Genre: Comedy, Horror

Year: 2007

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Matthew Davis, Julianna Robinson, Michael Grant Terry, Betsy Beutler, Colby French

Director: Matthew Kohnen

My Review: Aaah! Zombies!! also known as Wasting Away present an interesting twist on the typical Zombie flick. In this Zomedy (Yes, Zombie Comedy is a real genre) the movie changes the focus from the humans to the zombies point of view. As they see it, the 'normal' humans are infected with some strange disease. It makes them move really fast, speak in an incomprehensible series of burbling blips and bleeps and react violently; attacking normal people or attempting to flee in sheer terror - Very odd behavior indeed. The movie uses monochrome/black and white to let you know when the movie is being seen through the eyes of the 'infected' humans, while the 'normal' humans (the zombies) see in color. While this group of humans struggles to come to grasps with this new reality, they're engaged in a quest to escape the infected and find a new home for others like themselves. The comedy was a bit dull, but the ridiculous situations certainly made up for the low budget production value. When a severed head in a bowling ball bag started giving speeches of inspiration to an assembled zombie horde, I nearly lost it. Novel, witty, funny and fun. While this movie had a low budget, the production was creative, enthusiastic and effective. This one earns a 3 out of 5 and I hope to see more movies by Matthew Kohnen (director, co-writer, actor).

Summary: Turning the zombie film on its head, this film is an oddball comedy from the perspective of the brain munching monsters themselves.

Genre: Drama

Year: 1942

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt

Director: Michael Curtiz

My Review: An award winning film (won three Oscars in 1944) set in unoccupied Morocco (French Morocco) during WWII. The film stars Humphrey Bogart (as Rick Blaine), Ingrid Bergman (as Ilsa), and many others. Rick is the owner of "Rick's Café Américain", a nightclub, gambling parlor, meeting place for all sorts of people. Pickpockets, patriots, nazis, desperate humanity. This nightspot is an oasis for anyone looking to escape. Escape from bitter memories, from the horrors of war, from the confines of a prison sentence. Rick rules the nightclub like a neutral territory. Taking no sides, he favors no one over the security of his oasis. His world is secure amongst the chaos of war. Secure until, until she walked through his door. The movie is cast by great actors, full of unforgettable dialog and an excellent story. A love story, a thrilling war story, a story of patriotism, intrigue, romance and more. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you're in for a treat. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Rick Blaine, a callous nightclub owner in a wartime waystation, has his world turned upside down when his lost love, Ilsa, returns.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Year: 2011

Country: France, UK, Germany

Rating:

Starring: Mark Strong, John Hurt, Zoltán Mucsi, Péter Kálloy Molnár, Ilona Kassai

Director: Tomas Alfredson

My Review: John Le Carre's (author of book w/same name) classic Cold War tale. An espionage thriller set in the early 70s (during the height of the Cold War). The English are struggling in their efforts against Soviet espionage infiltration. MI-6 (the British spy agency) is rotting from the inside. A Soviet mole has burrowed into the very bowels of Britain's spy agency, and ferreting that mole from the fold will be a very difficult task. In an effort to uncover the corruption, a sacked spymaster is tasked to head up a secret effort to find this Russian agent before the corruption can spread. Excellent direction by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In). With one man to assist him, George Smiley sets about his task in a methodical way, slowly unraveling the deceit, double-agents, cover ups and false trails to figure out who the threat to England's spy agency truly is. A complex and slow story the action moves slowly but steadily as the characters move like chess pieces across an excellent period presentation of Britain's spy agency during the early 70s. The cast was fantastic (Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Kathy Burke, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, and many others) and the acting stellar. The lighting and editing perfect. The soundtrack was just as mysterious as the story. The only drawback to this movie was the condensation of an immensely complicated story into a cogent film. At times I felt confused about where the movie was going, there were necessary liberties taken in order to move the movie forward, but these compromises had a detrimental effect on the overall story. If it hadn't been so well directed the movie would have been a disaster. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: In the early 1970s during the Cold War, the head of British Intelligence, Control, resigns after an operation in Budapest, Hungary goes badly wrong. It transpires that Control believed one of four senior figures in the service was in fact a Russian agent - a mole - and the Hungary operation was an attempt to identify which of them it was. Smiley had been forced into retirement by the departure of Control, but is asked by a senior government figure to investigate a story told to him by a rogue agent, Ricky Tarr, that there was a mole. Smiley considers that the failure of the Hungary operation and the continuing success of Operation Witchcraft (an apparent source of significant Soviet intelligence) confirms this, and takes up the task of finding him. Through the efforts of Peter Guillam, Smiley obtains information that eventually leads him to Jim Prideaux, the agent at the heart of the Hungary fiasco...

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year: 2011

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman

Director: Chris Gorak

My Review: A Russian Sci-Fi thriller with plenty of action. Based upon the time-tested 'War of the worlds' template, the story involves an alien invasion of hostile beings cloaked by electricity. The film stars a host of young actors (Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman and several Russian actors including Veronika Vernadskaya). Direction by Chris Gorak, this movie was produced (in part) by Timur Bekmambetov. Chris Gorak's art direction is evident in this film, but his direction still has quite a way to come. The visual aspects of this film were pretty good. Especially the aliens. The invisibility cloak, accented by discharges of electrical energy and the way in which they dispatched their opponents. Unfortunately the visual aspects and art direction were the best parts of this movie. The story is pretty slim. Aliens invade Moscow (the whole world) and they're killing everyone who gets in their way. Our group of Americans, a Swede, and the Moscow natives do their best to survive and fight back. The story had some excellent ideas, but every time they tried to shine through they were quashed by poor implementation. There were numerous technological snafus that made me cringe. Cell phones that worked without towers. Cell phones that began ringing when an electrically charged alien was near. The inability to see through glass, unless it's a quarter mile away. Russian light bulbs are unbreakable. No one thought to attack the electrified aliens with water? The list goes on… The characters (for the most part) were highly stereo-typed and there really wasn't any character development or background to speak of. The story was a useless cover to display the cgi aliens and showcase some young actors. I liked the fact that it was set in Moscow (not L.A., NYC or some other American metropolis) but the setting can't make up for the lack of originality in the highly predictable plot. The long shots and wide scenes detracted from the movie by creating wide open spaces in a movie that benefited from the suspense created in confined settings. I didn't care for this movie. Doesn't make it above a 2 out of 5.

Summary: The American software designers Sean and Ben travel to Moscow to sell their software to investors. However, their Swedish partner Skyler pulls a fast one on Sean and Ben, and they are out of the business. They go to a nightclub, where they meet the Americans Natalie and Anne and they flirt with the girls and see Skyler in the club. Out of the blue, the population is surprised by lights, which they mistake for natural phenomena. But soon, they learn that the lights are aliens invading Earth and using power supply to annihilate mankind. Sean, Ben, Natalie, Anne and Skyler hide in the kitchen and when they leave the place, they seek out survivors on the street. Are they the last people on Earth?

Genre: Drama

Year: 1997

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, James Russo

Director: Kevin Costner

My Review: Directed by and starring Kevin Kostner. Also features Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams and others. Here is a bigger than real-life dramatic tale of post-apocalyptic America (the year is 2013). In the wilderness of a decimated nation, colonies of survivors eke out a living under the shadow of terror cast by General Bethlehem (Will Patton) and his Holnist army. Into this dim landscape stumbles a drifter - A man who stumbles upon an abandoned mail truck and becomes 'The Postman'. What starts out as a scam to gain a free meal and a nights lodging becomes something much bigger. The legend soon begins to grow when the Postman decrees that the U.S. Government has been reconstituted. This drifter has taken on the visage of hope - draped in the symbols of a nation restored, the people are looking for a hero, and this drifter is reluctantly cast into that role. A story of hope, potential, revolution, love and perseverance. I don't care what the other critics say, I think they've misjudged this movie. Here is a strong message of hope, an emotional tale that touches on a raw nerve of American pride. Of a glory that once was, that could be again, a shining dream of a new hope. The characters are excellent, the acting pretty good, and the locations spectacular. The music is a bit over-wrought, but it fits the sentimentality of the movie rather well. This movie is very similar in photography, acting and editing, to WaterWorld - Which I liked, by the way. The only problem with this movie was the ending. Despite the movies length, the ending came on too suddenly. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Post-apocalyptic America. What begins as a con game becomes one man's quest to rebuild civilization by resuming postal service.

Genre: Action

Year: 1981

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies

Director: Steven Spielberg

My Review: The first movie in the franchise. Raiders of the Lost Ark firmly established Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. The casting was perfect and Ford's portrayal of Indiana Jones is the secret ingredient that made this franchise so successful. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written (in part) by George Lucas. Starring Harrison Ford (as Dr. Indiana Jones), Karen Allen (as Romantic interest Marion Ravenwood), Paul Freeman (as Dr. René Belloq), John Rhys-Davies (as faithful Sallah), Denholm Elliot (as Dr. Marcus Brody), and many others. The story: In 1936, Dr. Jones is a tweed-suited professor of archaeology at a conservative university when he's approached by representatives of the U.S. government. They'd like to enlist Indie's help to track down a missing colleague and prevent the 'Ark of the Covenant' from falling into the hands of the Nazis! Jones packs up some gear and immediately sets off into the jungles of South America - The quest is on! The movie is creative, filled with thrills, passion and excellent special effects. An adventure unlike any other. The pacing is break-neck and the thrills non-stop. Ford's light touch of humor keeps it from getting too serious or bogging down with too much drama. Excellent storytelling merged with technically perfect film making. No wonder it won four Oscars in 1982 (Best Art/Set direction, Best visual effects, Best film editing, Best sound). The effects were old school; no cgi or ridiculous cut-away editing. The thrills felt real, the adventure like adrenaline coursing through your veins. Outstanding entertainment - I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant, before the Nazis...

Genre: Drama

Year: 1986

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Margaret Whitton, David Margulies, Christine Baranski

Director: Adrian Lyne

My Review: This movie was (upon release) considered so erotic that it was shocking. Two versions are available an 'R' rated version and an 'Unrated' version. The 'Unrated' scene contains a few extra sex scenes. Directed by Adrian Lyne (following 'Flash Dance'), this movie is based upon a book, but the material wasn't adapted very well. It starred Mickey Rourke (as John - Some sort of wall street executive) and Kim Basinger (as Liz the art gallery employee). The movie lacks any character development to speak of. John and Liz establish a relationship based entirely on sex. John is pushing Liz to the limits of her sexual boundaries. The movie depicts a very steamy relationship. With plenty of fantasy, BDSM, and public sex, the movie raised plenty of eyebrows, but it really doesn't have any real story to speak of. At times the movie is quite slow, and the 80s sound track was a bit overdone. Sure there's plenty of nudity, but the sex scenes are choreographed and filmed in a way that allows an 'R' rating. After a while, the sex games get a bit boring, and the movie seems to play out as a series of music videos. The only reasons to watch this movie? Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke are both smoking hot in their steamy sex scenes and they seemed to have some chemistry in the movie. Aside from that, the plot (what little there was) and character development are pretty much non-existent in this erotic drama. I give it a 3 out of 5. It barely made the 'I liked it' rating.

Summary: An erotic story about a woman, the assistant of an art gallery, who gets involved in an impersonal affair with a man. She barely knows about his life, only about the sex games they play, so the relationship begins to get complicated.