Cloud Atlas - Truth is singular, its variations...are mysterious

Cloud Atlas... I stumbled upon this trailer on accident some several months ago. Having heard of the book, and hearing good things about this magical author named David Mitchell; I was pretty excited to see this film. It was actually at the top of my must see film list. I did something I don't normally do before I write these things, I read other reviews about this movie. Headlines claimed this film a flop, terrible, snooze fest, too complicated to follow. Just flat out boring. It was disappointing to hear this. One of the few times I must disagree with the flock, and stand my ground against a current of negative reviews about this film...and defend it. They deemed the book, Cloud Atlas, unfilmable. Too many characters, and too complicated of a plot to try and follow. I won't deny the complexity and lengthiness of the movie; but it's not a terrible thing either. Cloud Atlas starred Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Doona Bae, and Ben Whishaw; with a slew of many other actors/actresses as well. The directors were Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski. These people were responsible for the Matrix trilogy, and the only movie I could find you may relate to is Perfume. To me, at first, watching this film was confusing because of the time/story jumps that happened so sporadically. And without much warning you are forced to put together the pieces of this magnificent puzzle. Eventually, I began to mind less and less, until the ebb and flow of the shifts almost seemed natural. Another thing I read was that they were claiming that these were Hanks's and Berry's worst performances. I'm not much of a fan of Halle Berry, but each of these actors played at least three different characters. Hanks played five different roles, forming five separate personalities; all that grew and developed his being's ultimate purpose. The same went with the other cast members as well, none of them fell short of good. Tom Hanks is my favorite actor of all time. I'm told I'm crazy or silly for saying this, but it is true. One of the roles he played in Cloud Atlas, I didn't even really recognized that it was him. To me, he proved himself of my praise with Cloud Atlas. In my lifetime I don't believe I will see another actor quite like him; or capable of matching his skill as an actor. Maybe Joseph Gordon Levitt, but that's a stretch. I was dazzled when I left the theater; I have never seen such a deep and thought provoking movie. Not about the truth of whats out there, but about the possibilities of what may be. Is it possible that if you know me now, did you know me in the past? Will you know me in the future. If we loved, does our love extend beyond time and the stars; only to find us again in a different time. What if in meeting me, and I caused just a few ripples in your timeline, would you still be on the same path if those ripples had never existed? The thought of being on a set course your whole life, and then in an instant, you will be set on a completely different course. That, for me, isn't too far from the truth, my path has shifted so many times in my life. It's tough to imagine if I am still the same person as I once was. Time will do that to you. Time filled with tedium, chance, repetitiveness, luck, love, lust and adventure. This movie captures all of that, and lured me in without a fight; allowing me to relate and connect. Though it is purely fiction, and I might sound crazy for saying this; but it makes you wonder about the people you know and love. Is it truly written in the stars for us to know each other forever. Having a knowledge of the force, I don't believe in chances or coincidence. But that is just me. Most critics hated this film. Well most of those fucks have A.D.H.D, and can't be entertained without something exploding or stupid witless comedy. Don't let me pursued you, and don't let those professional assholes pursued you. Most of them give there reviews to either, A, jump on the bandwagon and not hurt their reputations. Or B, they were simply paid to. Same thing happens with the video game industry. If you lack any kind of mental capacity to comprehend complex story-lines, then don't watch this movie. Simple as that. If you crave a deep, thought provoking film that inspires everything from love, to a revolution, and everything in between. I implore you, see this movie. I give Cloud Atlas a 5 out of 4. Remember, an idea is but a drop in the ocean, in the grand scheme of things. But what people forget is that the ocean consists of millions of drops. ...Everything is connected...

Seven Psychopaths - SHOTGUN!!!

Yeah, yeah, it's a little late to review this movie. But you know what? I don't care. I'm giving you a little mini review anyways. Seven Psychopaths starred an amazing cast that consisted of Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and Woody Harrelson. The director of this film was Martin McDonagh, who did a few short films and nothing else really. This film won a few awards before it reached the big screen. But no real hype that I heard of; then again I'm told I don't listen at times either. Any-who... I wasn't all that into this film when I saw the trailers for it. But after we had seen everything that we wanted to and was still itching to see a movie (Yeah I know I have a problem) it was either this, or Here Comes the Boom. Well Fuck Kevin James, that movie looks terrible. So Seven Psychopaths was what we chose. Let me tell you, I have never been so happy to pick a movie I didn't want to see. From the very first scene I laughed my ass off at the strange and grotesqueness of the scene. Of course I was the only one laughing, but then again, I myself, am a little fucked up. I had a smile on my face the entire movie. The acting from everyone was amazing; there were no weak-links in this cast. I couldn't believe it. The plot was absurd, but it worked on so many levels. This movie did have layers, and aside from the craziness of the characters and the plot that flew off to left field; it got a little deep. I can't recommend this movie enough, I loved every second of it; and is probably one of my favorite comedies this year, possibly of all time. But Dumb and Dumber is hard to beat; that movie still stands the test of time. I give Seven Psychopaths a 4 out of 4. Go see this film and give it the credit it deserves. 

Paranormal Activity 4 - He doesn't like you

Paranormal Activity. A film and story with great potential, but also a franchise that needs to fade away. The first film was good, not great, but good. It introduced something new, and refreshing into the horror genre. Not the way it was shot, but it was something that I couldn't really put my finger on either. But it definitely instilled terror into its audience. Personally, seeing someone dragged out of bed while they were sleeping, and into an attic, by something invisible, is pretty scary. Well, they road this franchise pretty hard; sucking every last cent they can get from people while doing it. Providing the same scares, same deaths, same general outcome to the story. Sure there were jump scenes, and scenes that make you say, "What the fuck?" But this thing has been revamped, rehashed, and retold, four separate times, even spanning across different time periods. And honestly, nothing has really changed. The last ten or fifteen minutes of each film is what moves the story along. Everything else is just pointless fluff that is meant to scare you, but does nothing to move the story along. I believe I read somewhere that they shot enough "scary" scenes to make two or three movies with. Really? Before I go any further let me introduce you to the actors. This film starred Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively, and Brady Allen. The full cast isn't being displayed for reasons that it might give away the story. The directors are Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, both of these guys worked on Paranormal Activity 3 and a documentary called Catfish together. What I don't understand is that do people in films not believe in turning on lights? Or maybe waking someone up to help you investigate the strange noises? Or better yet, NOT run towards the growl, noise, or boom that is terrifying and trying to kill you? Call me a wimp, at least I won't be folded in half by an invisible cult demon. Even for something as fictional as this, I just don't believe humans would behave this way. I also think I'm reading too much into it; what do I know. I went to this film seeking closure to this story. I didn't get it, and it raised more questions, and answered nothing. I basically paid twenty bucks to watch a fifteen year old girl get scared, and people to die quickly and violently. I left the theater unsatisfied and a bit annoyed. But story lines are becoming shallow; people now-a-days have short attention spans and require very little depth to keep them entertained. Oh God, and the product placement. "Hey, look at this cool thing the Kinect, for the XBox, can do!" as he sets his Pepsi can in front of the camera. Seriously!? Show me your other fucking sponsors.  Have the fucking demon mom strip off some LOVE PINK clothing and show a little boob and we might have a movie. Product placement irritates the hell out of me. The acting was okay, same as the other three films. Story is the same, hasn't changed from the other three films. This franchise is becoming the next Saw...I can't remember where I heard that from. But it is true. I also have to look at the other side of this as well. Society has become so desensitized that nothing is really scary anymore. So if you have a formula that manages to frighten some people, and make you a little money while you are at it, then kudos. I can't recommend this film though. I give Paranormal Activity 4 a 1 1/2 out of 4. Stay after the credits; there is a little teaser. Number five will be out next Halloween...Shit. Go see Sinister instead. 

Argo - I have never left anyone behind'

I had little or no faith at all in Ben Affleck, I'm just not impressed with this guy. But Argo showed me something about Ben that I did not see...Talent. Ben Affleck directed and starred in this film along with John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, and Alan Arkin. This film was based on true events of course. And it was very fascinating actually. I loved the filmography, it looked and felt as if it were filmed in the late 70's. But during the middle of the film I started to fall asleep. It may have been because it was so late, or it could have been because it was slow as hell. But when the plan started rolling and the plot was coming to its peak, I was literally on the edge of my seat. I was holding my breath, the suspense that this film managed to build was intense. I blame my falling asleep at the time we went and saw this movie. Ben Affleck's abilities to direct and execute this story was very surprising. This was a well made film, that I enjoyed very much. I have nothing to really say about it. I like to point out the negative in films, but there was nothing negative I could say about this movie; other than it was slow. I give Argo a 4 out of 4. I heard Ben Affleck was the top candidate to direct the Justice League movie. That is a superhero movie; completely different from what he has tackled thus far. But after seeing this movie my faith has been restored...to a degree.

Sinister - Don't worry, I'll make you famous

I look back, and it has been a long time since I have been scared watching a movie. I don't even remember the last movie I watched that I found frightening. Well it's time to update that. Sinister scared the crap out of me...at times (not to sound like a complete pussy). There was hype generating around this film at how scary it was. People walking out because they couldn't handle it, critics also getting the shit scared out of them as well. So I'm not the only one. The actors that starred in Sinister were Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, and James Ransone. The director was Scott Derrickson, he was also known for The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and Hellraiser : Inferno. So he has some experience in horror; I liked Emily Rose. I'm normally not one to be sucked in by hype; so I wasn't completely convinced that this movie was a scary as I had heard. Well I was in for a little surprise, and not just me, but the audience was screaming during certain key scenes. The guy behind me was freaking out. What I loved about this film is that it doesn't suffer from an excessive amount of jump scenes. Jump scenes are moments in the film where the villain pops out and loud music plays briefly. And its not the bad guy that makes you jump, it's the music. Sinister does not need this cheap tactic, this film was genuinely creepy. The music that did play during the viewing of the super 8 films was probably the creepiest part. I can still hear it, and it gives me goosebumps. What this film does suffer from is predictability, I had it figured out before I even saw the demon. And it wasn't giving itself away or anything, it was just obvious. The other thing I greatly, greatly, disliked about this film was the end. If they had just shaved off two minutes off the ending, it would have ended perfectly. All in all, I liked this film for what it was. The acting was performed well. The plot was intriguing, and well put together. This, to me, was a good scary movie. I give Sinister a 3 1/2 out of 4. If you are squeamish, and scare very easily, I wouldn't recommend this to you. But if you are squeamish and scare very easily, gather your balls and go see it.  

Frankenweenie - I can fix that

A boy and his dog can be the making of a very special friendship. I should know, I had a dog as a boy. I grew up with him, we both became adults, and I was at his side when he passed. He was my best friend, my partner in crime, and the eater of my leftovers. I could heavily relate to this movie, I know the lengths a boy would go to keep his dog safe. I to have made sacrifices to keep my friend safe; but that's a whole other bucket of crazy I don't want to dive into. Frankenweenie is such a film, showing the friendship between a boy and his dog. The stars of Frankenweenie are Martin Short, Martin Landau, Winona Ryder and Charlie Tahan. The director is, Tim Burton, you know who that is. I walked out of the theater unsatisfied, as if something was missing. The best thing I can compare this movie to is chicken...strange I know, but I did think about it. I love chicken, but this movie was like eating dry chicken. It wasn't juicy, it lacked flavor, and had no impact on me. The plot was fine, very rushed, but, fine. The art was very similar to Corpse Bride, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. I really liked the art, if you are sensitive, this movie IS in black and white. I thought it was a nice touch, but if it bothers your eyes I wouldn't recommend it in 3D. If you have read my reviews, you know my views on 3D. The movie didn't need it, it wasn't eye-popping, no scenes that stood out. I did love the characters, but what I didn't see was any growth or development of any of them. Minus all of the grave robbing, this movie was cute at best, but not memorable. I want to like this movie, but the rushed feel of the plot, and the lack of any real development of the characters kind of halts any real fondness I may carry for it. But, again, it's a kids movie. I give Frankenweenie a 2 out of 4. We arrived late and I missed the trailer for the new Wizard of OZ movie. DAMN YOU Wendy's and your Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers! But on a more serious note, don't dig up your dead pets and electrocute them. It's a little weird.