Horror movie cliches are abound. It has all the elements of the average horror film, practically a text book example. The trailer promised a slow-moving but creepy pace, but the film has a much faster, action and gore motivated pace. It takes full advantage of "jump scares." The music bangs as something or someone quickly appears on the screen. It makes you jump (hence the name) out of your seat, but it leaves no lasting impression. No real sense of fear, just a fleeting startle... [more]

Just like The Wrestler mirrored Mickey Rourke's film career, Crazy Heart mirrors Jeff Bridges'. Jeff is a seasoned veteran. He has been in the spotlight for so long. He has inspired generations of actors, yet an Academy Award and big dollar paychecks have alluded him so far. Bridges is easily one of the most underappreciated talents in Hollywood. Now with this grand slam of a performance, his Oscar win seems within reach, and he is every bith worthy of the praise and recognition he garners for this role. Stirring emotions when numbed by alcohol is no easy task. The scene in the mall where Blake loses Jean's son is incredibly tense. The old codger limps around on his bad leg sweating profusely words spilling out the corner of his mouth... [more]

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio seem to have found their niche, depicting a relatable and empathetic leading man who spirals into instability. It started with The Aviator, fine tuned in The Departed, and has come to fruition in Shutter Island. This is easily one of DiCaprio's finer roles. The level of distraught and stress he carries with him throughout the series of events adds so much more tension than any other element of the story... [more]

The Coen Brothers are probably one of my favorite filmmakers. Their obsession with human suffering and mortality and the humor that lies within have been endlessly entertaining in their past work. It has never been more clear than in this film. It is obviously very personal evoking much of their own religious faith and tradition, but unfortunately esoteric. As universal as some of the themes are, a lack of knowledge in Jewish tradition certainly hinders some of the effect and makes it much less accessible thana general existential plot... [more]

The movie has A-list effects working through a B-movie creative process. A lot of time and effort seems directed at the action and design. There's explosions, gunfire, and some pretty excellent gore. A small amount of survivors fight off an ever-growing horde of angel-possessed people zombie apocalypse -style. There is an intense one on one between Archangels Gabriel and Michael, Gabriel armed with some medieval mace/chainsaw thing that was kind of cool looking. The spectacle of the movie was very entertaining even if just in a cheeseball way, but it falls just short of being watchable B-movie fare... [more]

A remake of director Martin Campbell's British television mini-series of the same name, Campbell has imported the story across the pond to Massachusetts and has enlisted down-on-his-luck screen legend, Mel Gibson. Quite an obvious choice when one thinks about it. When it comes to righteous anger, no one does it better than old Mel. There is a ticking time bomb behind Mel's eyes that is truly frightening, yet he stays relatively calm throughout the whole investigation, a determination motivated by finding peace for his daughter, the only family he seemingly has left. Practically anyone can relate, the loss of a loved one, let alone a child, is instantly empathetic... [more]

It gets some credit for not wallowing in too many teen sex romp cliches. Its humor is powered mostly by quirk and wit than shock value and vulgarity. Yet, it only delivers a few genuine laughs. The embarassing moments get too embarassing resulting in pure awkwardness. The attempts at romance in the midst of sexual encounters seems forced and ingenuine. The plot is too episodic like watching a series of shorts in a row. A series of animated segues do the pacing no favors. With the back up of a great cast and successful original material, it is hard to imagine a movie would fail so badly... [more]

Terry Gilliam is probably one of my favorite directors, but his self-indulgent directing style drags this movie down considerably. Mr. Nick is overtly an analog for the Devil. This starts a constant search for religious analog throughout the film. You can definitely find some, that is the genius of Gilliam's multi-layered work, but it becomes a chore. It is distracting trying to figure who is the analog for God or Christ or whoever... [more]

The Lovely Bones is a big heap of disappointment. What seemed like a poignant, other worldly thriller never could find its pacing or tone bouncing back and forth between genres. At one point, a murder mystery where a desperate father is trying to find clues that would lead him to the evil slayer who is so close. At another point, it is an introspective family drama where the pieces caused by this tragic loss are clumsily put back together. Last but not least, is the fantasy world just beyond reality where Suzie Salmon's (the victim) imagination comes to life. Separately, they are mildly effective in their intention, but together they are a poorly constructed final product undermining Peter Jackson's grand reputation... [more]

George Clooney is an old-fashioned Hollywood player. He brings an incredible amount of charisma, grace, and machismo to the screen, and hits all his beats. If the movie was to rest solely on his shoulders it would be equally good. This is one of many roles Clooney was born to play. His profession has evolved to this point, a relic of the old ways being forced about by the coporate culture yet hangs on by a thread only to come out on top every time. He is a lovable jackass, but one that shows just the right amount of heart at the right time for us to never give up hope for him. He quietly evolves into something he never thought he'd be... [more]

Admittedly influenced by the hit zom-com, Shaun of the Dead, Z-land brings enough yucks and yuks to keep pace, but unfortunately doesn't surpass Shaun. The movie is well cast using a number of young upstarts plus Woody Harrelson, who always excels as goofy douchebags. Each brings a great amount of heart and charisma that makes the conversation much more natural than forced in either a horror or comedy way. Each character has a dark moment in the past. You'd expect most characters to have them, but unique to this film is they are not defined by them. For instance, Tallahasse suffers a great loss. One would think he would turn inward and become a loner. Instead he becomes a badass who shoots from the hip and the mouth, and while reluctantly, he still bonds with his travelling companions rather than alienating them. A refreshing take on survival horror... [more]

The story has a lot of potential . Utopian world. Robots. Subtle thematic undertones that turn out to be not so subtle. The movie never reached it's full potential. It promised to be a robot action flick with a thriller pace, but the movie crawls to the ending. It is full of plot holes and the storyline seems pretty forced. A world where 99% of the population are actually controlling robots to do their day-to-day stuff probably does not need an FBI, yet there is one that looks well funded and very busy. The robots are also lacking serious emotions. That sounds weird considering their machines, but they are controlled by people yet comically perform as pieces of wood... [more]