Movie Scum

At recent press events, Fox and series creator Kevin Williamson came under fire for the depraved and violent imagery in the new series The Following. While I do not subscribe to the notion of “violent entertainment = violent real actions,” it seems odd that this show would get singled out while other network serial killer/law enforcement drama Criminal Minds is in its eighth season. Perhaps the attention was due to the starring role of Kevin Bacon or the fact that I don’t watch broadcast TV and I still swear I saw about 63 promos for this. It’s like they piped it into my dreams, man.

Written by: PBF The Taking , the first feature length film by The BAPrtists ( Lydelle Jackson and Cezil Reed ) is a bold and well crafted horror film. Upon viewing, the time, emotion and care employed to create this film exudes from the screen and forms an impressive entry in to the cinematic universe. We meet Carl ( John Halas ) and Jade ( Alana Jackler ). Carl's fiancé, Carolina ( Linda Rodriguez ) has cheated on him with his best friend. Jade's daughter was murdered by a man ( Frank Bliss ) and was never caught. They have both somehow found themselves tied to trees in the woods. They suffer from bizarre and horrifying visions and are tormented by a family that perform various rituals. Each vision seems to possess them, and leave them bloodier and weaker. They are frequently confronted by the very cause of the rage that may have brought them to the woods; Carolina and the man that killed Jade's daughter. Carl comes to the realization that this is a place to face on...

With a dynamic cast and an engaging story, it would be hard for Argo to fall flat but considering Grant Heslov and George Clooney's output as a producing team, it could have as easily ended up as an overwrought, insufferable look at international relations (cough,Syriana). Fortunately though, Ben Affleck returns to the director's chair bringing his experience and past strengths and little of the overdramatic and deadly serious tones that normally populate this sub-sub-genre.

A sympathetic or relatable character is generally a necessity in any movie but especially one that's set in the world of a billionaire's family and his money-printing hedge fund. Richard Gere stars as Robert Miller, a who's who in the world of finance who not only is desperately trying to sell his company to cover up his $400 million loss to his investors, but is also having an affair on the side. As if being a cheating and fraudulent investment broker wasn't enough, Miller flees the scene of an accident where his mistress was killed and ropes in an unsuspecting family friend to his shenanigans.

It's been an increasing trend in the past few years as movie trailers have become more shameless and bloated but a common cry after seeing a movie is "The best parts were in the trailer!" Sadly, this refrain is true for The Watch but even more sad is the fact that those featured moments, the best-of if you will, were not even that good. The rest of the movie followed suit.

This series just keeps getting weirder. With [REC] 2 picking up right after the original ended, it would be difficult to continue on the same path with the same momentum as those films. As such, co-writer/director Paco Plaza of the first two decided he would break the formula in quite a few ways. [REC] 3 runs concurrent to the original instead of dovetailing into it like one might assume from the subtitle. In a lovely Spanish church compound, a young couple in love is about to tie the knot in front of their closest friends and family. Little did Clara ( Leticia Dolera ) and Koldo ( Diego Martín ) know that inviting that one creepy uncle would not only make things awkward, but also turn their wedding party into a excursion in survival. Even though the film runs very short, the quick running time still leaves time for Clara, Koldo, and some of the other notable wedding guests to have adequate introductions before the police show up and crazy rapid zombie people are crashing thro...

As much as I want to like Shia LaBeouf  as a serious actor, his past career choices and general absence of skill make that difficult.

A zombie movie that is compelling, decently acted, and not crap! Who knew they still made those? No doubt you’ve seen The Dead pop up in your local DVD kiosk or big-box retailer with the quoted proclamation that it’s “The Best Zombie Movie of the Year.” Lofty superlatives normally carry some weight when paired with your latest Ben Affleck or Clint Eastwood movie, but I tend to be leery when it comes to low-budget horror since there are plenty of reviewers who are quick to label excellence upon crap to everyone else. Surprisingly though, that declaration is warranted.

This movie is apparently pretty widely hated. And to think, I had never even heard of it before.

Why did I not have a desire to see Warrior when it was in theaters? The stellar-looking cast including Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton didn’t hurt but perhaps it was the seemingly overwrought story of two estranged brothers who each are fighting against each other for whichever predetermined important reason. (Was that even supposed to be a surprise in the final act? Because it’s all over the trailer!) Or perhaps Warrior didn’t strike my fancy since I am hardly a sports fanatic even though the brutality and testosterone-y aspects of MMA are pretty cool. Yet, all it took was one of my colleagues saying “You’ll want to tackle someone while watching it” that got me on board. For the record, he was right. Even if you are Amish or have short-term memory problems, or have otherwise not seen the entire narrative spoiled in the previews, the story in Warrior is so expected that you can see it coming from two summers ago. Hardy plays Tommy Conlon, an angry and bitter man who has suffered thr...

In spite of the cast and crew, I can’t say I was expecting much from The Campaign . Sure, Will Ferrell is still arguably one of the best comedic actors still working but his recent output has been inconsistent. Likewise, Zach Galifianakis has had a few good roles but is largely coasting on being the weird, lovable lunk that John Candy may have played twenty years ago. In the film, Farrell pretty accurately portays Cam Brady, a North Carolina good ol’ boy who is running for Congress unopposed. He’s suave and well-spoken but doesn’t actually believe a single thing he says other than he wants to be congressman again. In other words, he nails a typical politician with ease. After Brady leaves a lewd answering machine message at Jack McBrayer’s house, the Motch brothers ( Dan Akroyd and John Lithgow ) decide to throw a monkey wrench in his campaign by backing Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), a simpleton with no political experience who is easily swayed into poor decisions by money and p...

I’m typically a sucker for end-of-the-world type stories so I was curious about Seeking a Friend for the End of the World even with an apparent lovey-dovey relationship courtesy of writer/director Lorene Scafaria. While I haven’t seen most of them, Steve Carell has successfully headlined a number of films but he just seems uncomfortable in this romance/comedy/drama hybrid. Granted, his character is meant to be shy and reserved but it’s a wild change from most of what he’s most familiar from. His screen partner Keira Knightley is delightful and the two leads share a good chemistry. But, and possibly by design, their relationship never feels as genuine as it should as the two attempt to cross New Jersey apparently (bleh) on the eve of the apocalypse. There are some funny moments as well as some serious ones about the reflection of life and love but because the film never really commits to which genre it wants to be in, things are less impactful. Until the world comes to an end that is...