Unfriended (2014)

Directed by Leo Gabriadze
Written by Nelson Greaves
Starring Shelley Hennig, Moses Jacob Storm, Renee Olstead and Will Peltz

A group of online chat room friends find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend.

This movie represents everything I hate about teenagers. Every single character is more deplorable than the next. They do things in the name of "popularity" and then act innocent and have no remorse until their lives are in danger.

I said it before in my review of "Tusk" and this is an even greater example of my point. Horror films today do not have likable characters. The thing that makes horror movies scary is caring about what happens to the characters. And to care about the characters you have to be able to connect with them. And to be able to connect with them, presuming everyone reading this is a decent human being, the characters have to be decent human beings. 

The characters in "Unfriended" have no redeemable qualities whatsoever. They are liars, bullies, cheaters, narcissists, backstabbers and degenerates. Every single thing that they do has no logical sense to it.

Your tears aren't fooling anyone, ya dumb ass!

It baffles me that this has such a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. At 62%, it is well above what it should be. The only thing noteworthy about this movie is how it is all from the perspective of one computer screen. But that's been done before, and better. If anything, this movie gets points for being funny, because the death scenes were just SO bad!

My Rating: 3/10

Men, Women & Children (2014)

Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Jason Reitman and Erin Cressida Wilson, based on the novel by Chad Kultgen
Starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Gardner, Ansel Elgort and Kaitlyn Dever

A group of high school teenagers and their parents attempt to navigate the man ways the Internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image and their love lives.

An example in the potential dangers of the Internet, as well as the dangers of being an overly protective parent when it comes to your child's online activities, there are very few people who will not relate to at least one of the many scenarios portrayed in this film. Emotionally driven by the feeling of hopelessness  and insignificance we all feel at some point in our lives, Jason Reitman does not hold back when telling this universal story.

This movie touches on so many subjects in such a short amount of time, yet drives home a point with every single one. It's remarkable that a story that's all over the place, such as this, can make so much sense.

The acting in this movie is top notch. Not award winning, but great none the less. Particularly by Adam Sandler. It's movies like this that make we wonder why he still does comedies. His dramatic roles are always more impressive and enjoyable, and this was no exception. Perhaps it's because most dramas don't give him a reason to vacation in exotic locales.

My Rating: 7/10

Open Windows (2014)

Written and Directed by Nacho Vigalondo

Starring Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey, Neil Maskell and Adam Quintero

A jilted fan finds himself pulled into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse after he accepts the opportunity to spy on his favorite actress via his laptop. A skilled hacker works his way into every aspect of the fan's life in order to control him throughout the night.

This movie is definitely interesting. It takes the fear of hackers and their obsessions with actresses and displays their computer onto the big screen. Filmed and edited entirely to only show the open windows (OH, I GET IT!) of programs on a computer desktop, the action never cuts away from what the protagonist is looking at on his screen. 

Instead, the director chose to only move from window to window, looking into various programs, phone calls and videos. The style of this movie is undeniably unique. And one that I feel will be copied in future movies. But that is where the positives end for this movie.

Sorry, Elijah

The entire plot seemed like it was attempting to be convoluted in order to impress, but rather than achieve that, it just felt simple and convenient. Many of the things that the computer hackers were doing  seemed overly fictitious and made up for the sole purpose of making the style this was made in less boring.

Topped off with terrible acting (Elijah Wood excluded), this movie had little going for it other than the unique filming style. If you want to watch a decent thriller film with a unique filming style, that happens to be starring Elijah Wood, might I suggest 2012's "Maniac". It's not amazing, but if you're looking for those criteria, that is a much better choice.

My Rating: 3/10