DARKMAN [1990]

Director Sam Raimi lays down the melodrama something fierce in his comic book-esque mad scientist thriller Darkman.
A brilliant doctor is left for dead by a group of thugs and unknowingly extracts revenge on each of them from within the shadows in this kitschy homage to olde tyme Universal horror films.
Although Raimi shows restraint from the same type of goofiness his Evil Dead flicks displayed, one can't help but notice how Darkman teeters between horror camp and straight-up spoofiness.  The plotting is occasionally a far-fetched mess but that's all part of it's charm, that is if this is your thing.  If it's not your thing then it's best advised you steer clear from this one because Raimi doesn't hold back from the popcorn cheese here.  No matter what, I like this movie and all it's operatic sequences, over-played tragedy and goofball cinematic atmospherics.

3 pink elephants out of 5

SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE [2015]

Writer/directors Richard Starzak & Mark Burton bring Nick Park's stop-motion dialogue-free animated series Shaun The Sheep to the big screen.
Shaun & the rest of the gang end up in the big city after a slight mishap which leads them into all sorts of trouble and wooly hijinks.
Like previous Aardman Animations, Shaun takes it time setting up jokes and situations instead of rapidly firing chaos at the viewers from all sides and that's where it's greatest strength lies.  Sure it's irresistibly cute but it packs enough smarts and gentle slyness in it's humor to make it worthwhile for the whole family.  Amidst all it's simplicity lies some wonderfully crafted harmless sight gags, a startling attention to design & detail and a welcome delight after welcome delight.

4 close shaves out of 5

DOPE [2015]

Writer/director Rick Famuyiwa hits gold with the coming-of-age crime-drama, Dope.
Growing up in a rough neighborhood of modern L.A., three teenage outcasts, obsessed with 90's hip-hop, have their lives turned upside down when they receive a rare opportunity to attend an underground nightclub party.
A perfect blend of incisive humor, keen observation, social issues and a fast-pace make Dope some of the most fun I've had with a film this year.  The three leads are an absolute hoot to watch, as they never get too goofy but allow the outrageous situations around them make up the funniest moments.  With a story that is all about going against typecast it shouldn't be any secret that one should expect the unexpected with this hidden gem.

4 pound cakes out of 5

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES [2000]

Billy Bob Thornton directs All The Pretty Horses, a film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's dark romance-western novel.
It tells the tale of a Texas cowboy, working in Mexico, that falls in love with a rancher's daughter which leads him into all sorts of trouble.
Billy Bob demonstrates some good ol' fashioned Western film-making with this lushly photographed piece where quite often the imagery tells the story more than the dialogue.  Sadly, his vision was gutted when the studio demanded a good 40% of the film be cut due to length.  A lot is lost, particularly the emotional punch the novel carried, but somehow it manages to tread water with some strong performances and interesting situations.

3 cowboys out of 5

DARK PLACES [2015]

In what seems like riding on the coattails of David Fincher's popular film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, director Gilles Paquet-Brenner gives Dark Places a stab in the...dark.
A loner of a woman revisits the gruesome Satanic murders of her family, when she is agrees to take part in a club obsessed with horrific crimes of the past.
An impressive cast is assembled for an overly rushed script that lacks any sort of bite to it.  In fact the whole thing feels more like a TV movie of the week rather than a dark passageway into the character's minds like the novel did so well at doing.
It feels like themes and ideas are ready to be explored but nothing is really said or done about them and in the end it's nothing more than pointless, yet somewhat easy to watch pulp.

2½ rituals out of 5

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT [2015]

Director Robert Schwentke takes over as director for Insurgent, the second film in the Divergent series, loosely based off of dystopian YA trilogy of novels (and in this day and age means we'll get four films).
Tris & her friends (and their amazing hair) are all back, now on the run, must chose sides as their society is on the brink of a full-fledged war that threatens...well...you know the rest.  The genre has been done to death by now and there isn't a whole lot that differs from film-to-film.  Fortunately, this second film is brought to life with some nifty set-pieces, imaginative action sequences and stronger confidence in itself that relieves the viewer from the bore that was the first film.    It doesn't do anything to distinguish itself from it's peers but with a bolder sense of direction it doesn't feels as aimless.

3 sleepy suicides out of 5

THE END OF THE TOUR [2015]

Director James Ponsoldt adapts writer David Lipsky's memoir Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself into the deeply profound and affecting The End of the Tour.
It tells of Lipsky's 1996 five-day road trip interview with David Foster Wallace, the author of the critically acclaimed Infinite Jest.
It's a deeply woven character study that dissects the fabricated camaraderie and lies told when it comes to a journalist and the human subject at hand.  However it explores an unexpected and brief friendship that is born at different stages of these two men's lives.  Jesse Eisenberg perfects his awkward personality with exquisite execution but it's Jason Segel as the deceased author that completely surprised me with multiple layers of sadness, hatred, intelligence and observation.

4 Big Ships out of 5

Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)

Even after acknowledging a number of glaring contradictions in the story it’s still a lot better than the previous film. The adults work alongside the children this time, balancing pragmatism with unchecked intuition, resulting in a more interesting film for all ages. The introduction of the threat is good times and Gamera’s response to it much quicker. The rocky set/location is really excellent. The city one less so but is impressively huge by comparison, highlighted beautifully when Dir. Yuasa tracks along the entirety of it. Overall, it’s far from perfect, but at least it tried to take a step in the right direction.

3 unlawful entries out of 5

Lone Wolf and Child: Assassin on the Road to Hell (1989)

aka Baby Cart In Purgatory

Dir. Tokuzô Tanaka's film attempts to tell the entire LW+C story in just 140 mins. Hideki Takahashi stars as Ogami Ittō and in a strange but welcome role reversal Tomisaburo Wakayama dons the eyebrows to play the treacherous Retsudo Yagyū. If that wasn't interesting enough, it also has Meiko Kaji.
There's one significant change to the story, but otherwise it packs in a ton of good stuff, revolving primarily around the Yagyū letter arc. The script understands that even though secondary characters only get a brief time onscreen, that doesn't mean the tragedy attached to them need be weakened.
Keeping in mind that it's a TV Movie and judging it as such, it's a worthy addition to an existing fan's shelf. If you're new to the LW+C story, however, the original films are still a better, if lengthier, introduction.

4 cart modifications out of 5

Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)

Film number five has a a trio of plucky pre-teens investigating a spaceship that landed not too far from their location. Plot A leads effortlessly to plot B, resulting in the blade-nosed Guiron going pointy-head to turtle-head with the titular, heroic kaijū (who spends more time getting to the actual battle than he does engaging in it, but at least he made it, right?) There’s flame-breath and city destruction for kids; the aforementioned space-ladies in figure-hugging, spangly polyester for dads; and, no, sorry, nothing of note for moms.

2½ irregular waves out of 5

ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL [2015]

Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's teen drama, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, is one the most pleasant unexpected surprises of the year.
High-schooler Greg is an awkward movie-loving outsider, afraid of intimate social interaction, that has his outlook on life changed when he accidentally befriends Rachel, a classmate recently diagnosed with leukemia.
It's too easy to compare it to The Fault in Our Stars but the film (and the Jesse Andrews novel it's based on) is completely different in tone, mood and themes.  There's no love story to be found but a coming-of-age story about friendship, finding one's purpose and the stark pain of reality.  There's moments of gut-busting hilarity to compliment the mature heartbreak.  It's rare that each character, major & minor, chew up each scene they're in but that's the case here.  They're all interesting and entertaining to come familiar with.  The photography is both beautiful and startlingly creative with it's dizzying camerawork and snippets of stop-action animation.

4 Big Ships out of 5

THE HARVEST [2013]

After being absent for over a decade, director John McNaughton makes his return to film with the oddball dramatic horror film, The Harvest.
An overly protective (and batshit crazy) mother is put to the test when her terminally ill son befriends a new girl in town.
Samantha Morton is the star here, with her frightening performance that outshines the majority of the film.  The rest of the cast is fine but the writing isn't necessarily bad but it needs just a bit more sprucing up to make it memorable.  At first, it all felt like an overly sappy TV movie but slowly morphed into something far more sinister and twisted.  It's not a standard horror film but depending on what character you side with depends on what sort of horror it might be.
Sound interesting?  It is in a way...but somehow simultaneously falls pretty flat as well.

2½ scarecrows out of 5

NEED FOR SPEED [2014]

Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul gets fast and furious in director Scott Waugh's film adaptation of Electronic Arts' long-running video game series Need For Speed.
In this car porn road flick, a car-mechanic gets out of prison to race across the country to avenge his friend of whom he was framed for the death of.
If it's quality plot and well-fleshed characters, then you're obviously not smart enough to know this ain't the film to turn to and perhaps it is right for you after all.  If it's ridiculously entertaining inane fun you're seeking out then you've come to the right place.  Unlike it's rival Fast Car film series, the large majority of stunts and FX are all practical making for less cartoony action sequences but still keeping up with the outrageousness of it all.
It's runs a bit long but you'll hardly even notice if you've come prepared right and proper the type of film it is.

3 bus bus buses out of 5

HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 [2010]

Harry Potter & his wand-fondling pals reach the beginning of the end in the 7th installment of the popular film franchise, director David Yates' The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
The gang are on the search for pieces of Lord Voldemort's soul to render him mortal again and defeat him once and for all.
Wisely splitting the final book into two parts seems like a bit much but with the amount of material that needed to be covered to do the series justice, it proves to be more than just a cheap way for the studio to squeeze out every last penny it can.  The consequences are dire and we definitely feel it through the dread, dreariness and dark passages that weave through the startlingly stark but beautiful visuals.  Non-fans of the series will be completely lost but if you're not into the series already how the hell did you get here anyway?  There's a complete lack of humor which sucks out a bit of the fun and when it does try to be funny it's rather distracting.  Not the perfect Potter film but it gets the audience ready for the grand finale.

3½ Bad Seeds out of 5

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION [2015]

Usually by the fifth film in a franchise movie-goers are groaning "another one?" but due to being an immensely entertaining series, director Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is more than welcome.
This time around, while being hunted down by the CIA, Ethan & co. are determined to take down an international crime orginization, known as The Syndicate (olde tyme TV series fans will be giggling with glee).
Little Man Cruise proves he's a believable action star once again, while the rest of the cast back him up quite nicely, especially Rebecca Ferguson as an ass-kicking agent who may or may not be a friend.  Unfortunately Sean Harris (who I quite like) isn't given a whole lot to chew on as the villain and that hurts the threat of danger a bit.
There's enough going on here that proves it's got at least one more good film to go before it tires itself out.

3½ record store visits out of 5