Byzantium movie review.

Bloody Undead! Un-Bloody-Dead! It’s even worse than bloody cats! Undead, what’s the bloody point?!

Indeed, the undead seems to be a popular trend at the moment. We’ve got plenty of shows and movies of zombies, ghosts, and vampires to go around. Shows like The Walking Dead do plenty of justice for zombies, but vampires, however, are not doing so strong. Popular hits like Twilight (noted for “bringing back” the vampire genre) have a deserved reputation for being weak, manipulative teen fare (highlighted by a terrible role model of a lead character). However, there are smaller, better films released that remind us what made the sub-genre so fascinating in the first place, Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In being one of them. Byzantium, the latest from Interview with a Vampire director Neil Jordan, is also one such film.

After Earth movie review.

Of all the careers in Hollywood, none was more unfortunate than that of M. Night Shyamalan…

Unfortunate, indeed. Believe it or not, there was once a time when Shyamalan made good movies. The Sixth Sense we all know is a terrific film, Unbreakable might be the most underrated film of all time, Signs is a great, suspenseful Sci-Fi, and even The Village has its own spectacular merits. But, after leaving Touchstone Pictures, Shyamalan fell from grace hard. Starting with Lady in the Water, he made three horrible films in a row, and has practically become a punchline in his own industry. His latest film, After Earth, didn’t ease things. A starring vehicle for Will Smith’s son Jaden, the studio went so far as to hide Shyamalan’s name in advertising. However, the plan backfired. It seemed like the film had bigger problems than just Shyamalan. So when all is said and done, the movie is finished, and I get to thinking, I come to the conclusion that… It’s not that bad.

Let me just clarify. I am not saying this is a good movie, but it’s perhaps Shyamalan’s least bad film since leaving Touchstone.

Spring Breakers movie review.

Seems like a dream. That dream being Spring Breakers, a thriller from Harmony Korine told in pseudo-Malick montage: just saying such a thing out loud sounds… ridiculous. And I’m not gonna lie, that’s how the film initially struck me. Truth be told, I expected to hate this film. Being a complete newcomer to Korine, I had no idea what to expect from him personally, but the film’s premise had me less than sold. But when I finally sat down and watched the movie, I was surprised by how well acted, how stylish, and how hard hitting the film’s punches are. I could never take my attention away.

Only God Forgives movie review.

Drive was one of the biggest unexpected hits of 2011. Featuring a strong performance from Ryan Gosling (Whose niche as mostly silent characters in thrillers have made him a regular Gordon Freeman), and terrifically directed sequences of slow burning suspense courtesy of Nicolas Winding Refn, critics loved it, and it even got some loving attention in the mainstream as well. Refn’s next film would be highly anticipated, a sort of spiritual successor to Drive called Only God Forgives (albeit with completely different moods). This film seems to split people into two camps: those who love it with the highest of passions, and those who despise virtually every second of the film. At least I had an idea of what to expect, but it’s unfortunate then for me to say that I’m on that second boat. Whereas Drive wound up becoming one of my favorite movies of 2011, Only God Forgives struck me as a discordant purgatory all its own that I couldn’t wait to be over.

The Lone Ranger movie review.

Summer is not kind to us all, kemosabe. Even amidst the spectacular summer thrills (Iron Man 3 and Star Trek, for example), there will always be those of considerably less quality to dampen things. Man of Steel can already attest to this. But for as many problems Man of Steel had, it has nothing on The Lone Ranger. Having been trapped in development limbo for years, the film saw a troubled production, specifically due to a constantly rising budget. It at least had the promise of being a fun little ride, having been directed by the great Gore Verbinski. Unfortunately, the film was a train wreck, not only bombing at the box office, but garnering much critical hatred as well. I ignored all the warning signs in hopes of some decent popcorn entertainment.

Side Effects movie review.

Steven Soderbergh is a master of versatility. For close to 25 years, he’s tackled numerous genres for films such as Traffic, Erin Brokovich, and the riotously entertaining Ocean’s Trilogy. However, for every good film of his, he has a bad film. In particular, the last few years have been baffling to me. Contagion, Haywire, and Magic Mike all pleased critics, for reasons I don’t understand. I find his recent output overrated and uninteresting. However, I was getting excited for his most recent release (apparently his last theatrical release), a psychological thriller of sorts called Side Effects.

This was one of my most hotly anticipated films of the year, and while I still think it’s a limp product, it’s not as bad as his other recent output. It’s his best film since The Informant.

The Last of Us video game review.

Can video games be considered high art? This is a topic which has been debated for years, especially in the current generation. The medium has evolved over the years from a plumber rescuing princesses from gorillas, as well as Sega taking cheap shots at Super Nintendo with their "Blast Processing", to now telling stories that would rival even those from Hollywood. The medium has been continually breaking new ground, leading to cinematic quality tales such as Metal Gear Solid and Half Life, but could they be seen as art?

In my opinion, yes they can. If someone were to ask me why, I would immediately refer them to That Game Company’s visually poetic Journey, or to 2K Games’ haunting industrial commentary BioShock. There are many more I may possibly be forgetting, but those are what would immediately come to mind, and that list has already started growing as of recent.

Following up their success from the Uncharted trilogy on PlayStation 3, Sony developer Naughty Dog now takes themselves down new, haunting roads in complete contrast to Uncharted. The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic tale that combines the best of survival horror gameplay, and the richness of a fully developed motion picture, was arguably the most hotly anticipated game of the year. Critics have obviously been showering it with immense praise and perfect scores, but what do I think about it? Does it rank highly with Naughty Dog’s own Uncharted 2? In my opinion, not only do I think it surpasses Uncharted 2 (Which is one of my favorite games of all time), I’m seriously thinking endlessly about whether or not I’d consider it the greatest game I’ve ever played. That may sound hyperbolic, but when you’ve just finished a game this poignant, beautiful, terrifying, emotional, and all around powerful, you have reason to be so ecstatic.