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

I Saw the Devil (2010)

Directed by Jee-Woon Kim
Written by Hoon-jung Park
Starring Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik Choi, In-seo Kim and Yoon-seo Kim

A secret agent seeks revenge on the serial killer who killed his pregnant fiancee by capturing him, torturing him and releasing him, only to hunt him down and do it all over again.

Korean-revenge movies have got to be my favorite genre of movies. Not only do they have the satisfaction of American-revenge films, but they are also significantly more intricate and thought out. It's not just shoot-em-up action, like Hollywood's stories. They are designed to mess with your psyche.

"I Saw the Devil" is an intense, bloody, action-packed thrill ride. It brings the term "cat-and-mouse" to a whole other level. Two men hell bent on destroying each others lives with nothing to lose and no lines to cross.

Min-sik Choi ("Oldboy") is as brilliant as ever in his role has the ruthless serial killer. He commands every scene he is in and exceeds all expectations I had for him in this film. He is intimidating and irredeemably evil, yet his presence makes it next to impossible to look away.

This is easily one of the best movies I have ever seen. There is so much going on and so many twists and turns that it just grabbed me in the first minute and didn't let go until the credits were rolling. It is movies like this that keep me going with this movie-a-day challenge. These diamonds in the rough make watching all of those bad or painfully mediocre movies worth it. Just seeing one of these a month keeps me going.

My Rating: 9/10

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

Only God Forgives (2013)

Written and Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm and Yayaying Rhatha Phongam

Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death.

Following the success and rave reviews of what I consider a masterpiece ("Drive"), Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling decided to team up for another collaboration. But where their first effort triumphs, their second effort is less than impressive.

While it may seem counterproductive to talk about a completely different movie in a review, it is because of the director's choices that I feel compelled to do so. There was so much greatness in "Drive" that they tried to duplicate with this film.

The most notable thing about "Drive" is how little the protagonist speaks throughout the movie. It is obvious that they attempted to replicate that aspect in "Only God Forgives". But what Refn forgot was what made the quiet protagonist in his 2011 picture so powerful is the fact that no one around him would shut up. When everyone was saying whatever came to their minds without a filter, Gosling's character thought and meticulously chose his words. In "Only God Forgives", no one talks much. And when they do, it's usually crass, illogical and unnecessary.

One of the biggest problems I had with this movie is how vile every single character was. Not one character was justified in anything they did and it is apparent that the director only made it that way to have as much gratuitous violence as possible. The entire thing felt like a Tarantino-Scorsese inspired student film in which the students had no real aim with what they were trying to say. Everything was so meaningless and screamed of it's desire to be considered art.

Despite being only 89-minutes long, I found myself checking the time constantly. It's short run time is lost to it's long, drawn-out scenes. If the director hadn't been attempting to remake "Drive" without all of the things that made "Drive" great and he actually took the time to think this story out (or at least the way in which it was told), I feel this could have been a great movie.

With gorgeous shots, an amazing soundtrack and decent performances in spite of a half-assed script, this movie had parts of the foundation of what makes movies memorable. But ultimately, it falls short and crumbles into a big messy heap.

My Rating: 4/10

WolfCop (2014)

Written and Directed by Lowell Dean
Starring Leo Fafard, Amy Matysio, Jonathan Cherry and Jesse Moss

As a series of strange and violent events begin to occur, an alcoholic policeman realizes that he has been turned into a werewolf. What he first believe to be the fault of a random satanic ritual, he soon find it to be the beginning of a much larger plan.

Yet another film in a string of outrageous, over the top Canadian produced action and horror movies, "WolfCop" falls short of being a good movie. With a plot so ridiculous and a budget so small, you'd feel as though the writer/director wouldn't have taken himself so seriously. Yes, that's right. I am saying the film maker behind "WolfCop" took himself too seriously.

Hanging in like the flag in the middle of a tug-of-war match, this movie can't decide if it wants to be a legitimate werewolf horror movie, or an in-your-face, made-to-have fun werewolf/cop drama mash-up. It borders the absurd, but never crosses it's line to make a place for itself in b-movie history. It's supposed to be a comedy, yet the funniest part about the movie is it's marketing campaign.

There was about a 20-minute sequence where this movie was what I wanted it to be. A werewolf who was a cop and fought crime. But it did not last long enough. After it just started getting fun, they decided "enough with WolfCop. Let's go back to a werewolf who coincidentally is also a cop!"

Perhaps I am being to harsh. But when I see a movie is called "WolfCop", I have high expectation for the lunacy that will be shown. And this did not meet it. It just wasn't as crazy as wolf-manly possible. Maybe I'm not sane enough for this movie.

My Rating: 5.3/10

Son of a Gun (2014)

Directed by Julius Avery
Written by Julius Avery and John Collee
Starring Ewan McGregor, Brenton Thwaites, Alicia Vikander and Jacek Koman

JR busts out of prison with Brendan Lynch, Australia's most notorious criminal, and joins Lynch's gang for a gold heist that soon pits the two men against one another.

Never have I ever watched a movie with so many peaks and valleys when it comes to it's quality. With a strong beginning, it finds itself becoming less inspired. Then, it picks up again. This happens several times throughout the story. The characters, while interesting often seem melodramatic and will change emotions to another extreme at the slightest bit of provocation.

In a role unlike any other I have seen him in, Ewan McGregor commands the screen as the intimidating career criminal with everything to lose. The delicate situation he finds himself causes him to act like a wild animal backed into a corner.  He is equally charming and intimidating, which is far off from his usual "romantic interest" or "Jedi" roles.

The movie, overall was decent. But there were many writing and general flow problems that made certain scenes seem forced or half thought-out. The story felt as though it jumped around quite a bit and many things were rarely explained to the point where you knew exactly what was going on. It wasn't a confusing movie. The information just wasn't given to you in a clear and concise manner. However, there were scenes that were fantastically shot and kept drawing me back in. I just wish the scenes that followed and led up to them were as good.

My Rating: 6/10

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie
Written by Terry Hayes and George Miller
Starring Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Robert Grubb and Angelo Rossitto

After being banished from a town in the desert and forced to travel through the dry wasteland with no provisions, a former Australian Policeman is rescued by a tribe of children who inhabit an oasis in the center of an apocalyptic dystopia.

It is remarkable how three films in the same series can be so similar, yet so unique in their own way. To the point where it feels as though they are different stories set in the same universe.

The second movie of this series completely abandoned any form of civilization that the first film had established. And in this third movie, civilization has begun to grow again. It’s almost like a complete evolutionary cycle revolving around the destruction and rebirth of man.

As it has already proven to be a fun and enjoyable action series, the final chapter (at least until this May) is no different. Filled with intense chase sequences, interesting characters and remarkable machines, it still holds up as a great adventure, even by today’s standards. And while there is undoubtedly little gasoline and water in this world, there is definitely no shortage of hairspray.

The 80s were a much simpler time.

What I love most about this movie series is each film’s ability to completely ignore its predecessor, while at the same time flow as a single, coherent story. That and the ridiculous, over-the-top style. In a civilization where mohawks are apparently uniform for law enforcement, this film delivers exactly what it promises: Action. Violence. Australian accents. It doesn’t try to be anything else, and that makes it oh so sweet.

My Rating: 7/10

Micmacs (2009)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant
Starring Dany Boon, André Dussollier, Yolande Moreau and Dominique Pinon

A man who lost everything after who suffered a brain injury from a stray bullet that hit him in the head is given a new life by a group of eccentrics who live in the junk yard. Together, they help him devise a plan to seek revenge on the weapons manufacturers who made the bullet as well as the landmine that killed his father when he was a child.

A not-so-subtle criticism of the weapons dealing industry, this film is a humorous and beautiful portrayal of how wars and violence can affect the lives of anyone. The characters, all of whom have had either emotional or physical scarring from some sort of weapon, create this brilliant plan to bring down two arms manufacturers without violence. It is definitely a revenge film unlike no other.

It kind of felt like "The Borrowers" but for adults. The way they would build things to fit their needs and would utilize the most random parts for their amusement, I cannot think of another film to compare it too. It is just so outlandish that I feel Tim Burton would even be impressed by it.

I want my own personal orchestra to follow me around!

"Micmacs" is a rare film that has strong political tones that are highlighted by the humorous way the story is told through the film makers. It's not often that a film will make a point without shoving it down your throat for the entire running time of the movie. But this one achieves in taking a stand without having you roll your eyes.

My Rating: 9/10