Horror/Thriller, 80 Minutes, 2013
As we watch a mute, faceless killer explore their house, we learn from answering machine messages that they have recently moved out of the city and into this large country house. The killer then methodically prepares the house – sealing all escape routes – and himself for their arrival.
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” on IMDB
Action/Adventure, 129 Minutes, 2014
In the past decade we’ve been flooded with gimped, sanitized PG-13 action movies. Bloodless, asexual, effects-driven action replaced the hard-hitting, foul-mouthed classics of the 80’s and early 90’s. Similarly, spy movies drifted away from fun, gadget-filled contests between womanizing gentlemen agents and volcano-habitating super-villains to gritty, dystopian melodramas featuring corrupt governments and more double-crosses than a confirmation ceremony for twins.
Oh, the feels! (and a minor bit of unreasonable, misplaced, inappropriate jealously since I didn’t get cancer until I was an adult…)
Thriller/Drama, 99 Minutes, 2014
[Disclosure: I reviewed a screener of this film provided by the filmmakers. No other considerations were made.]
Last November, on our sister site MoreBrains.com, I reviewed a rare thing: a clever, low-budget horror movie. “Mimesis” was a zombie-less zombie movie that impressed me on multiple levels. I spent more time than I should have picking on its overly academic title. When the screenwriter, Josh Wagner [IMDB], asked me to review his latest effort, co-wrote and directed with Thomas Zambeck [IMDB], I jumped at the chance. (more…)
Zombie alert!
See the review of “Maggie” on our sister site, MoreBrains.com dedicated to all things zombie!
Drama, 165 Minutes, 2014
This movie represents a grand experiment in film-making. Writer/Director Richard Linklater [IMDB] gathered a cast and committed to an unprecedented 12-year filming schedule. During that time we experience the growth of Mason, a young boy (Ellar Coltrane [IMDB]), from age six to 18.
The question, of course, is: did the experiment succeed?
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” on IMDB
Action/Adventure, 141 Minutes, 2015
The tent pole of the Marvel cinematic universe is back with a vengeance after the massively successful 2012 “The Avengers” [My Review]. The entire main cast returns joined by many smaller characters from the various individual films. Joss Whedon [IMDB] is also back at the helm; rumors have it, for the last time.
You may notice that I never mention MPAA ratings. The main reasons for this are complex, but boil down to simple facts that the ratings system is arbitrary, manipulative and utterly useless for making intelligent decisions about what you and your family should see at the theater. The Dissolve brings us a short piece on the controversial PG-13 rating that’s been neutering films for the past few decades.
If you’re more interested in some of the inanity behind the rating system, I’ve found no better treatment than the 2006 documentary “This Film is Not Yet Rated” [My Review].
Zombie alert!
See the review of “Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead” on our sister site, MoreBrains.com dedicated to all things zombie!
One of the benefits of the comic book media explosion – one that we need to enjoy before the inevitable implosion – is that production companies are more willing to fund experiments. This spring two companies with non-traditional distribution methods lept into the world of comic book adaptations.
