Monthly Archives: October 2013
High Tension (2003)
High Tension (2003)
High Tension is a French foreign horror film. The movie was made in 2003, but released in the US in 2005. You can watch the film with subtitles or have the French dubbed over in English. Some people don’t like watching movies with subtitles. Others don’t like watching a movie that has been dubbed over in a different language because the lips don’t match up with the words. I have never had a problem with either format, but sometimes it is good to know what you are getting yourself into before watching a movie like that.
The movie is about two college girls, Marie (Cecile De France) and Alexa (Maiwenn), who vacation to Alexa’s family’s house in the country, way out in the middle of nowhere. The girls planned on getting a lot of studying done in the quiet remote home. What they didn’t plan on was getting a strange visitor in the middle of the night who turned out to be a murdering psychopath.
The film was directed by Alexandre Aja, and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun, Andrei Finti, Oana Pellea, and Gabriel Spahiu.
The first time that I watched this movie was in 2005. It was around the time that the movie Saw (2004) was popular. Horror movies had begun to master bloody brutality. Blood and guts seemed as real as they had ever been on screen and horror movies were celebrating this fact. High Tension joined the party of gruesome graphic violence.
It’s hard to enjoy a movie of this kind. However, the shock value throughout the film is highly prevalent. It’s disgusting and disturbing. It’s vile, but full of horror. The unspeakable acts of violence depicted in High Tension are grotesque, but the filmmaking is superb.
The soundtrack in the movie is spine-chilling and it only serves to magnify just how obscenely intense the film actually is. High Tension is the perfect title, because that is exactly what the movie is full of. The film may simply be a slasher strictly for the shock value, but it is one that will keep you on edge waiting for what will happen next. It’s like a horrific car wreck that is hard not to stare at. You don’t want to see it, but you cannot look away. The grisly images become a stain that you can’t seem to scrub from your mind.
The film is a bloodbath. It’s one of the bloodiest, most vicious movies that I have ever seen. If you couldn’t handle watching Saw, then High Tension is probably too much for you.
I don’t usually like this type of movie, and it is not one that I could watch often, but for its genre, the filmmakers did an excellent job. I know good filmmaking when I see it, and I’m not going to fault the film because of its genre. High Tension is the ultimate slasher with a twist.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Netflix Watch Instantly Movie Reviews October 2013
Netflix Watch Instantly Movie Reviews October 2013
Netflix Watch Instantly has drastically improved its movie selection over the last few years. They still have more movies that are available to rent on disc than they do to stream, but if you do a little bit of searching then you will be able to find plenty of good movies that are worth streaming.
I have seen literally hundreds of movies that are currently available on Netflix Watch Instantly and literally thousands of movies that are currently available to rent on disc.
I have been writing movie reviews for almost a year now, but I have been mainly focusing on reviewing newer movies. Because of this fact, I have not reviewed very many movies that are currently available on Netflix Watch Instantly. I plan on fixing this problem soon.
I will continue to update and add to the list below throughout the month of October, and make a new list each month. My lists will hopefully help you find good movies to watch and bad movies to stay away from. I will hopefully be able to help save you time searching for a good movie to stream on Netflix Watch Instantly. My reviews will tell you what are some of the best movies available on Netflix Watch Instantly and what are some of the worst movies available on Netflix Watch Instantly.
The Netflix Watch Instantly movie library changes periodically as their contracts with different movie companies run out or are renewed. Here is a list of movies that I have reviewed that are currently available on Netflix Watch Instantly. Click on each title below for my full review of that movie, my rating, the movie’s trailer, the movie’s poster, and pictures from that movie:
Yes, the list is short now, but as the days and weeks and months go by, I’ll have plenty more reviews for you to read and I will help you find the hidden gems within the Netflix Watch Instantly movie library.
www.brockingmovies.com Movies are what I do.
Current Redbox Movie Reviews October 2013
Current Redbox Movie Reviews October 2013
I have seen 87 of the movies that are currently available at the Redbox. Of those 87 films, I have written a review for 50 of them. My reviews will let you know what I think are the best movies currently available at the Redbox and what are the worst movies currently available at the Redbox.
Note: I will continue to update this list throughout the month of October. Each month I will keep updating a new list that will have more and more movies on it. If you like what you see, I hope that you will come back for more in the future.
Click on each title below for a trailer, pictures, cast list, my rating, and my review of that movie.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
If you like what you see then click on this link: www.brockingmovies.com to check out the rest of my site. Movies are what I do.
Curse of Chucky (2013)
Curse of Chucky (2013)
Dolls can be creepy. Let’s face it; creepy dolls are one of the most common elements of horror movies. I could probably name at least 20 horror movies off the top of my head that had a scary doll in it. Child’s Play (1988) took this concept with its demonic redheaded killer doll and ran with it. It worked so well that the film spawned 5 sequels.
I have never been a big fan of the Chucky movies. The first film was okay, but the ones that followed were all pretty redundant. I will admit that the Chucky character himself, is pretty sinister.
Curse of Chucky is the 6th film in the series. The movie is about a wheelchair bound girl named Nica (Fiona Dourif) who lives alone with her mother (Chantel Quesnelle) in a large old house. Nica’s mother dies shortly after receiving a strange and unexpected package. In the package is a doll named Chucky. When the rest of Nica’s family comes to visit, Chucky introduces himself to the family.
The film was written and directed by Don Mancini and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Brad Dourif, Danielle Bisutti, A Martinez, Maitland McConnell, and Jennifer Tilly.
Deranged, psychotic serial killer doll Chucky, strikes again in another cheesy, lousy murdering escapade. The movie is so bad that it is laughable.
I couldn’t figure out what was worse, the low-grade dreadful acting, or the poorly written dialogue and crummy storyline.
This slasher film was formulaic, predictable, convenient, tacky, and overall pretty stupid.
I gave the movie a chance because the original was alright. I should have left well enough alone.
Don’t waste your time or money on this awful sequel.
I rate this movie a 1 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? RUN!
Trailer for Non-Stop (2014)
Non-Stop (2014)
At the age of 61, Liam Neeson has shown us that he can still be an action hero.
Non-Stop is about an air marshall (Liam Neeson) who gets text messages that threaten terrorism on an international flight that he is on. He eventually becomes suspected in trying to hijack the plane.
The film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Julianne Moore, Anson Mount, Michelle Dockery, Bar Paly, and Corey Stoll.
The film looks pretty intense. It looks like it might have some similarities to the movie Flightplan (2005).
I’ll definitely be seeing this one in theatres.
The film is set to release on 2/28/13.
3,500 Movies Watched in 10 Years
Like the movie junkie that I am, I checked the math on my documented movie obsession and if I watch 1 movie per day for the rest of this year, I will have watched a total of 3,500 movies in the last decade. That is an average of 350 movies watched each year for the last 10 years. I am currently at 3,424 and including today there are exactly 76 days left in the year. Challenge accepted!
A movie per day keeps the Doctor away.
There was a time when I would watch 4 or 5 movies in a day pretty regularly. That is of course, before I had a full-time job and bills to pay. Now, if only I had documented all of the movies that I watched in my lifetime, instead of just the last 10 years.
Trailer for All is Bright (2013)
All is Bright (2013)
In recent years, there have been more and more unhappy Christmas related movies. The holidays bring out the best and the worst in people and sometimes it helps to watch a not so happy holiday movie. This year’s option is All is Bright.
The film is a dark comedy about a recently paroled man named Dennis (Paul Giamatti) who has a lot of trouble trying to find a job because of the poor economy and the fact that he just got out of jail. Dennis takes a job selling Christmas trees with his old friend Rene (Paul Rudd) and the Christmas season proves to not be so bright.
The film is directed by Phil Morrison and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Sally Hawkins, Amy Landecker, Tatyana Richaud, Colman Domingo, Nikki M. James, and Morgan Spector.
Giamatti usually does not disappoint, but Rudd can be questionable. Regardless, this film looks like it will have some good moments of laughter. It definitely doesn’t look like your average Christmas movie.
The movie was released in select theatres on 10/4/13 and has been on demand since 9/10/13.
So, why am I telling you about this movie now? I am telling you about this now because I have a feeling that this will be one film that slips through the cracks. Most people who actually see this movie will probably be watching it on DVD. It seems to me like it was released too early. I think that it might have done okay in theatres if they had released it in November and done a better job marketing it.
I have noticed a lot more movies this year that have had trouble making it to wide release. Is direct to DVD or on demand the way of the future? I hope not. It would be nice to have a lot of options of movies to see in theatres, instead of simply the films that should make money for production companies. There were so many big blockbuster films that flopped this year and that is hurting the movie business more than people realize. I blame the lack of originality and sequel overdose for this problem.
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Captain Phillips (2013)
Captain Phillips (2013)
Captain Phillips is based on the true story of when a US flagged-cargo ship was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. This was the first time that this had happened to an American cargo ship in 200 years. Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) was the captain of the ship.
Back in 2009 I had a warehouse job that enabled me to listen to the radio all day long during my shifts. I remember having my ears glued to the little radio that was set up in my work station as I listened intently for updates about what was happening with Captain Phillips, his crew, and the Somali hijackers.
It was already 4 years ago, but it feels like yesterday. I remember how America responded to this act of terrorism and that made me curious to see how the film would portray the situation. I figured if the movie followed the truth closely, than it might have the potential to be a quality film and an Oscar Contender.
The movie was directed by Paul Greengrass. Billy Ray wrote the screenplay, but Richard Phillips wrote the book that it is based on, “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea.”
The noteworthy cast includes Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Michael Chernus, David Warshofsky, Chris Mulkey, Max Martini, Omar Berdouni, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, and Mahat M. Ali.
Hanks has not had a great part for a while, until now. There was a time when he had one excellent movie after another. This will be the movie that puts him back into the spotlight (it already has). The role fit him like a glove and he wore it well. His performance should be worth an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and if he wins, it would be well deserved (another one to add to the collection). The film also deserves a Best Picture nomination.
The film does not follow the facts completely, but the few things that it does change only serve to make the movie more powerful, more entertaining, and more enjoyable. The things that were changed were done so tastefully. After all, with Tom Hanks in the driver’s seat, Hollywood has to dress the story up a little bit to turn it into a blockbuster.
Captain Phillips is an edge-of-your-seat suspenseful thriller that is one of the best movies of 2013. It is one of those films that hits home a little harder because it is based on a true story.
I rate this movie a 9 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
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