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I typically don't see a movie solely for its cast, but I couldn't pass up a movie with Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Chris Hemsworth. Winter's War certainly isn't the best thing these actors have done in their careers, but it's still a fairly entertaining twist on the Snow White tale. The Huntsman acts as a prequel and sequel to 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman, which I regrettably hadn't seen before I watched this, and it follows an escalating battle between the Ice Queen, Freya, and her sister, Ravenna. Freya's former Huntsman, Eric and, fellow warrior, Sara, who were raised to protect Freya, have to conceal their forbidden love while combat Ravenna's intentions to take back Snow White's kingdom. Despite the campy writing and plot inconsistencies, I still found quite a bit to enjoy about Winter's War. Watching Charlize Theron be a badass as the Evil Queen was ridiculously entertaining. There's also the beautiful cinematography, costumes, visual effects and *ahem* Chris Hemsworth that made the movie visually stunning. The campy writing also isn't so bad that it goes into cheese territory. It's fairly self aware and fun while not taking itself overly seriously. The plot is a bit more of a fantasy romance with some action in it, but Jessica Chastain and Chris Hemsworth give their characters some life so that you do want to see them succeed by the time the movie is over. The Huntsman: Winter's War is fairly slight entertainment, but it's got a great cast, characters, stunning visuals and a lot of fun.

Social media and bullying are scary enough to be the perfect backdrop of a challenging horror film. Last year's Unfriended took that idea, mixed it with a revenge story and an inventive use of storytelling to create a stirring horror film about the effects of cyberbullying. Then there's #Horror, a failed satire of social media that feels more like a slap on the wrist than the provoking it was trying to be. #Horror follows six preteen girls who live in the high society of money, success and comfort. One night, their compulsive addiction to social media turns a moment of cyberbullying into a night of chaos. The movie is exactly as preachy as that synopsis sounds and just as annoying as the middle schoolers in it. What #Horror never quite figures out is if it's trying to be an allegory for the dangers of social media, an actual horror film, or a lesson on why pre teen girls are **** Those themes never mix with each other in a cohesive way and instead battle each other throughout the whole movie. One moment will have smart phone animations barraging the screen, the next scene will have some random act of bullying, and then the movie remembers it's supposed to be a horror film and for two seconds, you see the girls being filmed by someone. I mean, the movie is called #Horror. There should be a little more horror than a couple of shots in the first hour and then a few poorly filmed kill scenes at the end. What Unfriended did right was not let up on the social media aspect of the film during its scarier moments. #Horror just sends mixed messages about what movie it's trying to be. Director Tara Subkoff presents timely themes and a glimmer of potential from her confident direction. Unfortunately, instead of being provocative and subversive, #Horror just ends up being annoying and pretentious.

The market for international artsy horror flicks has been surprisingly lucrative in the past few years, with acclaimed films like The Babadook and Goodnight Mommy and even the American productions It Follows and The Witch. But probably the most imaginative and gory one of them all is the Turkish export, Baskin, an ultra-violent and bizarre descent into Hell with a capital "H." In Baskin, a police squad is called to an abandoned building in a neighborhood surrounded by rumors and hearsay. When they enter the building, they unwittingly stumble upon a black mass intent on sending the lawmakers straight to Hell. The narrative of Baskin is a bit of a mess. At times, it's difficult to figure out how certain things connect to each other or what they represent, and I saw the ending coming from a mile away. However, the blurring between reality and fantasy is one of my favorite staples of the horror genre. I love horror movies where you're not completely sure what's real and what's not, and this one illustrated the descent into Hell in a beautifully brutal fashion. The visual aspect of Baskin certainly gives the movie an art-film quality. Director Can Evrenol makes everything from a car crash to a man's intestines being ripped out look stunning. Even if the film's internal logic is difficult to follow and the ending is predictable, Baskin is a nightmarish and inventive Turkish horror film that will give gorehounds a more cerebral torture fest than most.

Mike Flanagan is a director to keep his eye on, especially with the long-delayed Before I Wake. His knack for taking familiar horror tropes and adding a little twist to them has allowed him to make some of the best psychological horror films of the past few years in Oculus, Absentia and now Hush. Hush takes the ever-popular home invasion trope and adds an interesting surprise to the plot: the main character is deaf. This makes for some incredibly intense sequences where someone who can hear could easily get out of the situation, and she has to rely only her sight and touch to survive the night. Even if the home invasion plot doesn't offer much new, there are some incredibly original sequences that arise due to her disability. Also, the intruder cut the lights to the house, so she can hardly use her eyesight to help her anyway. The deaf woman, Maddie, is an author, so she has to come up with several different endings to her books and decide on the right one. She does this several times in the movie when trying to figure out how to get out alive including one part that provides one of the best shocks in the movie. Mike Flanagan creates a home invasion thriller that distinguishes itself from the pack by being both original and brutally effective.

To start off, if you don't like Melissa McCarthy, just don't go see The Boss. It's not some surprise role where she showcases her broad dramatic acting talent that will be loved and adored the world over. It's a Melissa McCarthy comedy, and I look for two things in comedies: a relatively likable atmosphere and, ya know, comedy. Funny comedy. The Boss has just enough of both of those to recommend to a comedy fan even if it's not as strong as McCarthy's work with Paul Feig. In The Boss, business tycoon Michelle Darnell is sent to prison for insider trading, and after she's released from prison five months later, Michelle is ready to rebuild her fortune at any cost. She is taken in by an old employee, Claire Rawlins, whose to-die-for brownies present the perfect opportunity to build another dynasty. With the help of Claire, her daughter and her girl scout troop, Michelle starts the brownie making business, but Michelle learns that people she screwed over in the past aren't so quick to forgive and forget. Melissa McCarthy has a knack for making the most despicable characters actually seem someone likable (maybe that's just because I can relate to an arrogant power-hungry business tycoon?), so you never outright hate Michelle Darnell. She grew up moving around several foster families, so it's hard not to show some sympathy towards her character and why she ended up so narcissistic. Although some of the jokes fall flat, there are two more jokes to make up for it, and there's some hilariously memorable lines in The Boss. Although it's not as consistently funny as some of her other work, The Boss should please Melissa McCarthy fans until Ghostbusters this summer.

The financial crisis of 2008 and the men who pulled the strings behind it is a story too crazy to make up, and that's exactly the premise of The Big Short, a lesson in the Great Recession of the United States and a black comedy about the people that caused it. The Big Short starts in 2005 with hedge fund manager Michael Burry who discovers that the U.S. housing market is extremely unstable. Predicting that the market will collapse sometime in 2007. Burry realizes he can profit from the crash by betting against the housing market. His idea is laughed off by major investment and commercial banks, but they accept his proposal, believing the market is stable. From there, Burry's idea is heard by several hedge fund managers and traders, and their profits increase as the housing market crashes. The documentary-style camerawork and dark comedy make this dense subject easily accessible to almost everyone. The film's funnier moments come when some random anachronistic celebrity comes to explain financial terms to the audience, with the best being Selena Gomez. Even with all the black humor in the movie, The Big Short can't help but make you angry at the real-world villains that it's protraying, which is exactly what the movie wants. The Big Short is both hilarious and angering, and while it's obviously not a documentary, it does offer one of the best on-screen presentations of the 2008 financial crisis that is thought-provoking yet accessible.

Jennifer Lawrence made a name for herself by starring in The Hunger Games, and she's easily one of the most recognizable actresses in Hollywood. But what does she do now that The Hunger Games has ended? Her first post-HG project is reteaming with David O. Russell, director of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hussle, which netted her one Academy Award win and two nominations (including Joy). Although Joy wasn't as well-received as their other pairings, it still gives Jennifer Lawrence a movie to carry on her own without a franchise title to support her. Joy is a biographical film about the life of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop, because evidently she needed a biopic. She grew up in a home where everyone around her had a dead-end job, and her grandmother was the only source of optimism for Joy. By the time she's 30, Joy is a divorced mother of two, working a dead-end job, her parents are divorced but still live with Joy, and her ex-husband lives in her basement. To add insult to injury, her sister constantly humiliates Joy in front of her children. The rest of the film is Joy overcoming these obstacles to become an overnight success with her first invention, the Miracle Mop, and selling the product on QVC. It is one of those inspirational bio-dramas we get a few times a year, but it never feels overly sappy or fake. The real issue is the film's first half which drug on about 20 minutes too long hammering in how much the characters' lives ****. Once Joy makes the prototype for the Miracle Mop and starts her business, the movie's quality picks up immensly. You actually start caring about the characters rather than just saying "Wow, their lives ****." The ensemble cast, which includes Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, does typically great work and salvages the movie's slower parts. Joy is definitely one of those movies that you really go see for the cast, but it's often fun to watch Joy's race to the top even if it takes a long time for her to start.

I'm not a huge James Bond fan, but I like a good spy thriller, and Daniel Craig's Bond movies have been some of the best in the past few years. I went back to his first Bond outing, Casino Royale, which is arguably Craig's best. In Casino Royale, James Bond has been armed with a license to kill and goes out on his first mission as 007 where he must defeat a weapons dealer in a high stakes game of poker. This movie serves as a reboot of the Bond franchise and shows a new story arc for Craig's Bond, so we see a more vulnerable and less experienced James Bond. There are still some ridiculously fantastic action sequences to behold, but it's obvious that he's not nearly as sharp as he will come to be. The action scenes aren't even the best part of the movie though. The second act takes place almost entirely around a poker table, changing from a spy movie to a more contained thriller. It's suspenseful and incredibly well acted. Casino Royale gives one of the more memorable Bond movies that I've ever seen and set up Craig for a great run in the role.

I'm not a huge comic book movie fan, but I have liked the past few comic book movies I've seen (Deadpool, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy...), and I just so happened to find yet another one that I like. Personally, I'm getting ready for Civil War next month by watching The Winter Soldier, and if the next Captain American movie is as good as this one, there's nothing to worry about. In The Winter Soldier, Steve Rodgers is trying to adjust to the modern world until a conspiracy involving SHIELD comes to light, but Cap also has to team up with Black Widow to battle another threat: The Winter Soldier. To me, Captain America has always been the most interesting Avenger because of how he was forced to leave behind his old life and friends, especially his old lover Peggy Carter, and adjust to life in the 21st century. It allows him to be more than just a roided-up superhero with a cool shield, and his struggle with readjustment is explored well in this movie. He also has to deal with a myriad of other significant issues like SHIELD and the Winter Soldier. The political conspiracy plot in particular adds a lot of suspense and twists to the story to make it consistently thrilling while the Winter Soldier provides a lot of great action sequences. His character is mysterious throughout the film, and he's definitely one of the better Marvel movie villains. Captain America: The Winter Soldier should certainly please even the most casual comic book movie viewer with its intense action, great plot and witty writing. I think I might need to binge watch all the MCU movies before Infinity War comes out next year.

First, this isn't a sequel to Cloverfield nor does it take place in the same universe as Cloverfield, so if you go see this, don't get mad that the Clover monster isn't ripping through the city again. Now that that's out of the way, this is going to be a completely spoiler-free review, unless you don't want to know about, um, character names. But seriously, the less you know about this movie, the better, so I'm not going to give anything away that wasn't in any of the trailers. In 10 Cloverfield Lane, a woman, Michelle, gets in a car accident and wakes up in an underground bunker. Her captor, Howard claims to have saved her life and that everyone outside the bunker is dead. Another man is also in the bunker, named Emmet, and tensions arise between the three as Howard becomes increasingly suspicious, and Emmet and Michelle mount an escape plan. While Cloverfield, was an intense, in-your-face monster flick, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a completely different beast altogether. Instead of the vast area of New York City, this movie takes place in the confines of a doomsday bunker, so the scares come from paranoia and suspense than a giant monster attacking the city. All three cast members are excellent in their roles, especially John Goodman as Howard. His awesomely creepy performance makes this one of his most memorable roles. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Galleger Jr. are incredible as well. You may recognize her as Wendy from Final Destination 3. Winstead's character definitely isn't a damsel in destress here; Michelle is crafty and smart like Nancy from A Nightmare on Elm Street. John Galleger Jr. also provides some witty comic relief while also seeming a bit suspicious himself. 10 Cloverfield Lane is a restrained, suspenseful and well-crafted psychological thriller that calls to mind both Misery and The Twilight Zone, and if this anthology series continues, it'll be hard to match the standards set by this and its predecessor.

I wasn't aware of the existence of this until about a week and a half ago, but I guess it helps watching a movie without any expectations or bias. Although it's not groundbreaking horror, The Other Side of the Door is an still efficient ghost story. The film follows a couple, Maria and Michael, who live in harmony in India until a car accident kills their son, Oliver. Desperate for closure, Maria learns of a ritual where she can speak to her son one last time. She travels to an ancient temple where a mysterious door acts as a portal between the world of the living and the dead. Her only warning is to not open the door, but, in typical horror movie fashion, Maria opens the door. Oliver's soul is brought back to the world of the living, but something else is trying to reclaim his soul. In terms of scares, The Other Side of the Door is inconsistent at best. There are a couple of genuinely scary scenes, but there are a few more that just cop out on a jump scare. One really great and scary thing about the movie is the demon trying to reclaim Oliver's soul. It's creepy as hell and is reminiscent of Sadako or Kayako. Another thing that salvages the film and makes it watchable is its great story. Maria's story of depression and desperation gives the plot an emotional edge while the Hindu themes and symbolism make it unique for an American film. The movie had a similar vibe to The Grudge in that it used another country's culture to create a disturbing atmosphere for its characters. The ending is actually great and pretty shocking, too. It's not the best "American goes to a foreign country and s*** goes down" horror movie, but The Other Side of the Door is a decently scary ghost movie with a great story.

Ever since seeing the trailer a few months ago, I've been dying to see The Witch. It calls to mind recent arthouse horror movies like The Babadook and Goodnight Mommy, but The Witch is far scarier than those movies. It's a grim, perverse, and disturbing tale of religious paranoia among a crumbling family that will surely be remembered alongside the likes of Rosemary's Baby and The Omen. The Witch takes place in 17th century in Puritan-era New England. A family is excommunicated from their village and settles on the edge of a vast forest. Soon thereafter, their baby goes missing into the woods, and the family is torn apart by accusations of witchcraft, black magic and possession. From the first ten minutes, The Witch has a morose atmosphere and starts out with an incredibly disturbing scene. The initial shock is carried through the next few scenes which are dialog-heavy and slower, causing the dread to continue to the next horror. The terror never lets up and only amplifies as the plot progresses until the final 20 minutes are agonizing to watch. I could only vaguely tell you how the movie ended because I was watching through my fingers. It's perversely scary. The acting is fantastic from the entire cast, especially from the child actors. They're given heavy stuff to work with and pull it off with unsettling results. Along with amazing cinematography and an ominous score, it'll be difficult to find a better horror movie than The Witch this year. It'll leave you shaking.

I guess if Ant-Man and of all people can get his own movie (and a pretty good one at that), then Deadpool can finally get his own movie. Luckily, Fox bounced back from its monumental flop Fantastic Four last August with the pretty decent R-rated comic book flick Deadpool. In Deadpool, Wade Wilson is a mercenary in New York City when he meets a woman named Vanessa at a local bar. They hook up, and a year later, Wade pops the question with a ring pop which she accepts. Wade then collapses and is later diagnosed with terminal cancer. One night at the bar, he meets a recruiter from a secret program who offers an experimental treatment for his cancer. Wade declines and leaves, but he later reconsiders the offer and leaves Vanessa in the middle of the night to receive the treatment. The procedure involves getting tortured for weeks on end until a mutation occurs, and Wade is severely disfigured in the process, although his cancer is cured, and he's practically immortal. Wade escapes the facility that looks exactly like the torture chamber in Hostel and vows revenge on the person who did this to him. Oh, and somehow he's aware that he's in a movie. For all its intents and purposes, Deadpool is a very fun and sometimes funny movie, although not all the jokes hit, and it gets a little exhausting towards the end. The ridiculous, over-the-top violence also makes the movie unnaturally entertaining for a comic book flick. Hopefully more R- rated superhero movies are made in the future. Deadpool's ability to break the fourth wall also makes the film more interesting, but it causes the plot to suffer somewhat. A lot of the backstory is told by Deadpool in flashbacks, causing the film to jump around in time a lot. Deadpool may not be the crowning achievement of comic book movies, but it's entertaining enough to watch in the theater. I'm sure it'll be the perfect movie for 12 year old boys' slumber parties after their parents have gone to sleep.

Not since last year's generic exorcism flick The Vatican Tapes have I had such low expectations for a movie. Its January release date, unflattering trailer, and awful director (William Brent Bell, director of The Devil Inside and Stay Alive) seemed to be a recipe for disaster. Maybe it's because my expectations were so low, but The Boy is actually a halfway-decent January thriller. The Boy is about an American woman, Greta, who becomes a nanny for a boy named Brahms whose parents will be away for a few months. What Greta comes to find out is that Brahms is actually a life-sized porcelain doll that is used to replace the real Brahms who died in a fire when he was 8. A list of rules is created for Greta to follow, and increasingly disturbing events start happening when she does not follow those rules. The enormous manor that she resides in calls to mind the mansion from The Innocents, creating an interesting setting for the film. As the film progresses, Greta does begin following the rules and treats the doll like a real boy, and it is pretty creepy seeing how the doll can mentally control her in that way. The plot itself is rather thing, specifically during the second act. There is an abusive husband sub-plot thrown into the film like last year's disappointing Sinister 2, but instead of being ridiculously over-the-top like that movie, the side plot actually does serve some relevance in The Boy and is believable enough. It provides a reason for why Greta becomes so attached to Brahms. The big twist at the end will divide viewers, but I thought it served the rest of the movie well. It is revealed that Brahms actually survived the fire and has been living in the walls ever since the incident, and the parents committed suicide and left Greta for Brahms. The fact that he's always in the walls listening and watching everything creates a creepy atmosphere. The Boy certainly won't blow anyone's minds, but it is a decent thriller that should give you an excuse to go out to the cinema in January.

Japan's Aokigahara "Suicide Forest" by itself is a creepy and gruesome place because of its reputation as one of the most notorious suicide spots in the world as well as its historic association with demons in Japanese mythology. Its inherently scary atmosphere is perfect for a good horror movie, but The Forest mostly squanders its promise by degrading it to a hot spot for cheap jump scares. The Forest stars Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer in a dual role as twins Jess and Sara. Jess has disappeared into the forest, and Sara travels to Japan to go into the forest to look for her, unaware of the demons that lurk in the forest. The film has a pretty interesting premise and could have worked if executed correctly. 2014's As Above, So Below took an intrinsically creepy setting, the Paris catacombs, and used an unsettling atmosphere and good scares to make one of the better horror films of that year. The Forest does not use its setting to its advantage. Any atmosphere created by the forest is frittered away by a dull jump scare. Despite all the loud noises and sudden shocks, the scares are just boring. That could have been helped by a good story, but once Sara actually reaches the forest, the plot just sort of stops. The last half of the movie is just her running through the forest while demons pop out from behind the trees. It's not until the end that the plot decides to move forward any more, but by the time the big twist happens, you don't really care. The Forest has a committed performance from Natalie Dormer and glimmers of an interesting movie but mostly wastes them on predictable jump scares and a bland story.

Loosely based on the life of 19th century frontiersman Hugh Glass, The Revenant is a brutal yet visually stunning western with one of Leonardo DiCaprio's best performances yet. The film follows Glass after he is mauled by a bear and left for dead by his fellow fur traders. One of the frontiersmen, John Fitzgerald, kills his son, and Glass voyages over 200 miles to exact revenge on him. The Revenant is one of the most violent movies I've seen from 2015, although the incredible scenery and cinematography also make it one of the most astonishing movies to look at. It combines some intense, difficult-to-watch scenes with amazing scenery which makes it one of the most beautiful violent films I've seen. Leo's committed and demanding performance is certainly one of the best of his career especially because of the lack of the dialog in the film. The 156-minute running time, relentless brutality and limited dialog does take a bit of a commitment to finish, but The Revenant is a masterfully directed film that makes the most of its subject matter's intriguing story.

I sincerely hope the original Point Break is much different than this lifeless, hippy-dippy, overblown Mountain Dew commercial. I've never seen the original movie, so I have no bias towards it. Based on the movie's own merit's, the Point Break remake is laughably awful. In Point Break, a rookie FBI agent tracks down a group of extreme athletes who go around the world carrying out crimes in unusual and life-threatening ways; they plan to do a series of near-impossible stunts called the Ozaki 8 in hopes of reaching spiritual enlightenment. At least, that was the plot for about ten minutes before the movie devolves into a series of party scenes and surprisingly dull extreme sports clips that could have been easily viewed on YouTube, all set to irritating club music. It takes a special director to make BASE jumping and cliff diving this boring. Ericson Core builds as little suspense as possible in his action set pieces and instead films admittedly well-shot highlights reels for the action scenes. Any sort of suspense conjured up is because of the great cinematography because the characters are so flat and annoying that you almost wish they would get killed off. Everyone in this movie acts stoned out of their mind. All they do is spit faux-philosophical nonsense which gets tiring after the first twenty minutes. It gets laughable towards the end of the movie with lines like "Ideas are strong. But not as strong as a whaling ship," and no amount of context will make that line any less ridiculous. The unbearable dialog, muddled plot and dull characters makes this Point Break remake utterly pointless. If you're not a fan of remakes, this will make you reach your breaking point.

2015 has been a fairly good year for horror in my eyes, and Krampus does at least a decent job in ending the year. It's the first Christmas-themed horror film in a long time, so it does give some variety for horror fans. Krampus is based on Germanic folklore of Santa's horned little helper who punishes the bad children on Christmas day. One boy has given up hope on Christmas when their obnoxious in-laws come to town. A freak snowstorm knocks out the power and barricades the family in their house. They have evoked the wrath of Krampus, who sends demonic toys and elves to terrorize the family. Fans of silly horror movies like Gremlins or Slither should find a lot to like in Krampus, although those looking for a good scare might be slightly disappointed. The movie takes a long time to really get to the good stuff, not really building any suspense but just watching banter among the family. However, it does allow all of the characters to be memorable and fleshed out. When Krampus' Minions finally do show up, the movie goes nuts. Practical and digital effects are used for the toys, making them look more real and creepy. A giant jack-in-the-box toy in particular is the stuff of nightmares. Krampus never gets particularly scary, but that's made up for by its silliness, memorable characters and fun plot. It should make a good annual Christmas viewing if you're not into Frosty the Snowman.

It's official; I'm no longer a Star Wars virgin. I have finally watched all six films in preparation for The Force Awakens which I eagerly await with my pre-ordered tickets. Revenge of the Sith is undoubtedly my favorite of the prequels and my second favorite overall, behind The Empire Strikes Back; I was surprised by how much they stepped up their game and ended the trilogy in a darker, more emotional way. In Revenge of the Sith, the Jedi Knights are spread out all over the galaxy leading a massive clone army against the Separatists. Obi-Wan Kenobi is sent to kill the leader of the Separatist Army, General Grievous. Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker becomes closer to Chancellor Palpatine who is secretly a Sith Lord and eventually leads Anakin to yield to the dark side of the Force and become Darth Vader. Although Anakin's transition to the dark side was only foreshadowed in Attack of the Clones, it is a major theme in this movie and gives the film much more dramatic depth to explore. Watching his mind wawrp into that of an eventual Sith Lord is almost tragic in context with the rest of the trilogy, and it makes Episode III the most emotionally driven prequel. Hayden Christensen's acting is still questionable as ever, which I blame on poor writing. He has great facial expressions and body language, but the material he has to work with is dreadful at times. Even then, Revenge of the Sith is still a wholly satisfying and terrific ending to the prequel trilogy. From its memorable opening action sequence to the final scene showing Darth Vader's construction, Revenge of the Sith is a thrilling and impressive conclusion to the trilogy.

Five movies in, and I think I've finally come to my definitive least favorite of the series. It's not bad, per say, just underwhelming, although it does have an better plot than The Phantom Menace. In Attack of the Clones, the Galactic Republic is on the brink of civil war when several planetary system threaten to secede under the leadership of rogue Jedi Count Dooku. An assassination attempt is made on Senator Padme Amidala, so Anakin Skywalker is tasked with protecting her, while his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi goes to investigate. Luckily, Episode II did deliver on my hope from Episode I in that the plot moves considerably forward, and some of the more notable characters are given more screen time (or less in Jar Jar's case, thank god). Padme and Anakin have a romantic subplot that I didn't mind, and Obi-Wan is always fun to watch, but I thought Anakin's character was much more interesting in this movie. There was quite a bit of foreshadowing of Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader that put the prequels into a better context and made Anakin more intriguing. It'd be nice if Hayden Christensen wasn't so awful in his role. Attack of the Clones does succumb to middle-chapter problems at times. There wasn't anything as memorable as the Darth Maul battle in The Phantom Menace or the speeder bike chase in Return of the Jedi. The fight between Yoda and Count Dooku is pretty cool at first, but watching a little green alien jump around like Sonic got old after a while. Attack of the Clones is still just as entertaining and fun as the other Star Wars movies, even if it's one of the weaker entries.

I suppose I should start calling this "Confessions of a Star Wars Virgin"... Anyway, I've finally come to the much-maligned prequel series and a movie that gets considerable hate, The Phantom Menace. Maybe because I don't esteem the Star Wars film as the greatest films of all time, or maybe I just have lower standards than most, but I found The Phantom Menace to be the most fun Star Wars movie yet. Yes, there are enormous flaws with Episode I, but like every other film in the series, the good moments don't just excuse the bad; they topple them. The Phantom Menace follows Jedi Knight Qui-God Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they escort Queen Amidala on her travels to the planet Coruscant, hoping to find a peaceful end to an interplanetary trade dispute. They also encounter Anakin Skywalker, before he became a Jedi, who appears to have unusually strong powers of the Force. I was definitely surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie based on how much hate it has received. Being the first movie in a trilogy, The Phantom Menace is going to feature a lot of exposition and many seemingly stock characters. I would hope many of the plotlines and character arcs are continued in the next couple of movies because, but I have to at least give it the benefit of the doubt for now. The movie's good moments made me completely forget many of the bad ones that came before it. The pod race in particular was stunning as well as the final fight with Darth Maul; showing the Jedi in their prime made the lightsaber fights more fast-paced and exciting. Even though I enjoyed the movie, I can completely understand the hatred it has accumulated over the years. If I was a big fan of the original series, and I had to wait sixteen years for this, I would be pretty disappointed as well. Maybe being a Star Wars virgin allowed me to enjoy Episode I more than I should have, but, at least for me, The Phantom Menace was the most visually impressive and maybe even the most fun Star Wars movie yet by continuing to showcase the series' creativity and imagination.

I've finally come to the finale of the original trilogy, and although I still can't say I'm a huge fan of the franchise, I've really enjoyed all three of the original Star Wars films, even if there are glaring flaws that no one seems to talk about. Of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi definitely has the most noticeable problems, but it does end the series in a suitably ambitious and entertaining fashion. In Return of the Jedi, the Galactic Empire is building a second Death Star to finally destroy the Rebel Alliance, and Emperor Palpatine is personally overseeing the project. The Rebel Fleet launches a full-scale attack onto the Death Star in order to prevent its completion and kill Palpatine. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker attempts to bring Darth Vader out of the Dark Side of the Force. The action scenes in Episode VI are a bit more inconsistent than in the other movies, but I have to mention the speeder bike chase scenes. It's without a doubt my favorite scene in the series so far because it's so fast-paced, well shot and intense. It was definitely the highlight of the movie. One of the weaker action scenes was a bizarre set piece with the Ewoks. The entire scene was just awkward; I find it hard to believe that a primitive race of small hairy creatures armed with sticks could defeat the Imperial stormtroopers. Return of the Jedi also didn't improve on the cheesy father-son plot from The Empire Strikes Back. Watching Luke pitifully try to convince Darth Vader to step away from the Dark Side was groan-inducing. Nevertheless, the strengths of the Star Wars series are still on full display here. The utter imagination and detail put into the universe is incredible, and the film is just as exciting as its predecessors. Return of the Jedi isn't as competent as the previous films, but it is a satisfying and sporadically rousing conclusion.

Improving on almost every aspect of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back manages to be the rare sequel to undeniably top its predecessor in both quality and entertainment value while still not feeling rehashed. This was the Star Wars I wanted with the original, and it was extremely satisfying. In The Empire Strikes Back, the Galactic empire is on the hunt for Luke Skywalker and the rest of the Rebel Alliance. While Darth Vader is chasing Han Solo, Princess Leia and others across the galaxy, Luke studies the force under Jedi Master Yoda. Structurally, the film isn't as controlled as A New Hope, featuring long action scenes intertwined with dialog-heavy scenes of characterization, but that's an easily forgiven issue. The intense action scenes and darker plot make this a more involving film than its predecessor, and the young actors seemed a lot more confident in their roles. The Empire Strikes Back is an exciting film from start to finish, especially during the final thirty minutes when Luke faces off with Darth Vader. George Lucas really knows how to make a memorable climax. Although it does get a little cheesy right at the end, The Empire Strikes Back is a great improvement to its predecessor, and it set a high bar for movie sequels.

Having never seen any of the Star Wars movies (don't kill me, I just wasn't that interested) and another entry coming out in December, I decided to marathon all six of them to prepare myself for the latest chapter. Starting out with the original movie, I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed. I definitely enjoyed it, but I'm just hoping this isn't the best installment in the series. A New Hope focuses on the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia, and its attempt to destroy the Galactic Empire's space station, the Death Star. A farmhand named Luke Skywalker acquires droids that have the architectural plans for the Death Star. The Empire searches for the missing droids, and Luke agrees to help Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to get the plans to the Rebel Alliance and save the galaxy from the Empire's tyrannical rule. The only reason I was slightly disappointed by the movie was because the first 45 minutes or so were just plain boring. The initially slow-moving plot and cornball dialog didn't really impress me much. What kept me watching was the amazing set pieces and cinematography; it really made up for the flaws the beginning of the movie had. The last half of the movie, however, is incredibly entertaining, fun and action-packed. The climax especially was breathtaking and impossible to forget. The imaginative world also makes me excited to watch the rest of the series. There were quite a few flaws with the original Star Wars that disappointed me a bit, but once it gets going, A New Hope is an undeniably fun ride that I wish to take again.

The Hunger Games series has finally come to an end with the fourth and final film in the franchise and serves as a continuation of Mockingjay - Part 1. Part 2 makes up for Part 1's lack of action by being the darkest, most violent and gritties Hunger Games film, even with the standards set by the previous films and succeeds in ending the saga in a suitably epic fashion. Mockingjay - Part 2 finds Katniss leading the rebels to the Capitol aiming to kill President Snow. The Gamemakers have rigged the entire city with lethal traps to make sport of their deaths, making it the most dangerous Hunger Games yet. If Part 1 was too slow or lacked adequate action, Part 2 is heart-pounding from beginning to end. The action scenes are more violent than anything seen in the series yet, making any deaths even more gut-wrenching. Fans of the series will find it hard to watch at times, and if you're like me, you'll be gripping your seat or hiding behind your shirt for a good portion of the film. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 ends one of the most exciting and relevant franchises today in a gripping, emotional and brutal way, and it might be the feel-bad movie of the year.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Remaking the 2009 Best Foreign Film Oscar winner The Secret in Their Eyes seems somewhat unnecessary and even strange, but whether you wanted it or not, here's Secret in Their Eyes. In 2002, a tight-knit group of investigators is torn apart after one of their daughters is found brutally murdered in a dumpster. The mother vows revenge on her killer while the other FBI agents hunt for the murderer. Thirteen years later, one of them wants the case re-opened after he thinks he has found where the killer has been. The film often switches between 2002 and 2015, and the "past timeline" uses the September 11th attacks to present themes about criminality and prejudice in the country. The issue with the double setting, however, is that poor editing makes it difficult to distinguish which timeline we are watching at any given moment. You'll have to look for the grey in Chiwetel Ejiofor's beard or the length of Nicole Kidman's hair to determine if a particular scene takes place in 2002 or 2015. Despite this one persistent issue, Secret in Their Eyes is a beautifully shot, superbly acted and unpredictable crime thriller . Julia Roberts gives arguably her best performance that will unfortunately go unnoticed due to mixed reviews for this movie. She has some incredibly powerful scenes throughout the film, all of which are helped by great writing. Secret in Their Eyes might be an unnecessary remake, but it's all-star cast and moody atmosphere should make up for that.

I wish I would have known that the screenplay was written by Shane Van Dyke, and if you don't know who that is, he directed a movie called Titanic II (yes, it's a real movie). Had I been aware of this unfortunate fact, I would have been spared of wasting 88 minutes on this laughably bad The Hills Have Eyes rip-off. In Chernobyl Diaries, six tourists hire a tour guide to take them into the abandoned city of Pripyat, where workers for the Chernobyl nuclear reactor used to live. After a few lame jump scares, the crew begins to suspect that the town isn't completely abandoned. Oren Peli came up with the story, and it's pretty obvious since there's not much action until the very end. This has never been much of a problem for me as long as the movie can conjure up a creepy atmosphere and some good suspense. What this movie does instead is try to scare the audience with a ton of fake jump scares and age-old cliches. It doesn't make for an entertaining movie when the characters keep making the same stupid mistakes every other movie character has made before. Watching a bunch of dimwits getting killed off in the dark is just predictable. However, the real atrocity here is the cinematography. For the first thirty minutes of the film, I was convinced this was a found footage flick because of how god damn shaky the camera was. It looked like this was filmed by a blender. Other than a decently interesting setting, Chernobyl Diaries is an embarrassingly awful movie that uses all the worst horror tropes.

It's always a bit fun when a found footage movie affirms to be real footage and sticks with that claim throughout the film. You get to play along with the filmmakers and hopefully get a satisfying horror flick out of it. Movies like Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project did this well, but some movies are a bit too ardent about their authenticity and come off as silly. The Fourth Kind fits somewhere in the ladder category. In The Fourth Kind, the town of Nome, Alaska is plagued by mysterious disappearances, murders and suicides in the early 2000's. A psychologist, Abbey Taylor, head hypnosis sessions with various patients whose stories seem to have distinct similarities, and Abbey realizes that she might be tormented by the same thing that afflicts her patients. The film mostly mixes found footage with dramatized versions of the footage, sometimes showing the "real" and dramatized portions side-by-side. For the most part, it's just aggravating. You'll hear the same dialog from two different actors at the same time on occasion, which begs the question why they didn't either go all-in with the found footage. The found footage scenes are the most intense parts of the films. Not necessarily scary, but they are visceral enough to be memorable. The dramatized scenes are melodramatic and dull. Surprisingly, the movie would have been much better if it was completely found footage. The Fourth Kind has some effective stretches here and there, but it's mostly a half-baked affair.

The non-fiction novel Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is an incredibly riveting, moving biography of Olympian and prisoner-of-war Louis Zamperini that I believe is an important book to read. Naturally, a movie based on the book was inevitable; the film adaptation does do its subject justice, even if it's only sporadically compelling. Unbroken is a bio-pic about the life of Louie Zamperini in World War II, whose bomber plane was shot down, and he was forced to survive on a raft for 47 days. He was then captured by the Japanese and placed in various camps for over two years, where he was severely abused until he was rescued at the end of the war. There are a lot of great things about Unbroken: the spectacular cinematography, breakout performances from the entire cast, an explosive opening act and some genuinely moving scenes throughout the rest of the film. Angelina Jolie directs the film in a surprisingly graceful way. Despite some obviously unpleasant war scenes present in the film, Unbroken is a beautiful movie to look at. An opportunity that the film misses, however, is the effects of the war on Louie. His battle with alcoholism and PTSD is never mentioned in the film, and although it would have made the movie longer than it already is (137 minutes), there should have been an emphasis on those ideas. Even if it doesn't resonate as strongly as it should, Unbroken is compelling enough to do justice to its subject matter and a must-watch if yo're a fan of World War II movies.

Coming after a film as good as Skyfall as well as this summer's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is going to be difficult for the next Bond film. There are some impossibly high standards that will have to be met for people to be satisfied. Spectre obviously isn't going to be the franchise's next "masterpiece," but it does offer a suitably engaging and action-packed thrill ride. In Spectre, M must fight political forces to keep the secret service in operation, while Bond must use a message from his past to find the truth behind SPECTRE. Spectre is much more like the classic Bond films updated for a modern audience. A nail-biting action sequence in a helicopter opens the film in gloriously absurd fashion. Unrealistic? Many scenes in the movie will surely stretch reality, but Spectre is too entertaining and well-directed to really have a negative impact. I also have to mention the beautiful cinematography, which is pretty typical of the Daniel Craig Bond flicks. Spectre, however, has some of the best cinematography out of all the Bond movies I've seen. The film employs a rugged look to fit its locales like Mexico and Rome as well as some shots that look like they were taken straight out of the great Sean Connery Bond films. Spectre is an entirely satisfying, thrilling, beautifully-shot spy film that should entertain most James Bond fans.

It seems in recent years that there is maybe one really good sci-fi epic each year. 2012 was Prometheus; 2013 had Gravity; last year saw Interstellar; and this year has The Martian. Each movie has their own distinct style and can be enjoyed for different reasons. Of the four, The Martian is probably the most light-hearted and fun to watch, but don't let my words fool you. There are some insanely intense scenes to be found here. Based on the novel of the same name, The Martian is about astronaut Mark Watney who is presumed dead after a violent storm and left behind by the crew. He actually lives and must survive on Mars for months with meager supplies and his own ingenuity. Ridley Scott directed this film, and he was desperately in need of a success after the financial and commercial disappointments of Exodus: Gods and Kings and The Counsler. Luckily, he delivers one of his most spectacular movies to date that's capable of making you laugh and putting you on the edge of your seat. The final act of the film is particularly nail-biting, drawing comparisons to some of Gravity's most terrifying scenes. But what makes The Martian such a hit is its heart. Besides its great humor and amazing characters, it emphasizes the value and integrity of the human spirit. It may not go into the more philosophical implications of those themes too much, but when a movie is this well crafted, that hardly matters. The Martian is up there with the other great sci-fi epics of recent years, and it's certainly one of the best films of the year.

After two years of its release date being pushed back further and further, Paranormal Activity fans can finally see the alleged ending to one of the longest running ghost franchises of this generation. If this will truly end the series is definitely up for debate, but I think it did answer the big questions pretty well. The sixth Paranormal Activity takes place a few years after Paranormal Activity 4 and, like the previous two sequels, involves a new cast of characters, the Fleeges: Ryan, his wife Emily, their daughter Leila, Ryan's brother Mike, and their friend Skylar. You can guess what happens next: rich white family moves into a house, weird stuff happens, then demons. But every PA movie has their own gimmick, and that's where the "spirit camera" comes in (or whatever it's called). This camera can actually see ghosts and demons, so we can actually see Toby. It's an interesting idea, and it's generally used pretty well throughout the film. It's probably one of the better gimmicks in the series, although I don't think anything could rival the rotating fan cam from part 3. Because we can actually see the activity through this camera, The Ghost Dimension is probably the flashiest and definitely the most effects-driven Paranormal Activity flick. The special effects look pretty good for a low budget movie like this, even though there are a couple of cheesy CGI shots towards the end. Unfortunately, the scares are obviously the result of being the sixth movie in a franchise, as most of them miss rather than hit. The static shots are still rather effective, but those can only go so far in terms of scare factor. Something else that somewhat disappointed me was how short this movie felt. I didn't think this movie was rushed at all; it just felt incredibly short. Maybe because it was more fast paced than the other movies, or maybe because this Paranormal Activity only took place over 8 nights instead of the nearly 20 the other films chronicled. That didn't make the movie bad so much that it just bothered me. The Ghost Dimension ended the series on a reasonably satisfying note, but it's time for the activity the come to an end.

Misleading advertising has ruined many a movie, and unfortunately, Crimson Peak is another victim of poor marketing. Trailers made the movie out to be similar to recent scare fests like The Conjuring when it is actually more Gothic and romantic like Sleepy Hollow or Bram Stoker's Dracula. With all that being said, Crimson Peak is a very engaging and creepy film. Crimson Peak is about a woman named Edith, whose heart is stolen by a stranger who leaders her to a mysterious mansion atop a hill of blood-red clay, but she quickly learns that the house and her lover hold dark secrets. What may disappoint horror fans is that this movie isn't very scary. Apart from a great deal of dread and a couple of nail-biting sequences, Crimson Peak is not a horror film. Edith describes this film perfectly when she is describing a manuscript she wrote: "It's not a ghost story; it's a story with ghosts in it." It's a beautifully filmed, sexual, violent Gothic romance. There are great performances from the entire cast, with Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain giving standout performances, but the best character in the film is the house itself. The mansion's elaborate and darkly beautiful design make it one of the most memorable haunted houses in film, and every single shot of it is like a piece of art. Del Toro paints such stunning imagery in Crimson Peak that you could pick any frame from the movie and hang it as an art piece. He directs each actor and shot with grace and elegance that it makes up for the film's rather predictable plot. Crimson Peak isn't Del Toro's horror masterpiece as some people were expecting, but it is a beautifully crafted work of Gothic fiction that should be a suitable diversion just in time for Halloween.

Robert Zemeckis' signature visual style and proclivity for bio-pics seemed perfect for a movie like The Walk, a film that manages to boast an interesting and entertaining story and dizzying cinematography. The Walk is based on the story of the real-life high wire artist Philippe Petit in 1974. Inspired by a circus he saw at a young age, Philippe begins planning an incredibly ambitious -- and highly illegal -- show in which he hangs a wire across the Twin Towers and walks across them. A majority of the story is dedicated to Petit gathering accomplices to help with the coup, practicing for the extreme conditions and planning how they will rig the wire. The clever writing allows you to connect with every character and understand why they're trying to attempt this impossible dream. The last 45 minutes or so is where "the walk" actually happens. The scenes of Petit and co rigging the wire are just as tense as the wire-walking scenes, which are accented by some of the best cinematography of the year. The cinematography is really the star of the movie here. The shots panning down towards the ground make the towers almost look endless, and it adds so much tension to the walking scenes. The Walk is a stylish and entertaining look at one of the biggest artistic feats of the last century, and you need to watch it in IMAX 3D.

I might not have been ready for the kind of movie I just watched because this was a deeply emotional and visceral disaster film. I was expecting a little more of a mindless action thriller than the amount thematic depth that I actually got, and it was a very memorable and intense ride. Everest dramatizes the 1996 Everest disaster that lead to the deaths of eight people, and the movie involves two groups that get caught in a violent storm while climbing Mount Everest. It actually takes a while to get to the real meat of the story. Maybe 40 minutes pass before the storm is even referenced, but the movie gets so intense and emotional during the last half that it makes up for the slow pacing of the first half. Luckily, the slower first half allows us to get to know each character, their motives to climbing the mountain and each of their backstories. The second half is so much more effective because of this. One thing that bothered me about the film were these random lapses in time that were distracting at times. One moment it would maybe be 2:30 PM, and thirty seconds later, it'll be 5:00 PM. Some of the transitions just felt choppy, but it's not such a big deal that it takes away from the film. Everest is a movie that grabs you and takes your breath away for 2 hours, and it's one that you need to see in the theater.

A movie inspired by the ultra-violent 70's Italian cannibal movies seems perfect for a director like Eli Roth. If you're not a fan of his films already, this won't win you over, but if you his brutal, tongue-in-cheek horror, The Green Inferno is a perfectly serviceable gore-fest. The Green Inferno follows Justine, a freshman in college who joins a student activist group that plans to save the Amazon rain forest. But these guys aren't just all talk: they are going to go directly to a village in Peru to rescue it from impending bulldozers before the village is destroyed, and their mission is successful. They rejoice on the plane ride back home, but their celebration is short lived as the plane crashes somewhere in the vast sea of green. Soon enough, they are taken hostage by a cannibalistic tribe and must escape before they are turned into someone's next meal. Like Roth's previous films, The Green Inferno takes its time before unleashing hell on the victims. The crew doesn't actually encounter the cannibal tribe until about 45 minutes into the plot, so when the violence comes, it really packs a punch. You'll definitely want to finish your popcorn early. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't have much of a plot after the group gets captured, so a lot of it is focused on the gruesome death scenes. I have to give credit where it's due, though. There are some really hard to watch scenes in this, and that's exactly what this movie wants. However, what makes The Green Inferno not just your average torture porn flick is how stylish it is and some darkly funny writing. The humor does sometimes get a little unnecessary at times, but there are many times where I had a laugh with the movie. Mainstream audiences won't appreciate how it homages classic cannibal flicks, but Eli Roth fans should be satisfied with a suitably nasty descent into hell.

Having become a much bigger fan of the original Maze Runner than I thought I'd ever be, I was hoping for some great things from The Scorch Trials, and boy, did it deliver. The Scorch Trials follows Thomas and co. after they have exited the Glade and eventually find themselves in an even more hostile environment, the Scorch. If the environment doesn't kill them, the Cranks will, zombie-like people who have contracted an apocalyptic virus. This movie deviates significantly from its predecessor; while The Maze Runner was an intense sci-fi mystery, The Scorch Trials is an action-packed thriller bent on making your pulse race from start to finish. It lacks the mystery of the first film, but the sequel makes up for it with the unpredictable and thrilling plot and visceral action scenes. It also packs a strong emotional punch. All the returning characters have been nicely developed while new characters bring exciting changes to series' pace and style, so when the final act goes completely insane, you'll really feel for what these characters go through. By improving almost every aspect of The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials becomes the rare sequel that is better than its predecessor, and I eagerly await the next installment.

Tim Burton put his own spin on the classic short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with the surprisingly good 1999 adaptation Sleepy Hollow. In the movie adaptation, New York detective Ichabod Crane must travel to the mysterious Sleepy Hollow in order to solve a series of murders that took place there, but realizes the town's dark history and the legend of a headless horseman might be the true culprit. Sleepy Hollow is essentially a highly stylized slasher flicks. There are lots of gory decapitations set against a fittingly gothic tone, and although it's never truly heart-poundingly intense, there is a great atmosphere and some creepy imagery. Burton does make this movie a bit darker than his previous films (at the time), but there's still a bit of humor in its heart, mostly because of Johnny Depp's role as the Ichabod. Even though it deviates significantly from its source material, Sleepy Hollow is a fun, atmospheric movie.

The Visit manages to do two great things: it breaks the losing streak Shyamalan has been having for over a decade, and it manages to continue a winning streak for 2015 horror. The Visit is about two siblings who visit their estranged grandparents for a week while the girl, Becca, films a documentary about their stay. After a few strange encounters, they realize something is seriously wrong with their hosts. Although it wasn't as terrifying as Unfriended or It Follows, The Visit is the most fun I've had watching a horror movie in the theater. You'll be laughing your ass off through laced fingers; it's just as thrilling as it is funny. The movie perfectly punctuates every intense scene with some witty dialog from the kids. I smell a comeback for a once-acclaimed director, and the first step is with the wickedly fun The Visit.

If you've ever seen the movie Enchanted, this is the kind of movie they were making fun of. I was confused about the plot of this movie when I watched the trailers, and now that I've actually seen the movie, I still don't know what it's about. From what I gathered, Strange Magic has to do with these two sisters/lesbians?, some love potion that causes you to sing a lot, and a troll king. If there's any semblance of a coherent plot, it went way over my head. There seemed to be way too much going on at one time. The story cycle through three main characters at almost two minute intervals, and it got so aggravating that I just gave up trying to follow whatever was happening on screen. One thing I know for certain about Strange Magic is that it lives up to its title; it's strange. The background animation is about as good as you'd expect from a modern animated movie, but the character design is just unintentionally creepy. They look more like demented caricatures than cartoon characters. What makes this movie even more painful to watch is that a majority of the running time is dedicated to covering random pop and rock songs at the most unnecessary times. They cover just about everything: Lady Gaga, The Beatles, Beyonce, Whitney Houston, you name it. Strange Magic may provide a decent distraction for the youngest of moviegoers, but older viewers will just be annoyed by the ridiculous soundtrack and disturbing animation.

Where The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity used their found footage format to enhance the scares rather than hinder them, Alone with Her utilizes its style to create a suspenseful stalker thriller, even if it hits all the familiar genre beats. Alone with Her is shown from various hidden cameras inside a young woman's house that were set up by a stalker. There are also video cameras attached to him making you the stalker. Nothing about Alone with Her should be terribly surprising to even a casual viewer, but the way the cameras are set up can lead to some really unsettling images. This is a very character-driven suspense film. It's subtle and doesn't rely on elaborate chase scenes or convoluted plot twists. Alone with Her may not offer too many twists to the stalker genre, but the found footage format makes for a unique and unsettling experience.

This is another movie I just randomly found on Netflix that I decided to watch. The only thing I knew about Creep was that it had a really good rotten tomatoes rating. I didn't read a plot synopsis, didn't know the cast, directed or really anything about this movie. I like watching movies like this because then I don't have any expectations going in. Creep, directed by Patrick Brice and starring Mark Duplass, follows Aaron who answers a sketchy craigslist ad for a one-day job to shoot a film. His client is a little weird and talkative, but Aaron realizes this man is not who he seems. It sounds generic and overdone, but Creep executes its premise in an original and memorable way. This guy, Josef, seems like a pretty normal guy. He's not a shady, mustachioed guy who drives a windowless white van, but he's also not "too nice" or "too perfect." Josef is just the guy in line behind you at McDonald's who's way too talkative and kinda aggravating. Paired with a standout performance by Mark Duplass makes him an incredibly memorable villain. The plot itself is also wildly unpredictable, which is far too uncommon in movies like this. You never know where this movie will go or what will happen next. It has so many tricks up its sleeve that it'll keep you on the edge of your seat, anticipating the next move that the movie will make. Creep is without a doubt one of the best found footage films in a long time, and it may be one of the best horror films of the year.

When I had originally heard that there was going to be a sequel to Sinister, one of my favorite horror films, I was pretty excited to say the least. Then, early spring this year, the first official trailer was released. I suddenly felt less enthusiastic about the movie, but I still held on some hope that it could be a decent follow-up to the original, until I finally saw it tonight. I read the signs but ignored the warnings, and my punishment was an astonishingly disappointing sequel. Sinister 2 takes place some time after the events of the original film and follows Deputy So And So (that's seriously how he's credited in the film). He has become obsessed with tracking down murders and child abductions that could be linked to an ancient pagan deity named Baghuul, who coerces a child into killing their family and takes the child's soul. It leads him to a farmhouse near the site of a mass murder in a church which he expects to find empty. When he arrives at the house, So and So sees that a mother and twin sons have already moved into the house, and one of the twins is the subject of midnight show-and-tell with the ghost kids' kill tapes. From the first ten minutes, I noticed that something felt terribly wrong about this movie. Deputy So and So was nothing more than comic relief in the original film, and, outside of the big plot twist at the end, he can hardly carry more than a scene by himself, let alone an entire movie. While he is a generally likable character, Deputy So and So just isn't cut out to carry an entire film by himself. His character actually made the movie funnier than it was scary, and there was very little to be afraid of in this movie. If you've seen the trailer, and I'm not exaggerating, every single scare is spoiled in the trailer, and there aren't any surprises left for you. It seems like the filmmakers thought that showing Baghuul off as much as possible could make the sequel scarier than the original, but what made the original so terrifying is that Baghuul was just a shadow in the back of the tapes. You rarely saw him for more than just a glance, and it was scary as hell. In Sinister 2, however, you can practically count the buttons on his black overcoat because he's shown so profusely throughout the movie. Along with a ridiculously over-the-top abusive husband side plot, a weak script and bland direction, Sinister 2 is one of the biggest disappointments of the year for horror.

The 90's was the golden age of highly stylized stalker thrillers with flicks like Basic Instinct, Single White Female and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and the actor-turned-director Joel Edgerton harkens back to those films with his directorial debut The Gift. In The Gift, young charismatic Simon runs into an old high school acquaintance named Gordon, and after a painfully awkward conversation, they go their separate ways. Simon's wife, Robyn, thinks it's just a chance encounters while Simon wants nothing to do with "Gordo the Weirdo." Gordon then slowly starts inserting himself into their lives and brings to light secrets about Simon's life, and Robyn realizes that she doesn't know who her husband really is. The thing that makes The Gift so unpredictable is the ambiguity of the villain. Initially, we think that Gordon is the villain since we seem him suddenly become too clingy and start stalking the couple, but as the plot progresses, Gordon reveals several secrets about Simon that make Simon seem like the true villain. Each secret revealed about Gordon and Simon twists the plot even further but not so much that it causes the film to meander through its story. This is a very controlled movie. None of the suspense comes from big chase sequences or any real action; it's the revelations about the characters that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The Gift is a surprisingly well-crafted and intense thriller film that feels like a throwback to the best 90's stalker flicks.

By the time the fifth installment of a movie franchise rolls around, that series starts to show its age. Not with Mission: Impossible, it seems, because Rogue Nation is yet another incredibly silly yet undeniably entertaining entry in the 17 year old franchise that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire movie. This time around, Ethan Hunt is now an international fugitive and must take on his most impossible mission (heh) to bring down the rogue organization Syndicate, who are committed to bring down the IMF. The plot twists keep you on your toes the whole time, and it's really what makes Rogue Nation so thrilling. It does succumb to the normal spy movie goofiness, one time in particular early in the movie that made me shake my head at how ridiculous the whole idea was. The double, triple and quadruple crosses get rather confusing as the plot progresses too. There's never a dull moment in Rogue Nation, a suitably fun and over-the-top summer blockbuster, and it proves that Tom Cruise is an unstoppable action star.

I love me a good crime movie, so I'm glad this one made up for the disaster that was FeardotCom that I watched yesterday. In Untraceable, FBI agent Jennifer Marsh has to hunt down a seemingly untraceable serial killer who posts live videos of his victims getting tortured and killed, and as more people log onto the site, the victim will be killed more quickly. Now, I don't know anything about computers and stuff like that, so I'm not sure how realistic this movie really is. I'll admit I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to that. Even if there are some huge tech flaws that flew way over my head, Untraceable did have a couple of major issues. Like many thrillers, the killer seems to be god-like; he seems to have unlimited resources and intelligence, and it would have been nice to see him stumble a few times to at least build more suspense. They also reveal the identity of the killer way too early into the plot. Anonymity would have added a layer of mystery to the film. Nevertheless, Untraceable was a very entertaining, gritty and intense thriller with an interesting moral compass; why should we watch insanely violent and gory movies like Saw, Seven or even the movie itself? It may be rather hypocritical given how violent this film is, and that moral does get a little preachy by the end of this movie. It's still some intriguing food-for-thought. You might not be completely satisfied if you want a completely coherent and terrifying thriller, but if you want a twisty, edge-of-your-seat kind of movie, Untraceable is a great way to go.

It's a bad sign when the highlight of your movie is when the stream starts buffering. I don't think I've seen a movie this lame since One Missed Call. FeardotCom follows two detectives, Mike and Terry, who investigate a series of murders that all link back to the awkwardly named ****. If you visit the site, you die in 48 hours unless you can solve its mystery. Sound familiar? This movie is a complete rip-off of The Ring, except this has a two day time limit instead of a week, and it's a haunted website instead of a videotape. The "big reveal" at the end is incredibly similar to the one in The Ring, which makes this a very predictable thriller. Somehow, despite the fact that this "thriller" has so many inconsistent and just plain stupid twists, it managed to still bore me to tears. Everything about FeardotCom is so pathetic and lazy, from the laughable writing to the mediocre acting, that there just isn't anything to enjoy about this almost infuriatingly insipid film.

This is just one of those movies I found on Netflix that looked slightly interesting. In this sudden resurgence of the possession genre, The Possession of Michael King is just another lame entry. The Possession of Michael King concerns an atheist who is making a documentary trying to disprove the supernatural. He participates in multiple satanic rituals to show that even the darkest magic is fake, and realizes that it's actually real. And then demons. Despite its admittedly interesting premise, The Possession of Michael King is just another boring assault on the ears since every five minutes the movie decides to throw in an unnecessarily gratuitous jump scare without any sort of suspense leading up to it. I actually had to turn the volume down on my computer so low that I could barely hear the dialog. Instead of delving into the science vs religion themes presented in the first act, the film just goes straight to the satanic rituals, bodily deterioration and gross-out scares. It never really entertains, scares or gives the viewer something original and rather gives us a barrage of pointless jump scares and a been-there-done-that story. If you want an exorcism movie that does the science vs religion trope correctly, I suggest The Last Exorcism. Otherwise, stay away from this generic and dull flick.

Out of all the reboots and remakes being made today, a reboot of the National Lampoon's Vacation series is one that I would never expect to need a reboot. I love the original Vacation series, even the ill-received Vegas Vacation, and even though I had low expectations for the newest installment in the series, I was looking forward to a new Vacation movie. Boy was this a letdown. This time around, Rusty decides that he is going to take his family to Walley World before it closes forever, and Rusty promises that this time "will be different" than the first time he went to Walley World. They set off in their bizarre European car to the amusement park, and the usual Griswold madness ensues. While there are a couple of laughs to be found on this trip to Walley World, the new Vacation is just a raunchier and much more mean-spirited version of the original film, making for a rather awkward and sometimes even unpleasant viewing. A lot of the humor in the first movie was dramatic rather than situational. The jokes would happen while the scene played normally, rather than having scenes that only existed for the punch-line. It more closely resembles Adam Sandler's fun yet disappointing Grown Ups than any of the first Vacation movies. Probably the worst thing about this movie was that, in the first movie, Clark made it seem like Walley World was the greatest place on Earth, so there was a sense of urgency on the trip there, and it made us feel some sympathy for the Griswold's whenever something bad happened to them on the way. In this movie, the destination is never made out to be some spectacular place, which really didn't make me feel like it was that big of a deal when the Griswolds found themselves in a pool of human waste or going white water rafting with a suicidal tour guide. The new Vacation is much more of a misfire than a disaster, since it is a fun movie at times, but you won't find much to like about this movie, even if you're a die-hard fan of the other Vacation films.