Nerd in the 'Noke

Insidious (2010), PG-13, 103 minutes - My fiance and I had both heard how creepy Insidious was for a while when we bought it about a year ago.  We picked it up in hopes of having a scary movie night around Halloween.  Unfortunately, our six month old puppy (at the time) didn't agree with the idea of there being quiet time in the house.  Last week we realized that Insidious: Chapter 2 was being released this weekend.  So we figured we should finally make some time to sit down and see what the Insidious was all about. A couple of years back when Insidious first came out, I had absolutely no desire to see it.  I recognize now that is almost entirely because the trailer and movie posters hailed it as being directed by James Wan, the director of Saw.  As soon as I saw the connection with Saw, I tuned out.  As many who know me could tell you, I'm not big on horror of the slasher/gore variety.  So before anyone else jumps to the same conclusion while reading this, let me tell you

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), PG-13, 130 minutes - The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is based on the young adult fantasy novel of the same name written by Cassandra Clare. It follows teenager Clary Fray as she is exposed to a world of Shadowhunters and Demons, a world that she has much stronger ties to than even she realizes. Clary (Lily Collins), like her mother Jocelyn (Lena Headey) is an artist. One day she doodles a symbol while talking on the phone. She then starts seeing the same symbol out around town, leading to her talking her way into a club along with her friend Simon (Robert Sheehan).  While in the club, Clary witnesses a murder that no one else sees. She's mortified that she was the only one to see what happened and wonders if she's going crazy. She's even more anxious the next morning when she wakes to a room full of drawings of the symbol that she continued to unconsciously draw over night. She tries to make sense of things with Si

The World's End (2013), R, 109 minutes - It took me a couple of tries but I was finally able to see the third installment in what has become known as the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy this past Friday night.  Many who are not already familiar with writer/director Edgar Wright's work and his previous collaborations with actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost may wonder what on Earth the 'Cornetto Trilogy' even is.  This is a trilogy in the loosest sense of the term.  It isn't tied together by any direct continuity or character carry over, but it is connected in that all three films (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End) are directed by Wright, co-written by Pegg and Wright, star Pegg and Frost, and feature, for even the briefest of moments, a Cornetto ice cream snack.  They are all also tied together by similar themes.  I've absolutely loved everything I have seen from these three guys, especially their collaborations so I've been looking forward t