Review: SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

I can safely say you won’t see this one coming. Not because there is an unexpected twist at the end - or some other kind of cop-out - but because the characters in this movie are so unpredictable there is really no way of knowing what direction they are pointing their gun at, or when they might pull the trigger - accidentally or otherwise. This is a richly self aware movie, where the characters are literally writing the movie on the go. In an age where most movie characters - and writers - lack freewill and subscribe to common genre conventions a script like this might appear to lack direction or cohesion. But that is not the case here; it is just rare to see a movie where the characters truly have control of the events that surround them. Writer / director Martin McDonagh has done what many writers aspire to by breathing freewill into his characters.  

Review: THE HUNGER GAMES

Before seeing the intended feature film, two movie previews juxtaposed together revealed that the most obvious, and perhaps best, trailer mash-up for this year will be “Twilight: Breaking Wind: Part Two” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” That my computer-literacy tops out at around updating a blog stops me from creating the fan-trailer myself—well, that and I now I feel the joke has been acknowledged and drained of its comedy. Measurably more shocking, and for the first time in a long time, two hours later I found myself in a very, very small circle of dissenters and carping faultfinders holding an abysmally low opinion on the year’s first megahit: “The Hunger Games.”

Defendor

Yes. Yes, I think so.

Review: 2012

So Roland Emmerich got tired of destroying Manhattan and decided to do the same to the rest of the world. I can safely say he does a much better job when he thinks in larger proportions. 2012 is the Godfather of disaster movies; earthquakes destroy Los Angeles and half of California with it; a volcano erupts and consumes most of the Midwest; tsunamis consume the Himalayas, and the Earth takes an 180˚+ turn turning Michigan into the South Pole! (I'm not joking this actually happens). Of course Emmerich does not expect us to believe this could actually happen, which is good since last time he spent too much time on the "sciency/I want to make this plausible" bullshit it kind of ruined The Day After Tomorrow. 2012 does have "scientific" briefings, which is a bit of a shame but I will get to that later. But first thing's first.

Review: ZOMBIELAND

I used to think that the people behind popular reality television were the most brilliant people in the world. Here was a group of people who bent marketing over, and spanked it. They provided content that fed off of exactly what they knew the viewer wanted.

Before Zombieland was released, I thought no one would top them in that regard.

Zombieland

AHHHHHHH.



Also, Bill Murray.

Review: TRANSSIBERIAN

Transsiberian is about trains. There are lots of trains in this movie. About 70% of the movie takes place on trains. The characters are like trains. The entire structure is a train - a movie on a long, twisting, turning track, where you feel like you are just along for the journey, and you are not exactly sure of your destination, and not exactly sure if you are heading towards a big wreck.

This is just one of the hundreds of feelings you get during Brad Anderson's indie film, Transsiberian.