Macbeth (2015)

Directed by Justin Kurzel
Written for the screen by Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie and Todd Louiso
Based on the Shakespearian play
Starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Paddy Considine and Sean Harris

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

This is Shakespeare. There is little more to say than that. This adaptation, or rather interpretation of the classic Scottish play is how I imagine it was supposed to be portrayed.

The acting, as expected from the brilliant cast, is top notch with no flaws in my mind.

The cinematography is beautiful and perfectly captures the bleak landscape of Scotland.

The original score is haunting and perfect.

This is certainly my favorite version of any play by Shakespeare. But simply due to the consistency of which Shakespeare is replayed, I feel everything else I could say about this film would just be redundant.

My Rating: 8/10

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

Written and Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
Starring Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi,  Marshall Manesh and Mozhan Marnó

In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.

The tag line for this movie is "The First Iranian Vampire Western". The problem with that is that it's only slightly more Iranian than "Argo" and about as much of a western as "Maid in Manhattan". If western was the feel the director was going for, they failed miserably.

Before I begin to say how I really feel about this movie, I will give it credit where it is due. It is a well made film that is certainly unique. The filmmaker went out and made a film written and directed by herself and it flows well.

That being said, I just was not interested in anything going on at all. That is more of a testament to my own personal tastes than it is the movie itself. I can count on hand (minus three fingers) how many of the countless vampire movies I have actually enjoyed. It is simply not a genre a enjoy or can bring myself to care about. And the vampire movies I do like are so much more than just about bloodsuckers.

The setting that was supposed to be Iran was painfully obvious that it was actually filmed in California which just further showed what a low budget it was. And being produced in part by Vice News, the "edginess" seemed forced as if they were trying to be punk. Nothing in the scenery or character designs seemed as if they were supposed to be there.

I wouldn't go so far to say this is a film you should skip. It wasn't for me, but it could very well be right down your alley.I would have much rather the Dracula element taken out completely. I just hate vampires so damn much.

My Rating: 5.5/10

Rubber (2010)

Written and Directed by Quentin Dupieux

Starring Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser and Roxane Mesquida

As film spectators watch, a killer car tire comes to life in a desert dump site. It soon discovers it's telekinetic ability to make small animals and people's heads explode. Going on a rampage, the people running the show soon find themselves in over their heads when things don't go exactly as they planned.

What I like about this movie is the meta mindset it establishes from the first line of dialogue. Some scenarios or decisions in movies are for simply no reason. So why can't an entire movie be made for no reason at all? The filmmakers made it for the hell of it and they didn't try to hide it.

As an employee of a movie theater, the commentary by the spectators was hilarious. There were situations and exchanges between some of them that is very true to real life movie goers. This made for hilarious moments.

What I didn't like about the movie is that it felt like a joke that lasted too long. Even at it's short 82 minute running time, it overstayed it's welcome by about 50 minutes. Had this been a short film (or at least shorter than it already is), it could have been much better.

The filmmakers knew exactly what this movie was-- a nonsensical absurdist comedy/horror movie that isn't meant to be taken seriously. It just could have been better and I mean that sincerely. It had potential and would have achieved that had it been half of it's running time.

My Rating: 5/10