Killer Joe- SXSW U.S. Premiere

Killer Joe premiered for the first time in the United States tonight at the SXSW Austin Film Festival. The film was first seen at the Toronto Film Festival. Killer Joe has been perhaps the most bizarre movie of the festival so far. With such an outstanding cast, you don't expect it to be so odd, but it was. Although any movie which forces the audience to say "WTF" in astonishment as the credits begin to role has clearly done its job as a film.

This film features a great cast including Matthew McConaughey as Killer Joe Cooper, Emile Hirsch, Thomas Hayden Church, Gina Gershon, and Juno Temple. The film has oddly enough earned a NC-17 rating and while overall for the film that is surprising, there were a few scenes which I have to admit, I have never seen before.

The story evolves around a trailer trash family who needs money and the father and son decide to hire Killer Joe to kill the ex-wife and receive the insurance money when she dies. Madness ensues as payment becomes tricky and Killer Joe is just a wee bit crazy. No I am sorry- this guy is nuts!!! In some of the most bizarre and brutal scenes I have ever seen, Killer Joe finds a way to settle his payment arrangement with the trailer trash family.

The movie was really good. While there were parts- one part in particular involving fried chicken- that made you wonder just what exactly was happening, it was still entertaining. The cast all played their parts beautifully and it lived up to its genre of the blackest of comedies. If you have a strong stomach and entertained by the weird and dark, then you will enjoy this move. I give it 4 stars out of 5. Honestly another great rental, which may be all you can do if it retains its NC-17 rating anyway!

Movie poster from: http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/news-killer-poster.jpg

Safety Not Guaranteed- SXSW

Safety Not Guaranteed is a comedy about 3 journalists who research a story centered around a bizarre wanted ad in the newspaper. The ad is looking for a partner for time travel. They must bring their own weapons. Payment will be given upon return from their travel. Safety Not Guaranteed. Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) plays intern Darius who gets roped into working the story by Jake Johnson (New Girl), a journalist for a Seattle magazine. As Aubrey starts to interview the man who put the ad in the paper played by Mark Duplass (The League), she discovers there may be some truth to this guy actually being able to time travel.

The story was very interesting and there were some genuinely funny parts in the movie. The cast all did an amazing job and through frequent ad-libbing, the comedy seemed fresh and natural. There were also some great cameos from Kristen Bell (Heroes) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24). This movie was surprisingly funny and shows a lot of promise for future comedians currently mostly in television. I recommend seeing this movie as possible a matinee or a great rental. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

No movie poster yet, clip from the movie from: http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sundance_safety630__120130225313.jpg

The Announcement- SXSW World Premiere

The Announcement is the true story of how Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced he had the HIV virus and how that announcement changed his life as well as almost every life on the planet. The documentary made its world debut at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX today. The director likened this event to the JFK assassination claiming that everyone remembers where they were on the day Magic met the media at the Forum and announced his retirement from the NBA. I would have to disagree with that statement. I think the legacy that Magic continued after his announcement was what everyone remembers. The film does an amazing job at depicting this young kid who learned the value of hard work from his father and to do that hard work with a smile from his mother. His focus on not just playing basketball but winning championships was almost as addicting as that big goofy smile he had while doing it.

While the film touched on the depression and the difficult time Johnson felt after he discovered he had HIV, he also highlighted the fact that from day one he was convinced he could beat it and he wouldn't just give up and die. He continued on to be such a powerful voice for HIV/AIDS as the first "regular guy" who could just get it. His positivity inspired people to continue to fight and hope who had been diagnosed with the virus. His intensity, drive, and commitment forced those in power to listen and those with power and knowledge to create a solution.

This was an amazing film and was very touching. While my good friend hates sports movies for being overly inspirational, this was a movie more about a man with a disease that he was determined to overcome, than a underdog sports movie. It was also a lot of fun to see him play again. What an incredible player- an entertainer both by scoring and by selflessly passing the ball in the most extraordinary ways. I highly recommend this movie! I give it a 4.5 out of 5. It will be playing on ESPN tomorrow night and I would assume will be repeated quite often. Check it out!!

Movie poster from: http://nbanewsalex.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/magic-aagz062_16x20-action_magic-johnson-posters1.jpg

The Babymakers- SXSW World Premiere

The world premiere of The Babymakers premiered last night at the Paramount Theater in Austin, TX at the SXSW film festival. The movie involves a married couple (Olivia Munn and Paul Schneider) who after 3 years of marriage have decided to now start a family. After a montage of some funny and enjoyable attempts at conceiving, the movie skips forward to them still trying months later, still unsuccessful. The movie is about the unfortunate circumstance in which Paul Schneider has donated all of his good sperm to a bank to earn enough money to buy Olivia Munn her engagement ring and now is shooting blanks. His desperation forces him to hire an Indian mafia man (also director Jay Chandrasekhar) to help him and his moronic friends break back into the sperm bank and steal back his last usable vial of sperm to get his wife pregnant.

If that synopsis sounds ridiculous, its because it is. But its also hilarious. There was a moment in the movie where Olivia Munn decided she wants to adopt now and there is about a 20 minute lull where the movie starts to drag. Cut those 20 minutes out, and the movie is great. Definitely a B-level comedy with some lesser known talent and new comer Olivia Munn, but quite funny and entertaining. Because of the 20 minute lull it can see tediously long in a theater, but would make a great date night comedy-unless you yourself are trying to have a baby. The movie shows the real stress and at the same time the dedication and love within a marriage that real people have to go through every day. While this is not a touching or emotional movie really, one can see that real love will always find a way not only to work things out but also to laugh your ass off along the way. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Without an official poster yet, here is a pic from the film: http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/the-babymakers/w448/the-babymakers.jpg?1329608009

The Cabin in the Woods- SXSW World Premiere

The Cabin in the Woods was made back in 2009 and due to the tireless efforts of producer/writer Joss Whedon and director/writer Drew Goddard was finally released last night at the Paramount Theater in Austin, TX during SXSW film festival. In the nastiest of weather the red carpet was out to welcome both producer and director and actors Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins, Kristen Connolly, and Anna Hutchison.

The movie is about 5 college friends who decide to take a weekend trip up to a cabin owned by Curt Vaughn (Chris Hemsworth)'s cousin. Describing this movie is rather difficult without giving away spoilers because there is so much confusion and mystery throughout the movie. Joss Whedon made a personally plea to the audience to remain spoiler free as we talked about our experience with friends, family, and the internet. Suffice to say, the group of 5 learns that their lives and deaths serve a higher purpose than they could ever realize.

It is impossible to review this movie as a whole. The first third of the movie was horrendous. It was confusing, comical, and seemed more like a satirical look at the classic horror films that take place in the woods complete with weird guy at a gas station along the way, girl who is hesitant to have sex, girl who is all about the sex, and the stoner who figures the whole thing out. The script was not mind blowing but also not horrible. Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins roles were confusing and seemed pointless as well. The first third almost made me want to walk out- probably among the worst 30-45 minutes in a movie.

The second third of the movie was better. Now they have settled into the cabin and crazy stuff starts to happen. Unfortunately, I was still too distracted by how bad the film was up to this point, I had trouble enjoying this point in the film. The pace picked up and the body count started to rack up.

Now the third part of the film is when you start to forget how bad the movie was up to this point. While the end does not justify the means, the end did redeem the movie from a solid F to maybe a low C. You could tell this third was where the writers and director really started to enjoy themselves and have fun. FX effects were very impressive and quite complex and the story kind of started to make sense.

This was by no means a riveting movie. While it had a very different base idea, the way it was executed was nothing shocking or incredibly new. The story had a lot of promise, but the corniness at the beginning of the movie killed a lot of that promise and made it difficult to decide whether this was a horror comedy or an actual horror film. Joss seemed to understand this was not an instant classic, but also very excited to finally get this film made. With his, what I would call, misplaced excitement, I am now fearing The Avengers may have some shortcomings this summer. The Avengers will mark Joss Whedon's second movie as a director following Serenity from 7 years ago. Serenity was a fun movie, but most of its limited success was due to his incredible work and cult following from the classic one season show Firefly.

I would not recommend paying for this movie in a theater. If you are a horror junkie and understand that 80% of horror movies are actually garbage but are at least fun to watch, then pick this up. If you can appreciate an idea even if its not executed very well, then you will think this movie was ok. I personally give it 2.5 stars out of 5.

Movie poster image from: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2977084160/tt1259521

Red Tails

Red Tails was a great movie with intense action and the most incredible aerial combat scenes! Part of my partiality to this movie may be because my grandfather flew P-51's in the Pacific, but it was really impressive to see these planes in action. It was also interesting to learn more about the Tuskagee Airmen since their story is easily forgotten in World War II history. While the story was interesting and the racism enraging, their was very little attachment to the characters. The movie lacked an epic war movie feel with the single exception being the dogfights. There was a lot of time spent on the ground, but the emotional attachment was never really developed.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys history or airplanes. The time spent in the air was breath taking and the history surrounding the story was captivating.

Paranormal Activity 3

After watching the first Paranormal Activity it freaked my wife out so much I think it made me like the movie even more! This movie reinvented the genius horror movie that never shows anything. Too many gory, ridiculous, cliche horror movies continue to come out each year that just strive for shock value. How much blood can we cause to spew out of this guys decapitated head? Paranormal Activity reset the genre again as what it should be, a movie you can't look away from no matter how bad you want to and one that causes goosebumps- not nausea.
I loved the first one. Skipped the second one after nothing but horrible reviews. Then the 3rd one came out. Anyone that just saw the Bloody Mary scene in the preview could tell this would return to the successful formula of the first one. Don't show anything, just imply. Well, they succeeded. This was more terrifying than the first. In fact it has been 2 weeks since I saw the movie because I was still freaked out! The story is a prequel to the first one and explains how the girl in the first one first met her haunted stalker- the demon that has followed her her entire life. The movie did it's job, it freaked me out!
Keeping this review spoiler free so you can enjoy the terrifying experience yourself is always a challenge, so suffice to say, the end did lack clarity. It seemed like they decided they would try to explain some of what this whole "thing" is. Unfortunately by choosing a first person story telling behind the creative boyfriends camera, the director could not effectively explain what he was clearly going for.
While the end was slightly underdeveloped and disappointing, the movie was great! Anyone who enjoys scary movies, not blood and guts but goosebumps, will love this!
See it in the theater, see it at home with the lights out and the surround sound in full effect, grab a bag of Twizzlers, and enjoy the experience!