Maps to the Stars (2014)

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.

My Rating: 6/10

Ex Machina (2015)

Written and Directed by Alex Garland
Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno

A young programmer is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.

An eerie and unsettling science fiction film, "Ex Machina" is quite a unique film. We have seen countless films about the dangers of artificial intelligence and robotic uprisings, but I cannot think of a single film that shows the beginning. With the distrust of robots many movie goers, or at least myself have gained from decades of robotic dystopian futures displayed in film, there is a tension caused not by the film itself, but a natural, internal tension we have been bred to feel with movies such as this.

In a film that I felt so sure of what was going on, I constantly doubted myself and would flip-flop between theories and the paranoia that the protagonist felt. Ava, the A.I. that the protagonist is hired to study, is so charming, yet creates a sense of unease that you can't shake no matter how smitten you are with her emotions.

The director did an magnificent job at creating doubt in the minds of the audience. With the remote setting, and the military-like fortress in which they reside imposed a feeling of claustrophobia, even when they were outdoors.

Films such as this are difficult to write about. There is so much to be said, but most of it is impossible to explain without giving away key information about the film. I guess I'll just end this with saying that this film is unreal.

My Rating: 9/10

Grand Piano (2013)

Directed by Eugenio Mira
Written by Damien Chazelle
Starring Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé and Alex Winter

When a disgraced pianist attempts to make a comeback at the memorial concert for his teacher and mentor, he receives a note in his sheet music-- "Play one wrong note and you die!".

Elijah Wood's career after "The Lord of the Rings" has been a strange one. Having been blackballed by Hollywood because of his famous character, he unfortunately hasn't had many options. But I feel he does alright, all things considered. He's become the go-to guy for psychological thrillers too different to get backed by a major studio. With films like "Maniac", "Open Windows", this and the TV series "Wilfred", it's as if he's had to start his career over completely. But it could be worse.

This movie has a familiar concept. Much like "Photo Booth", it's just another man-becomes-hostage-in-public story. It is interesting enough, but nothing really sticks out as a selling point. Some scenes are intense while others make you wonder you are supposed to feel. And there are many plot holes that in my mind are so hard to miss that I find it hard to believe the writer (Academy Award Nominee, Damien Chazelle) didn't notice.

I also find it hard to believe that Elijah Wood is his generations

greatest pianist, yet walked away from his career for one slip up.

Is this a bad movie? No. But it definitely is not good. As the countless majority of movies are, it's just extremely mediocre. Just another movie to watch to pass the time. If one thing does stand out from this movie, it is the beautifully unique cinematography. But it takes more than pretty pictures to make a great movie.

My Rating: 5.6/10

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

Grizzly (1976)

Directed by William Girdler
Written by Harvey Flaxman, David Sheldon and Andrew Prine
Starring Christopher George, Andrew Prine, Richard Jaeckel and Joan McCall

When a eighteen-foot tall grizzly bear terrorizes a popular National Park during peak camping season, the head Park Ranger must protect the visitors from its wrath.

In an attempt to become the "Jaws" for the woods, this movie takes damn near every single plot point and filming style from Spielberg's classic thriller. Everything from the shooting style (having angles from the perspective of the creature), to having a Park Manager (the Mayor in "Jaws") who refuses to close the mountain risking the lives of their visitors for the sake of money.

It even has a war veteran who has stories that give him extra inspiration to seek revenge on the killer animal. And he makes huge speech about a tragic even caused by the bear much like Quint does in the 1975 film (Spoiler: Even the endings are the same).

Yeah… This happens.

The only thing they didn't rip-off, excluding the antagonist and location of course, was the soundtrack. The soundtrack to this movie switches between sounding like it's from an old western film to that of a romantic film from the 50s. It is so unfitting that it's laughable. And that's not the only thing funny about this.

The scenes in which the bear kills someone are pretty hilarious. I don't know if it would have been scary back in the 70s, but today it'll just make you laugh. The acting is terrible. 90% of the scenes throughout the entire movie are ADR'd (Automated Dialogue Replacement). And the way the killing scenes are shot have been parodied by too many modern comedies to not produce a chuckle.

This movie isn't bad enough to be good like "Troll 2" and other great-terrible movies. And it's certainly not good enough to be good. It's just bad. The blatantly stolen plot points from "Jaws" don't help it's case either. It does have an awesome poster, though.

My Rating: 2/10