Yogi Bear

Back to the Future Part III

Back to the Future Part II

Goonies

Die Hard

40 Year Old Virgin

Elf

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

The Holiday

The Foot Fist Way

Hot Tub Time Machine

A Bittersweet Life

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Layer Cake

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

Up In the Air

Alien

Get Him to the Greek

MegaMind

Back to the Future

The Road

Paranormal Activity 2

The Social Network

Phantasm

I know this movie is absolutely loved by so many people. I just didn't get it. I like the premise of the movie, but really didn't enjoy it. I wanted to yell at the characters in the movie so many times it wasn't fun. I can appreciate what they did with the low budget and effects, but I still didn't enjoy it at all.

[2/5]

Brick

A high-school murder mystery like you've never seen before. Make sure this movie has your full attention when you watch it or you will get very VERY lost. Oh, and that feeling of "WTF is going on!?!" for the first 30-45 mins... work through it, its worth it! An amazing flick, I seriously loved it and I'm looking forward to watching it again ASAP!

[5/5]

Easy A

I don't think I've had a cramp from grinning as much as I did through EASY A. I even laughed quite a bit at the unbelievable "Mom" in the movie. I loved the fact that it paid homage to all the 80s teen drama movies that preceded it. I think John Hughes would be proud of this one! This movie had me hook, line and sinker when Emma's character quotes Bueller's "never had one lesson"! We had a lengthy discussion afterwards and came to the conclusion that this takes over MEAN GIRLS at the top of my teen comedies films.

[5/5]

An American Werewolf in London

How amazing are the makeup effects in this movie? I'm so glad there was no CG when this came out. I'm not typically a big werewolf movie fan, but I did enjoy the heck out of this. And damn was that final scene some kind of violent!

[4/5]

The French Connection

So this is where action movies get all their ideas from. I rarely, and I mean rarely, enjoy a movie older than I am this much. I know, its petty, but for some reason that's how my tastes go. Gene Hackman is such a badass in this. Love the crime/drama/action combination that is the basis for so many good movies that are made now!

[4.5/5]

The Signal

After meeting the incredibly nice AJ Bowen at fantastic fest, I felt it was my duty to watch what I could of his. Finding THE SIGNAL on instant was great. I really enjoyed this "crazies" style flick that was obviously written by someone with a very intelligent sense of humor. If you are a fan of Shaun of the Dead or any other zombie/infected type of movie, watch this immediately!

[4.5/5]

FF: Primal

I'm not sure why this keeps getting promoted as "ozploitation" if not for a marketing gimmick. There wasn't a single thing that striked me as "ozploiting" except maybe for the accents. It was a good "monster in the woods" film though. That was, until they decided to have a Matrix-esque fight scene and some of the worst CG I've seen in quite some time! If you leave 20 minutes before the movie is over, you will really like this one!

[3/5]

FF: A Horrible Way to Die

I'm glad that Brian asked the question that was killing me to ask, "what is up with the cinematography?" or something to that note. I don't get motion sick, but I literally had to look at the floor multiple times to calm my equilibrium. I'm curious if someone will digitally stabilize this film (if that's even possible). I loved everything else about this movie. Such a great buildup and acting by AJ Bowen. Shame that they almost completely ruined it.
[3/5]

FF: Stake Land

I'm gonna go ahead and claim this as my festival favorite. I missed a lot of others' "favorites" but this was definitely my favorite film of the festival. I qualify this as saying its probably the only one I will seek out to watch again. The worst thing about this film is how damn tired I was watching it! I think this is where I got the moniker "loud breather" from the head back, mouth agape, almost passed out setup I had by the end of the movie. One description I came up with and reheard of the film was "Walking Dead with Vampires".

[4.5/5]

FF: Rammbock

This is what I'm talking about! A 60 min, German zombie flick. Fantastic Fest has finally hit what I wanted! This had a very strong 28 Days Later feel with the running zombies. It didn't go into length with setting up the story or finishing it off. It just came what it set out to do, throw zombies at you and make you feel a bit claustrophobic.

[4/5]

FF: Red, White and Blue

The worst/best part of this film is your internal debate that you go through on which side you are on. You definitely feel bad for all parties involved. This was a really good low budget film. The characters were well portrayed. I would definitely recommend this one.

[4/5]

FF: Sound of Noise

If you haven't already, go watch the short Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers. This is a really cool concept for a "musical" and I liked it quite a bit. I was a bit bored by the 4th act and if they had finished after the 3rd it probably would've been my festival favorite. I saw this at noon 30 and was nodding off at the end.

[4/5]

FF: Undocumented

We get it. Intolerable, dumb red necks are gonna fuck up this country by terror. I was really hoping some sort of monster was going to get them as they tried to cross the border. Instead we got an hour of torture. I did like the short before it though, Culebra.

[2.5/5]

FF: Norwegian Ninja

Even with the 15 minute dissertation on who this spy was by the director I just didn't get it. The first 10 minutes I laughed at some of the stuff going on, but after that I was done. I really wanted to get up and leave by the 30 min mark. I never followed the plot and never quite grasped what was supposed to be so funny that had over half the theater rolling with laughter.

This was definitely my least favorite of the festival.
[2/5]

FF: A Somewhat Gentle Man

This was my first "comedy" at FF. It was quite a bit slow and repetitive but had a good heart and made for a decent movie. I initially rated this 4 stars, but I think I was on FF high. Looking back I'm dropping it to 3.

[3/5]

FF: Mother's Day

We tried to get into the midnight showing of this but luckily they added a noon one the follow day. There was a lot of hatred going around the festival on this one and I felt like an outcast for liking it. I wasn't expecting a revolution of movie making, just a good insane family kills normal people kind of movie.

Sure, none of the characters are believable, but the movie was fun. It felt like a horror movie out of the 80s where you want to yell at the actors to do something different, something logical, but they never seem to do so. This seemed like the perfect midnight movie, but everyone who saw it at that screening really disliked it. Oh well.

[3.5/5]

FF: Buried

When they say this movie is in a coffin, they mean this movie is IN A COFFIN! I was worried that after a while I would start to feel claustrophobic but I never did. There are definitely some intense scenes and you really connect with the actor's emotions.

I was probably on a Ryan Reynolds high since he was in the theater with us, but I really enjoyed this one.

[4.5/5]

FF: Let Me In

Saw this one at the Paramount. I am a huge fan of LTROI, so going into this remake I was very wary. I was pleasantly surprised how well it was done. Still had a very dark feeling to it.

This probably would've been a 4.5 had it avoided using the very cheesy CG during the "attack" scenes. It really took from the whole feeling of the movie.

[4/5]

FF: The Man From Nowhere

Starting off my #FantasticFest reviews is The Man from Nowhere. To say I was a bit excited to be watching my first fantastic fest film would be a severe understatement!

The film was a bit long with the exposition, but the action was incredible. It could've ended about 30 minutes before it actually did and had the same effect.

[4/5]

Carriers

A lunchtime viewing. Carriers is a good survival-horror type movie. Although the horror is more emotional than your typical "infected" type movies. There's no danger of reanimated corpses or anything, just the disease itself. Its a good look into the humanity within us when humanity is gone. Carriers is a good pick for a fairly short instant watch.

[4/5]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

We somehow missed this in the theater. I could have sworn we had seen it, but I didn't remember it at all. This was my first HP book I read and now that I've watched the movie I feel like a lot was left out. The movie works on its own though and I probably would've enjoyed it more had I not read the book. Its a good penultimate in the series and gets you ready for the final "mission".

Potter Order: 3,1,4,2,6,5

[3.5/5]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The special effects in this one is by far the best so far. The final battle scene with Voldemort is remarkable! That being said, this movie drives me crazy. The character of Dolores Umbridge does exactly what she's supposed to do, gets under your skin and you're constantly praying for her to die a slow and painful death. I also don't get the plot point where everyone just ignores Harry in hopes that it will keep him out of trouble. The more I think about it, the more I like Goblet, so this one is definitely my least favorite so far. Rating in order from best to worst 3,1,4,2,5. Yes, I changed it up from last time. I'm allowed to.

[3.5/5]

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

While I enjoyed the dark, "Empire Strikes Back" feeling to this HP, it was still my least favorite. The ending was probably the best part, Voldemort returns for real, Harry doesn't really defeat anything but basically just gets away, and Edward Cullen dies!

For those keeping track, my HP order is now, 3-1-2-4
[4/5]

Killers

What to say about this movie... Um, there's a lot of good eye candy in it? How's that? Oh, here's one, I got my money's worth out of watching this by renting it at redbox.
[2/5]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I actually enjoyed this more than the first HP. Love the time travel element as well as Gary Oldman as Sirius Black. So far in my HP revisit, my order is 3-1-2.

[4.5/5] (but I'm rating it a 5 on netflix)

Wall Street

No, you didn't read my tag wrong. This is a "new" one for me.

I was a big fan of Boiler Room when it came out and now I know why. It definitely took a lot of things from Wall Street.

[4.5/5]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Another in our potter recap. This one does a good job of representing the book and provides some more action than the first.

[4/5]

Hatchet

After hearing that Hatchet 2 would be premiering at Fantastic Fest this year, I figured I'd better catch up before my trip out to Austin!

Hatchet feels like every slasher film you've seen from the 80s. Group goes out into the woods, gets chased by crazed, deformed, person. Lots of gore and little story make this a "meh" for me. It would definitely be more enjoyed in the middle of the night with some friends and drinks. Still looking forward to Hatchet 2 at FF!

[3/5]

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I've been listening to the audiobooks of the HP series. Now, we're going back and rewatching the movies. Watched 1 yesterday and while the book of course is better and more detailed, the movie definitely holds up and does the book justice.

[4.5/5]

The Losers

I was pretty excited about this movie when the trailers came out, but then the bad reviews started pouring in. I missed seeing it in theaters but just watched it at home. It was a very entertaining action flick with some good tongue-in-cheek humor.

[4/5]

Once

I think netflix describing this as a "musical" is probably not the best description. The movie is centered around a musician, but its definitely not a "musical". Although I do enjoy a good musical like "Across the Universe". "Once" is an entertaining film that makes me want to learn to play the piano and knock the dust off of my guitar. The music in it is excellent and it has a great story. I wish I hadn't sat on this dvd for so long without watching it!

[4/5]

Signs

This movie still gives me chills. I tried watching this while working on an app and got absolutely 0 work done. After watching this and Unbreakable, I feel sorry for M Night now.

Unbreakable

I actually watched this on AMC. With f'ing commercials and all. That's how much I like this movie.

Rec 2

While I didn't enjoy REC2 nearly as much as I did REC, don't let that fool you. It was still a great "found footage" style horror film. Plenty of good scares and a nice extension on the original.

[4/5]

Jackie Brown

Probably one of my lower rated QT movies, but that's not saying much. I seriously think this was only my second viewing since watching it in the theater. Pam Grier does a great job and Samuel L plays classic Samuel L.

This Film is Not Yet Rated

The system is broken. Yep. We get that thrown at us a lot in this doc. Having a panel arbitrarily rate a movie is just stupid these days. We get to see all of the "corporate corruption" and most of the movie is wasted on an attempt to stalk these movie raters.

After watching this, here's my ideas on how to fix things, either make a specific checklist that you go through and a certain amount of "checks" say for the word "fuck" get tallied up and a rating is given based on those OR have an open panel that the public is allowed to view and see why a movie got a certain rating.

Unfortunately, the doc wasn't all that entertaining to me.
[3/5]

Matrix Reloaded

Watched this on instant since I was feeling matrix-y and I don't have 1 on blu. It holds up fairly decent upon rewatching, but a lot of the CG Neo/Smith fight sequences look highly animated.

I still stick with my original rating:
[3/5]

Shutter Island

Keeping with the theme of watching movies of books I've read, we watched Shutter Island. It was a really good thriller and a great interpretation of the book.

[4/5]

PS. I love Mark Ruffalo

Angels & Demons

There's nothing quite like watching a movie that you've read the book to and not getting into it whatsoever. Book wins.
[2.5/5]

Inception

This was one of those films that was definitely even better on the second viewing. Being able to appreciate everything in the movie and not have to really "work" at figuring things out sure did help!

House of the Devil

House of the Devil is another one of these underground, super hyped, horror films. Luckily, HotD really lives up to it! The hype behind it reminds me of Trick-or-Treat although, unlike ToT, I really enjoyed this one. Definitely felt nostalgic for 80s horror with a good pl0t and good emotional intensity. Great ending as well!

[4/5]

Cloverfield

Another freebie on demand. A really good movie that is still entertaining upon repeated viewings.

[4/5]

Star Trek (2009)

Such a great reboot! It definitely holds up to my 3rd viewing.

I still don't like the water tube scene, but it seemed shorter than I remember.

I hope we get a few more of these!

[4.5/5]

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

This movie didn't do well in the theaters or get any decent reviews, but I thought it was pretty damn funny. Kathryn Hahn is becoming one of my favorite female comedic actors. The rest of cast seemed to overshadow Jeremy Piven.

Don't expect a serious movie, but do expect the same kind of humor you get from Stepbrothers.

[3.5/5]

Iron Man

FiOS had a free preview of EPIX movie channel, which included all their HD On-Demand titles.

I have yet to purchase IM on Blu, so this is my first time watching it in HD.

Still love this movie!
[5/5]

Inception

In order to avoid anything about this movie, once I heard Chris Nolan wrote and directed, I stopped watching trailers and reading reviews. This is probably one of the "freshest" movies I've ever gone into. That being said, it was simply remarkable. I haven't walked out of a theater with my mind blown away like this since I first watched The Matrix. By simply using other Chris Nolan movies to compare, it had more action than The Dark Knight and more intelligence required than Memento.

It is a definite must watch, and since I watched it without my wife, I'll be watching it again soon, hopefully on IMAX this time!

[5/5]

Couples Retreat

Imagine hanging out with some of your funniest friends and a couple of smoking hot girls and just being bored. That's what Couples Retreat is like. Yea, I laughed a bit, but it just let me feeling like it could've been SO much better. It seemed like Vince Vaughn was neutered and not allowed to be funny. Too bad.

[3/5]

Jerry Maguire

I believe this may be the first time I've watched this since it came out. It still holds up and I really enjoyed watching it again.

[5/5]

Predators

This is my first Predator movie since Predator 2. I've managed to avoid all of the AvP abominations.

I liked the action in the movie and really liked the musical queues from the original. I just felt like something was missing. Of course the ending left a lot to be desired.

[3/5]