Review: Wristcutters

I had heard through the grapevine that Wristcutters was a good indie film.  It was centered around suicide and death, so it was a natural pick for me.

Wristcutters centers around Zia.  Zia, overwhelmed by the breakup of his girlfriend Desiree, cuts his wrists and ends his life.  What he comes to find on the other side, is not pearly white gates or even fire and brimstone.  Instead, he is left in a world much like the world he left, only slightly worse.  Soon, he discovers a new resident in the limbo of suicide has arrived.  Zia and his new found friends go on a seemingly endless journey, looking for someone.  In time, they each discover what they are really needing.

Likes - I really liked the subtle sensibilities of this movie.  This movie wasn't over the top, which was what I was looking for.  It had a good message and enough charm to make it stick.

Dislikes - There wasn't anything in particular I didn't like about this movie.  

Overall - I enjoyed this film.  It was a light affair into dark humor.  It fit my mood perfectly.  I recommend this to anyone looking for the lighter side on death. 3.5 out of 5 stars.  

Review: Soul Eater (Anime)

I was looking for a good anime to watch.  I then came across Soul Eater.  It had a cute girl swinging a huge scythe around and goes to a school founded by the Grim Reaper.  This was made just for me!

Soul Eater focuses on a band for 7 students, all of whom attend the DWMA.  The DWMA was founded by Death to train weapons (beings who can change into actual weapons) and their meisters.  Weapons and Meisters main purpose is to keep dead souls in check and prevent a Kishin from being created.  A Kishin is a creature so full of fear, it falls into a contagious madness.  The main duo is Makka and Soul.  The story begins with Soul on the verge to becoming a Death Scythe, a prestigious level for a weapon.  Unfortunately, things go awry.  The 51 episode series also adds Black Star and Tsubaki, and Death the Kid and twins Liz and Patti.  Enemies come out from the shadows attacking the Academy and its students, all in the hope of awakening a Kishin.

Likes: I enjoyed the overall themes of this anime.  The animation style gave me the impression this would be a fluffy series but I was sorely mistaken.  Almost right away, stories involving how to react and handle emotions come up very quickly.  The series also addresses concepts of teamwork and family.  I also enjoyed the depth the series had in regards to the characters.  Despite having a large central cast, there was enough developments to keep things fresh.  I was concerned there would be some loose ends but they managed to tie just about all of them up by the last episode.  

Dislikes:  The animation style can throw you off.  At first, it didn't seem to mesh at all with the story content and characters.  Pretty quickly though, I grew fond of it.  There were some major story arcs that seem to happen out of nowhere.  Mainly, in the middle of the series a new rival group appears out of nowhere, with seemingly no connections to the previous set of villains.  Also, the last episode seemed rushed and lacked some cohesiveness to the overall series and themes.  Another annoyance was the overall series length.  51 episodes is a bit much in my book.  They did mange to make it a fun ride though.  In a way, 51 episodes was perfect.

Overall: I highly recommend this anime.  I feel this is one series worth watching again, despite is long spread.  I really enjoyed the themes of handling emotion, teamwork, and family.  I found myself rushing home just so I could get my next episode in.  If you're looking for a good new series with action, depth and some bright, flashy animation, Soul Eater is for you.

Review: Oldboy

I've known of this film for years to be the ultimate revenge flick.  After my friend Lee watched this, fate would have it that it would also be the next movie in my own Netflix queue.

The film is about a man who is abducted and imprisoned for 15 years.  Once he is mysteriously released, he goes on a quest to find his faceless captors and discover the reason why they would inflict such a cruel torment.

Likes: This movie was great! The plot was superb, though some keys points seem a bit random.  Overall though I think this was a masterful work of revenge.  The cinematography was great too.  In particular, there was a fight sequence set in a hallway that was captured in a simple yet elegant way.  It was realistic in its approach, which I admired.  The transformation of the main character was a great theme too.  It was graphic, to extent to, which I think helps with the overall brutality and theme of the film.

Dislikes:  At times, the music added a bit too much drama to the scenes.  Also, it did seem to drag.  This was a rarity.  That's really it though.

Overall:  Phenomenal Film.  I'm kicking myself for waiting so long.  5 stars.  Watch it now!

Review: The Social Network

The Social Network -
Staring Jesse Eisenberg
Directed by David Fincher
Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
A film about Facebook, one of the biggest and most interesting success stories of our generation.  Need I say more as to why I chose this film?

This film is about the start and rise of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg and a the new era of internet creativity and business.

Likes - The music is amazing, both alone, which I listened to extensively, and as an accompaniment to the movie.  It added depth to the film.  I am biased since I love NIN.  Jesse Eisenberg is amazing in this.  He plays such a cool, smart jerk who knows what he wants and goes after it, damned be the consequences or the nay-sayers.  My personal opinion, I think the real Mark Zuckerburg could never be this cool, this slyly mean.  Jesse is great.  I also love the dialogue.  This is great for Kevin Smith fans.  There is so much fast talking, the relevant words get lost with the ones that are pointless but witty banter.

Dislikes - Eh, nothing.

Overall - This film was absolutely great.  Other people find Mark (the character) to be a douchebag and reprehensible, but I admire him.  He did what he, and only he, could do.  And he knew it.  Its a shame that he lost what few friends and colleagues he had. But if he cared, he would have made an effort.  Mark had an idea, had the guts to see it through and the people who got stepped on did whatever they could to get revenge.  It's the modern American success story.  And this story was given to the right people who did it justice.

I really enjoyed the ultimate theme.  This guy, who created this life changing network based on friends, had no means of holding on to even one.

Review: It's Kind Of A Funny Story

This movie has Zach Galifianakis and is about being in a mental ward.  It was perfect for me.

The film follows Craig, a young teen hard hit with puberty and pressure to succeed.  Looking for a quick fix, he gets himself admitted to a mental ward.  Realizing he will be treated the same as anyone else, he gets some very unexpected, but much needed, life lessons.  And ultimately an introduction to reality.

Likes - I really enjoy the realistic approach of life this movie has.  And despite that, it still tends to lay the humor on, though very subtly.  It was exactly what I was expecting.  This was also a much welcomed change watching Zach G.  Though not the star, his supporting role really helps bring life and a tender heart to the experience.  This film is tender, heartfelt, and still funny, in a light chuckle kinda way.  It's a great date movie. 

Dislikes - Honestly there isn't anything I didn't particularity like.  This movie though doesn't have a breakthrough edge to make it last the test of time.  

Overall - I really enjoyed this film.  So much so, I wanna buy it.  Maybe because it strikes a special cord with me.  Do yourself a favor and watch it once.  I think it'll help you understand some people aren't as well equipped as everyone else.  But it still doesn't mean they don't feel the same as you. 

Review: Case 39

I was bored and desperate to find a movie to watch, since most my friends were predisposed.  I had already finished watching the Netflix discs I'd already received.  I wanted to watch something I didn't have high hopes for nor would be terribly engaging.  Something easy to follow.  I got it with Case 39.


Case 39 follows the story of a child social worker who attempts to protect a child from her insane parents.  As she tries to go above and beyond in caring for the child, she comes to learn the reason for the parents' paranoia.  Soon, she herself becomes the next victim of this child's senseless subtle rampage.

As far as horror movies go, this isn't that bad.  I think it was disturbing and scary without being over the top.  The plot seemed to make sense and was solid.  There wasn't much on twists or surprises with this one, though.  Not to say that's a bad thing.  They film was like a parent teaching a kid how to ride a bike, with its arm firmly guiding the audience.  If you are looking for a mind fuck type of experience, stay away from this one.  If you want your skin to crawl, this is for you.  Overall, the film was enjoyable, given my mood and expectation.  I would recommend this, being clear that its easily forgettable but fun while is lasts.

Review: Salt

Salt looked like it could have potential to be more the the typical action thriller.  Also, despite all the gossip news, Angelina can bring home a great performance if she is able to.  So I gave it a go. 

Salt is an action film about a women whose picture perfect life is shattered once she is accused of being a Russian sleeper spy.  The film follows her as she tries to stop the very plot she is accused of propitiating.  

This movie was decent.  The plot has a fair share of twists and turns.  Salt had its moments were I was deeply engaged.  This lead to me figuring out many of the mysteries and strange happenings long before the credits rolled.  There was a big twist near the end that I must admit I didn't see.  At least not entirely.  As far as action goes, there was a good amount, though not as much as I was expecting.  Salt was tense at times but also also had some great explosive action scenes.  Overall, I didn't get sucked into this film.  It did everything right but I still feel like its missing something.  With that, I'm sure there are many others who most likely 'get it'.  I think I'm in the minority when I say I didn't get into this at all.  I give it 3.5 stars.