We Bury the Dead (2025)

After an experimental weapon is detonated off the coast of Tasmania, a body retrieval unit is deployed to clean up the mess, including a woman searching for her missing husband. Unfortunately, those with unfinished business still roam the lands. It's a zombie drama that reminded me a lot of the first half of 28 Days Later, or early days on The Walking Dead, especially in its simplicity. It doesn't quite stick the landing, but it's better than most films of this type.

2½ grinding teeth out of 5

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES [2017]

Directors Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg take Captain Jack Sparrow out for a fifth spin Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Once again Sparrow is in search of a mystical treasure while a ghostly revenge-seeking pirate is hot on his trail.    You know the deal when it comes to these films.
After the previous film was so dismally dull it's nice to see the enthusiasm is back, even if the series has clearly run it's course.  It's a tighter story, more well-paced and with lowered expectations there's actually quite a bit of silly fun to be had.

3 ghost sharks out of 5

THE GIVER [2014]

Director Phillip Noyce comes in at the beginning of an over-abundance of films based on YA social science-fiction novels with Lois Lowry's The Giver.
In a nutshell (see what I did there?) the film is about a young boy, who resides in a seemingly perfect community, that learns all about the world that existed before this false utopia.  This is Jeff Bridges' passion project, seeing as he optioned the rights to the book over twenty years ago and has been attempting to get it made since and for the most part, the dedication shows.  However it's impossible to fit in all the themes, depth and subtleties of the novel without leaving out a great deal of it's purpose.  There's some really powerful moments, interesting techniques and ideas brought to the table in a cinematic sense but they don't all work to form a seamlessly coherent narrative.   It's aiming in the right direction and perhaps with a better director it might have hit it's mark

3 lies for personal amusement out of 5

MALEFICENT [2014]

FX Guru Robert Stromberg makes his directorial debut with Maleficent, Disney's reinterpretation of their own Sleepy Beauty, which in turn was a  reinterpretation of a combination of old folktales.  
Obviously with Stromberg at the helm, one can expect a gorgeous looking film that is like watching a masterpiece painting come to life.  Unfortunately one can also expect that the rest of the film will sorely lack in any real substance.  From a distance you get a colorful looking fantasy film but under the microscope it's very much a date-rape revenge film that bounces between the conflicts of two different societies, one run by capitalism and the other socialism.  Angelina Jolie shines through the wooden script with a diabolically riveting performance that turns the title-character into a anti-hero of sorts.  As for the rest of the impressive cast?  They have absolutely nothing to work with and that's where it hurts the film the most, almost to the point of no recovery.

2 iron allergies out of 5

OCULUS [2013]

Director Mike Flanagan expands his spooky short film, Oculus, into a highly effective feature length.
It follows a young woman trying to prove that a filthy old mirror is the reason for the tragic deaths in her family many years earlier.
We're blessed with a devilishly paced script that  unfolds with perfection as the horror creeps deeper and deeper into our psyche.  Sure there's quite a few jump scares, but much like Flanagan's Absentia, the uber-creepy atmosphere and beautifully executed build-ups justify them.  It's well fleshed-out characters, remarkable camerawork & direction, eerie lighting and confident cast help make it one of better scary movies of the year.  Even if it does deflate in it's final moments with a disappointing and predicable conclusion, I can easily say the journey is well-worth the time.

3½ flavorful lightbulbs out of 5

THE SIGNAL [2014]

Director William Eubank's second film, The Signal, once again finds him exploring a low-budget science-fiction world that proves imagination is more powerful than money.

It starts off like a pretty standard story about relationships & growing up but slowly escalates into something far beyond anything I could have imagined it would. It explores the consequences we face when we make choices, whether they're made by logic or driven by our emotions and what happens when both types collide head on.  As visually stunning and fascinating it is to ponder upon, once all is said and done it all feels like a letdown that it set itself up for from the very beginning.  It's a wonderful journey but ultimately cheats you in the end as it tries to go all Twilight Zone on the viewer.

3 hundred mile sprints out of 5