Management

"Management(R)-Traveling saleswoman has 'one-night' stand with motel night mgr, then can't seem to get rid of him. 7/10 BK veggie burgers"

Cute. Goes from comedy to 'get the tissues' by the end. They do a pretty good job of depicting two people who aren't doing what they dreamt to do. The movie was semi-funny, so I was able to sit through all the random plot changes. Woody Harrelson makes a good used-to-be punk rocker.



Management (2008)
MPAA rating: Rated R for language.
Run time: 94 minutes
Director: Stephen Belber
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn

The Strangers

"The Strangers(R)-'The scary music is playing, maybe I'll slowly walk through the dark house. Every 30 seconds.' 6/10 kitchen knives"

Okay, so I only got 39 minutes into this one before turning it off. The plot to this movie was only 5 minutes, but they made it an hour-and-a-half by filling the rest of the time with 'don't go in there' moments every minute or so. And because it's based on a true story, the good guys don't even win in the end.



The Strangers (2008)
MPAA rating: Rated R for violence/terror and language.
Run time: 86 minutes
Director: Bryan Bertino
Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman

Incendiary

"Incendiary(R)-Woman's husband & son die in terrorist bombing while she's doinking the neighbor. Live with THAT, or not. 8/10 fluffy bunnies."

Well, he did get her pregnant, so I guess it all worked out, right? This is a very heart-wrenching story about a guilt-ridden young mom. I could've done without so much of Ewan McGregor's arse, but I guess the point was that they were literally in the middle of sex when her family was killed on TV in front of them. She spends the rest of the movie befriending one of the bomber's sons, while he (McGregor) spends the rest of the movie investigating the disaster (he's a journalist). There's a little crime drama for those that like it, but most is speechless emotions.



Incendiary (2008)
MPAA rating: Rated R for a strong sex scene and brief language.
Run time: 96 minutes
Director: Sharon Maguire
Cast: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor

Special

"Special(R)-Socially akward man participates in drug study, where side effects include super powers...or delusions of them. 4/10 $10 budgets."

This looked like the movies I made in high school. 16mm film at best, if not a video camera, and all available light (streetlamps, direct sun.....). Definitely an interesting story, which is the only reson I didn't turn it off after 10 minutes. I'm assuming some actors give family and friends a break and do their student or low budget films as a favor, which I won't hold against them when their next movie comes out, because I think it's respectable.



Special (2006)
MPAA rating: Rated R for language, some violence and brief drug use.
Run time: 81 minutes
Directors: Hal Haberman
Jeremy Passmore
Cast: Michael Rappaport, Josh Peck

Hancock

"Hancock(PG-13)-Struggling PR man attempts to mend public's image of a lonely, reckless super hero....with a costume. 8/10 prosthetic hands."

This movie threw me for a loop the first time I saw it. Nice job to those in charge for a pretty original idea. I originally had no idea there would be drama and stuff, but there were some rather heavy parts. The effects were pretty good, although during my second time watching it, some of it did look rather cheesy. I also would've liked a little more back story on how he got there.



Hancock (2008)
MPAA rating: Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.
Running time: 92 min | USA:102 min (unrated version)
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

Into the Wild

"Into the Wild(R)-College grad bails on family & lives in the wild for 2 years, only to be killed by a plant. 9/10 homeless Kristen Stewarts."

Make sure you have your tissues handy for this one. Based on a true story, the movie is a mix of Hollywood re-inactments and diary entries of a guy who hates his folks and just leaves his life behind to hang out with nature. A little like Cast Away in the fact that a lot of the movie is just him hanging out by himself and experiencing stuff. Emile Hirsch had to lose some weight to appear starving, so kudos for that. The only other guy I saw do that crazy well was Christian Bale in The Machinist. While it's a tad long at 2 1/2 hours, the great job the actors did with emotions was worth it.



Into the Wild (2007)
MPAA rating: Rated R for language and some nudity.
Run time: 148 minutes
Directed by: Sean Penn
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Kristen Stewart, Vince Vaughn

The Last House on the Left

"The Last House on the Left(R)-Killers rape & leave a girl for dead, then unknowingly go to her folks' house. Hi, Daddy. 8/10 Insinkerators."

Don't criminals know you can't just assume someone's dead when you shoot them? Don't they watch movies? A family heads to their vacation home, and their 17 year-old daughter wants to hang out with her local friend. Her pot-smoking, boy-crazy friend. See where this is going? They get held hostage after trying to buy weed from the killer's non-killer teenage son. Long story short, girls try and escape, killers crash car, kill one girl, leave the other for dead in the lake and find the nearest house to hold up for the night and ride out a storm. Thanks to the smart girl's wrong direction tip, the nearest house is her own. Her parents let the 'accident victims' stay the night in the guest house, and when the girl makes it back to the house, Mom & Dad realize what happened and team up to right the wrong......in the most gruesome, graphic, vengefully awesome ways you can imagine. Oh, yeah, we'll find a use for that broken old microwave yet.



The Last House on the Left(2009)
MPAA Rating: Rated R for sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use.
Run Time: 110 minutes
Director: Dennis Iliadis
Cast: Sara Paxton, Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter