(Red Band) Trailer: V/H/S/2 (2013)

One of the better, more original horror movies I've seen in a while was the anthology V/H/S which had various stories of terror - some better than others, but worth watching all of them.  Now the red band trailer (which means blood and boobs) for its successor is out and promises to be even better than the original!  If you have the stomach for it, check out the intense trailer for the sequel below.  Great stuff!

Now Watch This: Detention (2011)

Please don't disregard this movie as another cheap slasher, because it is not.  Oh, there's some slashing in it, but it is also a comedy, a romance, a sci fi movie and all kinds of other craziness.  Detention is one of the most original movies I've seen in a very long time and holds a break-neck pace of witty quips, 90's references, and twists throughout.  Think Scream meets Back to the Future meets The Breakfast Club - if you can picture it.  You have to have a somewhat open mind and being a kid or teenager in the early 90's will help you get all of the now retro references.

The story focuses on a will-they-or-won't-they pair of friends, Clapton (Josh Hutcherson) and Riley (Shanley Caswell), who face the struggles of high school involving a menacing bully and the alienation of being a nerd, respectively.  All the while the school is being menaced by a masked killer - which serves as a parody of the awful Saw movies - who is picking off certain kids... but why?  And just when you think you've got a handle on the plot... things get weird, including time travel, body switching, and a loud-mouth Canadian.  But don't mistake this for a number of movies that just throws a bunch of crap at the screen and hope something sticks.  This movie is crazy, but completely intentional and never feels like it has jumped off the tracks.

I'm not going to give anymore away, but can tell you that apart from some surprisingly good writing, sharp cinematography, and a killer soundtrack (c'mon... "MMMBop"), the acting is also unexpectedly good.  Like I said, if your idea of a good movie is a stuffy plot, rigid acting, and completely (yawn) predictability you should stay away from this one.  For anyone else who can appreciate a unique story that blends just about every genre available, then I highly recommend this one.  Sadly, movie watchers have quickly dismissed this gem, but hope you too can see in it what I have found.

IMDB Score:  5.6/10

My Score:  8/10

The REAL Titanic Love Story Y'all

Mini-Review: Argo (2012)

What is really left to be said about this movie that hasn't already been said?  I realize how late I am to the Argo party, but feel compelled to say my piece anyway.  These days a lot of movie goers confuse a great movie with a flashy one and the difference lies within the story.  To understand the determination, simply ask yourself if the story is worth telling.  Argo certainly fits that classification.  This unbelievable-but-true story involves a top secret mission in 1980 coordinated by the CIA to rescue six American diplomats from Iran.    Due to the unrest against Americans at the time, they took a life threatening gamble on pretending to be a Canadian movie production crew scouting locations for their upcoming sci-fi movie.  Very gritty, always tense, and amazingly well done from the script to the camera work, from the acting to the costume design.  A lot of people still have a hard time taking Ben Affleck seriously as a filmmaker and actor, but I would challenge anyone who doubts him to find major faults (with either capacity) in this movie.  And with the recent media and social focus on terrorism against America again, I think this story resonates even more.  In a nutshell:  watch this movie (if you already haven't).

IMDB Rating:  7.9/10
My Rating:  8/10

(Red Band) Trailer: Only God Forgives (2013)

Not everyone "gets" director Nicolas Winding Refn's work, but I sure do and cannot wait for his next work of art.  The director of the mis-maligned Drive brings back his lead actor Ryan Gosling for a Thai crime thriller about a kickboxer who gets mixed up with the wrong people... imagine that.  The first trailer for Only God Forgives is finally out and is categorized as "red" but hardly fits the classification.  It doesn't tell us much about the film except that it will be visually engaging and certainly violent as are most of Refn's movies.  Check it out below.

Happy Easter!

As far as Easter movies go, people usually go full-Jesus or all-out cutesy bunny... Donnie Darko is a good medium.  If you haven't seen it yet (and can handle "off" movies) you are doing yourself a disservice.  And if your name is Patrick and still have my DVD this would be a good opportunity to watch it!  Either way, enjoy your ham, egg hunts and Happy Hopping Easter.

HUGE Evil Dead News!!!

Director Sam Raimi - of the original Evil Dead series, but you may know him from Spiderman 1 - 3 or the upcoming The Great and Powerful Oz - had recently teased the audience in a London showing/interview that he and his brother were indeed working on a script for Evil Dead 4 - A movie which all involved said that they would NEVER, EVER do.  Now Sony has confirmed that Evil Dead 4 is actually moving forward.  Be still my geeky heart!  Not only that but producer and frequent Raimi collaborator Rob Tapert has described it as following where Army of Darkness left off (well, give or take a few years) and that Bruce Campbell himself will be strapping on the chainsaw and dusting off the old boomstick to return as our beloved Ash.  I'm picturing him as a washed up kook who no one believes went back in time to stop the Deadites... only to have to call on his skills once again with the help of a son...  James Franco, anyone?

The news only serves as further fuel for my desire to watch the upcoming Evil Dead reboot, which Raimi and Campbell both say fits into the world of the original movies as well as the upcoming sequel as the characters are completely different and those events are happening at a different time.  So take that, haters.  Sony also confirmed that due to the highly positive reception of the remake that they have already green-lit a sequel.  So with these two pieces of awesome-sauce news it appears that a world of Evil Dead (one in which I wrote off more than 10 years ago) will soon be a reality once again!  Thank you Movie-Jesus!