Admission (2013)

Admission IMDb
Meh! I kinda knew I wasn't going to love it.  It was okay to see.  I like Paul Rudd and Tina Fey, so why not?  This had some cute moments.  It gets a little preachy halfway through but not bad.  I like the genius kid here.  This is a movie about finding you're true calling in life.  Whether you're calling is to be a parent or to go to another country or anything.  Short, simple, a little sweet Hollywood movie.  I wouldn't buy it but if you got nothing to do on a Saturday night after work and couldn't decide on a movie to watch with your loved one, this is okay to get at your nearest redbox.  That's it.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier IMDb
I heard this was the least favorite from the Star Trek movies.  After watching it, I now know why.  The story was okay but a lot of scenes were a bit bland and cheesy for this kind of a movie.  I didn't feel the closeness of these characters like I did with the other movies.  The "villain" here wasn't much of a threatening villain.  Having said all that, I do like some of the cheesy moments like the camping scene.  I mean, I never thought I would see some of the Star Trek crew roasting marshmallows and singing "Row, row your boat."  This movie is not a must buy unless you're collecting all the other movies.  

Pieta

Pieta IMDb
Very strange Korean drama we got here.  I was liking the premise and even the little plot twist in the second half but overall, I just didn't like the vibe in this.   There were some crazy torture scenes in the beginning.  That was good.  Our main character then meets his "mother" for the first time in his life and things get very weird between them.  All of a sudden he doesn't want to torture people and wants to have a family he's never had.  Weird moments happen.  I was beginning to enjoy it more there but then it fell through for me.  The "mother" never explains herself until much later in the film.  The final moments in the film were a bit random.  I guess it's supposed to be somewhat poetic.  Unfortunately, I didn't connect well with this film.  This is released through Drafthouse Films. I usually love most of their stuff.  I love Korean cinema but this movie is not worth buying.  Rent it if the trailer interests you.  You might have a different reaction than mine.

Norwegian Ninja

Norwegian Ninja IMDb
This low budget ninja film from Norway was pretty weird but cool at times.  This came out at Fantastic Fest a few years back.  I think it won the award for best new filmmaker and etc.  I love the cheesy low budget effects here.  They go overboard with the ninja stuff here.  Sometimes it's cool but sometimes it's a little lame.  Do love the score and the flow of this 80 minute movie.  It has a weird but simple plot.  They're training ninjas and one becomes "the master."  A little bit of action throughout this film.  Favorite scene is when 4 ninjas mysteriously invade an office of a president of some sort.  Overall, okay to see if you like ninjas.  I wouldn't buy it.

You're Next

You're Next IMDb
Totally freaking awesome home invasion movie we got here.  The long wait and anticipation was worth it.  I been trying to see this for almost two years now (since Fantastic Fest 2011).  Hell, I even did home invasion night last year thinking this was going to come out.  Glad to have seen it this Saturday night.  Had the pleasure in seeing it with my brothers in Midland.  A few good twists and surprises.  Won't give away those spoilers because that is what makes this movie so unique and badass.  Excellent kills.  My favorite kill is the blender scene.  Love the song they play here over and over.  After seeing this, I got even more pumped for Fantastic Fest this year.  This is what is all about: badass genre films for fans of genre movies.  Any other movie fans: at you're own risk.  Can't wait to own this and finally start a Home Invasion section in my collection.

The World's End (2013)

The World's End IMDb
Good times!  Good times!  My 2nd most anticipated summer movie is this movie right here.  While I think my favorite from this Edgar Wright Cornetto Trilogy is still Shaun of the Dead, this one is still up there.  Lots of little laughs here and there.  I love love the first hour.  The last part was okay.  I do like the message of this movie.  I love the characters, even the smaller characters.  Good freaking plot with a pub crawl tour full of robots and blue gooey stuff.  Favorite moment:  I love most moments but one that comes to mind is when the friends first arrive into town and Simon Pegg's character acts like a kid when he knocks on a random door and runs.  The owner of the house runs out after these middle aged men and treats them like kids.  Couldn't help laughing during that part.  The last part of the movie kind of got out there a bit.  Reminded me how "This Is The End" went out there at the end as well.  I didn't mind the over the top stuff on this one, though.  Enjoyed it. We did our own Mini Pub tour for this movie.  Ours is less hardcore than the 12 pubs challenge.  We went to 3 pubs in 3 weeks.  Each pub paired with a movie from this "trilogy."  The Gingerman, Duck and Dog Pub, and The Draughthouse Pub.

Saw this with some Wells Bombardiers (Ale from England)

Police Story

Police Story IMDb
Comedy and Action and more Comedy with Jackie Chan.  This Hong Kong classic police movie was pretty good.  Had its charms in the first half.  You can tell this was made in the 80's with all the music and style.  It starts out with a big shootout within 10 minutes of the movie.  Something out of an old school John Woo flick.  It turns to a chase scene only Jackie Chan can do with his crazy stunts.  Boom!  We have more fight scenes throughout.  My favorite is a fight scene between Jackie Chan and the impostor hitman (another cop).  Awesome!  I first heard about this during a Kung Fu night at the Alamo many years back.  Finally got a chance to see it.  There's actually a few more parts to this movie. 

New Release Tuesday: Shadow Dancer

Shadow Dancer IMDb
Decent thriller about a lady that's involved with the IRA.  It got a little tense halfway through.  Other than that, overall, pretty good for a one night of entertainment.  This doesn't cover what the IRA is and what is it about, so you will have to have some kind of knowledge behind that group.  This simply follows a lady that gets caught during a terrorist act.  She is given a decision: either to go to prison and not see her son for a very long time or turn in her brothers with IRA connections.  Tough choice.  Clive Owen is the official that gives her those options.  My favorite parts to this movie are the surprises at the end.  Nobody saw it coming.  This is in par with a Liam Neeson movie called, "5 Minutes of Heaven."

Oscar Sunday: Amadeus

Amadeus
I never knew what Amadeus was about.  And of course I didn't know that Mozart's first name was Amadeus.  This is the award winning biopic about the rise and last years of one of the greatest classical composers of all time.  This is all told through the point of view of another classical musician who always jealous of Mozart.  I don't like big costume/period dramas so it was hard to enjoy this one.  The only reason I saw it was because I'm a big fan of music in general.  I wanted to see and hear some of Mozart's stuff.  Never knew he had a funny laugh and that he was somewhat weird.  This was pretty long (2 hours and 40 minutes).  I wouldn't advise it unless you're a big fan of this period or curious about Mozart.  Or if you like the opera.  Lots of opera scenes here. 

Cult Classic Friday: The Room

The Room IMDb
Wow! This is the most stupidest movie I've ever seen yet it was damn hilarious.  I caught myself giggling quite often. This is a movie that was made to be taken seriously yet the acting and story was very amateur and it ended up being taken as a joke.  I loved it.  So many great lines.  Lots of unnecessary scenes like characters coming in and out that serve no purpose.  And what about those softcore porn slow sex scenes with that cheesy music?  Wow!  Love it every time someone says, "Oh hi!"  Also love all those times they play with the football (they toss the ball to each other when they're only few feet apart).  If you're going to watch this, I suggest to get some roses and chocolate and make slow love to your partner while playing this in the background.  If you do that, you are either going to break up or have the best night of your life.

Antiviral

Antiviral IMDb
Now this was unexpectedly good.  Another Fantastic Fest veteran here.  Directed by David Cronenberg's son (Brandon Cronenberg).  I thought this was going to be uninteresting but I was wrong.  It kept me intrigued.  The whole thing was good.  Not great but good.  The plot to this sci-fi horror is crazy.  Our main character is a weird guy who works at this clinic where people with celebrity obsessions go to get diseases that their favorite stars have.  Crazy, huh?  The plot thickens when our main character obtains a deadly virus from the main celebrity in the movie.  Twists and turns and more weird stuff happens.  If this is the future, I am ready to die cause I don't want to see any crazy fans paying to get warts from Justin Bieber. 

New Release Tuesday: Errors of the Human Body

Errors of the Human Body IMDb
These mad scientists scare me.   Maybe not as bad as other movies but they're definitely weird here.  This whole movie had a weird vibe.  I don't think I ever want to see it again.  I mean, I love lots of weird movies for different weird reasons.  This just wasn't for me.  This came out at Fantastic Fest last year.  It's a movie set in Germany but it's in English.  It was going okay at first, but, after a while, I didn't really care about the story.  The only crazy part is cutting a tail of a laboratory mouse and that was an accident made by our main character.  These weird scientists are working in a human regenerating gene project and our main scientists stumbles upon the project for personal reasons and all of a sudden a crazy virus is created that results in tragic consequences.  That right there sounds good to me but the overall movie delivery of the movie just didn't cut it for me. 

Elysium (2013)

Elysium IMDb
District 9 with a budget and instead of aliens we have badass robots.  District 9 was one of my favorite movies I saw in 2009 so seeing this follow up from the same director (Neil Blomkamp) was a necessity.  Matt Damon didn't do it for me for the most part and I didn't really care much about the characters but damn the story was pretty awesome except for the dramatic daughter with leukemia story.  The ending was a little too Hollywood but certain moments and the story as a whole made this movie good in my book.  First of all, I like the concept from the very beginning.  Didn't care much about the flashbacks.  The best parts of the movie are the crazy sequences with our main villain who is played by the main actor from District 9.  There were some good surprises there.  Good special effects.  Good build up sequences.  So for a summer popcorn movie, this one delivers.  As a movie with a lot of heart, this one is far from it.  Most of the story can be a metaphor for illegal immigrants trying to get to the United States for better quality of life.  Hmm! Something to think about.  Nah, let's just keep being selfish and superficial. 

Manborg

Manborg IMDb
Very stupidly awesome Sci-Fi movie from Canada.  Stupidly awesome?  Is that an oxymoron?  Well, that describes how I feel about this movie.  I first heard about this at Fantastic Fest in 2011.  I like that they purposely went all the way with the cheesiness dialogue and special effects, VHS quality, and bad dubbing.  Even the dubbed voices don't even fit with the character.  I know there some movies out there that go for the same style: throwback to low budget 80's sci flicks.  Sometimes they get annoying.  This one got me on a good mood.  It's a low budget Robocop thrown in a post apocalyptic world shot mostly in green screen with lots of demons and all under 70 minutes long.  I like that some special effects look like they were done with clay.  That may be the case.  Reminds me of the "Three Little Pigs" video by Green Jelly.  I would buy this if I see this on sale but not in a hurry.  Manborg is my hero for today.

Vampire Thursday: The Fearless Vampire Killers

The Fearless Vampire Killers IMDb
What a coincidence!  Sharon Tate was murdered 44 years ago tomorrow by the Manson family.  She was pregnant with Roman Polanski's baby.  They both met while making this movie.   It's a coincidence that this is this month's vampire movie.  I must say, Sharon Tate looks very hot and beautiful especially in this movie.  I wouldn't mind her taking a bite out of me.  Wait, I'm in a relationship.  Dammit, I never learn.   I just commented on the only good thing about this movie.  The rest was so and so.  It stars Roman Polanski as a nervous vampire hunter, except there's hardly any vampire hunts here, but it's supposed to be like that cause this is a comedy.  A silly comedy kind of making fun of the vampire genre.  For the most part, I found it uninteresting.  Mainly because I got home after midnight due do to a last minute thing at work.  So, I was out of it.  Stayed awake all the way through but my focus wasn't 100%.  See, I admit when I do things like that.  But from everything I saw, I didn't like this movie except for Sharon Tate (rest her soul).

Starbuck

Starbuck IMDb
This Canadian comedy was balanced with a few comedic moments and sweet moments.  This isn't your laugh out loud comedy, although some dialogue throughout the movie made laugh a bit.  This is more of a "make you feel good" kind of a movie.  Here we have this guy who finds out he's fathered 533 children during his sperm donor days.  The clinic messed up and gave all his sperm away instead of spreading it with others.  This guy wants to prove himself that he's worthy so he starts looking for these people.  He starts helping them out as a father without telling them he's the actual father.  Our guy starts feeling good about himself and more happy stuff happens.  That's pretty much the highlight.  I thought it was a decent movie to have a good time with.  I may not add this to my "To Buy List" but felt okay seeing it.

New Release Tuesday: Mud

Mud IMDb
Matthew Mcconaughey is a wanted criminal with more sun tan in this crime drama.  This movie is more about the kids that help him, though.  More specifically, about the one 14 year old boy who is going through a lot of changes.  In a way, this is a coming of age movie.  This boy's parents are going through a separation. His mom is moving him to the city.  He likes this high school girl and looks up to this criminal named, Mud.  This is a movie that teaches certain lessons in life. Majority of the time, we spent with the two boys helping Mud out in rebuilding a boat to escape and delivering messages to his love interest (Reese Witherspoon).  Some gangster stuff happens towards the end.  I would of wanted the ending shot to be switched with the scene right before the ending.  I won't spoil it here so I ain't going to say the details.  Good decent crime/drama.

Samurai Monday: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai

 

Hana: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai IMDb 

This is a very different kind of samurai movie.  It was long and dramatic and funny as well.  It's about this guy who is brought up to avenge his father's death as a samurai but instead of fighting with swords he uses that anger and transforms it into literature.  Goes against several samurai codes.  It has the 47 Ronin reference told in another perspective with a little bit of humor.  This samurai movie has no battle scenes or blood.  So, if you're expecting that, this will be disappointing.  It has a sweet element to it.  I didn't love it but I liked it as a whole.  This is one to see when you're fully awake.  I had to watch it in two settings because I dozed off the first time.  Made Samurai Dynamite Shrimp over rice and had a big bottle of Asahi Beer with this movie (which is probably the main reason for dosing off). 

Chicken Little

Chicken Little IMDb
Last night while shopping for movies, we decided to buy this for my son just for kicks.  My son and I saw it this morning.  Cute little story about a chicken who tries to prove himself worthy in several ways.  He finally does so by saving the town from an alien invasion.  Pretty cool.  My son was shouting, "Look, more aliens!!"  It reminded me a bit of Paranoman in a way (one of my son's favorite movie).  I like the poppy popular songs they used here.  They made the songs fit the scenes. This movie also has a father and son theme to it.  

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone IMDb
This was pretty entertaining.  I covered the red carpet to this movie at this year's SXSW.  Shot an interview with Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Olivia Wilde.  So, I knew I had to see it one day.  With low expectations in mind, this movie ended up being alright.  Jim Carrey plays a silly and exaggerated David Blaine/Criss Angel type of character.  In the beginning, I thought it was funny but after a while, it was a little too much with that character.  Our main character here is Burt Wonderstone. He's a jerk at first but then finds a heart there halfway through.  This had a few chuckles.  Maybe more than I expected.  Overall, silly cheesy movie about magic.

Love Exposure

Love Exposure IMDb
Finally got the chance to see this Four hour long movie.  You heard me correct: Four hour long movie. It's a crazy Japanese film by Sion Sono (the director of Suicide Club and Cold Fish).  I first heard and had the chance to see this back in 2009 during my first Fantastic Fest experience.  I was unable to see it due to the length of the movie.  Tonight, I got me a few Kirin Ichibans and pulled me an all nighter.  Did I love it?  Not love, but I did like it quite bit.  The first hour was so freaking awesome.  It was my favorite hour of the movie.  Fantastic!!  That hour saved the movie for me because the rest was so and so.  It gets very dramatic halfway through.  Luckily, there were a few action/bloody scenes that gets me back in it.  It's a long love story.  It gets annoying for a little bit there with the two main characters in love.  But, that's how it is, I guess, people in love do stupid things.  It's divided into different chapters.  Again, that first hour was awesome.  That's when you see our main character being a bad ass ninja doing upskirt photography.  No girls ever know what captured them.  Music was pretty awesome too.  The movie is also about religion and this new religious cult group that brainwashes people (reminds me of Suicide Club, a bit).  Overall, pretty good.