10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg
Written by Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken and Damien Chazelle
Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr.

After getting into a car accident, Michelle finds herself chained to a pipe in a cemented room of a bunker. When she meets her captor, he tells her of the ongoing apocalyptic crisis happening outside of their doomsday shelter. However, Michelle has her suspicions when she learns more of the man who says he saved her life.

While J.J. Abrams has explicitly said that this is not a continuation of the original "Cloverfield" film from 2008, it certainly takes place in the same universe. And although I haven't seen the first installment of this alien plagued world, I have seen enough through several shifts working at a movie theater during it's release to know I did not care for it.

The areas that I felt were terrible in "Cloverfield" (i.e. "found footage" style, story etc.), were greatly improved for this film. Any style is a huge upgrade from the shaky-cam style of "found footage" movies. And I found the story to be much more engrossing than it's predecessor.

Rather than motivate the story using action and destruction, the filmmakers decide to go the psychological rout, focusing on the protagonists thought process after essentially being kidnapped. It made for a significantly more interesting film.

As for the cast, John Goodman stole the show. He captured his character so perfectly that it was easy to sway between trust and distrust with him. You were never sure of his intentions or his past. He proves yet again why he is one of the greatest actors of his time.

I'm not sure if anyone really asked for this film. Or if it was even meant to be involved with "Cloverfield" until they realized it would be the best way to market it (which is the more probable case). But regardless, this movie has been presented to the world. I would't go as far to call this a great movie. But it is better than a lot. Especially at this time of year. With the exception of "The Witch" and all of the Oscar winners that have been rereleased, I would say this is the best movie out right now. 

Although most of you are probably asking, "what about 'Deadpool'". For you, it's probably better than this. But not in my opinion. And that, my friends, is the beauty of movies.

My Rating: 7/10

Area 51 (2015)

Directed by Oren Peli
Written by Christopher Denham and Oren Peli
Starring Reid Warner, Darrin Bragg, Ben Rovner and Jelena Nik

Three young conspiracy theorists attempt to uncover the mysteries of Area 51, the government's secret location rumored to have hosted encounters with alien beings. What they find at this hidden facility exposes unimaginable secrets.

With a weak and cliched opening, the first twenty minutes felt like unnecessary character development that only hurt the movie. With the introduction of three "bros" who say "dude" way more than they should, you immediately begin to hate everything about these characters, thus rendering the next 70-80 minutes the most annoying 70-80 minutes in recent memory.

One of the characters just keeps complaining the whole time and when they finally ask him why he's there he doesn't give an answer. His character is entirely useless. The main character-- or the character who seems to be the most interested in the mission, makes really dumb choices, like refusing to leave a house they had broken into when the owner gets home. He seems to forget that THIS IS NOT A TIME SENSITIVE MATTER!!!

They come up with all of these security measures that Area 51 is apparently armed with, yet in one of the most secure bases in the country, they don't have security cameras and people watching those cameras? 7-11's have more security cameras than this depiction of Area 51 has.

Also, there security guards are only trained in seeing heat. Not human shaped objects.

Perhaps this films worst offense (next to being made) is how much it drags. It takes so long for anything to happen and it's not suspenseful. It's just three guys and occasional one woman being really annoying. That mixed with there terrible way it's filmed (it's the first movie to give me headaches, including other found footage films), create for an overall terrible 90 minute experience.

And this complaint is more about Area 51 conspiracy theorists than it is the movie. Who cares if they're lying? It has nothing to do with your life! You are obsessing over something that literally does not matter and the day that the government finally comes out and says "you were right", nothing will change. Except you might have an alien friend. Which is cool and all, but focus on what you have, not what you don't have, man! It makes for better movies.

My Rating: 3/10

Home (2015)

Directed by Tim Johnson
Written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, based on the book "The True Meaning of Smekday" by Adam Rex
Starring Jim Parsons, Rhianna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Matt Jones

When the Boove discover sanctuary on Earth from their enemy the Gorg, the abduct all humans and jam them into Australia, stealing everything else. But when an unpopular Boove named Oh jeopardizes his species' peace, he is hunted down. While on the run, he finds a lonely girl who escaped capture and helps her find her Mom.

In a time where many animation studios are staying a float by adding more things for the parents in their family movies, Dreamworks has stepped in and taken the reigns with the films directed towards younger audiences.

Unlike movies from Pixar and Disney Animation (two different entities that just happened to be owned by Disney), in which plots are often darker and have heavier content that is both kid friendly and holds the adults' attention, "Home" aims for an even younger audience and neglects to think about the parent's in attendance.

Their first mistake, in my mind, was casting both Rhianna and Jennifer Lopez. Perhaps it is the crowd I surround myself with, but I don't know many people over the age of 16 who listen to those artists religiously. Or at the very least, enough to be excited that they are in a movie. Not only was it meaningless from a marketing standpoint, but from the acting side, it just gave the movie lower quality voice performances.

With a soundtrack plagued by Rhianna  and Jennifer Lopez songs, the entire movie just felt like an advertisement for her. Sure, when a musician agrees to be in a movie, they usually lend a song for good measure. But the songs just did not fit the scenes they were in. The became a distraction rather than an enhancement.

The plot of the movie itself, although cliché, was an interesting enough start. They definitely had a foundation and enough jokes and gags to make a good movie. And the casting choices weren't an immediate deal breaker. I just can't pinpoint where the filmmakers went wrong. It's a decent movie, but I feel a lot of little mistakes cost them the quality of the movie after such a promising short film.

My Rating: 5/10

The War of the Worlds (1953)

Directed by Byron Haskin
Written by Barré Lyndon, based on the novel by H.G. Wells
Starring Gene Barry, Sylvia Van Buren, Sandro Giglio and Lewis Martin

After a suspicious object lands just outside of Los Angeles, all of the citizens of nearby towns flock to go see what they believe to be a meteorite. But they soon discover that the object that crash landed in the hills is intact an alien spaceship. One of many sent to destroy life on Earth.

Undeniably way ahead of it's time, the 1953 adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic is certainly not as intense as it's 2005 counterpart. But it is a brilliant example of the ingenuity and creativity of it's generations filmmakers. Back before computers became the answer to all film making problems, miniature sets, props and special effects had to be imagined using limited resources.

While the film itself is not terribly horrifying and the performances were given at a time when very few people knew the difference between stage acting and film acting, it is definitely one of those movies that are impressive merely for it's age. To see how things were done before the age of Hundreds of millions of dollar budgets.

"I got no strings on me… oh wait"

I doubt many other types of people would enjoy this film. This is a true film buffs movie. I personally didn't watch it for the story. I've read and seen that story in a version specifically made so that Tom Cruise could run. This was exclusively out of interest into how they would pull it off. And from that standpoint, it was quite impressive.

My Rating: 6/10

The History of Future Folk (2012)

Directed by John Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker
Written by John Mitchell
Starring Nils d'Alaire, Jay Klaitz, Julie Ann Emery, April L. Hernandez and Dee Snider (Yup)

The possibly exaggerated origin story of the real life alien bluegrass band, Future Folk, that has been playing for NYC audiences for the better part of a decade.

The history of a relatively popular comedy duo from New York City, "The History of Future Folk" is definitely not short on imagination. A story about aliens sent to destroy Earth only to fall in love with music, which their planet did not have.

The music the duo creates is catchy and topped off with clever lyrics and catchy melodies. The idea of a couple of aliens adapting to Earth culture provides humorous imagery, particularly when they wander around a Cost-Co like store in amazement.

The film itself is nothing special. The acting of the protagonist is bland to the point where I can't tell if he's just bad at acting, or he feels that a hardened General from the plant Hondo would have a lack of emotion comparable to someone who has had too many Botox injections.

However, the creativity of this film, and the devotion of creating a back story to their musical duo was enough to make this film interesting. And regardless of it's catchy songs, it is an entertaining movie.

My Rating: 6/10

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Written and Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Richard Dreyfus, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut and Bob Balaban

After an encounter with U.F.O.s, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area of the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

I know what you're thinking. "How have you not seen this, Mike?!" Don't be that guy. No one likes that guy. There are over a million movies in this world, and I have seen a great deal that you haven't. So cut me some slack, Jack!

Even 38 years later, this movie is still impressive, if not more so. The main thing I love about movies before CGI is the ingenuity people had to go through to get the shot they wanted. That was and is the brilliance of great film makers. These days it's easy to say "we'll use CGI" instead of creating a practical effect and that, to me is boring.

I think the main thing I loved about this film was just how different it is from all other alien contact movies. In an industry that shoves the fear of alien abductions down your throat at every chance they get, this was a movie that approached the idea of Extra-terrestrials not with fear, but with scientific curiosity. When every one could have turned and ran the other way, they all stood dumbfounded and intrigued.

…Dumbfounded…

I have never seen an alien encounter movie like this. They didn't even have the government try to capture them using excessive force. Just a little force. Nothing serious. It is truly unique and leaves you wanting to learn more about the visitors. Which is what I'm sure Spielberg was going for.

My Rating: 7/10