Everly (2015)

Everly (2015)

Stars - Salma Hayek

           Jennifer Blanc

           Hiroyuki Watanabe

Directed by:  Joe Lynch  (@TheJoeLynch)

Summary: An action/thriller centered on a woman who faces down assassins sent by her ex, a mob boss, while holed up in her apartment. (via imdb). 

There’s a moment fairly early in Joe Lynch’s Everly when our plucky heroine (Salma Hayek as the titular Everly) is on the phone with her would be captor/killer. In this scene, Salma manages such a raw emotion that it immediately draws you into her character as a living breathing entity.  It’s a moment so genuine and powerful it drives your relation with the character for the rest of the movie. Frankly, it’s the best I’ve ever seen of Salma, who somehow manages to look exactly the same as she did in Desperado (ironically what the poster is styled after). 

Apologies to all

I wanted to drop a quick note of apologies as I haven't had a chance to write many reviews lately. Mostly, it's been because of the success of the SlasherCast podcast and most of my viewing time has been caught up in watching movies for the show, which I don't write reviews for this site, because it seems overkill. So, I haven't had much time for new movies in theaters that aren't podcast related. I do hope to be able to get some time soon or start doing random Netflix reviews. Stay and hang in there. I promise to start posting some thoughts here soon.

Men in Black III (2012)

Men in Black III (2012)

Stars - Will Smith

           Tommy Lee Jones

           Josh Brolin

Directed by:  Barry Sonnenfeld

Summary: Agent J travels in time to MIB's early years in the 1960s, to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history. (via imdb). 

Men in Black was one of the movies that cemented Will Smith's reputation as a summer hitmaker. It was smart, funny, action packed and above all, original for its time. Based on the hit comic, it was true to the spirit and feel of the comic, but had a life of its own. And then Men in Black II came out, and, well... it just didn't work for me. It lacked some of the proper tone and joy that the first had and just seemed like they were just painting by numbers. So, when they announced a third movie, especially after so much time had passed, I was skeptical at best and fairly dismissive. Add to that a litany of woes during the shooting, and an incomplete script while they were shooting, and my hopes were sunk. I went into this movie with low expectations and...

The Raid: Redemption (2012)

Stars - Iko Uwais

           Joe Taslim

           Doni Alamsyah

Directed by:  Gareth Evans

Summary: A SWAT team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs. (via imdb). 

Sometimes a film is billed by word of mouth as something extraordinary. This can be good or bad, but it almost always inevitably sets an expectation one way or the other. And it's often difficult to ...

An Angry Star Wars Geek Looks Back (Or why JarJar should still die a slow death from Syphilis)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D (1999/2012)

Stars - Ewan McGregor

           Liam Neeson

           Natalie Portman

Directed by:  George Lucas

Summary: Two Jedi Knights uncover a wider conflict when they are sent as emissaries to the blockaded planet Naboo. (via imdb). Alternative synopsis: The guy most prominently placed on the poster (the best character in the movie) is in this for less than 15 minutes and (spoiler) dies. WTF?

There's a weird symbiotic relationship between George Lucas and his most ardent fan base. Actually, it's parasitic, because he knows he can get our money know matter how much he craps all over our fondest childhood memories, and yet, he finds new and even more dastardly ways to part us from our cash and fill his already huge coffers. He knows we're his slaves, and i think he likes it. So, after absolutely going apoplectic when this movie first came out and cursing the name JarJar from the rooftops, how on earth did he get me to pay to see this again? Simple, he went after my kids ...

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)

Stars - Josh Hutcherson

           Dwayne Johnson

           Michael Caine

Directed by:  Brad Peyton

Summary: Sean Anderson partners with his mom's boyfriend on a mission to find his grandfather, who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.. (via imdb). 

The sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth is Fraser-less, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as we get Dwayne (I'm not The Rock anymore) Johnson. Josh Hutcherson reprises his role from the first movie as a yong Vernian searching for his missing grandfather and The Mysterious Island, not necessarily in that order of importance. What ensues is...

The Woman in Black (2012)

The Woman in Black (2012)

Stars - Daniel Radcliffe

           Janet McTeer

           Ciarán Hinds

Directed by:  James Watkins

Summary: A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals. (via imdb). 

James Watkins has made a beautiful, atmospheric movie. It is wildly cliched, sometimes overacted (mostly by grief-stricken mothers) and I suspect the ending will divide the audience greatly. This is a Hammer film in all senses of the words. It's gothic, dark, moody and large-scoped. That's the good...