The Man with the Iron Fists is RZA’s love letter to kung fu movies. It’s a hell of an achievement too! He fell in love with kung fu movies when he was 9, infused the culture into his rap group The Wu Tang Clan and made it all the way to China to direct a major motion picture he co-wrote.

The story goes that a shipment of gold is heading through the Jungle Village. Rival gangs, assassins and the government clash over the gold where the local black smith is caught in the middle. His only goal was to make enough money to escape the area with his girlfriend, but the new leader of the Lion gang puts an end to that. A classic tale of revenge and justice mixed with flying fists and feet.

RZA touches on all the classic step stones of the old kung fu flicks, monks, meditation, cool weapons, wire work, fights a plenty, elaborate and gorgeous costumes, super powerful villains and characters with awesome names (Jack Knife, Poison Dagger, Madam Blossom, Lady Silk).

If you like kung fu movies, check this out lickity split. There’s some solid action, if a bit too quick cut, but there’s a lot of great ideas and love on display here. Congrats to RZA on making his boyhood dream come true.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Huntersis a spin on the Grimm’s fairytale. Hansel and Gretel are woken up by their mother and father in the middle of the night. Their father takes them out to the woods for a unknown reason where they are separated. They kids stumble upon a house made of candy where they get trapped by a witch with some serious ill intent. But the kids fight back and kill the witch, which starts their career as which bounty hunters!

Jump forward many years and the brother and sister are really good at what they do. They have custom weapons, they’ve become knows as the go to people for village witch problems. The next hour or so of the movie is a romp to stop a devious witch plan to sacrifice 12 children so that they can become immune to fire, making these witches even more dangerous.

It’s a cool monster movie. These are some vicious witches, they each have their own unique design and are dispatched in different ways, The weapons Hansel and Gretel have a really cool, the fights are creative and mostly well done (a lot of fast editing), the effects are very good too (the emphasis on making explosions extra shrapnel-y for the 3D is tiresome and gross though). Edward the Troll is one of my favorite movie creatures now. It’s actually like the witch version of Blade; comic book fantasy.

Good cast and story that’s set up nicely for a sequel. It’s rated R for violence and language, both of which seemed to be in there to try and make it edgy. The gore fits considering what’s going on and there are good moments in there (decapitations, quartering, full body explosions) the cursing always felt out of place to me. Great rental for a rainy day.

The To Do Listis in the high school coming of age genre. Here, it’s 1993 and Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) is the class valedictorian and feels pressure to become more sexually experienced before college starts. She takes it on like it’s an AP course. She writes a To Do list with different colored markers, looking up terms that she doesn’t know. It seems like everyone she knows is more experienced than her, so she turns to her two friends, her older sister and even her mother to get advise on how to make her love life blossom.

It’s a funny movie that is way more raunchy than I thought it was going to be. Some of the stuff you see Aubrey do stands right next to the most notorious stuff that the American Pie movies did. The cast is great, I really liked the 90’s setting and it felt like an honest view of sexuality from a girl’s perspective. Sure things are ramped up to set up and follow through on jokes, but I really enjoyed it. I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like (actually, the last joke wasn’t necessary). It was really well made. Perfect run time, good editing and direction, lots of references and homages. This movie snuck out, I don’t think many people know about it. I think it’ll catch a big audience when it’s released to home viewership.

The original Evil Dead came out in 1981 and is a sacred cow of the horror genre. It pushed the genre at the time, was made with nothing but sweat, blood and passion and started more than one long lasting career in the industry. Two more sequels came out over a few more years and then nothing. People have been bugging Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell to make another one ever since. Last year, a remake was announced which raised a few eyebrows.

With the release coming up, I re-watched the original to refresh myself and keep a better eye on what new vision the new kids had come up with. Now, I think this 2013 movie is one of the more successful horror reboots (John Carpenter’s The Thing and 2004’s Dawn of the Dead topping that list for sure). This new movie respects the original while going into new directions that make it stand on its own. It’s not an exact retread of the same material, but a new extension of it.

Evil Dead helped make the ‘cabin in the woods’ horror trope and the remake sticks with that. They use the set up that Mia is addicted to heroin and her friends (one is a nurse) and her estranged brother bring her up to an old family vacation cabin to detox. They’re gonna keep her there for a last ditch effort to get her clean as she nearly overdosed on her last bender. It’s a weird set up that I can’t make up my mind if I like it or not. It does work as in I could see someone actually doing this thinking it would work. Plus it has the added bonus of explaining the early paranormal events as, “she’s crazy from the dope with drawl, she’s having fits and we just have to ride it out with it.” So that adds to the audience tension as the movie slowly and steadily slides down a hill into hell on Earth. But on the other hand it just seems like a crummy idea to think that it’d be okay for someone to detox away from professionals, aside from one person who says they know what they’re doing. Someone might end up dead just from that, never mind waking the evil dead that hangs out over there.

Now, for he actual evil, the book of the dead is used again (it has a different cover though). It’s found in the basement under shady circumstances and of course an idiot has to read the incantation that lets demonic evil out to possess the living. This is probably my biggest complaint, as Eric goes through some extra leg work to read the text. In the original, it’s a tape recorder that they find and play back, completely oblivious to what’s on it. The incantation is read aloud and cue horror. Here, there are warnings scrawled all over the book, in English with notes around the horrific pictures. The instructions are even scratched out and Curious Eric rubs them with a paper and pencil to read what was clearly meant to be buried and lost forever. Obviously there would be no movie without this, but the way it goes down makes me nuts. The “Oh, come on!” factor while watching him do it is crazy, but I think that is the point. There’s no way for him to know the devil is actually cracking his knuckles on the other side of the door, only the viewer knows. The 5 actors were all fine, no one really jumped out as me as terrific or bad to me. Although the blonde girl was more of piece of the background until she got possessed, I think she stood around and blinked more than talked in the time she was on screen.

So what follows is madness of the greatest kind. Just like the original, the evil goes after each kid one at a time, possessing one more at each horrific encounter. This movie touches on the infamous moments of the original with the tree and chainsaws, but changes them to make them new and inventive. Plus they came up with some really inventive showpieces which are something to see. The gore effects are really phenomenal with all practical on set work. If they snuck some CG touches, I couldn’t tell. It’s really effective stuff and sits right in line with the spirit of the Evil Dead films as they go wild with the gore and splatter. In fact, I love the way this movie looks and sounds. I’m really impressed with Fede Alvarez’s direction. He’s got a great eye, there’s a lot of awesome camera work and shots that match with the madness. He’s got a few Sam Raimi wood run cams (which is a must) sprinkled throughout, the spooky and tension is often held together with great blocking and camera movement. The end is an absolute scream, they came up with a great finale set piece that makes a new hero for the franchise.

I can see why Raimi and company gave this movie a green light, they trusted these new film makers with their world and it worked. It would be great if this spawned a direct sequel or got Raimi and Campbell the jump they need to bring Ash back one more time for another run through hell. I’m curious to see what someone would think if they saw the remake before seeing the original. Have them see a similar story with the same intentions but with modern movie making techniques compared to the dated visuals of 1981. The suspense of the original is still there, but it looks so crusty and fake, which makes new viewers roll their eyes and dismiss it now.

Oh, the joys of a quality summer blockbuster! Director Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorites and I’ve been waiting for Pacific Rim for quite some time. It met my expectations.

In the not too distant future, a dimensional rift opens at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Massive monsters emerge from this rift, demolishing everything in it’s reach. After 4 of these beasts emerge to rampage and kill within a few years time span, the citizens of Earth ban together to create the “Jaeger” project to defend the planet . These giant, man piloted robots prove to be far my effective than military strikes. So much so, that the robots and their pilots become superstars on the world stage. Things look good for humanity as each “Kaiju” that appears is crushed by our Jaeger’s. But then things take a turn for the worse. The Kaiju become bigger and more advanced and appear more frequently. Jaegers start losing their fights.

Raleigh is a pilot of one of the Jaeger’s, “Gipsy Danger”, along with his brother (it takes 2 human pilots to manage a Jaeger). They are on the front lines when the tide turns, Raleigh watches and experiences his brother die right in front of him during battle. Raleigh leaves the program for many years until his old boss comes knocking. The Kaiju are winning and Raleigh is needed for one last desperate push to end the war for all: the rift must be closed.

The movie is set up very quickly and smartly from the very start of the movie. We are quickly brought up to speed with what’s going on, the technology behind the Jaeger’s and what’s at stake here. The rest is the trip to save the world. Putting the teams together, coming up with a plan to close the rift and then going on the last mission. Of course the Kaiju have other plans and some of the best action scenes unfold in front of your dazzling eyes. The scale and visceral impact is just staggering. The SFX are world class, top of the line, Oscar worthy caliber. Everything looks amazing. The designs of the Jaeger’s and Kaiju are so cool. The animation is shockingly good. It looks and sounds so real that this insanity is totally believable.

It’s a very straight forward and concise story that’s got goofy characters, military machismo and buck wild action pieces. Some people say it’s stupid and too simple, but I don’t agree. I like the vibe that the movie establishes and keeps. It’s a lot like watching a quality anime, just enough believability and spirit to keep it fun but cuts a lot of unnecessary and insulting garbage that bogs down many other movies in this genre (looking at you Transformers). It all hums along and works with the added lore that is discovered as it progresses.

I had so much fun watching Pacific Rim. It’s a love letter to Guillermo del Toro’s youth, the monster and science fiction movies that shaped his creative eye and made him want to become a film maker. Godzilla, just about every mech based anime and manga get a nod to the inspiration of Pacific Rim. Using those past works as a frame, del Toro has gleefully made his own sand box filled with gigantic toys and invites you to come play with him. It totally sucked me in and I was smiling and laughing along watching the pilots pump their legs and gyrate around, their Jaegers matching every move to crush evil into chum. If I was 10 I’d say this is the best thing I’ve ever watched in my entire life.

Cloud Atlas is a tough movie to sell in a trailer. Marketing struggled to explain it as this movie kinda floundered in theatres.

Essentially, it’s the story of the human spirit spread across multiple life times. Reincarnation is in full effect here as we see people meet up life time after lifetime. They don’t necessarily remember each other and they aren’t the exact same people. Our energy never completely leaves Earth, it comes back and is often tied to the same energy that it traveled with a lifetime before (for better or worse).

It’s tough to really explain Cloud Atlas fully as it is complicated. The timelines jump back in forth between many people that live through 7 lives so it can be a challenge to keep track of everything and everyone. Each time and place is labeled at the start of the journey, but it’s never displayed again. The times are very different so it’s easy to visually keep everything separate, but there is a lot to take in. They stories are carefully thought out and cut, it’s up to you to keep up which I think could lose a lot of people. It is a long movie.

I found it to be an uplifting journey though. There’s a lot of human struggle, love, life, death, fear, injustice and evil. You see people do terrible things for various reasons (through various rationalization to he time) but one big focal point is the eternal struggle of good versus evil. Slavery, social strife, the powerful and greedy dominating the landscape. But it can be changed, it can take just one person to decide enough is enough and stand up to turn the ship the other way.

It’s a visually striking movie, as the Wachowski’s are known for. The future New Seoul in 2144 (I think that’s when it was, I may be wrong) especially stands out. It’s a heady movie that’s not for everyone, but I think it’s worth checking out. It probably works better at home where you can feel most comfortable and digest it in chunks if need be. It’s a movie you can watch multiple times and get more out of it every time, picking up all the threads and tying them together easier and faster as it goes along.

I wasn’t too sure of what I was going to see out of Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers. With a title like that, one can expect young debauchery in the flat, sun baked lands of Florida. While there’s an abundance of debauchery, it’s a bizarre and rough coming of age story for the four female friends who anchor the movie.

The big deal over this movie was initially in it’s casting. Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens are Disney kids and these roles are far from the lands of the Mouse Club. There’s drugs, sex, violence and plenty of cussing. The girls are in bikinis for basically the entire movie and the movie isn’t afraid or shy of showing off bare flesh. It’s a really weird movie and it took me some time afterward to really understand what I had watched.

Spring Breakers is shot almost in a documentary style. A lot of hand held camera work, close ups and neon lighting (hello, Florida). It feels like you are a fly on the wall, watching these girls coming face to face with the darker side that lurks in life. The editing pushes this as dialog is often repeated, time is pulled and pushed around mimicking the intoxication of the characters.

The initial push for the girls to go to spring break in Florida is to get the hell out of town. Break the monotony and boredom of their school lives, go on an adventure, meet new people, see new places and experience real life. To explore and see what’s out there. In their desperation to scrape up enough money to get to Florida, Candy, Brit and Cotty rob a local restaurant. This is the first push into the darkside, which shocks Faith but she goes a long with it to be with her friends. After all, adventure awaits!

Once in Florida, the party never stops. Everything is going according to plan, until they get into trouble. This shakes Faith and then when they meet Alien (James Franco) she gets completely spooked. This starts the division of the friends. Lines are crossed and the soul checking begins. While these girls started as very close friends, traveling as a pack, they are individuals who by the end clearly see the world and its “opportunities” differently.

James Franco is really great in this, Alien is such a character and Franco really enjoys playing what can only be described as a dirt bag. He was easily my favorite part of the movie. I thought I’d like this movie more, but I found it to be surprisingly boring. There’s a lot slow motion filming that just makes everything drag on more than it needs to. It never feels like much is going on or being side, it’s like a haze of distant temptation hanging in front of you the whole time (which is probably the point). Plus, the final scene was too unbelievable to enjoy. More meandering than I’d like to see in any medium, Spring Breakers left me feeling a bit cold at the end.

Every so often I stumble upon a really great movie I’ve never heard of before. I added Cell 211 to my Netflix queue some time ago after seeing the trailer. Working my way through the list, Cell 211 finally graced my DVD player.

Juan Oliver is a young man who just got a job as a prison security guard. Looking to make a great first impression for his new bosses, he goes to work a day early to learn the lay of the land. Turns out he picked a really bad day to that has he gets trapped in the prison when a mutinous riot breaks out. To save his skin and insure that he sees his pregnant wife again, Juan manages to trick the inmates into thinking he’s been incarcertated for 19 years as a convicted murderer.

Cell 211 is one of the best foreign movies (Spanish to be precise) I’ve seen in quite some time. The concept is great and the movie manages to stay grounded and believable for the most part (more on this later). It’s really carried by the two man actors Alberto Ammann (Oliver) and Luis Tosar (Malamadre, the leader of the prison riot) who are both fantastic. They have great on screen chemistry, their conversations are always great. It’s a weird game of cat and mouse as Malamadre doesn’t really know about everything he’s dealing with. It’s a really well made and paced movie. It looks great, the pacing is terrific, and the story has many interesting and unexpected turns to keep everything sharp and entertaining.

It’s not a prison break movie, it’s more of a political bend kind of picture. There are ETA prisoners (Basque terrorists) being held in the facility who are basically a political time bomb. Their lives are worth a lot more than any of the other prisoners, so these guys basically have political hostages to use as leverage (or a quick death if anything happens to them). With lives across borders also at stake, Oliver has to work even more carefully to keep the peace and get out alive.

It’s not a perfect movie though. While Malamadre is a terrific character, he’s presented a little too softly. He’s the leader of the prison block, but you never really see why. Sure he threatens people left and right, but everyone around him jumps to his every whim. This is slightly countered by some of his lieutenants pulling string behind his back, but Malamadre is way too trusting for the kind of person and position he’s in. He becomes fast friends with Oliver who was never seen or heard of by these guys until the riot starts. Oliver makes many bold moves for a new guy with “one murder” as a wrap sheet. Most of the guys in these block are complete nutters who wouldn’t be intimidated by that in the least. Malamadre does threaten Oliver once, but the guy pretty much gets to be suspicious as much as he pleases.

That said, I really liked Cell 211. A great, thrilling movie that I highly recommend. The only thing that would hold someone back from watching this is hating to read English subtitles. Aside from that, go all in.

There is nothing quite like a great, wild comedy. It’s a tough genre to make really well but in recent years the Judd Apatow crew has been able to turn in some really memorable stuff. This Is The Endis the wildest and craziest movie in recent memory.

From the central minds of Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, This Is The End is the story of the end of the world, as seen in Los Angeles. To be more precise, James Franco’s house during a party. It’s the true end of days and watching this go down with more celebrity cameos and comedy guys of my generation than you can almost count made this movie seem a bit more special to me. It’s a crazy cast with all funny guys playing themselves, turned up a notch. Just seeing the likes of Danny McBride mock Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Seth Rogan and Jay Baruchel as each other is a scream. There’s a certain amount of real world weight that really works here, it kind of feels like you’re watching a documentary.

While the movie cranks up the crazyiness at every turn (a ton of horrible deaths, absurd and backstabbing behavior, hell spawn walking the Earth and demonic possession!), Jay Baruchel keeps things grounded compared to everyone else. While Seth Rogan holds down the good vibes too, Jay is more unknown and that let’s him stick more to the honest straight man. Now everyone isn’t perfect, which the movie explores, but it’s Jay the sees the movie through starting with his LA visit to hang out with Seth.

Describing any of the funny parts would really ruin the movie as most of it needs to be seen to be believed. That said, the cameos are some of the best parts. Michael Cera steals every scene he’s in, Emma Watson is a real treat to see in a movie like this and there’s a few people they kept a secret that leads to great gags. It’s a movie that deserves and revels it’s R rating so be aware that there is horror violence, adult (haha) situations and a boat load of cursing. It also helps to know the actors, you’ll understand the characterizations and absurdities right away which I think makes the movie work so well.

I had a great time watching This Is The End, made better watching with a big crowd. I’m pretty amazed that they wrote such a movie and got major funding for it. There is some really fantastic special effects that really helps sell the end of the world to the audience. Congrats to the cast and crew for making such a great movie.