Touchback (2011)

15 years ago his game winning touchdown ended his dreams of being a pro football star. If you could go back and do things over would you? A small town hero struggles as his life circles the drain and in a moment of weakness finds himself reliving his glory days. This is a great feel good family friendly movie. In a world of incredible hardships this is a great count your blessings story. If you are tired of flash and bang and want something a bit more substantive this would be a great choice. Recommended.

The Expendables 2 (2012)

A team of mercenaries are sent after a CIA package that pulls them into a personal war with a local warlord known for his ruthlessness. This is a serious testosterone luvfest! Action heroes of the 80's and 90's collaborate to make this an explosive adrenaline rush of campy one liners and inside jokes leaning on old roles played by these guys. Van Dame either drew the short or long straw depending on how you look at it and gets to play the bad guy the rest are out to get. This puts a whole new spin on the term 'Manwich'. Plenty of what was in the first one but much less serious. Fans of previous action players should find this worth their while. After the initial raid there isn't much in the way of graphic FX but the violence is comic book style... and they make a point of running out of ammo... lol... great fun! Recommended.

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Five friends head into the woods for another mindless slasher film.. or do they? Anyone remember Westworld (1973)? Its not often I say a movie is a must see, but this is one of them if you are a fan of the genre. (Joss Whedon fans probably already own 17 Japanese bootlegs) One of the first things you will notice is how many things remind you of other horror/slasher movies. Is that the cabin from Evil Dead minus the porch swing? Sure looks that way.. And that round puzzle box is that a nod to Hellraiser? (shh.. he didn't want to pay royalties to use the square likeness). Aside from a couple 'gotcha' shots there is nothing scary at all, in fact its cliched to the point of being funny and then there are the funny parts. All the players do very respectable work, in fact they are almost too refined for this type of movie.. if of course it actually was this kind of movie. Anyway back to the Westworld comparison, it basically follows it right along.. couple small glitches then things go to shit and everyone dies.. but Whedon just couldn't leave it at that. Recommended.

Total Recall (2012)

A man's life turns out to be an illusion. This is a reboot 1990 version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Ironside. In all the ways that matter this movie is exactly the same just with arguably better players. I imagine people will like it for much the same reasons they did the first one, cool FX, action, and a 3 pack.. 0.0! Or not like it for the same reasons, lack of depth and plot. Personally I enjoyed it by watching it for what it is instead of what it isn't. This version is a lot grittier with a Blade Runner style urban backdrop and a much more oppressive feel to the whole thing. Some of the details are a little different (no Mars) but in some places the dialogue is exactly (and I do mean exactly!) the same as the previous version. Although the action is intense it isn't graphic.

The Victim (2011)

A loner is dragged into a hairball situation when a women shows up at his cabin chased by a killer. This is pretty much a B movie written, directed and starred in by Michael Biehn (best known from Terminator, Tombstone, Aliens and The Abyss). The majority of this movie is a bit tedious highlighted by an extended sex scene. There is a small amount of nudity (no male, sorry ladies) and not much in the way of blood and gore. However if you can manage to stick with it there is a nice twist at the end that should bring a measure of appreciation.

Father's Day (2011)

Bad Taste (1987) meets Grindhouse in this summer camp of cheesy twisty. The only thing you really have to know about this one is they worship a demon named 'Fuckmanus'. Lots of everything that make B movies what they are with dialogue that sounds like Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino spent a weekend frying on acid and watching Roger Corman and gay porn. This is definitely not for those who think movies should do anything other than keep your eyes glued to the screen. Absolutely hilarious! Fans of Hobo with a Shotgun, Black Sheep, Evil Dead, and tasty vintage Carpenter movies like Prince of Darkness should be thrilled to spin this DVD. It starts off a little run of the mill so stick with it as it quickly ramps up and gets weirder, funnier, and more twisted. Some of the best stuff I have seen in awhile and one of the funniest 'how could you think it would be otherwise' endings ever! Loosen your panties and prepare to be horrified at how entertaining you will find this. Totally Fucking Sick!

One in the Chamber (2012)

A pair of assassins find themselves being maneuvered by two Russian crime families. This is like a low budget Assassins (1995) meets Shadowboxer (2005). While not quite the same caliber of either of those its still a respectable bit of work with more than a few memorable scenes. Both the assassin characters are very well done, though the lions share of the movie focuses on the Cuba Gooding character, Lungren plays a solid psycho in his own right. Despite its low IMDb rating I found it to be an enjoyable and entertaining watch.

Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal (2012)

An artist stumbles across a dark secret that will be the key to kick starting his painting again. Alright get your twisty on! This is a nice little fresh dark comedy that I can see becoming a cult classic. If you are the type of person who would be willing to watch a movie with this title I suspect you won't be the least bit disappointed with whats under the wrapper. Well played across the board. There are some nice details (the DJ on the classic station on the radio is hilarious!) and things start up right out of the box. Sure, there is a little suspension of belief but what comedy about cannibalism doesn't have a side of that? This is a beginning to end movie too, meaning there isn't a bunch of mindless filler you have to wade through to get to the good parts. Again very nice attention to detail in this one. FX are sufficient to set the scene, not to gross people out.. so no close ups of entrails eating and the small amount of actual violence is fairly non graphic. I say move this one to the top of your twisty list! Recommended.

Brave (2012)

A Princess's wish goes awry and results in a near disaster before the lesson is learned. This is the first Pixar I've seen that is more like Disney standard than an animation studio Dreamworks is afraid of. Animation is fine, but the two things that stand out as Disney is the singing (twice)and the typically Disney rebellious leads to disastrous story line. All the funny stuff you have seen in the trailers with nary a clue what the real story line is. The actual story has to do with witchcraft and Merida (the princess) changing the queen into a bear. That its a bear is significant in several ways, not all of them immediately apparent. While the individual characters play well the story seems to get stale before its finished being served up despite its cool simple complexities. I was struck with a sense of deja vu that is likely attributable to the number of movies I watch so I will refrain from running down a list of movies the different details could have been lifted from. Still its a worthy viewing experience though I think younger children may start getting bored before the climatic finale'.

Lovely Molly (2011)

When a woman returns to the house she grew up in so do the demons of her youth. This is from the Blair Witch guy and manages to recreate the creepy without all the on cam blubbering. Some of it is shot as a 'cam' p.o.v. but most of it is done in the typical movie third person aspect. Unlike BW where he never pulls the trigger, you get a look at her invisible tormentor in this one.. if you don't watch a lot of horror it may make you twitch a bit. Overall the movie is fairly enjoyable and straight forward though they do throw some bait in the water for a sequel. There are a couple scenes where the disgust factor is rather high so be ready for that. Not really scary but not a bad pick for a horror movie night double header.

The Raid: Redemption (2011)

A S.W.A.T. team is dispatched to take down a locally entrenched crime boss. This is an Indonesian film and I viewed the dubbed version (yeah the dub was pretty lame). Don't pick this one up if you want a story or character development, or anything with more than 3 syllables. Just take your brain out and get ready for the adrenaline. This has some of the most insane and violent fight choreography I have ever seen.. its like a cross between Oldboy (2003) and I Saw the Devil (2010) .. if you are a fan of either of those films you will probably enjoy this one, granted both of those 2 movies have more meat on their story bone than this one, the action sequences make The Raid stand out as a milestone for insanely violent films. If you like balls out fighting and killing this delivers in a way Hollyweird studios only have wet dreams about. This one is all meat.. served bloody on a sharp stick!