THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN [2014]

Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Town That Dreaded Sundown is simultaneously a remake of the 1976 grindhouse slasher of the same name and a bit of a meta-sequel.
Set in the same town, the story takes place in a world where the 1976 film is a cult classic and watched annually only to birth a copycat killer that follows the film's murders from beginning to end.  This grim and atmospheric little piece has some wonderful tracking shots and scene set-ups with some great performances to boot but in the end it just isn't all that scary.  Which is fine but it seems to take itself way too seriously, so the fun of cheap laughs are quickly tossed out the window as well.  It's nowhere near as shitty as any of the other slasher flick remakes as of lately but it doesn't quite succeed in standing aside any of the more recent originals either.

2½ trombones of death out of 5

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING [2012]

Joss Whedon's idea of taking time off from his busy schedule is directing, producing and scoring an adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing.
Whedon collects a gaggle of his usual suspects, including Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg and many more, in a modern day black and white world that works quite well.  Unlike most Shakespeare adaptations that are set in the modern day this film doesn't resort to flashiness or extravagant setpieces and instead is a quiet, sweet little piece that lets the words speak for itself.  Like in most of Whedon's work, the actors do a seamless job at switching from dramatic to hilarious without missing a beat.  Nathan Fillion and Tom Lenk play off each other wonderfully making for some of the biggest laughs.

4 Happily ever afters for Fred & Wesley out of 5

UNBREAKABLE [2000]

Strange things always seem to occur to people that never smile in mysterious thrillers written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan.  

Unbreakable is a quiet and moody ode to comic books that reunites Bruce Willis & Samuel L. Jackson for a third time.  It takes us through a murky, dreary analogy of comic books and the real world...or at least the real world that is Shyamalan's imagination.  Set up like an origin story for a super-hero it makes you wonder what other stories any potential sequels would explore.  It might not be as tightly wound or paced as The Sixth Sense but it's probably my favorite of Shyamalan's films.

4 bright colors are always Bad News Bears out of 5