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45. Drinking Buddies
Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, Jake Johnson, Ron Livingston, Ti West, Jason Sudeikis
Director(s): Joe Swanberg
Writer(s): Joe Swanberg
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: August 23rd
RT Score: 83% (89 fresh, 18 rotten)
The Plot by Palooza: Two co-workers (Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde) with an immense sexual tension, go off on a couples date in a cabin with their significant others (Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston) to interesting results.
Comments:
Great cast with likable, if wildly immature, main characters (Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde). The sexual tension is really well played. These two characters are so obviously flirty and into each other, it's only a matter of time before they finally hook up and that generates a pretty solid amount of strange tension throughout the movie. The tension also takes a turn when their significant others (Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston) go off with each other at a point in the movie. The picnic scene is kind of obnoxious though in that the two characters had just met, but it's not so difficult to brush that aside and go along with the movie. Would have liked to have gotten some more from them, but alas, we lose focus of them soon after the picnic.
The two main characters act like fucking children. They flirt constantly in the most middle school of ways and while it adds to the tension, it's really frustrating, but it's a pretty good movie overall. The end of the movie is a refreshing disappointment as we find out the two aren't actually meant for each other and slide back into their old lives.
Spoiler Alert: I spoiled the end above.
Grade: BComment
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44. Warm Bodies
Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton, Cord Hardrict, John Malkovich
Director(s): Jonathan Levine
Writer(s): Jonathan Levine. Isaac Marion (based on his novel)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: February 1st
RT Score: 80% (147 fresh, 36 rotten)
The Plot by Palooza: Sometime after the zombie apocalypse hits the world, a zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult) saves a girl (Teresa Palmer) and a relationship brews.
Comments:
Just as the zombie genre is getting completely stale, there is one last ditch effort to generate some sort of creativity - Warm Bodies. We get the same old zombie bullshit blah blah blah, but this time around - it's taken from the perspective of a zombie (Nicholas Hoult) and his best friend (Rob Corddry) along with the perspective of humans fighting zombies (Teresa Palmer, Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton, John Malkovich). Most of the movie is told through voice overs from Hoult which are pretty great thanks to Jonathan Levine with yet another funny, clever and witty script; certainly adding to his eclectic resume (50/50, The Wackness). After going on a supply run (Walking Dad flashbacks for sure), the group of humans minus Malkovich run into the hoard of our main character's zombies and mayhem ensues - R kills lil Franco, Teresa Palmer's boyfriend and saves her in some way (I forget how) and from there we get a pretty nice little reluctant bonding and the two slowly fall for each other, as ridiculous as that sounds. The movie is funny and lighthearted, but it makes sure to take the zombies seriously enough to hit the right beats (and to add an element worse than zombies in an effort to create a mutual problem for the zombies and the humans). The other cool, creative twist is the cure-element, which is a bit corny, but it completely works within the frame of the movie. A really surprisingly solid movie. Teresa Palmer is a babe, btw.
Spoiler Alert: Love is the cure.
Grade: BComment
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I loved the opening of of Warm Bodies when he was walking through the airport giving that #exposition.
Also thought the eating brains=memories part was kinda cool.Comment
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Who finishes first: GRRM or Palooza?Comment
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43. Bad Milo!
Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Stephen Root, Peter Stormare, Mary Kay Place, Patrick Warburton
Director(s): Jacob Vaughan
Writer(s): Jacob Vaughan, Benjamin Hayes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: October 4th
RT Score: 60% (18 fresh, 12 rotten)
The Plot by Palooza: After his stress goes through the roof, a man (Ken Marino) unknowingly unleashes a monster out of his ass to deal with the people who wrong him.
Comments:
The best kind of horror comedies are absolutely absurd with a strong mix of comedy and horror, obviously, but the key factor in making a movie of this genre in this day and age is NOT relying on CGI. For example, one of the best horror comedies of the past decade is James Gunn's Slither, which mixes both CGI and animatronics almost perfectly. Here, we get complete puppetry with the, um, "monster" and it's great. The little monster is a product of stress, but it looks more like Gizmo and any of the other piece of shit Gremlins did the dirty and had a baby and was given the personality of those FIRST THEY'RE SOUR, THEN THEY'RE SWEET Sour Patch Kids commercials. Milo could just be a ruthless monster, but after all the murdering is done, he's tired and cuddly. It's hilarious and sweet and uncomfortable.
I find Gillian Jacobs to be one of the most incredible humans on earth and Ken Marino will forever have a place in my heart for his fantastic portrayal of Ron Donald in Party Down. Here, he plays more of a straight man but still winds up the butt of every joke (
) accordingly, since the movie revolves around a guy who gets so stressed out a monster comes out of his ass and kill people he doesn't like. If you can't get behind that premise, there's no hope for you and this movie. It's funny, it's obnoxious, it's violent, it's ridiculous and it has Gillian Jacobs and Patrick Warburton. WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?
Spoiler Alert: Monsters that come out of your ass are a part of you.
Grade: BComment
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42. Evil Dead
Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmon, Phoenix Connolly, Jim McLarty, Rupert Degas
Director(s): Fede Alvarez
Writer(s): Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues (remake of Sam Raimi’s film “The Evil Dead”)
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: April 5th
RT Score: 62% (107 fresh, 66 rotten)
The Plot by Palooza: Five friends meet up in a cabin and find some crazy shit in the basement. Violent demonic mayhem ensues.
Comments:
I'm not going to discuss how this is different or better or worst or whatever than the original. This will be reviewed as a pretty badass, hyper-violent cabin-in-the-woods movie.
How I experienced this movie most certainly elevated my enjoyment of Evil Dead. I went on a random morning and sat in the middle of a small, but empty theater. I was there early, so this was not a shock. I sat and watched the dumbass commercials they force you to watch, still no one showed up. Then the turn off your cell phone stuff. Nobody. Trailers. Nobody. The opening credits began and my heart sunk. I was all alone. The terrifying feeling of getting sucked into a good horror movie is something I have experienced very few times. I dislike most of them because they generally fail to get butthole puckered up. Being alone in a dark theater amped up my experience and it was glorious. Now on to the movie...
This is the opposite end of the spectrum from another movie on this list - The Conjuring. Unlike the throwback, ominous, scare tactics of movies like The Conjuring, which are almost impossible to pull off in this era of an under-appreciation for tension in horror. This takes the demonic possession horror sub-genre by showcasing a fuck-ton of clever violence in a self-contained arc. The movie starts with a guy killing his own daughter because she is possessed. Sometime later, we find the same basement with the same creepy shit. It's extremely straightforward and easy to follow/get sucked in to. One of them reads from the book and the possessions begin. It starts off creepy, then shifts into extreme violence at almost every turn for the rest of the way. The personal stuff is weak and Shiloh Fernandez is the noticeable weak spot with the acting and Jane Levy is noticeably missing for a majority of the movie, but her menacing presence is never far behind. Trying not to spoil much (there will be lots of deets in the spoiler alert section), but she definitely earns her role as the top billed character. The ending of the movie is really a fucking beaut with the gruesome violence turned up to an 11.
Not sure how the true horror-fans will dig this movie, but as a casual one, I really liked it. There are weak spots, but they're overshadowed here by some great violence and an even better personal experience.
Spoiler Alert:
Grade: BComment
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A ton of hardcore horror fans loved Evil Dead.Comment
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I nearly lost it when McGuyver showed up and made a homemade defibrillator out of ducktape and car battery. He ruined the movie for myself.Comment
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41. The Wolverine
Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushina, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Will Yun Lee, Brian Tee, Famke Janssen
Director(s): James Mangold
Writer(s): Mark Bomback, Scott Frank
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: July 25th
RT Score: 69% (147 fresh, 66 rotten)
The Plot by Palooza: Wolverine in Japan
Comments:
What was a fun, stand-alone Wolverine-in-Japan movie completely falls apart in the 3rd act. I'll give it credit for being much better than it had any right to be, but after X-Men Origins: Wolverine, anything would have been better. The train scene alone is worth watching the movie, but once we get beyond fighting henchman, the movie is head scratching. The villain and it's lieutenants are fucking god-awful and embarrassing. Up until that point I was almost ready to declare this one of my personal favorite comic book movies, but
Spoiler Alert: n/a
Grade: BLast edited by Palooza; 05-22-2014, 03:46 PM.Comment
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