The Movies Begin: A Treasury Of Old Cinema | 1894-1913 (feat. Eadweard Muybridge & Thomas Edison Short Films, The Great Train Robbery, A Trip To The Moon) Review

Reviewing this Kino Lorber DVD collection of some of the earliest pieces of cinema was a total accident, I'll freely admit. While browsing the shelves at my college's library, I stumbled upon The Movies Begin: A Treasury Of Old Cinema | 1894-1913, without having either heard of this The Movies Begin series of DVD's, let alone this specific entry in the franchise. Upon discovering it, of course, I couldn't pass it up, especially since I had seen none of the numerous incredibly important shorts it contained within. It really is true how sometimes truly awesome experiences emerge from spontaneity.

Midnight Special Review

Midnight Special is the sort of movie that hits the ground running and never looks back. The story begins in media res and from there backstory is doled out in small doses throughout numerous points. Jeff Nichols shows some obvious ingenuity when it comes to concocting a cohesive narrative with this approach; he's well aware that numerous elements of the plot will be foreign to all viewers and require proper explanation. But he's also not willing to sacrifice the thrust of the narrative so he can have an entire shoehorned in scene that overwhelms the audience with answers. Instead, he lets the tale live and breathe, with clarification coming to light when needed while other aspects of the movie remain satisfyingly ambiguous.

Alien Review (Classic Write-Up)

In Space, No Can Hear You Scream, Or Make A Great Movie

Sci-fi and horror are two genres that are routinely mixed in storytelling, likely because the vastness and mysterious nature of outer space mixes well the inherent terror associated with horror. Because, really, few things scare human beings as much as being confronted with the unknown, and that's the kind of fear that's taken ahold of the crew of the spaceship Nostromo. The various men and women aboard this spacecraft have discovered an extraterrestrial is among them, and it's vicious attacks are picking off each crew member one by one.

Sunshine Review (Classic Write-Up)

Before Sunshine

I've seen a lot, and I mean, a LOT of crappy movies lately. Chappie, Unfinished Business, Insurgent, Get Hard, all miserable movies released in just the last month! It can get a bit wearing as one might imagine to watch so many shoddy films in such a short period of time, but it does make one appreciate a motion picture like Sunshine that much more. Experiencing this movie for the first time after seeing so many lackluster endeavors recently was like getting multiple gallons of water in the middle of the Sahara dessert.

Home Review

Home (But Not So) Alone

The world of sci-fi animaton is surprisingly sparse of huge successes, despite the presence of huge hits like WALL-E and Big Hero 6. Some of the biggest box office bombs of modern animation, whether they be deserved (Mars Needs Moms and Planet 51) or unwarranted (Titan A.E.) can be found here, and while early box office returns suggest Home will easily find it's way into the former category, it's also got more than enough flaws to come up as lacking entry in this subgenre of the animation medium.

Chappie Review

I (Didn't Care For This), Robot

My gut instinct is to say that Chappie goes off the rails, but that would imply the film was on the rails in the first place. Here is the kind of bad film that isn't just low on quality, but constantly left me gobsmacked at the poor decisions every aspect of it's production made. The newest film from director Neil Blomkamp is a cataclysmic and unfocused disaster that's I do feel comfortable dubbing memorable, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Her Review

What? Is She Funny Or Something?

Some people spent last night going to parties, or going on dates, but me? I was the coolest dude on the planet, because I spent the evening alone watching the best movie of 2013: Her. Rewatching the film for the first time since it's theatrical release only reaffirmed my praise for this modern masterpiece, which is one of the best artistic depictions of the deeper intricacies of love and human connection ever brought to life.

Interstellar Review

Flawed In Space

Space is a glorious vessel for cinematic storytelling, whether it's Luke Skywalker's many voyages into the cosmos or Stanley Kubrick using space as a backdrop for a look at humanity. So many stories, of widely varying degrees of quality, have been told within those far off stars, so it was inevitable for Christopher Nolan to send his own sci-fi tale into orbit.

A Tetris Movie Is Actually Happening And I Have An Idea For The Films Plot

Video games haven't exactly had the bets success being translated into film, but over the next few years, a resurgence of video game features will try to get more high-quality features in that particular genre created. The likes of Assassins Creed, Angry Birds and World of Warcraft will be brought to the big screen, and now Tetris can be added to the slate of upcoming films based on video games.