Directed by Joe Lynch
Written by Kevin Dreyfuss and Matt Wall
Starring Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, Peter Dinklage and Jimmi Simpson
Live-action role players conjure up a demon from Hell by mistake and they must deal with the consequences.
A comedy for proud nerds everywhere, "Knights of Badassdom" puts a group of LARPers…. LARPists? LARPephiles? People who like LARPing in a real life medieval magic scenario in which they are confronted with a violent succubus!
Falling somewhere between over-the-top and too-tame, this film fluctuates in entertainment. Some scenes are amazing and hilarious, while others are slow moving and boring. However, this is a movie that looks like the cast and crew had fun making, which gives it bonus points.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by John Michael Hayes, based on the novel by Jack Trevor Story
Starring John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine, Edmund Gwenn and Mildred Natwick
The trouble with Harry is that he's dead, and everyone seems to have a different idea of what needs to be done with his body.
In this rare, dark comedy from the incomparable Alfred Hitchcock, murder is not the punchline, but rather the set up to many ludicrous situations. In 1950s Vermont, the citizens of this small town seem to be more concerned with being proper and polite than they do with a dead body. Perhaps a satire of the unachievable expectations of manners in the 50s. But I was born in 1989, so what the hell do I know?
The film itself isn't filled with jokes or slapstick situations. It is the sheer macabre nature of this story that makes it's own humor. Hitchcock's dark sense of comedy is so apparent that I could just imagine him sitting bend the camera, grinning from ear to ear.
The age of this movie will turn many away and as much as I urge people to give this and any other classic movie a shot, I understand completely. Older films are not always for everyone due to the way films have changed overtime. The evolution of humor alone has created such a gap in what people of different generations find funny.
"The Trouble With Harry" is dry, dark and ridiculous. If anything, I would say that you will most likely never see another film quite like it. It speaks about death so nonchalantly that it's no surprise that the writer of the novel and the director were both British. So painfully British.
Directed by David Cronenberg
Written by Bruce Wagner
Starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson and John Cusack
A tour into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts.
A dark, unapologetic satire on societies obsession with celebrity and the fight for fame, Cronenberg puts his personal twist on the world of Hollywood. Although I'm sure it's exaggerated (at least I hope it is), this film showcases all of the degenerate, self obsessed people that create the movies we love. And it will disgust you.
In true Cronenberg form, he adds an element of psychological thrills to this story. Throughout half of the film, you still find yourself trying to fit the pieces together to figure out exactly what the hell is going on. But unlike his other films, when everything comes together, it's a little underwhelming.
Throughout his career, Cronenberg has given us some of the best psychological thrillers ever made. And this movie wasn't bad, it was just not to par with the rest of his work. It's also just hard for me to enjoy a movie in which I want to get as far from it's characters as humanly possibly. Or give them a swift kick to the throat. But it's a DVD… It doesn't have a throat. Oh, well. It could have been worse.
Directed by Jonas Pate
Written by Thomas Moffett, based on the story by Henry Reardon
Starring Kevin Spacey, Mark Webber, Keke Palmer and Dallas Roberts
Unable to cope with a recent personal tragedy, LA's top celebrity shrink turns into a pothead with no concern for his appearance and a creeping sense of his inability to help his patients.
A humorous, yet dark mosaic of the protagonists patients' lives, this film does a great job of bringing out the comedy in tragedy. The lives of the characters are all connected through mutual loss, drug addiction and depression, yet somehow find themselves amidst the chaos.
Kevin Spacey is fantastic, as has come to be expected from the two-time Academy Award Winner. He continues to prove himself as an actor that makes other actors better. That fact is most apparent in the scenes he shares with Keke Palmer.
I wouldn't go far to say that the young actress isn't talented. I would just leave it at her inexperience. Before this film, she had yet to impress me. And even as the troubled student aspiring to become a filmmaker, she never wowed. But it was definitely an improvement from other roles.
With a very basic and overdone plot, this movie won't stick out above many others. It is relatively formulaic and easy to predict. But it is definitely not a waste of two hours. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's entertaining. And in the end, that's all you really need from a movie.
Written and Directed by Mark Romanek
Starring Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Dylan Smith and Eriq La Salle
A lonely employee of a one-hour photo lab becomes obsessed with a young suburban family and imagines himself a part of it. His obsession soon becomes dangerous as he learns his perfect imaginary family isn't so perfect.
Yet another example at the greatness of the late, great Robin Williams and the diversity of his talent, this film shows off the comedians dark side. His performance makes it so easy to relate and sympathize with his character, who is clearly not well. You find yourself condemning, yet understanding his actions from beginning to end.
The story is intriguing and enough to make the film worth the watch, but it is Williams' performance that pushes it from good to great. His focus and meticulousness in both the developing of photos and his obsessive behavior adds to create a character that is hard to forget.
Robin Williams took selfless before it was cool…
This movie reminded me why it was so hard to hear of Robin Williams' death. He wasn't just a comedian. He was a great actor who had a range of talent that is hard to find. While these roles are much darker than how people want to remember him, I believe they are essential to completing the picture of who he really was. His career is an image of all aspects of our lives put on display. He wasn't just the best parts. He was also the bad and brooding.
