Tag: movies

Halloween Horror Fest 2017: Honoring George A. Romero

The concept of zombies existed long before 1968.

The first known film related to zombies was actually released in 1932, which was “White Zombie.” However, the zombies at that time were more related to magic and voodoo and it wasn’t until the late 60s that the modern zombie movie was created.

It was all thanks to George A. Romero (Feb. 4, 1940-July 16, 2017) who came along and thrust the genre in a whole new direction with the film “Night of the Living Dead.” Romero’s indie film, which introduced the concept of a plague that turns people into flesh eating zombies, didn’t just create a new idea for filmmakers to use, though.

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REVIEW: Solid Acting Isn’t Enough To Save Melodramtic “Mountain Between Us”

Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are both talented performers and they bring their abilities to the table in “The Mountain Between Us.” However, the movie surrounding them is largely weak.

The film introduces Elba’s and Winslet’s characters at an Idaho airport where most of the planes have been grounded because of poor weather. Because the two need to get out of the area quick, though, with Alex (Winslet) needing to get to her wedding and Ben (Elba) having to get to a surgery, they are rather desperate to get in the air.

That’s when Alex comes up with the idea of taking a smaller charter plane from the airport and invites Ben to come along. At first the flight seems to be going well enough, but that soon flips as a series of events causes the plane to go down. The pilot dies in the accident and the rest of the film follows the two protagonists having to work together to get through a cold, harsh part of the country.

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REVIEW: ‘Blade Runner’s’ Return Is Remarkable

There have been a lot of sequels lately that have revisited properties that were long left dormant, including “Jurassic World,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Creed.” This sequel to the 80s cult classic “Blade Runner,” though, might be the best one yet.

The new “Blade Runner” takes place 30 years after the original, hence the title. Replicants, the bioengineered humans that were featured in the original, are once again present in the movie and this time more integrated into society. The main example of this is the movie’s protagonist, K (Ryan Gosling). K is a replicant who works for the Los Angeles Police Department and is tasked with hunting down older replicant models.

In his latest investigation, K discovers a clue that relates to events in the first film. As a result, K is sent down a rabbit hole where he finds out information that could change the entire world.

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REVIEW: ‘Kingsman’ Sequel Isn’t Golden, But It’s Still Pretty Good

“Kingsman: The Secret Service,” one of the more fun and fresh action flicks in the past few years, got a sequel this weekend. However, while there’s a lot to like in this part 2, dubbed “The Golden Circle,” it doesn’t live up to the first picture

In this entry, helmed by returning director Matthew Vaughn, the lead character Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is now a full fledged Kingsman and is hard at work in his role with the secret spy organization. Trouble begins to mount, though, when a new enemy emerges in the form of a drug lord named Poppy (Julianne Moore), who manages to find and destroy their headquarters.

As a result, Eggsy, together with the Kingsman tech expert Merlin (Mark Strong), have to travel to the United States to meet with their agency’s American counterpart, Statesman. Together, the spies start a joint effort to take down Poppy before she can complete a plan that would result in the deaths of millions.

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REVIEW: ‘Mother’ Is One Of The Year’s Most Extreme Films, And For The Most Part It Works

Perennial cinematic risk taker Darren Aronofsky, who’s previously helmed films such as “Black Swan” and “Requiem for a Dream,” is at it again with this year’s “Mother!”

The movie opens rather mysteriously before introducing the audience to the two lead characters, named only Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and Him (Javier Bardem). Their married life is a simple one, Him being a writer and poet who’s trying to find his next breakthrough while Mother works on restoring sections of the house they live in.

Tensions begin to rise as two guests show up on their home’s doorsteps, though, played by Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. That tension only continues to build as the situation at the house becomes more and more unsettling.

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REVIEW: ‘IT’ Is A Horror Movie That Has Heart, But Still Provides Chills

The simple verdict? Go see “It.”

“It” is a film based on the 1986 horror book of the same name written by Stephen King and revolves around seven kids who live in Maine. Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), Ben (Jeremy Taylor), Beverly (Sophia Lillis), Richie (Finn Wolfhard), Mike (Chosen Jacobs) Eddie (Jack Grazer) and Stanley (Wyatt Oleff) are the protagonists and find themselves coming together and becoming close friends.

Driving forces that bring the group together are the actions of a group of bullies in their small town and an evil entity that takes the form of a clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard). With the torment from Pennywise increasing for all of them, the seven start to research how they can survive.

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REVIEW: ‘Leap!’ Held Back By Formulaic Story, Weak Characters

I consider myself quite a bit of an animation fan, so I was fairly disappointed with the recently released “Leap!”

The film focuses on a young orphan girl named Felicie (Elle Fanning), who’s attempting to achieve her dream of being a famous ballet dancer in Paris. With the help of her best friend Victor (Dane DeHaan), the two manage to get away from the orphanage and make it to the City of Lights.

Felicie eventually makes it to the ballet dance school and there she meets a former dancer named Odette (Carly Rae Jepsen), who decides to help her get a spot in the intense learning environment. Not only does Felicie have to deal with a rough dance education, though, she also ends up having a rival with another young dancer named Camille (Maddie Ziegler).

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REVIEW: ‘Logan Lucky’ Is A Fun Southern Spin On The Ensemble Heist Genre

Steven Soderbergh is back with another heist film, this time without the swag and the suave characters.

“Logan Lucky” centers on the Logan family, including Jimmy (Channing Tatum), Clyde (Adam Driver) and Mellie (Riley Keough). The family is well known for being unlucky, and Jimmy is a great example. Once a promising college quarterback, the film introduces Jimmy as a man with a bad leg and out of work.

Because of the stress from being laid off and a situation regarding the custody of his daughter, he turns to his brother Clyde, an Iraq War veteran who lost his arm, with an idea for a heist. Jimmy’s plan is to steal from the Charlotte Motor Speedway, with help from Mellie and an expert safecracker named Joe Bang (Daniel Craig).

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REVIEW: Jackson And Reynolds Are Fun, But ‘the Hitman’s Bodyguard’ Isn’t Anything Special

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, a guy who’s more by the books has to team up with a loose cannon to do something resulting in an action comedy.

Yes, the Hitman’s Bodyguard is your basic buddy comedy, albeit one carrying a hard ‘R’ rating. The movie follows Michael (Ryan Reynolds), a bodyguard who’s extremely skilled, but has been disgraced after a job went wrong.

He’s forced into protecting a hitman, Darius (Samuel L. Jackson), who’s supposed to give a testimony against a brutal leader charged with war crimes. The two of course don’t get along but end up having to work together to make it through alive.

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