Nerd in the 'Noke

Oculus (2013), R, 104 minutes - Filmed in 2012 but not released until early 2014, Oculus had previously only been a blip on my radar due to its inclusion of two recent sci-fi favorite actresses: Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Gallactica) and Karen Gillan (Doctor Who).  Since I don't generally go out of my way to check out a horror film unless my wife is interested, it's a film that I hadn't previously had an overwhelming urge to see.  But after reading an indirect recommendation from an old college friend (technically his girlfriend - but she had posted online that it was the creepiest thing they had seen in quite a while) we agreed that it should be part of our Halloween-themed October viewing. Oculus revolves around a haunted mirror that enters the lives of the Russell family when they move into a new house when siblings Tim and Kaylie were kids (Garrett Ryan and Annalise Basso respectively).  The film begins with an adult Tim (Brenton Thwaites) being released from a m...

The Rite (2011), PG-13, 114 minutes - My wife loves Halloween, so each year we tend to skew our movie viewing towards the creepy and scary during the month of October (as I'm sure many others do).  This year the first such film we watched was the Anthony Hopkins starring The Rite. While Hopkins was the big draw to this film, as can be seen by his top billing and sole inclusion on the movie poster, he's really just a supporting (albeit very important) character.  The Rite tells a story - supposedly based upon actual events - that follows an American seminary student named Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue) as he travels to the Vatican to take a class on exorcism.  Kovak begins in an interesting place: he attended seminary school to appease his father (Rutger Hauer) who had given him the choice of either carrying on the family business at the funeral home or joining the ministry.  He questions his faith and plans to resign from the seminary but is blackmailed into...

Sicario (2015), R, 121 minutes - When I made my last post at the beginning of the month, I was hoping that October would be the time I got back to regular updates to the blog after a busy second half of the summer and an odd stretch in which there wasn't much in theaters that I was interested in.  Well, life decided to happen and after weekends absorbed by familial obligations and backed up yard work I find myself sitting here at the end of the month having not gotten 'back on track' in the way I had hoped.  So...here is attempt 2.0 at regaining momentum on updating content! Sicario (Spanish for 'hitman') was actually the last film that I was able to see in a theater.  Oddly enough I watched it the afternoon after my last review was posted (my wife and I have since seen a handful of other films via Redbox/Netflix, reviews of which will hopefully be posted later today).  Anyway, Sicario focuses on up-and-coming FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) and her efforts...

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), PG-13, 115 minutes - I don't remember a stretch quite like the last couple of months in the time that I have written this blog.  Sure there have been times when I haven't posted because I was too busy, but this recent lack of activity has been primarily due to there not being much in theaters that really caught my attention.  Fortunately though, the release schedule for this fall looks like it will more than make up for my recent inactivity.  In fact, I already feel a little behind as there were films released over the last two weeks that I didn't get to see due to previous plans.  Anyway, I figured a quick Rental Review would be a good way to try and get back in the swing of things. My wife and I absolutely loved the first Pitch Perfect  and have been eagerly awaiting the sequel (as evidenced by its inclusion on my Most Anticipated Films of 2015 list).  Unlike me, my wife doesn't enjoy theaters so we've been waiting for the ho...

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), PG-13, 131 minutes - The Mission: Impossible franchise has proven to one of the strongest film franchises out there.  It has survived nineteen years, five films, and even more impressively, the fall and subsequent rise of it's star in the collective public eye.  One could even argue that through it all, the franchise is as strong as it has ever been.  And after seeing Rogue Nation myself, I certainly wouldn't argue that point. This fifth installment continues the adventures of IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), this time as he tries to track down and eliminate The Syndicate, an organization that, for all intents and purposes is the anti-IMF.  Back on the home front, CIA Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) sits before the Senate oversight committee, requesting that the IMF be disbanded and absorbed into the CIA due to prior recklessness in the field and their lack of accountability for their actions.  Hunley's reque...

Fantastic Four (2015), PG-13, 106 minutes - Every once in a while, a movie comes out that I'm generally looking forward to, but am not terribly psyched for.  This reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise by 20th Century Fox falls into that category.  In all actuality, I became more interested in seeing this film over the past week as word began to spread that it was less than stellar.  I have read some wonderful stories about Marvel's 'First Family' in the pages of the comics, but they have never been characters that truly caught my imagination.  As a result, my anticipation for the film was tempered by my not being as familiar with the characters as I am with others in the Marvel Universe.  Well that, coupled with the luke-warm reception (which may actually be putting things nicely) of information revealed during production.  Despite that, I tried my best to go into this film with an open mind.  After all, I was intrigued by the cast and have heard w...

Inside Out (2015), PG, 94 minutes  - In my mind, a new release from Pixar is about as much of a 'must see' as a film can be. It may have taken me a month to work it into my schedule, but I was finally able to see it last weekend. Inside Out continues Pixar's tradition of strong animated films that are oftentimes deeper and more emotional than they may appear on the surface. In it, a young girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) is uprooted from the only home she has ever known (rural Minnesota) and transplanted to the big city (San Francisco) compliments of her father's job. As Riley adjusts to life in a new home, school, and city, her emotions (Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness) clash with each other as they try to help her navigate the many changes she faces. It's no walk in the park though, as these changes put Riley's emotions in new and unfamiliar territory as well. The story is heartfelt and the humanoid emotions are by far the biggest stars of the ...

Ant-Man (2015), PG-13, 117 minutes  - Prior to the last few weeks, I had been pretty happy with the consistency with which I had been adding content to the blog this year.  That pace has decreased significantly over that time, but I honestly can't be too disappointed as we've been consumed by other much more important things.  To those who check in regularly, my apologies for the recent lack of updates.  If it is any consolation, Jurassic World (my last update) was the last movie I saw prior to this one.  I hope that I can get back to some sort of regularity, and with a little luck, catch up on a few films that I have not yet seen this summer. Because of how busy my wife and I have been over the last few weeks, Ant-Man sort of snuck up on me.  Maybe it was due to my general lack of familiarity with the characters or maybe it was because I have been distracted by other things, but I didn't realize until this past Thursday that this week was indeed the we...

Jurassic World (2015), PG-13, 124 minutes - Life has been a little crazy over the last month, which has contributed greatly to my lack of blog updates in general and with this post in particular.  Jurassic World hit theaters two weeks ago and has been devouring the competition ever since (it had the largest opening weekend box office total ever).  This was also deemed the film of choice for the annual HeroesCon trip to Charlotte, NC so that delayed my viewing of it by a week.  Judging from the insane amount of money that it has taken in thus far, I'm sure that I'm in the minority in saying that I was underwhelmed by this film.   I have to admit that I haven't had much motivation to write about Jurassic World in the week since I saw it.   Reviews are the easiest when you either really enjoy or really dislike a film.  They are much harder when you have a ho-hum feeling about them.  Before I completely loose anyone's attention, let me state that Jura...

Ex Machina (2015), R, 108 minutes - I know that it is only May - ok, the end of May - but so far this year, this is my 'best film that not enough people have seen'.  Unfortunately, I'm not helping change that much as it has now cycled out of theaters (at least in my area).  Because of scheduling of show times, it took me a couple weeks to get to see it myself, and then I've been dragging my feet getting around to this review. Ex Machina utilizes a minimal cast led by Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson to explore the possibilities of true artificial intelligence (AI).  Caleb (Gleeson) is a programmer for a tech development firm who wins a drawing to spend a week with the company's founder Nathan (Isaac) at his remote estate.  After arriving, Caleb he learns that the real reason for the drawing was not to reward an employee with a week long meet and greet with Nathan, but to help in the testing process for his latest project: an AI he calls Ava (Alicia Vikander). ...