Cold in July (2014)

Directed by Jim Mickle
Written by Nick Damici and Jim Mickle, based on the novel by Joe R. Lansdale
Starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson and Vinessa Shaw

After a man is forced to kill an intruder in his home, a man finds that he and his family are being stalked by the father of the man he killed. But he soon uncovers secrets that the Sheriff's department are hiding and teams up with the man who has been stalking him to find the truth.

An intense and dark psychological thriller where every discovery twists and turns the plot down a completely different path than it was on. Backed by great performances by the unlikely trio of Michael C. Hall, Sam Sheppard and Don Johnson, this film kept me on the edge of my seat.

The most frustrating thing with films nowadays is predictability. Yes, sometimes you can overlook it and still enjoy a movie. But to me, the best ones keep you questioning exactly what's going on. Throughout this movie, I was unsure of what would happen. Every time I thought it was going to go one way, it went in a completely other direction.

Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance film festival in 2014, it has been named with the several other greats from that year, including "Whiplash" and "The Skeleton Twins". It is just another example of the great films independent filmmakers can make.

My Rating: 7/10

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Directed by Michael Mann
Written by Michael Mann and Christopher Crowe, adapted from the 1936 Philip Dunne screenplay by John L. Balderston, Paul Perez and Daniel Moore, based on the novel by John Fenimore Cooper
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means and Eric Schweig

When rugged frontiersman Hawkeye saves the Munro sisters - two newly arrived English settlers - from a Huron ambush, he and his adoptive father and brother end up in the midst of a battle between the British and the French for control of the American colonies.

Unequivocally epic and with an impressively large scale, this film does a great job at creating the world of the American frontier in 1757. It is believable right off the bat with the rural setting and the beautiful wilderness that the characters trek through.

Though it is expected for Daniel Day-Lewis to wow with his performance in no matter what movie he is in, I regret to say this is his least impressive performance that I've seen to date. That's not to say that he is bad. And I am not entirely convinced that it is his fault. The character seemed a bit dry and left much to be desired.

The story and writing provided us with many melodramatic moments you would expect to see only in a soap opera. But it felt more like a directing and editing problem than it did the performances of the actors involved.

Director Michael Mann has similar problems with most of his films. At times it feels he cares too much about the imagery and the immersive scale of the setting than he does the performances, which ultimately hurts the overall quality of the project.

Though the performances really worked against the enveloping cinematography, it is irrefutable that this is a good movie. Not as great as I would have hoped it would be. But it is certainly an impressive movie with many positive qualities. There is a reason many consider this a classic.

My Rating: 7/10