The Conjuring

The Conjuring
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: James Wan [IMDB]

I desperately wanted to dig into this film after initially seeing the trailer. I loved James Wan's last movie, Insidious, and was curious to see his follow up. My friend Doug (and everyone else) was really hyping this up, he loved it so much he went to see it again with me tonight. So here it is... my review.

Synopsis: Based off a true story, husband and wife demon hunters are dispatched to a house in rural Rhode Island to help a family of 7 battle evil spirits.

This is by far one of the scariest films I've sat through in recent memory... which is a good thing. If you're into the horror genre, this is a must see. The Conjuring takes the supernatural subgenre and plays within it perfectly. Movies like The Exorcist and The Shining are easy comparisons, but for good reason because The Conjuring holds its own with those titles. I felt there was nothing cheesy about the film ... it's well crafted, paced perfectly, and terrifying. Doug had mentioned before going into it that the acting was the best he had seen in a horror movie... and he's right... it's up there. Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Lili Taylor are all excellent, it was also awesome to see Peter from Office Space... I love that guy.

The technical elements of the film were also a huge plus. The cinematography was on point and the sound design was eerie as hell. There's one frame that stuck with me of a young girl standing at the top a staircase... it  was something straight out a Kubrick joint. The fact that everything, including the wall paper in the staircase scene, is set in the early 70's also gave the film a nice breath of uniqueness.

I'm trying to think of something negative to say about The Conjuring and honestly I can't. The ending is a little happy, I guess that's bad... or good... I don't know. It doesn't matter... go see the damn thing.

Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives
2013 [Trailer]
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn [IMDB]

Nicolas Winding Refn is one of my favorite directors working today and to say I was excited to see his newest film, Only God Forgives, would be putting it lightly. Based off the trailer and the director's prior work, this film was one of my most anticipated for 2013... let's see if it was a winner.

Synopsis: Ryan Gosling (so hot right now) is working as a drug smuggler in Bangkok's seedy underground. His brother turns up dead and with some coaxing from his mother, he sets out for vengeance.

As with all of NWR's movies, this is not for everyone. It's slow paced, lacks a lot of dialogue, violent, and leaves things open for interpretation. It's exactly what I hoped it would be. The Gos was awesome, the score was on point, and out of everything Nicolas has produced... this is by far the best looking of the bunch. The colored lights against darkened sets (think Dario Argento) used throughout Only God Forgives lends itself to the horror genre and offers a very creepy vibe which I absolutely loved. The story is pretty straight forward and simple, but I think Nicolas Winding Refn has other hidden themes that the viewer is left to put together. I have an interesting theory about the police chief Chang, but I'll save it, as it would be considered a really big spoiler... once you see Only God Forgives we'll talk about it okay... cool.

This is a slam dunk for me... also a film I'll definitely buy and rewatch. It's in theaters now, so check it out. Or don't, do whatever you feel like.

Jack the Giant Slayer

Jack the Giant Slayer
(2013) [Trailer]
Director:  Byran Singer [IMDB]

"Nibble, nibble, gnaw who is nibbling at my little house?" Hansel and Gretel answered "It's not us, its Jack!"  The witch confused as to what fairy tale it was said "Jack be nimble Jack be quick? Hurry up to the clouds upon those windy green sticks!" The witch, still in a state of confusion from the children's hungry collusion, to see a little clearer, decided it was time to consult her mirror. Mirror Mirror on the wall . . . could this be the worst fairy tale <dramatic pause> of them all!

Synopsis:  Long ago magic beans created a windy green stalk that allowed evil giants to come pillage our lands.  A great and noble king created a mind control crown to conquer the giants and send them back up the stalk which he subsequently chopped down.  He had the the crown and remaining beans buried with him for all eternity until an evil would-be king dug them up to gather the giant army to lay siege upon the lands once more.  Somewhere along the way an 18 year old Jack, gets tossed into the mix and has to slay the giants to save the beloved princess and all the land.

Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum Hollywood's desire to modernize childhood fairy tales is . . . quite dumb!  A glutton for punishment after watching two, I should have called it and been through.  With those two,  Hansel &Gretel Witch Hunters (awful) and Snow White and the Huntsman (decent) that I did review, I should stopped ahead and bid adieu.  Unfortunately, the WFR trifecta was needed so with this review my warning should be heeded!

Jack is a limited tale with plenty of CGI which left me to wonder why-oh-why.  I should have stopped at number two but the trifecta forced this onto my queue.  As I followed along with their magical trek I realized they were only in it for the paycheck!

Take my advice and save yourself time because you will likely be more entertained by these musings and rhyme.



  

Stoker

Stoker
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Chan-wook Park [IMDB]

I missed Stoker back in March and have been meaning to check it out ever since. I really enjoyed what I've seen from Chan-wook Park (Oldboy and Thrist) and now that he has crossed over into English films, I wanted to see how he'd hold up.

Synopsis: After a young girl and her mother lose their father and or husband, his mysterious brother... the young girl's uncle and the mother's brother in law... comes to stay awhile. Confused yet? Good.

The immediate movie that comes to mind while watching Stoker is Shadow of a Doubt, which I reviewed not too long ago. Stoker has an obvious Hitchcockian vibe going on, but it's a little more dark and artsy. I loved the cinematography in this and I found Park used that element to help ratchet up the creepy factor in certain scenes. One cool shot has Mia Wasikowska (the girl) combing Nicole Kidman's (the mom) hair and then you see the hair flow into a grassy field where Mia is hunting with her father... it was pretty awesome.

The story and characters are pretty interesting and just like with everything I've seen from Park, it definitely has a twisted ending which was pleasing. Stoker is available on VOD or blu-ray, I'd recommend picking it up, it's definitely a solid film.

Battle Beyond the Stars

Battle Beyond the Stars
1980 [Full Movie]
Director: Jimmy T. Murakami [IMDB]

A childhood favorite of mine right here. I remember this movie being an epic one as a young lad, but up until now I had forgotten it mainly... except for some imagery. I recently discovered it on blu-ray, so I decided to give you a review and I also made a poster.

Synopsis: A peaceful planet must seek out the help of mercenaries to defend itself against an upcoming invasion.

This movie is basically Seven Samurai in outer space. Take that and mix it with the most popular movie franchise at the time, Star Wars, and you have Battle Beyond the Stars. It's campy, it's fun, and also not that great of a film... but I still enjoyed watching it. The score by James Horner is massive, it's truly a work of art to behold. The special effects and model work (partly by James Cameron) will remind you of Star Wars big time, but they still hold up mostly. Battle Beyond the Stars is toted as a Roger Corman cult classic, although I don't know how much he actually had to do with it, as far as I know he was only a producer. Still... it feels like something he would direct.

The main negatives are character development and plot. Lots of weird holes are left open and most of the seven mercenaries are forgettable.

I included a link to the full movie on youtube up at the top of the review, so if you wanna get your retro 80's sci-fi action on... feel free.

Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Guillermo del Toro [IMDB]

I wanted to take another stab at adding some more exclusive content to Williams Film Review, so I designed the poster for this review. I think it has a nice minimalist vibe to it. Check it out over there to the left. You done? Ok good. On we go.

I've been looking forward to checking out Guillermo del Toro's newest film, the monstrosity (pun intended) known as Pacific Rim. It stars Idris Elba, aka Stringer Bell, who I love and based off what I saw in the trailer, it looked like a knock out... let's see if it holds up to its promise.

Synopsis: Sea monsters come from a parallel dimension that opens up from a crack in the Pacific Rim. We create giants robots to fight them. There you go.

I was totally on board for the Pacific Rim express and found it to be exactly what I want from a summer block buster. It's del Toro's take on Godzilla or any of the other Japanese monster movies, only more stylish and modernized. The story and characters are what you would expect from a block buster, they weren't perfect but Guillermo manages to inject enough of his own vision into the equation to really have those elements not stand out in a negative way. The one thing I thought I was going to hate, I actually liked... the special effects. I was worried Pacific Rim would end up being a shitty CG love fest, akin to Transformers, but I found everything to be well crafted and quite the opposite. Having it set in places like Sydney and Hong Kong helped give it a unique feel, and the robot/monster designs felt inspired but fresh.

Pacific Rim won't win Oscars for its drama, but it totally offers a fun time at the movies and it's perfect for the season.

Blade

Blade
(1998) Trailer
Director: Stephen Norrington [IMDB]

My good buddy Sam Slater picked this up for me as a gift, so this review goes out to him... thanks Sam!

I've actually wanted to check this film out for a while, but just never got around to it. Now that I finally own it on blu-ray, I figured it was time to jam on it.

Synopsis: Wesley Snipes is a vampire hunter tracking a pack of particularly deadly killers led by.... Stephen Dorff?

One thing you immediately notice when watching Blade is how much it feels like The Matrix visually and action wise. It did come out a year prior to The Matrix, but the "internets" say they were in production at the same time. So, who knows if The Matrix ripped this off... but it sure does feel like it did.

Snipes is pretty believable in his roll and I also really loved Kris Kristofferson... I thought he was perfectly cast. One person who didn't work for me, was Stephen Dorff. I like him as an actor, I thought Somewhere was one of the best films of 2010, but as the ruthless leader of a vampire clan... he just didn't seem like a realistic choice.

Overall I loved the action and style Blade laid out and found it to be a fun genre flick. I think I'll have to pick up the second installment at some point and give that go.