Unstoppable (2/5)
Tony Scott and the DP do their best to make this into an action film--sweeping dynamic shots of locomotives moving forward and back--but an action film this is not. This is a movie about two engineers who connect their train to a runaway train and apply the brakes to slow it down.
I’m not as cool as I used to be.
I just remembered that my old church made a point of having us all vote on our church logo. There were three options I believe--please, pick the one that represents your essence. Thankfully, my faves totally won!
Unknown (4/5)
Liam Neeson in his late 50s now, has become quite the action hero. My first time back at the Cinerama in awhile now--new management has come in and made their concessions menu simple and cheap, which was nice. And I too easily forgot how lovely those digital projectors look. Of note: Liam's first and only wife of 15 years died from a head injury sustained during a ski lesson two years back. Sad.
Predator (5/5)
This King Kong action film has aged very well. Silvestri's score is quite memorable and unique. Arnold and Co. have a fair share of cute one-liners, but none of them are obnoxiously cliche or cheese as in the disastrous "The Running Man". And it is usually a good sign when the lines "I'll be back" aren't traversed over for the 80th time. The DVD transfer looks crumby though. I remember being certain that VHS was a perfectly good format, then I ...
The Social Network (4/5)
I'm among the many who love nearly everything Fincher does; this film however suffered from overhype and left me a tad disappointed--the defining and best film of a generation, really? I don't know how much people will be talking about this film five years from now. "Fight Club" and "Seven" on the other hand seem to rattle around the collective conscience going on ten years now.
The Running Man (2/5)
A sloppy and silly cartoon of a film, dropping nearly every cliche in its action scenes and one-line dialog. This was produced the same year and cost about as much as 'Predator', which is a far superior film (probably my second favorite Schwarzenegger film after T2). Casting the host from Family Feud as the villain is the only decent choice the filmmakers made. A cheap score, and typically over-zealous futurecasting also didn't age the film ...
Let Me In (5/5)
A remake of the absolutely sublime Swedish film from a few years ago, this stays true to the dreary Scandinavian aesthetic (shot in New Mexico to great effect) and ads a few touches that all worked well. For a story that has many innocent people dying gory, painful deaths, I found myself rooting for the killer. Certainly one of the most overlooked films of the year, and a box office disappointment. My favorite vampire film, hands down--sorry ...
The Last House On The Left (3/5)
For a Wes Craven production in the torture porn era/genre, this film had surprisingly sincere dignity and humanity to the characters (well, aside from the head in the microwave postlude bit).
Enter The Void (5/5)
Gaspar Noe's latest film is absolutely stunning. Like nothing I've ever seen before. This makes David Lynch look like Ron Howard. How this did not cost $100 million to produce is beyond me. Over a year of digital production to finish it. Played at Cannes--two years in a row. The loudest opening credits ever. There are dozens and dozens of epic shots that would make any other mainstream film envious. Noe and his DP drop absolutely phenomenal ...