Friends With Kids (2012)

Two best friends (Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt) decide to have a child together while keeping their relationship platonic, so they can avoid the toll kids can take on romantic relationships.

Friends with Kids is a romantic dramady that mixes the two elements well enough to overcome some of its ordinaries developments that come with the territory of the films genre. It can be a fun, sometimes jumpy film that could wind up being a minor hit if marketed and released in the correct spot.

The film begins with two characters, Jason and Julie, hanging out with their two other couple friends that quickly flashes forward to the two couples having kids. The things Jason and Julie see the kids bring to their friends make them want to have kids themselves, but they don’t want to have to fall in love in order to have one because it would be a nuisance to them. Lo and behold one drunken night, they whip up a plan to have a baby together without actually being together. It doesn’t wind up being as stupid as it sounds. The two sides are portrayed equally throughout the pregnancy and the child’s life without ever showing of the characters in a bad manner. For a while it looks like this could work. It allows the film to have fun with the consequences this has on their friends who both take it very differently, and creates both harsh and warm tones on the subject of marriage. It’s one of the few romantic movies that just shove cliché messages in your face. When the film steps away from the light-hearted moments and in truths, it feels raw, brutal, and real. The idea they came up with doesn’t seem so perfect anymore and things get into the way. Its cliché and predictable, but never manages to lose your attention.

Adam Scott as the lead Jason is a complete dick at times, sentimental at others, and it speaks volumes to his charm that you still manages to love his character the whole time through. His baby-mama/best friend is the one you need to worry about. She doesn’t do much wrong, but she has such an unlikeable aroma around her and takes away screen time from the awesome Adam Scott, you might resent her enough to hate half the movie. Their friends are made up of loveable faces from the small screen variety. Kristen Wigg and Jon Hamm provide a couple far apart from their Bridesmaids time, which is either a good or bad thing for you while the other couple is made up of Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd, who are the ones that gives you hope that marriage can work out for the best. The two couples are mirror opposites of each other and do a good job keeping the film moving along.

Friends with Kids is nothing spectacular, but it’s a very solid, very nice film that you’ll just love if you fall into the Adam Scott fanboy variety.  It’s just always nice to see him get an opportunity to be the leading man for once because he is such an awesome guy. Apart from him though it does provide more than a few laughs, and even more awkward moments (not in a bad way) that feel a bit of place in this weird zany film. I don’t know exactly when this drops in 2012 but I know it will fall sometime, most likely around March or April, be sure to give it a shot.

Overall Score: 7/10

The Devil Inside (2012)

In 1989, emergency responders received a 9-1-1 call from Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley) confessing that she had brutally killed three people. 20 years later, her daughter Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) seeks to understand the truth about what happened that night. She travels to the Centrino Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Italy where her mother has been locked away to determine if her mother is mentally ill or demonically possessed. When she recruits two young exorcists (Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth) to cure her mom using unconventional methods combining both science and religion, they come face-to-face with pure evil in the form of four powerful demons possessing Maria. Many have been possessed by one; only one has been possessed by many.

This found footage appeal has officially overstayed its welcome; specifically in the horror genre. It has reached a point to where the entire plot and character paths can be mapped out and predicted almost to a tee in where and how the film will come to a conclusion. As a matter of fact, every one of these films don’t even give you a conclusion; they just abruptly end the film in a lazy attempt to maintain its “real” events bullshit. That’s a giant copout that only really benefits the studio behind the film, where they can just say the answers will come in the inevitable sequel that goes more into the background of the “demonic” possession. The Devil Inside does all of that, providing the spitting image of how repetitive found footage films have become.

If you’ve seen the films trailer, then you’ll have seen just about any amounts of terror the film has to show. Clocking in at just 87 minutes, the film wastes way too much time explaining information to you about the characters motives and thoughts. I’d say it takes them almost 45 minutes to even show the possessed mother, Maria Rossi. That’s the other aspect where the film cheated the audience. In the trailer, the mother is the focus; she gets the most screen time, is given the best moments, and appears to be the star, but she seems to barely be in the film.  Nothing is shown what might’ve caused her to become possessed, what happened to her during her hospital stay, and what became of her. The film pulled a complete bait and switch. If the goal was to bore the shit out of you then mission accomplished.

One would think with the overwhelming negative reviews that this could wind up putting a dent in the stoppage of these films, but they came too late. Every stupid schmuck decided to go check it out that opening Friday and it will probably be one of the most profitable films based off just this one weekend where it made 34x its budget. With its success, the genre will surely be back stronger than before with even more copycats, but hopefully the audience learns to not be so foolish. This is the exact type of film that should have come and gone without a spec of interest. It is already a candidate for one of the worst films of 2012 and it’s the only release so far. That’s not the type of year I expect 2012 to be, but what can you honestly expect from a January release, where only generally terrible films come out.

Overall Score: 2/10

Shame (2011)

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a New Yorker who shuns intimacy with women but feeds his desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his wayward younger sister (Carey Mulligan) moves into his apartment stirring memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's insular life spirals out of control.

Shame tells the tragic story of a man so blocked off the world around him; he cannot feel the satisfaction of anything. His emotions are locked inside and the key has all but been lost. The only real moments he has a sense of feeling is when he climaxes during sexual intercourse.  Thus he is the absolute definition of a sex addict. It controls everything about his life. He cannot go minutes without an intrusive thought or actions. He has allowed the addiction to overtake him. It’s somewhat pathetic, but this kind of downward spiral without an end is sight is highly entertaining. It’s when his sister unexpectedly crashes onto his doorsteps that the film begins to show just how isolated Brandon truly is. The paths he takes and the choices he makes just to get that one fix is portrayed no different than when a junkie is craving for a fix of drugs. His world is spiraling out of control and when his sister needs his help, he is absolutely puzzled. How can he help somebody else when he can’t even help himself? It’s a question he struggles with; goes back and forth with, but ultimately has to answer. It’s a raw film with lots of questions and very little answers, but one that will leave you looking with fascination.

With no doubt in my head, Michael Fassbender gives the performance of the year. It’s hard to remember a time when I truly hated this actor, but with the year he had, he completely won me over to the point where I will see anything he acts in. His performance here is raw; it has no flashes, no camera tweaks, and no beautiful portrayals of his character. It’s just simply him walking around the streets of New York City wondering what the hell is wrong with him. The agony of it all is on full display during his sexual encounters, and his carefully chosen words to his sister should leave you feeling the same way I did. It’s the best performances you’ll encounter in a movie this year. As for his sister, Carrey Mulligan displays something you’ve never seen form her before. She degrades herself down to portray a weak, vulnerable, dirty, lost soul that is drowning. It’s as raw as Fassbenders performance, but she is allowed the much more juicer scenes. It’s pretty clear she is one of the most interesting young actors today that isn’t afraid to do anything as long as she likes what she sees in the script. The two seemed all to perfectly cast and help create Shame into one of the best movies on 2011.

Shame received the horrifying NC-17 Rating that should have all but killed its chances of awards or the general public of seeing it, but thankfully Fox Searchlight boldly picked it up and distributed it uncut for all to see. It’s a powerful film about addiction in a form that we’ve never seen before. It’s a film that the general public won’t applaud, but the real movie fans will fall in love with. Do not the let opportunity to see this get past your grasp, you will regret it.  

Overall Score: 10/10

We Bought A Zoo (2011)

This holiday season, acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) directs an amazing and true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.

There are two types of Cameron Crowes films. One that is pure gold like Almost Famous and one that is like Elizabethtown, aka pure shit. We Bought A Zoo has the look, feel, and dialogue of an Elizabethtown, but by the end of the film I didn’t really care about the bad things because the good things were so cute and charming that they created the illusion that I was watching the Almost Famous Cameron Crowe. It’s not a film I would ever put near the top of my list, but it is one I think I will continue to revisit every few months to put myself in a good mood. We Bought A Zoo is nothing ground breaking, but I can’t help but fall in love with it.

The story doesn’t matter all that much. There is a lot of oversentimental life lessons stuffed in here such as the moving on, letting go, and remembering the past to allow yourself to have a future. Sure, they do manage to sneak in some very good scenes that tug at your emotions but for the most part, that story isn’t what you’re focused on. What you do care about is this zoo they are building and how it brings the people involved together as a family. It isn’t done in a different way than you’d think, but the characters are portrayed in such a likeable manner, you can’t help but root for them to succeed. It’s not all depressing though; the Zoo is a beautiful sight to see. The animals and the world around them come to life and Crowe captures them in a way that makes them shine, as if they are angels. It is one of the more remarkable things the film managed to do.  

Matt Damon is the man. He can literally do it all. One movie he is a badass action star fighting to find his identity, another minute he’s a fat dimwitted funnyman taking down a company from the inside out. Here, he plays a father struggling to cope and take responsibility after the death of his wife. His journey to “start over” as he loves calling it in the film, is extremely solid; he is even capable of making you shed a tear for him. He creates such a great “everyday” character, you recognize this guy from the world around you. As for some of the other characters, Scarlet Johansson is so sexed down; you’d have a hard time realizing it was her at moments in the film. It makes you miss the pre-Hollywood days of her movie career. She’s a bit generic here, but that’s not her fault; more the choice of dialogue they gave her. Matt Damons two children are where the film hits and misses. The daughter Rosie adds a lot to the cuteness factor, but his son plays such a clichéd depressing character, you become a bit frustrated with him. He makes up for it in some scenes, but that probably comes from the unexpected reveals that come about throughout the story.  Its not the all-world ensemble cast, but We Bought A Zoo works because they are so damn likeable.

Even despite its cheesy, clichéd, and overly depressing tones, We Bought A Zoo is awesome. It’s the exact definition of a family friendly drama where children will enjoy for the actual Zoo, but adults can enjoy the other messages the film manages to spew out.  Don’t allow yourself to be scared off by the mixed reviews because there’s a great chance you’ll love it as I did. It was my favorite Christmas viewing yet.

Overall Score: 7/10

New Year's Eve (2011)

New Year's Eve celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts, in the intertwining stories told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on the most dazzling night of the year.

New Year’s Eve is everything that is wrong with Hollywood. It takes six or so different plot points going and has them all magically intertwine and decide that is enough. They half-ass the stories, don’t even attempt to create characters and just film whatever they feel like filming. It’s lazy, pathetic, and worst of all trendy; I don’t think there is a more perfect example of how stupid human beings can be when you see films like He’s Just Not That Into You or Valentines Day pulling in big bucks. But it’s the start of a new year and thankfully the crowds were smart enough to even avoid this pile of trash that they tried to pass off as a film.

I won’t even get into the dozen of short stories they managed to throw together because they are all either terrible or are good enough not to be called awful. What I do want to mention is just how stupid this film to managed to be. First you have Hilary Swank playing a female, she’s clearly meant to be a male so don’t try and force her gender on us. Secondly, you have Sarah Jessica Parker not playing a horse; big mistake. Thirdly, you have an absurd storyline of a woman trying to complete a list of resolutions for the New Year and she just so happens to find the right guy to accomplish them all. What’s worse is it’s not even in the top 5 clichéd moments of the film. The absolute worst part of the film is when everything is going wrong and the ball is stuck in limbo, Swank’s character gives a speech and every single person in Time Square is standing still in silence as if they are grasping each word she spews out of her mouth, all the while wearing some product placed Nivea hats. There is just no way everyone would respond that way in that situation. Its so god damn annoying and in a film full of clichés, it’s the one that stands out to me the most because it’s the farthest away from reality.

The best part of this film has got to be its big name cast that includes Zac Efron, Halle Berry, Robert DeNiro, Seth Meyers, Jessica Biel, Abigal Breslin, that kid from the Disney channel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Aston Kutcher, Cary Elwes, Common, Katherine Heigl, Bon Jovi, Josh Duhamel, Ludacris, and Lea Michele. They somehow managed to not snag a single good working actor and instead settled with the names above. Real great job Gary Marshall; you managed to accomplish the great casting feat of paying dozens of people money to do absolteuly nothing.

If you’re a fan of Zac Efron, then A.) what’s wrong with you and B.) he gets the most and best screen time of the cast, so you should find it somewhat watchable. Otherwise turn and never look back on this trash.

Overall Score: 2/10

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room...until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large-Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)-and not only is he Holmes' intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder-a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction-all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history

In 2009, Guy Ritchie’s interpretation of the character Sherlock Holmes hit the big screen and it was something we have seen a lot before in other films but was a breath of fresh air within the title characters universe that we accepted it as new. It definitely wasn’t but it helped the film appeal to a much larger audience then was to be expected from a Holmes film. It was successful enough to warrant a sequel that at times topped the quality of original, but seemed much too bloated for its own good to keep it from surpassing the first one as a whole.   

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are faced with their most threatening villain yet in the great Professor Moriarty. His motives are bland and generic, but the interactions between him and his foes give off a menacing appeal that helps make the character the ultimate enemy for Holmes. This chess battle that they literally metaphor is thrown into your face way too much, treating the audience as if they are stupid by saying what they’re doing rather than just doing it. It got as repetitive as the constant decision to use slow motion. They movie had quite a bit of good action pieces, but when they take ten minutes to finish, even action junkies begin to stop drooling. Guy Ritchie obviously didn’t get the memo about Sucker Punch. The biggest disappointment of the film was its inability to restrain its blockbuster side of things. Throughout the entire film, the characters laugh, rack jokes, act so heroic that you never feel anybody is in any danger. What’s worse is that placed directly in the middle of the film is a scene that oozes the films full potential; you’re disappointed by everything that comes after. For a few minutes Sherlock Holmes was vulnerable, he was breakable, and best of all he was fearful of something. If you adapted a film around just that one scene it could have been fantastic, but instead all you get is commotion on screen.

With Robert Downey Jr, you don’t exactly get a wide range of characters, you simply get one; a cocky, egotistical dick that you can’t help but like. He’s more of the same here, but the layer of recoating doesn’t feel as entertaining as before since you’ve seen it so many times already. Jude Law gets a little more into the action this time and his chemistry between him and Downey are front and center. It’s the films biggest strength and even is better than before. It’s too bad that the rest of the film wasn’t. The villain is Professor Moriarty played greatly by Jared Harris, a recognizable by not famous face. He is the exact opposite of the first films villain. Where’s Mark Strong was a weak, scared little phony, Moriarty is a menacing character that when given the chance to unleash his menacing side is quite good.  The problem lies with the tone of the film. He felt a little out of place in a film that seems content with pleasing the families rather than the adults in the crowd. Did I mention Noomi Rapace was in the film? O I didn’t; its probably because she is such a wasted character that she was completely forgettable. What a wasted casting.

If the first Sherlock Holmes pleased you, than you should be satisfied enough by this disappointing sequel. It feels like much more of the same but with a better viallain and a weaker everything else. If the first one turned you off, I really don’t think there’s a batshit in hell that this would change your mind on the franchise. All I will remember from this film is the missed opportunity to turn it into something great.

Overall Score: 6/10

Young Adult (2011)

Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn't quite gotten over high school, either.

Jason Reitman has been a director that always manages to fascinate me with his very different but awesome films such as Thank You for Smoking and Up in the Air; even the one I didn’t love and feel is slightly overrated, Juno, was still a fairly entertaining flick. With Young Adult, Reitman makes a movie that feels so far away from Hollywood, it’s hard to not fall in love with it. Young may not be his best film to date, but he does manage to create his best character yet in Mavis Gary.

You know that bitch in high school that was slutty hot, got whatever she wanted, and stepped all over everyone she thought she was better than? Young Adult tells the story of that girl once she moves past high school and is inserted into the real world. Right from the start you are thrown into her world that has now become a state of depression clinging to the glory days of the past. When she gets a invitation to her ex flames- now wife’s birthday, she gets it stuck in her mind that the only way she can be happy is to have him back; and so begins the bizarre journey of Young Adult. You witness Mavis go through a lot of effort to woo her ex Matt, but it’s all pretty much moot. Right from the start you get a pretty understanding that he’s very much in love with his wife and are happy. What’s entertaining is that she doesn’t care; she will break the marriage if she has to. It’s quite comedic, but depressing at the same time, watching her go through this so blindly. She really has nothing and watching her head spiral to the end, never grasping what’s she’s actually doing is sort of tragic. At its conclusion, you feel sorry for this woman, but like all bitches, she doesn’t care about you.

Charlize Theron is absolutely perfect in this movie. Everything about her, from her clothes, to her face, her preparation, and her dialogue, just oozes out a person so disgusting, the devil himself would be proud. Despite appearing to have it all, she is a broken shell. Theron kills it going against the Hollywood type in playing a character that nobody is supposed to like, but still find enjoyable to watch. It’s because of her. The character is a lovechild from Reitman and Cody and what they produced was the best side of Theron. In a smaller, sort of buddy who asks questions to fill in back story role, Patton Oswalt is great. He’s a comedian that has shown flashes of a dramatic actor and he’s given the chance to show a darker side that you can hear in his comedy. His character is key in unraveling the disguise off of Theron’s Mavis and did a splendid job with it.

Young Adult is a dark social comedy that centers on an unlikeable character that does nothing but keep you watching. It’s one of the very best performances of the year that flashes the brilliance that is Charlize Theron. She is more than just a pretty face. If you’ve ever loved Reitman, you’ll surely love this. It’s almost if they continued Juno’s story and had her regret giving the bay away and she fell into a fire of chaos. It’s a late tiny sleeper of a film that is big in more ways than one. Be sure not to miss it.

Overall Score: 9/10

Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

This is not just another mission. The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization's name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this.

Earlier this year, there was the fifth entry in the Fast and the Furious series and it was filled with so much over the top action that it ended up being awesome. That was a movie that used action as its story; because of it the story was actually a piece of shit. Mission Impossible IV is the perfect example of when a movie uses action set pieces as a part of its story rather than it be its story. It’s really an amazing accomplishment when you take it all away because the plot is every bit as generic as you could come up with.

To sum up the movie in one sentence; Tom Cruise and company must save the world from a nuclear world war started by a man out for power. It doesn’t end up going the path you completely expect it to go, but if you really expect the bomb to drop, then you’re fooling yourself. In-between the big action pieces, they actually put together a plan, reveal interesting tidbits about the characters and what has happened to them in-between installments. They feel like a bigger mystery then they are because they slowly reveal this information over the entire film rather than throwing it all at you at once. It’s actually some good material that works well with the series.

Where the film takes a giant leap is in the action. Some films have one or two wow moments, three fi you’re pushing it, but Mission Impossible ends up with five completely wow moments that end up going all out. Whether it be a ten minute fight inside a futuristic parking garage of moving spots and levels to a building being completely leveled to badass cat fights. They have it all and do it well. The two sequences that are so god damn awesome come fairly close to each other so it never gives you a chance to catch your breathe. Ethan Hunt has to climb the Burj Khalifa (the tallest skyscraper in the world) and get into a room from the outside. IA lot of shit goes wrong and it gets you on the edge of your sea, jumping up at times for fear of the constant reminders of the height. This is a great accomplishment considering you know there’s no way he would fall, but it still keeps you in awe. Moments after that scene, there is a long chase through the city during a sandstorm that is nothing short of badass.  It’s one of the best forty minute stretches of action I’ve ever seen.

Tom Cruise comes back as Ethan Hunt and for the first time in years, seems like he’s where he belongs. Climbing buildings and running through cities catching bad guys is what he does best and would love to see him do more of it.  Paula Patton as the sexy eye candy not only handles that well, but actually contributes as well. It’s nice to see a film not hold the woman back and treat her as the agent were told she was and can be. Simon peg returns this time as a field agent and not an analyst, but still manages to bring the jokes with him about the change for him. He’s the bulk of the comedy that never overstays his welcome. The new addition to the franchise is Jeremey Renner as Brandt. This was an origin story for him that could possibly spin-off into another story that could be a lot more interesting, but for this film, he was a little bit cheesy and portrayed in the wrong manner. I think I’d rather just see Hunt and Brandt team up again for another installment. I loved what I got from this ensemble.

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the action movie even critics will love. That seems to be a rare combination that you really shouldn’t be taken for granted because the two just don’t normally mix. If you want to sit down and have a badass two hours, you cannot go wrong with this, it’s the best in the series by far and probably reignited a candle that was thought to be on its last wire.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011)

Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson), plus those they love, must deal with the chain of consequences brought on by a marriage, honeymoon, and the tumultuous birth of a child...which brings an unforeseen and shocking development for Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

Every film in this franchise has improved slightly each time. With that trend contuing with the fourth one, you’d think it’d be a pretty decent film by now. The thing being though is that the very first one was so bad that even a drastic improvement wouldn’t make it all that much better. The one really positive thing that can be said about the third is that it has finally made the franchise somewhat bearable when a member of the wolf pack isn’t on-screen. But when they happen to be on-screen, get ready for a riot because they are so bad, you may find yourself getting some good laughs out of them.

This time around the gang gets into a little trouble when Edward doesn’t pull out and knocks up Bella. This isn’t your typical pregnancy either; you see this is a vampire baby that is killing Bella from the inside and she refuses to get rid of it.  This is the part of the story that doesn’t manage to blow. The choices have consequences and this baby seems to affect each character in a different way. It helps establish some sort of development for these vampires for the first time in four movies. This journey to keep her alive keeps the story going, but it all feels a bit boring because the ending is already written in stone and the world knows it, so they miss out on a few opportunities to actually establish itself seriously. Instead they have to show these damn wolves. Their storyline of wanting to destroy the baby and Bella in the process is every bit as a joke as it sounds. There isn’t a single moment when they are on screen that doesn’t make you want to stop watching. The build-up to this epic battle between the two races comes to a shitty conclusion that feels all but made up on the spot. There are times when you stick to the books material and you don’t; this is one of the times you don’t follow true to the pages.

Kristen Stewart seems to finally decide to show a bit of emotion rather than do her famous stare into the screen. Part of that came from the effectively haunting CGI used on her to make her skin and bones; it is quite scary and very believable looking. Pattinson continues to be stuck in a terrible page to screen character that never quite feels right and unfairly looks bad. The key to the film and the complete downfall of this franchise has to go to Taylor Lautner. I have never seen somebody so bad on screen. Nothing about him is real nor likeable; he is a complete moment actor that hopefully goes away as fast as he came. Anytime the films attempt to get something going, here comes Jacob and time to give up trying.

You already know if you’d like to see this. You’re either a fan or not, and if you thought the third was watchable, than you should be able to get through this one. Its better, but not by much.

Overall Score: 5.5/10

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

When they announced they were going to re-adapt The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the American audience, there was a lot of clamor from fans of the Swedish version; especially since it just came to the States last year. There really didn’t seem to be a point for another adaption so quickly. Then the studios made the easiest choice they could to shut the fans up and start second guessing themselves; that was hiring David Fincher, of course. For once he was hired, it seemed like a project that he was destined to make. A dark tale of rape, revenge, mystery, and psychological horror fits all too perfectly into his realm of comfort.

At the center of the story, there is a mystery; who killed Harriet Vanger? She disappeared 40 years ago her killer has sent a framed flower every year since in a somewhat taunting matter. This mystery is a slow, somewhat boring, slightly confusing investigation that ends up with a huge payoff for the audience. Its very conclusion is tense, scary, and rewarding. What’s not surprising is it seems to take a backseat to the title character, Lisbeth Salander. You are introduced to her and her lifestyle before the mystery even begins, and it winds up being the films strongest parts. You are allowed to enter the domain of the characters mind through the camera and see intimate moments of her private life that help define her character throughout the rest of the film. Her eventual involvement into the mystery feels natural and she helps light a flame, giving it more life and getting the wheels to the train going a bit faster. When the mystery comes to an end, the story continues in a somewhat dragging way that feels a bit unnecessary, but moments before the credits roll, it comes together nicely and truly gives the film’s movie title meaning.

Rooney Mara is downright impressive. Had I walked in blind, I know I wouldn’t have guessed that she was underneath that disguise. She goes into a place I never thought she could and the result is one of the best performances of the year.  The key difference between her and the original, Noomi Rapace, is that I feel like I was more connected to Mara’s version. She seemed to show her insecurities better and her willingness to want more then what she had; which made me cheering more for her. It’s a career role for her that not only did she not fuck up, but even surpassed an already critically acclaimed performance of the same character.  Impressive. Daniel Craig takes a backseat to Mara, and seems happy to do so. He does enough to make him suitable match for her, which he only manages to break your heart. Dick. Some of the smaller roles with Chrisopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, and Yorick van Wageningen manage to get a lot of smaller roles that help keep the mystery moving but still staying intrigued by it.

If you saw the original, let the fear of a commercialized version go. David Fincher does what eh does best and creates a great adaption of his version of the bestselling novel. It feel every bit as good, and to me better than the Swedish version. If you haven’t already been introduced into the world of Lisbeth  Salander, here is the perfect place to start. It’s a long but fun ride that you can only get from a Fincher film.

Overall Score: 9/10

The Sitter (2011)

When the world's most irresponsible babysitter takes three of the world's worst kids on an unforgettable overnight adventure through the streets of New York City, it's anyone's guess who's going to make it home in one piece.

The Sitter is a comedy that is so god damn lazy that almost nothing about it is all that funny. Their line of thinking must have been to steal funny scenes from these other funny films and create one long epic laughing roller coaster that the crowd would just eat up, but it was a complete mess. Even when they hit on something funny, they got lazy again ad used the exact same joke fifteen minutes alter. Just how awful is the film if it stoops all the way down to that level? The answer is awful.

A story is never a big thing in a comedy. The only real accomplishment that’s needed is to keep the characters moving from one joke to the next. Anything more than that is just icing to the cake. Here with The Sitter though, it takes a few tame situations and tries to mix in sentimental and outrageous moments together at the same time and instead of triggering a laugh or a heartfelt moment, all you can think about is how the hell they just changed directions without wrapping up the previous encounter. The Sitter is a shining example of when a story is so badly paced and revealed that it actually makes you hate it despite any good qualities it might have had. In this case, ti had none, but that’s beside the point.

For those disappointed that this will be the last we see of fat Jonah Hill who could be funny at times, don’t be, because if it keeps making movies this this, his career will go in a downward spiral causing him to get depressed and become fat again. It just sucks that fatty couldn’t go out with a bang instead of a whimper. And what the hell did Sam Rockwell see with this? His character was stupid, had a lot to do with the repetitiveness of it all, and once again did a movie that will only make the public hate him even more. The guy needs a new agent.

If you want to watch something so unfunny and stupid, give the Sitter a chance, but you’re better off choosing just about anything else if all you’re looking for is some type of entertainment. The only real good jokes this film throws at you come with the trailer; everything else is just pure crap.

Overall Score: 1/10

The Descendants (2011)

The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.

The best word to describe The Descendants is raw. It’s a movie that revolves around the death of a mother and the resulting effect it has on her family. It doesn’t avoid any topic and never attempts to be blunt. It answers them thoroughly and effectively in a manner that feels all too realistic. It throws its emotions at the screen and have you react to them rather than trying to force one out of you. It does a lot without actually doing much work, if that makes any sense at all.

One of the keys to this film is that it treats its characters as if they are real. That doesn’t seem like that hard of a job, but other films seem to struggle with this aspect heavily.  They are not perfect and the film slowly un-wraps them and the best and worst of them are revealed that help define them. Their actions before become clearer and the path forward seem appropriate once they finally move on. It’s really fascinating actually.  Seeing the struggles of a family come together has been portrayed so realistic. It parts where you feel a clichéd moment coming, catches you a bit off guard, taking another direction instead. It’s wonderful. This journey this family takes comes off a bit daunting, but it places some effect comedy in the right situations, to try and not be too depressing of a film. In fact its only real weakness can come from the audience and their expectations. If you expect that big moment where everything gets fixed in a nice little bow, you’re going to be disappointed.  It wants you to actually feel for these characters by the time it ends.

It helps to achieve that when you have George Clooney in your lead. He uses his famous emotionless stare and hides the emotions that his character so easily hides. He’s perfect for it. He’s always been able to do a lot within the frame simply by talking. It may not be the best actor nominee a lot are begging to give him, but he’s very effective in the film. In fact the more impressive co-star is his film daughter Shailene Woodley. If you ever saw her before this, you’d know just how god awful she has been. But here, she proves, with the right script, that she can be a good actress. It helps that her character never falls into the trap of clichéd territory, but Woodley plays with her emotions on her shoulder for all to see and nails it. Very impressive work, one that very well could lead into a best supporting nomination.

 This will be one of the easiest films to recommend. It is a charming heart filled film with an indie-Sundance vibe but with a much more substantial production value. Even if the trailer turned you off, this is still a film that is filled with so much reality, it’s bound to hit somewhere close to home. Give it a chance the first opportunity you get. And don’t worry its not all sad and mopey, at certain points had me cracking the hell up.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

The Muppets (2011)

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

The Muppets have never been something I was interested in. I never wanted to watch them as a kid, and I never really had any longing to see them now. Then the marketing kicked into full gear and did just an awesome job with its constant parodies. It did its job in pulling you in, but I somehow forgot this was going to be a Muppets movie with Muppet problems filled Muppet characters; something I have never found myself enjoying all that much.  

The gang this time around is past their heyday. All spread out around the world living their lives apart, but when the Muppet Theater is about to get destroyed because there is oil under it, an outside named Walter rally’s the troops together to try and save it. The formula is 100% predictable, but that’s now why people go and see this brand. Its for the humor which I thought was absolutely the complete opposite from their parody trailers, and had me practically falling asleep. I am just apart of the audience that doesn’t trigger with this film. I cannot get past a movie where the characters break out in dance and song and then when they are finished, continue along as if nothing just happened. My brain can let a lot of things go in a film, but that is the ONE thing I can’t just let go. That happens way too much for my liking.

With this film, you should be able to walk into it knowing full well if you’re going to enjoy it already. If the previous installments of the Muppets brought joy to you, I don’t see why you wouldn’t have a fun time with this one. If you are like me and have never been a fan, but was intrigued that it may have been something a little different based on the marketing, you will have to be cautious. If you don’t like the first ten minutes, you may as well turn it off because it doesn’t get any different then what you saw. It’s a long one note movie that seems to have a nostalgia factor that swooed the critics into remembering their past, therefor giving it a great review. I simply cannot do that because they were never in my past to begin with. I wanted to love it, but it just didn’t happen.

Overall Score: 4/10

Hugo (2011)

Hugo is the astonishing adventure of a wily and resourceful boy whose quest to unlock a secret left to him by his father will transform Hugo and all those around him, and reveal a safe and loving place he can call home.

If you are just walking into Hugo and watching it based solely off the trailers, you’d think it was going to be a kid’s movie. Just about everything about it screamed: FOR KIDS!!! Then you see it was directed by Martin Scorsese and you just know that something doesn’t add up. There is no way Scorsese would waste his time to direct something so pointless. Then the movie starts and about 5 minutes into it you knew you were right. This isn’t a kids movie, this is a film fans movie; a movie that takes you on a journey through cinema and relishes in the love for the past. One review said it perfect; it’s essentially a love letter.

The film begins as a child adventure with the protagonist on a journey to fix a machine that is dad never finished in hopes that it will fill the hole in his chest that his dad left upon him. This is surprisingly exciting to watch as he maneuvers around the train station hidden in walls and ceilings above. Once he meets a girl who has the key to everything he’s been looking for things really start to kick into gear. The mystery starts to feel more intense, the thrill of what is yet to be found keeps you on your toes leaning forward in anticipation. It’s very well-paced and doesn’t slow down until the reveal. Had the movie ended at the reveal, it would have been a tremendous disappointment because it initially comes as a let-down, but it doesn’t stop there. The background of the reveal is shown and this is when the real movie fans sit back and simply enjoy what’s on screen. All I can say with ruining it for the everyone is that it’s just pure nostalgia that should leave you with a big ass smirk when its finished. Martin Scorsese just simply outdoes himself here. It’s too bad the trailers didn’t sell it to an older crowd because that’s exactly the audience that should give this a watch.

There were a lot of recognizable faces in the cast, but the unknown lead Asa Butterfield does a great job here. Normally child actors just annoy the sit out of me, but under the direction of Scorsese, he controls his emotions and delivers a heartwarming performance that only wants you to cheer for him more. Chloe Mertz in a much more defined role then were accustomed to proves she has got to be one of the best child actors to ever walk into Hollywood. She can simply do it all. Her grandfather, Ben Kingsly, seems to get most of the credit in the awards circuit, but he was just alright to me. He didn’t do anything wrong, but I feel when it came down to it, Butterfield showed more raw emotion then Kingsley when called upon. Even somewhat annoying actors Jude Law and Sacha Baron Cohen managed to impress me as much as Kingsley.  It’s no wonder this film wound up so well when you can get the most out of your cast. Not a single character seemed to have been wasted.

If you a fan of movies, you owe yourself to go and watch this. Its one fo the most charming and enjoyable films you can have at the theater. Martin Scorsese use of 3D might be the best I have seen since Avatar, maybe even better since it was used in every single scene, rather than in just sections.  It may be the surprise hit of the year critically speaking, and most certainly deserves to be so. I thank you Scorsese for branching out of your comfort zone and giving us something so unexpected that we can all enjoy.

Overall Score: 9/10

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a powerful psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, a young woman rapidly unraveling amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader (John Hawkes). Seeking help from her estranged older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy), Martha is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her disappearance. When her memories trigger a chilling paranoia that her former cult could still be pursuing her, the line between Martha's reality and delusion begins to blur.

Martha Marcy May Marlene is not only one of the biggest tongue twisters in the world but is one of best character dramas of the year. It centers on a character that is compelling enough to reveal two phases of her life at specific times to show the audience just how much control a cult has gained over her.  It dominates the screen time and reveals with fascinating detail exactly how it happened and what becomes of it.

The film takes place immediately after she escapes this cult and begins to live with her sister and brother-in-law. Through series of timely placed flashbacks, you see how she cannot do certain things in current time due to things they reveal during her time with the cult. Things from simply pouring a cup of water to sleeping come with oddities and difficulties that seem somewhat insignificant to us are a chore for our protagonist. The film’s accomplishment of establishing the cult into her life at a slow pace works wonders.  You begin to understand the cult and the purposes of its core just as you learn about the protagonist. The two gel into a pace that eventually feels like one thing. The editing of jumping between timelines with no warning help reveal tidbits you wouldn’t normally catch, and helps setup the ending of the film. A lot of people don’t like the ending because they probably didn’t understand it. If you paid attention to the similarities between he two timelines, the ending shouldn’t be as sudden as you thought. It has a pretty straight forward scenario that can only end in two ways and it does up to the audience too decide which one it will be. My guess, go with the one that makes the film feel better.

This is a cast that is controlled by two people. The newcomer Elizabeth Olsen, who is indeed a sister of the Olsen twins. She is great here, partially because it comes as a shock to some people because nobody thought an Olsen sister could act, but also because she controls the role ironically to a character whose actions have been twisted around one man. That man being John Hawkes, the leader of the cult. Hawkes has very quickly established himself as a threat to win an Oscar once again, and will surely be nominated for the second time in as many years. As the leader, he is charismatic, deceiving, and powerful despite his form simply because of the way Hawkes portrays himself. He has moved himself up the list of actors I’d pay to see in a movie.

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a rare film with an evener rarer subject matter. It’s wonderfully made; from its acting, to its score, and in the editing room. It is just all around well-done. When you finally get a chance to see this limited release gem, make sure you don’t pass it up.

Overall Score: 8/10

Take Shelter (2011)

 Curtis LaForche lives in a small Ohio town with his wife Samantha and six-year-old daughter Hannah, who is deaf. Money is tight, and navigating Hannah's healthcare and special needs education is a constant struggle. Despite that, Curtis and Samantha are very much in love and their family is a happy one. Then Curtis begins having terrifying dreams about an encroaching, apocalyptic storm. He chooses to keep the disturbance to himself, channeling his anxiety into the obsessive building of a storm shelter in their backyard. But the resulting strain on his marriage and tension within the community doesn't compare to Curtis' private fear of what his dreams may truly signify. Faced with the proposition that his disturbing visions signal disaster of one kind or another, Curtis confides in Samantha, testing the power of their bond against the highest possible stakes.

Take Shelter is a psychological thriller that can be downright haunting at times when it finally gets moving, but it seems to be standing still too long at certain moments in the film to keep you on the edge of your seat. But man o man, when it does get going, it gets 110% of your attention because it has moments of pure gold in filmmaking. Had it kept that pace for most of the film, it would surely be sitting near the top than the middle.

Our protagonist, Curtis, has a problem. He thinks the crazy gene that is passed down in his family has been passed to him. He sees things that nobody else seems to see, hears things only he can hear, and has strong panic attacks that take over his body.  Watching the paranoia overtake him and the eventual climax to all the build-up is fucking perfect. It reminds you exactly why you fell in love with movies in the first place. Its climax and ending both keep the tension at its highest point, and place dozen of questions into your head where the answers can only come from you and your interpretation of the film. Where I didn’t really enjoy it comes from the slow pace to that eventual climax. I don’t mind slowly paced dramas, but at times some of the material didn’t really add anything to the film, distorting your attention away from the film. It affected me from falling deeply in love with the film.

What I did fall in love with was Michael Shannon and the dynamite performance he gives here. He just dominates the screen and watching Shannon slowly go nuts is fascinating. His actions during the climax are enough to warrant his performance a top three for the year. Hopefully, during award season, he gets the attention he deserves and it leads to more roles like this instead of direct-to-dvd type of shit he’s put it out recently. His co-lead Jessica Chastin, the year’s breakout actress with 7 critically acclaimed movies, is in the unfortunate position to be once again cast in the shadow of somebody else. It seems to happen in all her movies, and it sucks because she is good in this, but will no doubt go unnoticed.

Take Shelter was one of this year’s most buzzed about films. Since its debut at Sundance, nothing but great things has been said about it.  It helped create an expectation that just couldn’t have been reached. It’s a film with a very strong performance carrying a good enough storyline that relied on a metaphor that could be the focal point on whether you like the film or not. It wasn’t the gritty drama I wanted, but still a film that tried enough to be worth your time.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Like Crazy (2011)

A love story is both a physical and emotional tale, one that can be deeply personal and heartbreaking for an audience to experience. Director Drake Doremus' film Like Crazy beautifully illustrates how your first real love is as thrilling and blissful as it is devastating. When a British college student (Felicity Jones) falls for her American classmate (Anton Yelchin) they embark on a passionate and life-changing journey only to be separated when she violates the terms of her visa. Like Crazy explores how a couple faces the real challenges of being together and of being apart.

Like Crazy is a very raw film. You can detect the films low budget and improvised set pieces simply by watching. It’s one of the more important factors that prove to be a strong technique in its story telling because this isn’t your typical romance movie. It doesn’t try to be flashy and come off as a “typical” teenage romance, but instead aims for a far more realistic perspective through the eyes of two people that want to be together, but always find themselves apart. It’s a compelling watch, which at times, becomes hard to get through.  

The relationship of the couple is the films entire story arc and very much like the relationship itself, the interest in watching it does up and down. When the couple is at its happiest, the film is good; when they are at rock bottom, it is fantastic, but when they are middling in-between, it becomes a bit frustrating to watch. You see this is a long-distance relationship that becomes annoyingly repetitive in their goals to keep them apart. Some of the obstacles placed between them make you roll your eyes, become annoyed and just wait for their next plan to fail. This is the aspect of the film that can really flip you from enjoying it. If you can get past this, you can get a unique look into this couple. A lot fo the techniques the director chose to use place these two young adults into interesting scenarios that come to test them. It makes you wonder if they are meant to be, or even if they will end up together. It tries to stray away from predictability and that’s where the appeal comes from. It’s a story that can end in so many different ways, but the only way to see which one it concludes with is to see for yourself.

In the two starring roles as the couple are Anton Yelchin (who has been on the rise for a while) and relative newcomer Felicity Jones. They both are really strong throughout the film, but there best moments come when there characters are truly at their worst. The emotions between them ooze through the screen and even affect the audience. This is the film that will have started it all when you look back at these two stars twenty years from now. Included in the cast in a small but crucial role is Jennifer Lawrence. Despite what the trailers made it seem, she’s a very minor character but steals scenes in them. It helps establish the notion in my head that Winters Bone wasn’t a one hit wonder for her. It’s a small but wonderful cast the gels together to establish an all-around good film.

If you’re in the mood for a thoughtful, sometimes messy, romance film in the same veins of Blue Valentine, this is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a great detour from all that flashy predictable shit Hollywood tries to sell you. It can be a tough watch but seems worth it for a movie where the young protagonists don’t come off as dumb twats in needing of a slap to the back of the head. Try not to let this indie fly past you, you may regret it.  

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011)

Friends on a winter break snowmobiling excursion make a wrong turn during a snowstorm and get lost in a nightmare. Seeking shelter in a presumably abandoned sanatorium, they awaken the horrific residents, including former patients and cannibals.

When you get to the fourth film in a horror series that has only gotten progressively worse with each film, you know you’re in for a real treat. You can expect to see plenty of dumbass things, but the entire point of it all is to just sit back and enjoy the film for the B movie that it’s trying to be. Wrong Turn 4 does a really good job with this concept for the first hour or so, but then the film reaches a point to where only the brave and insane dare test their eyes.

To the viewer’s familiar with the franchise, this film reveals the origins of the deformed, people-eating, psycho hillbilly brothers. It’s fairly standard stuff from this genre; mental hospital, escaping and killing everyone, living there for 15 years, you know, standard. Everything is dark and gloomy for them until a bunch of college kids get caught up in a storm and are forced to seek shelter in the now abandoned hospital. Here is when the crazy brothers go to town and they pick them off one by one, and then eat them in front of the camera for your viewing pleasure. It gets disgusting, violent, and terribly acted; in other words, exactly what you wanted. Its fun watching amateur actors taking no these type of shitty roles in hopes that it’s a jumpstart into something bigger. They put themselves in some terrible situations to fail, and they accomplish that goal with flying colors. I’d need more than two hands to keep track of the number of times I got a kick out of something someone did or said. Seeing these brothers again just ripping through these kids is just plain dumb fun.

Then something happens about an hour into the film and it completely raises the stakes in pure awesomeness. In a blatant spoiler, our protagonists have the brothers trapped in a jail cell and right before they go to burn them alive a character suddenly has a change of heart and convinces them not to become like them. SO they leave one person in charge of watching them while they go off and have sex. Then this character in charge of watching falls asleep right next to the cell where the brothers that killed a bunch of his friends now secretly escape and continue onward with their reign of chaos over the hospital. The rest of the film is so god damn bad, you’ll either find yourself looking with disgust or laughing with a smile. This is the type of film you already know if you’d love and if this is the crap that keeps you entertained, have yourself a good laugh. It really makes up for the god awful third one in the series.  

Overall Score: 3/10

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

 In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.

Another year, another installment in the ghostly “realistic” franchise. It’s strange because unlike a lot of folks, I thought the first was terrible and the second was awesome. There was something about the second installments audio that scared the shit out of me; so when the third entry leaned more towards the second than the first, I was somewhat excited to see what kind of scares they had in store for its audience this time around.

They went into prequel territory again, but this one feels a little too much for the audience to believe in. The entire setup of getting the camera involved is came about in a very absurd way and really hampers any type of thought that this is reality, but it’s a necessary component because it’s the key selling point for the franchise. If you can get past that, you get a much more complex plot, filled with twists, annoying characters, and daresay witchcraft. This idea to bring in witchcraft helps prolong the franchise, but for me personally, I immediately get turned off with this type of shit. I bet others are in the same boat as me. Then to make matters worse, these choices the parents of these children make are downright awful to the point that you want to go through the screen and give them a nice slap in the back of the head.

As far as the scares come, the film does a few things right. The audio is fantastic once again that only a theater or a great home theater system can provide. The vibrations cause more scares then what’s on the screen itself. It’s about the only improvement each film has made. The on-screen material is very creative and relies less on CGI this time around, but a lot of the characters reactions quickly cause you to react much differently. You may have a decent time with Paranormal Activity 3, but it’s not very good. It’s probably the worst entry and makes the franchises original appeal feel stale and repetitive now. Unless something drastically changes for the next one, the upcoming sequels can be in real trouble. If you’re in the mood for a few jumps and a pretty quick watch, give the third installment a go.

Overall Score: 3/10

The Thing (2011)

Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has traveled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. But it is about to wake up. When a simple experiment frees the alien from its frozen prison, Kate must join the crew's pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. And in this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish.

Regardless of what is said about this 2011 adaption of The Thing, it is definitely a remake. Sure the storyline takes place before the original and it leads right up into the original, but it practically goes through the exact same motions and feels completely underwhelming. Especially if you’ve seen the original before. It’s a shame too because this film isn’t all that bad but it never tries to be something different so it makes you wonder why the hell they needed to revisit this film again.

A group of scientists and experts find something in the ice and the ship it came to earth on. Somewhere along the way the thing gets out, starts trying to escape into a populated area, and in doing so takes the forms of the people in the group it has killed. Sound familiar at all? The best parts of the film is the constant paranoia of who’s human and who isn’t. The tension here is very dull. You can practically decide in the first few minutes who will last and when exactly they will die. It’s predictable, boring, and at times, albeit very, very little, can be entertaining.  

The group of people this time around don’t have that same level of awesomeness as the original. As much as Mary Elizabeth Winstead tries to pull off Kurt Russell, she can’t hold a candle to him. If you try and wipe away that comparison, she actually doesn’t seem that bad. She makes all the right choices to survive, never looks stupid and comes off as a smart character. It’s just that comparison will always be there. It may seem unfair, but that’s what happens when you try and remake a classic.

One of the only enjoyable parts of this film since technically it’s a prequel was watching the film set up its pieces to fit into the original. From the helicopter chasing the dog, to the two faced monster, and even the axe in the wall, it all aligns itself to fit neatly into one LONG film. The bottom line is that the original is the one worth seeing and only after you’ve seen that should you even bother trying to watch this. The original is a classic horror film, while this comes across as a cheesy monster mess.

Overall Score: 4.5/10