the villain.

X is for Xylophone (directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo)
A babysitter (Béatrice Dalle) is emotionally affected by a child's xylophone playing.

Y is for Youth (directed by Soichi Umezawa)
A young girl violently fantasizes about the deaths of her abusive family.

Z is for Zygote (directed by Chris Nash)
A pregnant woman has been staving off birth for 13 years and living with a 13-year-old inside her stomach.

In a post-credits scene, Laurence R. Harvey attempts to masturbate while watching the T segment, but stops saying "How am I supposed to wank to that?"

Review:
The concept of The ABCs of Death is very good and it opens up many possibilities. Gathering 26 directors, giving them a letter, and giving them creative freedom to do what they want involving the subject of death. The first movie was interesting, but very uneven in terms of the shorts on display with most of them very mediocre or bad. This sequel does fare a little better, but it still suffers from the uneven balance between good and bad shorts.

Good: I still really like the concept of the anthology and the chance for many talented directors to display their skills. There are quite a few shorts that display a lot of fun and creativity like the letter A, B, C, J, N, O, R, S, and Z being the standouts.

Bad: The other shorts were either going for the gross factor and becoming numb in terms of the shocks or they ended up being mediocre in its execution.

Overall, it is an uneven anthology, but there are some shorts that make it worth a watch if you love horror.

Star Rating: 3 Stars