Day 342: Trollhunter

Directed By- Andre Ovredal

Written By- Andre Ovredal

Starring- Glenn Erland Trosterud, Otto Jespersen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Johanna Morch

Run Time- 1 hr. 43 min.

Critics Review- "The film is shot with handheld cameras in the standard mockumentary style, but the content is often hilarious, especially when the trolls show up."- Michael Wilmington "Chicago Reader"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 82% [CERTIFIED FRESH] Audience- 72%

Out of a possible 5 stars- 4 stars

My Review-

Since this movie was almost like a mockumentary it was done really well, and by adding trolls into the mix was just awesome. With it being a foreign film and the first one I have seen from Norway it was pretty awesome, I loved how the trolls looked, who ever did the especial effects did a great job. it was a great mix of the comedy and adding just a little bit of the horror aspect, while keeping it a funny movie like it was supposed to be. The handheld footage was used well unlike some movies that can make people nauseous this one did not do that, it was not shaking a lot and it was very steady when it came to a lot of scenes in the movie. I read that they used a lot of unknown actors and some comedians from Norway and with them not doing much acting everyone did a really good job acting in the movie. There were some parts of the movie I felt were really funny and some parts that were done just right not to over do it because in my opinion they did not want to over do it. There was never really a dull moment in this film, it was slow at times but then it would automatically pick right back up into something awesome. This is one movie I would like to enjoy watching again. If you were ever interested in watching this movie check it out it is streaming on Netflix. The special effects are really good, the story line is awesome, so all around its a fun movie.

Day 341: Carnage

Directed By- Roman Polanski

Writer(s)- Yasmina Raza, Roman Polanski

Starring- Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet, Jodi Foster, John C. Reilly

Run Time- 1 hr. 20 min.

Critics Review- "The astonishing Waltz steals the picture, possibly because he's one with a rational perspective (despite his telephonic obsessiveness): He see the whole exercise as pointless. Ultimately, so do we."- John Anderson "Newsday" 

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 72% Audience- 66%

Out of a possible 5 stars- 2 stars

My Review-

I do not see how this was a good movie, it has a high rating from both critics and the audience, but I found it very boring and having it take place in an apartment the whole movie was a bad idea. I mean if the movie was entertaining I would understand and I may have liked the movie a little more, but I did not find it entertaining I just wanted to end. I'm starting to think maybe it is because I feel like shit I just wanted to end or may it was just that bad. I agree and disagree with the critic above, Reilly and Waltz were the best parts of the movie, its surprising that a movie full of Academy Awards Winners and nominee's that the movie did not do that well in my opinion. I would say skip this movie its not worth it, only for Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly it is and that is about it.

Day 340: The Wolf Man (1941)

Directed By- George Waggner

Written By- Curtis Siodmak

Starring- Lon Chaney Jr., Warren William, Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Bela Lugosi, Patric Knowles, Maria Ouspenskaya

Run Time- 1 hr. 9 min.

Critics Review- "A film of sometimes uncertain greatness that is nonetheless the most entertaining and effective Universal monster movie since Bride of Frankenstein."- Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 94% Audience- 79%

Out of a possible 5 stars- 4 1/2 stars

My Review-

For the Universal Monsters that I have seen which is now all three; Dracula, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein and now The Wolf Man, I would have to say that I enjoyed this one a little bit for than the other two monsters but it was not better than The Bride of Frankenstein. One think that I really liked about this movie and more now because it is rarely done now a days is the in camera make-up. I thought when Chaney Jr. changed into The Wolf Man, his transformation was really cool becuase it was mostly done while filming too place and back then they did not have computers to do it so I appereciated a little more when it comes to these types of films. Since the movie was made in the 1940s and was a Universal Monster movie the acting was so-so like some of the other monster films, but I liked the main character more in this one than the others, since he was more afraid of what he was becoming or what he would do he made himself more likable and I wanted something good to come out at the end for him. I thought it was pretty cool how they put Bela Lugosi in the film as the other Wolf Man who would eventually turn Larry Talbot into the now iconic wolf man. Even though this movie was really short they got right to the point and did not waste anytime when it came to Talbot becoming the Wolf Man or getting bitten which I really liked. I think they used gypsies as part of the story line, maybe because people were afraid of them back then because they were pretty creepy in the movie especially the woman gypsy she creeped me out a little. This one classic movie that should be seen and I would love to watch it again, I do not know about the 2010 remake though.

Day 339: Rushmore

Directed By- Wes Anderson

Written By- Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson

Starring- Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Brian Cox, Seymour Cassel, Luke Wilson

Run Time- 1 hr. 33 min.

Critics Review- "The director treats eccentricity with compassionate respect: no winking, no nudges to even like the boy. The filmmaking, meanwhile, is beautifully disciplined."- Lisa Schwarzbaum "Entertainment Weekly"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 87% [CERTIFIED FRESH] Audience- 91%

Out of a possible 5 stars- 3 stars

My Review-

At first, I was not really enjoying this movie. It was then I realized that Schwartzman's character was meant to be hated and we did not want anything good happen to him since he was a jackass. However I did like the movie, because it was directed by Wes Anderson and almost all the movies I have seen by him I have either loved them or really liked them. It seems like when Anderson makes a movie, he has a reason for every detail in a scene or with the selection of the music that goes into the movie, because it will go with it so well and not be over done or out of place. It goes the same for doing certain things or with certain characters they will have a purpose later on in the movie. There were some parts of the movie that were kind of annoying and I thought that a better actress could have been chosen other than Williams, who I am not too sure since I cannot think of anyone at this moment. However Bill Murray was my favorite in this movie like most of his movies I see I liked him and out of the films he has done with Anderson I liked him a lot more in this one and The Royal Tennabaums. I did like how this was kind of a new take on a love triangle type story, even though the girl did not want either of them, I liked how they had elaborate ways of messing with each other. Even though this had many good things about this movie, I still do not believe this was the best best one from him, I think that his later films were better than this one. I think it is because he may have learned a little more from film making or he learned that what his audience liked and did not like, but that's just my opinion.

Day 338: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Directed By- Charles Barton

Writer(s)- Robert Lees, John Grant, Fredric I. Rinaldo

Starring- Bud Abbot, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Frank Ferguson

Run Time- 1 hr. 23 min.

Critics Review- "This is the best of the boys' efforts, allowing them to go for the nyuks yet never diminishing the standing of the classic Universal Studios monsters that figure in its plot."- Matt Brunson

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 91%  Audience- 81%

Out of a possible 5 stars- 5 stars

My Review-

I have always heard that this movie was funny, because it was the duo Abbott and Costello plus Universal's famous monsters and it was a good match, even thought this was my first time watching a Abbott and Costello film. From start to finish this film was funny non stop. I think due to the amazing chemistry and comedic timing of Abbott and Costello, especially Costello. It was really cool to see The Wolfman, Frankestein's monster and Dracula all in one movie, and also a comedy at that especially with Lugosi doing comedy as Dracula worked perfectly. This was the original movie to put Horror icons together and it worked so well I do not know what went wrong when other people tried to do the same thing years later. I like the plot of how Dracula wanted Wilbur's brain (Costello) because he was not to bright and if Frankenstein had it he would not be has brute has he used to be and would obey Dracula which was his plan all along. Which kind sucks because Wilbur was so awesome in the movie and he made me laugh the most in the movie. Since I do believe the movie is supposed to be a spoof of the monster movies, I liked how it was done, even though I did not like Dracula that much or Frankenstein it was still amazing to see them in this movie made me enjoy them even more. I think it was perfect to make it a comedy and not too much of a horror since they were making fun of themselves and not taking things to seriously.  I think if it took itself to seriously and had not been a comedy it would have not been that good, and now I can say that this can go on my list of favorite horror comedies maybe towards the top of the list, and I would love to watch more movies from this duo since they were really big during their time and they also have met more movies monsters and I would love to see how that all worked out. The little side bits made the movie even funnier such as Costello mimicking certain people, or when he would get into trouble unexpectedly and try to get out of it on his own even though he could not. This is one funny movie that should be put on any list to watch since it is a classic and should stay that way. I know I loved it and I hope other people who watch it they love it as well.

Day 337: Rabbit Hole

Directed By- John Cameron Mitchell

Written By- David Lindsay-Abaire; Based on his Play "Rabbit Hole"

Starring- Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne West, Miles Teller, Tammy Blanchard, Sandra Oh

Run Time- 1 hr. 32 min.

Critics Review- "Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart give marvelous, shaded performances of grief-stricken parents attempting to move on without forgetting their pain."- Wesley Lovell "Cinema Sight"

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 86% [CERTIFIED FRESH] Audience- 69%

Out of a possible 5 stars- 4 stars

[WARNING MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

My Review-

I read this play for a class, and while the movie adds things that were not in the play I the movie very much. The same person who wrote the play also wrote the film adaptation, which made this work even more, I feel like if he did not write it, the play would not have been done any justice. If you had never read the play noticing the differences will be hard, but if you have you may enjoy the differences and see later why it was added and may have explained more or made the play better than it already was. When I saw them I realized why Abaire may have made those decisions and why they worked so well. The acting in the movie was also really good, I am surprised Eckhart did not get a nomination he deserved one for this movie well, I thought he played Howie perfectly and long with Kidman as Becca, even though in the movie she was a little harsher than she was in the play. I also really like how the whole movie was not set just in one place, that it was sent in various places unlike the play. I was also able to feel the emotion more from the actors than I did in the play, meaning it was more effective to see it on screen than on a page. This movie was wonderfully made and acting was great, just wish they would have gone into the relationship with the mom a little more like in the play also they did too much with story-line of Howie with another character. I do suggest this movie be watched though.

Day 336: Defendor

Directed By- Peter Stebbings

Written By- Peter Stebbings

Starring- Woody Harrerlson, Elias Koteas, Kat Dennings, Michael Kelly, Sandra Oh

Run Time- 1 hr. 35 min.

Critics Review-  "Saving the day is Harrelson's low-key, rooted performance, adding an unexpected layer of poignancy when things take a decidedly darker turn."- Michael Rechtshaffen "Hollywood Reporter" 

Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 67% Audience- 56%

Out of a possible 5 stars- 4 1/2 stars

My Review-

I liked this movie a lot more than I expected to, maybe because it is nothing like it seems to be in the trailer. This movie is a lot darker than that, yes it has comedy here and but it is also a very serious movie as it progresses. I was really surprised at this movie I heard that Harrelson did a good job in this role but this is one movie that he went unnoticed, along with Kat Dennings and Micheal Kelly. I like that the movie trailer was misleading because it was able to mask what the movie was really about. Even though that Harrelson's character was a bit crazy he was actually trying to do good. Its hard to see why the audience did not like this movie, I would think they would love it and to see the score so low for this movie is surprising to see. This movie did not disappoint it was almost everything I was hoping for in the trailer with the surprise that it was more of a dark comedy than an actual comedy. This one movie I would love to own and just watch it over and over again.The concept was pretty cool; how a man was trying to stop a person that had ruined his life when he was little, also he was kind of like the ghetto batman; well not a billionaire, he had made his own equipment  his own hideout and also took on crime by himself in the name of being good and ridding the streets of evil.  There were some really cool one-liners in the film as well and what made the movie like 10x better because since he was just an average person being a crime fighter he really did not know what to say and when he did it either came out weird or kind of did not make sense. I recommend that everyone check out this movie; its really good and it was a smart idea of the director or who ever was in charge of the trailer to mislead the audience into not knowing what the film was really going to be about, I was statisfied with every minute of this film. I just feel it was a wee bit too short. The theme of the movie also works well which is "Fight Back" I think they chose that for the people in the film or possibly anywhere is that do not give up and stand up against evil (even if does not really exist).