The Company of Wolves (1984)

A strange Gothic film that does visually what I imagine Hammer Studios could've eventually achieved had they evolved properly and not succumbed to desperate mimicry. It’s a surreal take on the Little Red Riding Hood story, even more full of symbolism and allegory.
The majority of it takes place within a nightmare/fever dream that mixes fairy tales, folklore and fear from the perspective of a young girl on the verge of womanhood. She’s repeatedly told by certain elders not to stray from the path (ie. keep your legs closed when the boys come calling), but like her mother says, the animal in man finds its equal in woman.
It’s marred by laughably bad acting, but the animatronics help offset that.

3 wolf tears out of 5

Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)

Why do I do this to myself?

Not even Jim Carrey could save this overbloated piece of fluff, filled with one too many penguin poop jokes. At one point, the movie goes in an interesting direction, when Mr. Popper loses his mind and adapts to the penguin's environment--but then it quickly turns head and becomes the usual formulaic family flick. I would have liked to see the other direction the movie could have gone.

In short: Stop making PG-rated comedies, Mr. Carrey.

1 cell phone in the blender out of 5