Final Girl (2015)

Still photographer Tyler Shields presents his first film with a slick and method style. Infiltrating a pack of young killers, Abigail Breslin offers a sympathetic yet hard fought performance as a young undercover operative. The story is extremely straightforward at first but becomes increasingly far-fetched towards the halfway point. Shields knows how to frame a shot, but inexplicable lighting and continuity issues mar the film as a whole. It's an impressive directorial debut showcasing some young talent, but the compelling premise becomes less and less as it reaches its obvious conclusion.

2½ Anna Belles out of 5

MAGGIE [2015]

Henry Hobson's directorial debut, the zombie-drama, Maggie, does a phenomenal job at making the viewer feel the need to overdose on anti-depressants once the credits start rolling.
Arnie Schwarzenegger plays a father who cares for his daughter, as she slowly dies from an infection that inevitably leads to her becoming the flesh-eating walking dead.  Arnie took me completely off-guard as he goes for an effective low-key performance and for once, with a heavy heart, the viewer definitely does not want him to pick up any sort of fire-arms.  It's a slow-burning drama that reminded me several times of the dreariness of The Road with the same sort of suffocating dread that Michael Haneke explored with Amour.  Great performances and mesmerizing tone aside, the film doesn't offer a whole lot beyond that and when all is said and done, it feels rather pointless, unless it aimed to haunt...because, boy, does it ever.

3 poor little foxes out of 5

ENDER'S GAME [2013]

After nearly 30 years since it was first published, fans of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi/war youth novel Ender's Game are finally given the big screen treatment by director Gavin Hood.
Does it live up to expectations?  Thankfully it mostly does, with only a few minor "grumble-grumble" moments but you can't please everybody.  It doesn't quite get as into Ender's head as much as the book nor does it explore it's many themes and instead opts for more of a eye-popping spectacle and that's all right.  It never bores and has just enough character to keep the plot driving forward with each action sequence.  A very fine sci-fi film to introduce the kids to that will keep the parent's attention from beginning to end as well.

3½ Little Doctors out of 5

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY [2013]

John Wells adapts Tracy Letts' dysfunctional family stageplay August: Osage County for the screen with a most impressive cast ensemble.
It's Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts who do most of the heavy lifting but it's hard to find a weak link in the bunch as each actor brings tragic dedication to their own role.  While there are some wickedly funny bits of dialogue throughout the film, I found this to be one of the saddest films of the year with it's story about a family falling to pieces after a funeral.  Each character gets their own introduction and since there are so many you start to wonder where it's all going after awhile until the middle of the film when it kicks into high gear.  With the addition of some painfully awkward and uncomfortably funny scenes, I'd watch it all over again just to pick each individual performance because there's so damned much going on at once.

4 catfish out of 5

HAUNTER [2013]

Abigail Breslin does a wonderful job at carrying the film in director Vincenzo Natali's super creepy ghost story Haunter.  
It starts off as your basic tired haunted house story but soon as the first layer of plot is added it just keeps building and building into something far more weirder and creepier than you'd ever expect.  It's beautifully photographed and lit with haunting precision that screams of cold intimacy.  Unfortunately the plot gets so thick with brilliant ideas, the final 20 minutes can't live up to everything it's built itself up to be and collapses something fierce.  Fortunately it's something I've come to expect from Natali films so it didn't hurt the experience too much.

4 meat loaf dinners out of 5

ZOMBIELAND [2009]

Ruben Fleischer directs this wild zombie romp that's like Shaun Of The Dead after a 3-day cocaine bender.

Zombieland being a comedy about the living dead can't help but draw comparisons to Shaun but that's fine because it's so damned fast-paced, well-performed and funny, as a fan of the genre one can't but enjoy it. It's a bloody fun, rollercoaster of a ride and tries to be nothing more.

3½ zombie kills of the week out of 5

SIGNS [2002]

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan lightens up a bit with a heavy dose of skittish paranoid humor in the alien invasion thriller Signs.

With some interesting camera work, enjoyable performances, startling moments and fantastic music, Signs is a joy to watch even if it does slap you in the ass with some groan worthy moments.   It doesn't leave enough to the imagination to make it fully effective as the perfect blend of humor and thrills that it tries to be.  

3 tinfoil hats out of 5