Buried

Directed by Rodrigo Cortés, Buried is about a man, Paul (Ryan Reynolds), who wakes up in a coffin, with nothing but a Zippo and a cell phone that isn't his. We don't know how he got there or who Paul really is as a person. All we know is unless he gets very lucky, he will die. What makes this film such a ballsy one is this entire movie is seen from Paul's perspective in the coffin. The entire movie. It is difficult to imagine how watching Ryan Reynolds sweat and scream in such a claustrophobic narrative for 90 minutes can successfully be pulled off without boring the audience to tears, but amazingly, it gets the job done better than most people probably expected.

Black Swan

Directing such projects as Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky's films are never easy for most people to consume, and as expected, Black Swan is no different. Nina, a skilled ballet dancer, is granted the lead role in a "Swan Lake" production, and we watch as her obsession of perfecting the role ultimately destroys both her body and sanity. Judging the trailers before seeing the film, my assumption was this would be Aronofsky's unique take on the horror genre. In a few ways, I was right, but not exactly.

Favorite Opening Scenes: Raging Bull

If I had to choose my favorite shot Martin Scorsese has ever crafted, this would be it. Being the opener for Raging Bull, it does everything an opening scene should, and more. It sets the tone perfectly, and is at the same time sorrowful and beautiful. It is a fine example of why I am ever inspired to make films in the first place. What is also incredible is Scorsese's ability to do this all without so much as moving the camera, as well as the fact that relatively nothing is actually happening in the scene. Definitely one of the best opening sequences ever in a film.

The Wolfman

If The Wolfman isn't a letdown, I don't know what is. Directed by Joe Johnston, this promising film has an all-star cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro as the titled character. Of course on top of that, the film has the classic story to back it up as well. So what went wrong? Well, lots of things. The film has a notorious history of having several last-minute changes, including in direction, composition, writing, and screen-time. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out for the best. The opening scene is the best foreshadowing for exactly how to expect the rest of the film to go. A scared man, nervously holding a lantern in the middle of the woods (at nighttime!) is running from something spooky, and we soon realize it is a werewolf, who eats his face. He howls. Enter opening credits. If one word should be used to describe this film, it is predictable, and this is where the movie falls short of entertaining me. However, I gave this scene the benefit of a doubt for being an intentionally campy movie, which I have a weakness for, but my hope was in vain.

Chewbacca on a Squirrel Fighting Nazis

Yup. You're welcome.

via Kotaku

Inception

I was looking forward to Inception for quite a long time. What's not to like? Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Cillian Murphy, all directed by Christopher Nolan? C'mon. As expected, the movie was a fantastic one, although it is not without it's flaws. Instead of attempting to interpret the film, which would take many long nights of research, coffee, and multiple viewings, I'm just going to tell you why I liked it.  Once again, Nolan gets a thumb up his originality in storytelling; the "dream within a dream within a dream" sequence just isn't something that has been done before. The final act consists of 45 minutes of screen time, and it never bores you for a second; not only is it nearly non-stop action, there are three different scenes going on at the same time, continuously cutting back and forth, always making sure your eyes are glued to the screen. One of these scenes is a fight in the hallway of a hotel between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a nameless gangster, and being one of the most well shot scenes in the film, it is very mesmerizing to watch. Nolan basically attempts to defy all the laws of physics and give the audience the feel of the lack of gravity, and he is very successful. Also, it finally gives Gordon-Levitt the chance to be a badass.

The Mist

I was considerably late to The Mist party, and painfully so because I've heard endless comments on the conclusion of the film, without actually knowing what it is. Whenever I felt I would hear a possible spoiler, I would basically cover my ears with my hands and shamefully sing aloud. Despite this, I wasn't exactly expecting a top-notch film; it always seemed like it would be more comparable to an M. Night Shyamalan film such as The Happening (which if you didn't already know, is a film that you would never want your film being compared to by any means necessary). As in, a very promising cast and story, but for one reason or another it just falls completely flat on its ass and fails to succeed on any level, really. Also, even though I recognize Thomas Jane as a talented actor (whom is the main protagonist of The Mist), my last cinematic experience with him wasn't a very pleasant one. The last film I've seen him star in, The Punisher, was so unexpectedly intolerable that I actually shut it off before the third act, which is something I rarely do. Thankfully, this wasn't the case with The Mist. Frank Darabont directed the film, who is a veteran when it comes to adapting Stephen King novels to the big screen, has also directed movies such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. So my low expectations for this film were nonsensical and stupid, really.