Quick Movie Reviews: Vol 13

So more movies watched and now time venture forth and do my thing. One of the movies I just watched tonight, normally I don’t put a movie up for review this soon, I wait at least a day before I get writing. However the reason for this breach of protocol (yes I have some protocol), was the fact I had fun watching this just above average movie. Sometimes I get caught up with trying to break a movie down; I forget to just have fun. I think having really little information about this movie increased the enjoyment I had which got me thinking.

In this day and age, with trailers and movie information at our finger tips, does it all ruin the movie going experience? It’s a topic that I will probably cover at a later date in a more in depth article, but at least for now it’s got me thinking. Anyway enough of this on to the movies.

Drive Angry (2011)

As you may or may not know, I have an obsession with Nicholas Cage. So it would come as no surprise that when this movie was announced I was joyous. A man breaks out of hell, to find the cult that killed his daughter and kidnapped his grandchild. That man is Cage. This movie was destined to be pure gold. Patrick Lussier was the man behind the remake of My Bloody Valentine which I enjoyed a hell of a lot (for the record I also enjoyed the original), it was so fun, and the man seems to have a knack of going for fun without trying to hard. Teamed not only with Cage in ‘let’s have fun mode,’ but William Fitchner being oh so awesome as The Accountant; the demon sent to bring back Cage; this movie is just a damn fun ride. Fans of horror movies and action movies should get this movie.

Eat Pray Love (2010)

This movie was definitely out of my comfort zone, yet I tried going into this movie with an open mind. The first thing that hit me was how hard this movie is trying to be important. I’ve been told the book was actually a very touching piece of literature that was a profound read to a lot of people. If that was the case then the movie just doesn’t create that same feeling. Biggest reason is Julia Roberts character of Liz Gilbert, a woman spending time in various locations trying to discover herself. I hated her. I wanted her to be hit by a bus. GO GREYHOUND. She came off as a horrible person and therefore I didn’t care about her journey of self discovery. The bad thing about this is I could have seen myself enjoying this movie if it wasn’t for her. The other characters I didn’t mind, I laughed and felt about their own personal journeys. There is a good possibility that Julia Roberts was not right for this role, give me someone more along the lines of Julianne Moore or Jody Foster and I might have been more inclined towards this movie. Still I think women will get more out of this movie than me, but honestly after discussing with my girlfriend they would do better in grabbing and reading the book.

Griff the Invisible (2010)

Griff is a social outcast who doesn’t live in reality, he believes he can turn invisible and at night is a super hero. Ryan Kwanten is fantastic in the lead role, and it just shows you the acting talent he has. Yes folks; playing Jason Stackhouse isn’t the only thing he’s good at. At first I was drawn in by the quirkiness, but there was a certain point where I was starting to get disturbed. I wasn’t sure where I stood. Should I cheer for Griff and watch as he spirals further into delusion, or do I hope that someone comes along to save Griff from his mental problems, but then see him become a mindless drone with no sense of wonder. It’s a tough stance, and a brilliant mood. Maeve Dermody as Melody was also good in this movie, and yet again offers an unusual question to the audience. She is someone who will make Griff very happy but also cement his delusion for ever. If any of this interests you, then get out there and watch this movie. It’s worth it. Oh and it’s an Australian movie that doesn’t use Australian clichés. More points for this movie.

The Last Exorcism (2010)

I’ve wanted to watch this movie since it came to cinemas last year. Finally being able to sit down with this movie I’ve got to say I was really impressed. Patrick Fabian as Cotton Marcus is fantastic.  A conman exorcist, who is getting out of the game, because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, encounters a dark force in his last exorcism. Cotton is a complex character, a man who I would class as a good man, yet his talent lies in conning people out of money. He justifies why he does what he does, but you can see that after all these years he was conning himself and it’s beginning to stab at the good man behind the conman. This great character is then put into a situation which is creepy as hell. I was on the edge of my seat and felt so much tension as they start uncovering the truth about Nell, Cotton’s latest exorcist case. It’s a good movie and at one point seems to end, but then comes the twist. The problem with the twist is it wrecks the found footage angle, as there is some editing that couldn’t have been done with just raw footage. Also the ending is such amps things up from the subtle horror of the rest of the movie it will through people off. Personally I was invested with the movie so I didn’t mind the movie, but I know many who just hate it. Still this is a great, low budget movie, and people need to get out there and watch this movie to encourage this type of solid film making.

Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

What we have is a guy trying to figure out his life, and it seems that this is the night everything comes together. It’s a movie we’ve seen countless times, its jokes don’t hit that consistently and sometimes I wanted Dan Fogler to tone it down a little. However while I thought this was a just above average movie, I still had fun. It had a lot to do with the charm of Topher Grace, Anna Farris and Teresa Palmer. I liked these people and wanted to see things work out for them. Oh hell I’m even going to admit that even Dan Fogler had his moments, and considering what happens to his character I guess I can cut the guy some slack for his over the top antics. I also like that while it’s set in the 80’s, it doesn’t shove the 80’s references down you throat, it’s just the 80’s so people dress and act that way. The biggest problem is that the movie isn’t fall down funny, neither is it serious, it’s in this grey area so it never truly succeeds or fails. Hmm that sounds like the plot of this movie.