Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

Okay some of you are excited.. the title is a little misleading and 'all of that' at the same time. If you are of an age you remember the golden years of the Drive-In with their .75/carload exploitation double features. This is a documentary of Filipino genre film making.. Roger Corman and those guys. Really fascinating stuff told by those who were there in an interview style format (individually). Remember some titles you had mercifully forgotten or simply enjoy the historical aspect of a now dead genre despite Quentin Tarantino's desire to keep it alive. This is how 90% of people in film make a living kids so very educational, highly entertaining, and the comedic styling of Sid Haig is always a treat. If you are a movie geek like me this is a must see! Recommended.

The Tall Man (2012)

A rural Washington community is plagued by a story of a child abducting 'tall man'. This was a surprising watch for me.. when it started I was expecting a typical Hollyweird horror film, and indeed for about the first hour that's what it seemed to be, but some details started to seem out of place. This continued to build until the story line emerges as something totally different and more than a little shocking. It may sound like a tinfoil hat thing but its possible that what is portrayed actually happens! >cue Twilight Zone music< Rod Sterling: In this sleepy little town a crazy notion has just been given birth... lol. Gone Baby Gone (2007) meets Gone (2012). There is another older film I could tag but that would be too much a spoiler so it shall go unsaid.. if you seen it you will know which I am thinking of when you get to the end of this one. There is an extended scene between the 'yawn another slasher' and 'wait.. what the hell is going on?' you have to kind of muck (clue) through.. but once on the other side its all good stuff. You will definitely need your brain with you on this. Even though its tagged horror there isn't much scary in this one. Solid production value and a huge corkscrew of a non cheesy twist make this one worth seeing. Recommended.

Loving the Bad Man (2010)

A young woman who is raped not only forgives her violator (and gives birth to his bastard child) but seeks to lead him to his own salvation. Most of these Christian themed movies are pretty hokey when it comes to production value and delivery and this one is no exception. However if you can stick with it until it starts to grab you (about 30 minutes in for me) you will be treated to a hard hitting powerhouse. Not since Fireproof (2008) have I been so moved and elevated by a movie. This goes beyond simple mindless entertainment or feeding a thrill and speaks directly to your core. Very nourishing for the entire family. Highly Recommended.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Director Nolan wraps up his Batman trilogy. Definitively the darkest of the bunch, this one combines the complex story arc of Batman Begins with all the flash and FX of The Dark Knight. While the Dark Knight is my hands down favorite of the 3, Rises is no slouch when it comes to all the elements that have made the prior 2 so well received. While it was easy to understand 7 years had passed in the first one (really only 7?), and the second one spans several months (not really all that important as far as the viewing goes), this one starts off 8 years later and THEN spans more than 5 months (the 5 month thing becomes important after a certain event), something that gets lost easily while being fairly important to understanding certain events. The story itself is top shelf, despite the cosmetic differences in Bane, he is for the most part the villain who was conceived in the Knightfall story arc. There is some compression and story mixing to kind of bring things full circle. Don't nit pick things too hard as the veneer is a little thin in a couple places (sometimes an unavoidable evil given time constraints and editing). Definitively worth seeing if you are a fan of the previous 2. Sorry no spoilers. Recommended.

Girls Gone Dead (2012)

Weekend party get-a-way turns into bloody massacre. You can sum this one up in a couple words.. camp, boobs, blood.. and sometimes that's enough. This title was notable to me based on the inclusion of Linnea Quigley and Ron Jeremy, if you know either of those names then this movie shouldn't make your brain explode. Unfortunately they both have bit roles completely unworthy of their particular talents. Pretty typical slasher style movie.. they manage to bring in a new weapon of choice (the war hammer) and create some lore around it.. nothing too complicated but something a little new to the genre. The movie itself is surprisingly well done from a mechanics standpoint, they either had some money to spend or have some real talent behind the scenes.. either way, B-movie and plastic titty fans should find something worthwhile in this one.. nothing earth shattering but better than the typical offering.

Ted (2012)

A childhood wish gives life to a teddy bear. Ted is Peter Griffin from Family Guy? Yup! Pretty funny for the first 20 minutes or so and has a nice wrap up but the filler is pretty weak potatoes. A nod goes out to Giovanni Ribisi for his over the top psycho character, talk about making the most of a very small role.. nice work! The rest of the movie is fairly formulaic, a little crude, but nothing not seen/heard before. I really had no desire to see this but during the first 20 minutes or so I thought I was going to be surprised with a real treat.. alas it was not to be so. Another testament to the sorry state of comedy these days.

The Raven (2012)

The last days of Edgar Allen Poe are filled with a murder mystery driven by his stories. I'm sad to say this is one of those Hollyweird formula movies. Basically this is From Hell (2001) seasoned with the new Sherlock Holmes offerings. They do a nice job of pitching the works of Poe so I'm wondering if one or more of the producers have acquired some of the rights. I imagine more than a few people will be buying some Poe compilations to make sense of some of the references. The movie itself is medium entertaining... my attention wandered here and there, but I still wanted to see where things were going. Overall its milquetoast. Sorry John.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Spiderman reboot. For those who live on Mars, High School loser gets bit by radioactive spider which gives him super powers. Right out of the box on this one they start exploring new avenues, most notably the fate of Peter's parents. Casting Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben does nothing to garner sympathy when he is killed (they change it so he dies for being a knucklehead, not hard to believe with Martin Sheen.. lol). Everything else is 'updated' to today's sort of wishy-washy Twilight like societal norms. This movie would be better titled The Amazing Peter Parker as the vast majority of the movie is told through the eyes of Peter and not Spiderman. I really really wanted to like this movie, the inclusion of the web shooters and the fact they left him small and skinny all pointed in a direction I was liking. Unfortunately it didn't come to amount to much as I was fairly bored through the lions share of 2 hours worth of film (you have seen all the good stuff in the trailers). The Lizard CGI was sorely lacking during the close-ups and they had too many of those. I think this may have been a committee movie.. too much material and not enough direction, lots of ideas and no convictions. A huge disappointing 'meh'.

Dark Shadows (2012)

Tim Burton interpretation of the venerable TV show of the same name. If you are unfamiliar this is kind of the late show version of Dallas. Old wealthy family headed up by a vampire with an ancient curse. If you are a fan of the Burton/Depp team there is no reason to think you won't enjoy this one as well. For me there were a few moments of brilliance surrounded by minutes and minutes of it could have been funny 2 decades ago. Not to say its a bad watch, far from it, but for me this formula is starting to get stale. I was a little disappointed in Depp's performance as well unless he was deliberately trying to pay tribute to the poor drunken sot who played the role initially (then I'm impressed.. lol). Okay I'm done dumping on it, for the good stuff the sets and atmosphere is typical Burton brilliant and the evil witch was really played well. I watched it twice already just to make sure I wasn't missing anything, probably once more before it gets flushed down the memory hole. Make a good movie night rental.

Collaborator (2011)

A visit to his mother finds a playwright being held as a hostage by his ex-con neighbor. Pretty interesting movie about a politically outspoken writer on a downward slide who finds his career salvaged by the downward spiral and death of his ex-con neighbor he knew as a child. Hollyweird never ceases to amaze me on its inability to connect with rank and file America through their characters. Their endless insistence that anyone pro American is 'right-wing' while rejecting that being anti American is 'left wing' is as mindless as it is inaccurate. Be that as it may they don't beat that drum too hard while doing a fair job of comparing the differences between those on the upper strata of society and those living on the bottom. All in all a fairly enjoyable and entertaining viewing experience.

Margaret (2011)

An upper class teen-age girl witnesses a fatal bus accident. This is a well done movie and all players for the most part do well. A strident drama about guilt and the need for revenge. The story is well done but fairly pointless. Personally I didn't like this one at all.. all those bitches are fucking crazy! It showcases everything shitty about the human condition from my perspective and the NYC Jewish women screeching during the last half of the movie was more than I could take. This thing was a soap opera on steroids! None for me thanks.

The Shrine (2010)

A report of a missing hiker sends a trio of journalists into the old world backwoods seeking clues. This is one you really need to stick with for the payoff. Try to keep the first scene in mind when you are bored to tears watching nearly every mindless cliche' and stupid move and dry worn out dialogue... they get to the statue and things still don't improve despite the momentary cool break in the monotony. BUT.. if you can stick with it you will be rewarded in the final 3rd of the film. Remember that first scene? Well if you can make it until you see it again you will be in for a treat. The ending of the movie is well worth seeing as things get insanely violent and demonic. If this pops up on cable and you have nothing better to do this wouldn't be a waste of your time.. there are moments I would compare favorably to The Evil Dead (1981) but they are short lived (about the last 10 minutes of the movie).

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)

A pie in the sky dream is embraced by political forces. This was a great watch! Humor, Politics, Romance, Action all rolled up in a nice burrito for the adult movie goer. The first 2/3rds of the film has a lot of easy to relate to humor, especially if you are politically savvy. The last 3rd a nice bitter sweet romance that comes around in a Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) style finish. These kind of movies seem to get lost in the noise these days, a shame too because this really is brilliant film making. If you want to give dick and ass humor a break and would like some nice smooth entertainment that appeals to your higher brain functions this would be a top shelf pick. I haven't been moved by drama like this since Never Let Me Go (2010) except I was smiling instead of sobbing at the end. Highly Recommended.

Cleanskin (2012)

Terrorists in the UK capture some high explosive and a rouge security unit is sent to find them. This was a pretty exciting movie, sort of a cross between From Paris with Love (2010) and Ronin (1998). Some of the protagonist's monologues about violence and its nature are insightful and excellent. This film also gets to brag about having the best head-shot FX I have ever seen in my life. I had a couple issues with some of the fight and shoot out choreography.. hard to believe the Sean Bean character would make the mistakes he did with the training he supposedly had. Over all an excellent viewing experience with a nice slimy twist at the end. Recommended.

Being Flynn (2012)

An estranged father is reunited with his son while he is on the way down. This is a drama about a young man trying to find his direction and an old man who has lost it. Not a bad movie, full of cliches' and touchy-feely wine and cheese characters with no real depth. I'm not really sure what the point was with this movie except maybe a shout to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get over it. I did find one thing interesting though there was a catch phrase that kept popping up but those who used it didn't follow it.. typical? Perhaps. I'm sure some of the professional critique crowd will gush over the 'social commentary' of this one, for me it was pretty dull.

Attack the Block (2011)

Aliens land in a south London Ghetto and raise hell! Okay the main characters in this are a gang of teen-age hooligans who I had trouble understanding a damn word they said (it was technically English I guess). I think this one may appeal to the UK version of Kick-Ass (2010) fans. The alien FX were cool, something new. The movie moves along at a good pace, has sufficient tension, and ends better than it could have. Its fairly mindless with a fair amount of not overly graphic violence for the most part (they do a few but I think doing it a lot may not have been in the budget). My thought is this will appeal more to younger viewers. I viewed it once, it was enough.