Cold In July

Directed by: Jim Mickle

Written by: Nick Damici

Year Released: 2014

Sub Genre: Thriller / Murder

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Sam Sheppard, Don Johnson

During a home robbery,  a father and husband shoots and kills an intruder, who, unbeknownst to him was unarmed.

Shortly thereafter, the father of the intruder comes to town to seek revenge. He stalks the family in order to terrorize them but is quickly apprehended by police.

But after a few days of being able to rest, the father finds out the man he killed is someone completely different than who the police have identified him as leading him to unravel a highly corrupt sheriff's office.

I was feeling in the mood for some Micheal C. Hall and thankfully Netflix delivered with this nice little IFC flick.

Hall delivers a very realistic performance of a man faced with a terrifying situation and hits the roll right on the nose as he always does without error. If you don't believe me, watch a few episodes of six feet under followed by a few episodes of Dexter and try to tell me otherwise.

Most of the remaining cast were very strong in their performances which made this viewing that much more pleasurable.

With that being said, the story line took an exciting turn but unfortunately turned predictable and rushed  by the end of the film.

It's feels like a mix of Walking Tall meets Walker, Texas Ranger with a dash of Dexter to garner people's attention. There is some comedy and the acting is far superior to a lot of what IFC may offer but it sadly falls flat by the end.

The biggest problem I had was that this small town family man who happened to have killed one person by accident instantly turns into some kind of bad ass for about two minutes and then reverts back to a useless tit. It's honestly upsetting and, once again, really aid's in the demise of greatness it had initially started with.

Conclusion:

I would suggest this only for the first 3/4 of the movie as the remainder is predictable and better left to the imagination. And only because of that first 3/4 of the film.

5 out of 10.

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The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009)

Following the events of the first film, we find the MacManus brother hiding out with their father somewhere in Ireland.

They are soon confronted by a priest who informs them that someone back in Boston has attempted to sully the name of the Saints by executing a priest in the same manner the brothers would have done it in.

This prompts them to return to Boston to give the city another cleansing from evil.

Once again written and directed by Troy Duffy and starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus,  Clifton Collins Jr., Julie Benz and Billy Connolly.

In the opening scene, the brothers look like they haven't seen a shower, razor or a pair of scissors for the entire length of the last eight years they have been in seclusion which made for some very ridiculous looking special effects on their hair and beards making them look like they just came out of the stone age.

Following this things seem to smooth out back to normal and it begins to carry-on  like the first film had.

With the exceptions of who they were going after and the final two scenes, the movie felt almost identical to its predecessor. But again there isn't too much you can change about the premise of the story. These characters, no matter what you put them in, have ultimately the same goal of killing their target. Plain and simple.

One thing that really did bother me was how they used Julie Benz in the same identical matter as the used Dafoe in the first film. Their characters were practically  identical.

It still is enjoyable to watch, even if it is just for the final few scenes to see how the story progresses. There's a lot of action and a lot of jokes to go around in this sequel. 6 out of 10.

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The Drawing Of The Three: The Dark Tower Part II (1987)

The Drawing of the Three is the continuation of the Stephen King story "The Gunslinger" and is the second of eight parts in the "Dark Tower" series.

The story once again follows Roland Deschain on his quest to find the Dark Tower. After the events of the first book, Roland awakens to find himself being attacked by what he deems to be a "lobstrosity" a large, vicious beast resembling a lobster. Due to the attack, Roland loses two fingers, part a toe and has been poisoned. This forces him to race against time to not only find a cure to his ailment, but to discover the three doors that will help lead him to the Tower.

Another great book by King. The beginning of the book kind of threw me for a loop but it quickly got right into the action taking my attention away from the starting events. Throughout most of the book I was easily kept entertained and was unable to put the book down. There was however a section that dragged on for me, for those of you's who have read it or plan on reading it that portion would be in "The lady of shadows".

Most of the characters introduced throughout the novel are very well developed and mostly all very likable.

Though it is very action packed, the story line does not progress very much as they are using this part of the series to introduce a few very important characters, each in great detail.

I did not like this entry as much as the first due to the progression, but I understand that if you're going to have such a long series it's good to build up your important characters early on to avoid any questions the reader may have, With that being said I give The Drawing of the Three 7 out of 10.

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Jaws (1975)

Jaws is the classic 1975 Steven Spielberg film based off of the Peter Benchley novel of the same name.

Starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dryefuss, Jaws follows the story of the small summer destination town of Amity and how it is being plagued by a great white shark with the acquired taste for human flesh. The town is then forced to close all their beaches causing an uproar with the townsfolk as their livelihood is at stake.

Now, if you are over the age of 15 and have never seen this movie in any setting at all then you need to come out from the rock you've been living under and watch this damn movie!

I have seen Jaws a countless amount of times and I can tell you right now that I have never gotten sick of it and will probably never be able to get sick of it due to the greatness it portrays.

Great actors, great dialogue, top of the line animatronics and special effects and something that could potentially happen anywhere due to the fact that it takes place right off of a beach. And what city or town doesn't have a beach. It scared the shit out of me when I had first seen it as a child and several times more after that as well causing me and some of my friends to refuse going swimming for a very long time.

I absolutely loved all the under water scene's from the sharks point of view while he was hunting and attacking his victims, something several horror films followed suit with for years to come.

Another thing that I have to mention, and yes I know, now we might be getting a little too geeky for your tastes but if you can get the blu ray edition of the film, please check out all the special features, mainly the making of Jaws (which amazed me and got me hooked on this film when I saw it as a kid) and the two hour documentary. They are both phenomenal pieces and will make you love the movie more than you did before.

Without actually having to say it, this beauty is getting a 10 out of 10 from me!

Again if you have not seen it, go find a copy and watch the damn thing!

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Savages (2012)

Entrepreneurs Ben, a peaceful and charitable marijuana producer, and friend Chon, a former Navy SEAL, run a lucrative, homegrown industry - raising some of the best weed ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with Ophelia.

Life is idyllic in their Southern California town until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. When the merciless head of the cartel, Elena, and her enforcer, Lado, underestimate the unbreakable bond of the three friends, Ben and Chon, with the reluctant assistance of a dirty DEA agent, wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

(Synopsis from Universal)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Oliver Stone, Don Winslow and Shane Salerno. Starring Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Travolta, Benicio del Toro and Salma Hayek.

More of a thriller than horror, Savages is a very interesting story. An unconventional relationship mixed with a fair amount of gore, action packed scenes and great dialogue created a unique viewing experience.

All three leads are in a polyamorous relationship which helped grab my attention from the start and kept me engaged in the story to see if this scenario would play a factor throughout the film.

The all-star cast made this one a real treat to watch although it was nothing close to what I was expecting to see after viewing the trailer prior to it's original release. My mindset was that it resembled something along the lines of the "Army of Two" video game series, thanks to how the theatrical trailer was played out and it's use of heavy weaponry and face masks which reminded me of said video game.

Thoroughly a great watch! The story was so different that it made it much more interesting and enjoyable in comparison a lot of other movies from the action / thriller genre which leads me to giving Savages an 8 out of 10.

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Book Review: Slasher: A Joshua Matthews Thriller (2014)

A serial killer in Los Angeles. A string of ever more famous victims. A sergeant out of his depth.

After a body is found on his duty, Sergeant Joshua Matthews is handed his first true homicide, one he has no choice but to accept. With no motive, no clues and zero real suspects, the police are getting nowhere, until another body turns up. It’s not in his jurisdiction but there are striking similarities between the two crimes. On his captain’s orders, Joshua finds himself temporarily transferred to LAPD Homicide. It seems he might be dealing with a serial killer, one targeting slasher movie actresses from the infamous horror studio, Hitlist Pictures.

As the evidence starts pointing towards someone connected to the studio, Joshua and his new partner Detective Crawford face a race against time to solve the mystery before Hitlist premieres its brand new and highly anticipated horror thriller, Slasher. The film's lead and Hollywood's newest rising star, Kiralee Martinson, surrounded by police, is adapting quickly to the instant fame and pressure of becoming a film star, but nothing can prepare her for a violent finale to the killers' plans as she finds herself directly in the cross hairs in this tense and brutal thriller.

(Synopsis provided by the books Author, WD Jackson.)

I started out very excited to read Slasher. Not only did it have my obvious favorite genre wrapped up into it, it also involved a murder mystery all mixed into one which really got my excitement levels up.

Although after reading the first couple of chapters I was slightly turned off by it. This was due to the fact that the author was throwing a very large amounts of detail into single sentences as well as paragraphs. It was seemingly annoying but was quickly corrected as you read through.

The story had picked up from there and soon I was hooked!

Another small problem I had was with the main character. He was very annoying to me for the first little while, repeating his issues until he was able to fully the problem he had to face in his past. After this he was much more tolerable but seemed to be much more absent throughout the remainder of the story which helped me enjoy the side characters and their stories much more than that of Joshua's.

Next to the co-characters, one thing that really intrigued me was how well the dialogue between characters was written making it feel like a natural conversation that anybody would have with a friend. Nothing was far fetched or out of context.  

After everything was said and done I loved this book. I do however believe that the book could drop the  "Joshua Matthews Thriller" from it's title, seeing as most of the focus of the book seems to be on the character of Kiralee Martinson. But none the less I give Slasher an 8 out of 10.

I would like to take this time to thank the author, WD Jackson for allowing me to review his work and if you are interested in reading it, you can purchase a copy here.

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Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations (2009)

Tonight my wife and I have started our horror movie marathon.

We decided that after our nightly walks, we would sit down and get in the mood for Halloween by watching a horror genre movie each night. I also decided that I would do a review to go with the films we watch and so this review blog was born.

Now without any further ado, for our inaugural review tonight's movie is the Butterfly Effect 3, which was chosen by my lovely wife.

Sam (Chris Carmack) has an awesome ability that he utilities to aide law enforcement catch murderers.

Upon being visited by someone from his past, Sam is made aware that the accused killer of his former girlfriend  may actually be innocent and decides to jump back to the scene of the crime which may have cause more problems than he could have ever imagined.

I honestly had no interest in watching this movie until the intro scene played out. The mother getting viciously murdered in front of her own son was a bit of a shocker right off the hop but it caught my interest for the remainder of the film.

The dialogue was a little lame at times but I was still able to keep entertained due to how they progressed the story line.

All in all, this movie had pretty good entertainment value and kept me interested up until the end when a terrible plot twist happens. But you can see that for yourself!

It was entertaining enough to keep me interested most of the way through but I do not think I could watch it again without being bored out of my skull so I give this movie a 5 out of 10.

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The Human Centipede II (2011)

I'm going to be a hundred percent honest here and say that I wanted nothing to do with this movie but felt like I had to review it to properly follow up with the original.

I feel like the only reason this sequel was even thought up was to cash in on the popularity that the original had gained over the prior years. So in other words, it's a freaking money grab.

We start by following an over weight, under confident and possibly mentally challenged man named Martin, he is a security guard who is obssessed with the movie "The Human Centipede".

He is so enthralled with the idea of having his own home made pet centipede that Martin decides to take the movie's horrific idea and turns it into his own reality.

Like most other sequel concepts, bigger is always better and  that's exactly what they did with this one, attempting to create a twelve man human centipede.

The use of black and white mixed with the obsessant nagging of Martin's mother was very reminissant to me of the original Pshyco film.

I found alot of the the killing scenes very bland and boring. It looked like the same kill was done over and over again to different victims.

Another part that does not bode well with me is that there was no authority figures that ever appeared nor did anybody even attempt to question Martin about any of the missing people or the continuously crying infant that he left in the car.

Althought I did not want to see this film, I did enjoy the first half of it for some reason. It's possible the fact that the main character did not say a word the entire time and the resemblance to pshyco that drew me in. But that feeling was lost thanks to the last thirty minutes of the movie.

I will have to give the human centipede II a 4 out of 10 as I did for it's predessesor.

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The Human Centipede (2009)

Dr. Heiter is a world renowned surgeon who's specialty is the ability to successfully separate conjoined twins.

The good doctor, now in retirement, has formed a plan to create a new breed of pet to replace his "Three-Dog" Rottweilers. He has the surgical abilities he needs in order to create it and now he must recruit three very unwilling victims to commence with his plan.

Written, produced and directed by Tom Six and starring Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura and Dieter Laser as Dr. Josef Heiter.

I had a lot of issues before viewing this film and it was not due to the nature of it's content either. It was related to the fact that I already knew, years prior, what was happening in this movie thanks to a friend of my explaining it to me.
This probably ruined this film for me as there was not shock value left in it for me and killed any chance of me giving this one a big rating as opposed to what I will be doing today.

With that being said, another one of the factors that turned me off from it was the amount of time most of the scene's seemed to drag on for. A good portion of them could have been easily cut down had they put extra scenes it it's place.

The one plus for me though was easily Dieter Laser's performance throughout the entire movie. He was able to take creepy to the next level with his look alone. The way he spoke his dialogue was also creepy as all hell which definitely added onto the aura.

But, like I mentioned earlier, the unfortunate fate of my already knowing the big twist in this film killed it for me and has sadly lowered the rating. I am giving this one a 4 out of 10.

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Jacob's Ladder (1990)

During the Vietnam war, a group of American soldiers go through an attack suffering massive casualties, one soldier in particular, Jacob, gets wounded by an enemy soldier's bayonet and suddenly awakens in the middle of a subway train cart.

As his story unfolds, flashbacks of his time at war continue to haunt him. Every time he awakens from one of these flashbacks, things seem to get stranger and stranger in everyday life.

Directed by Adrian Lyne, written by Bruce Joel Rubin  and starring Matt Craven, Dannny Aiello, Elizabeth Pena and Tim Robbins as Jacob.

If there is one thing I can say about this movie, it would have to be "mind f##k"!

I had already been made aware of the situation in which the lead character is in prior to seeing this film, so I figured I could easily understand the craziness that would ensue throughout the movie,

Boy, was I ever wrong!

Jacob keeps jumping through different types of lives. One in which he is divorced and the other where he is still married to his wife, with his family fully intact.

It was hard to determine which was reality and which was a dream or that he was simply crazy and both lives were just figments of his imagination.

A lot of references to heaven and hell were used throughout the movie, like the title for example, characters named after people from the bible and several sightings of demons by Jacob and his platoon members.

This was hard movie to follow but it all came together for me during the very last scene. It was able to answer all of my questions with very little having to be said or done on screen to get the point across of what I had just witnessed throughout the movie.

Although it was interesting and came together well by the end, I believe people with short attention spans and those who do not pick up on details very easily may not enjoy this as much as I have.

If you do not have the time to commit to this movie for the whole 2 hours you may find yourself easily lost. But it is well worth the time and I could easily watch it over again and pick out many more things I may have missed out on the first time viewing it.

I give Jacob's Ladder a 9 out of 10.

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Friday the 13th (1980)

Camp Crystal Lake was shut down due to a string on ravenous murders. Because of this, the campgrounds have gained notoriety for being an area that nobody should enter.

Years after the grizzly murders, a group of teens get hired on as camp Councillors by the new property owner to help set up and repair the camp site in order to have it ready for the upcoming batch of children. This prompts somebody to come out of the woodwork to complete something they started long ago.

One of the all time greats, not only in horror movie history but in movie history in general. This film spawned a huge cult following and soon became one of the most widely recognized horror franchises of all time.

Hands down favorite kill in this film is the one involving an axe. Huge bloody mess that leads to nightmares is the only way to describe how people felt after seeing it for the first time.

I personally did not sleep for a week when I saw that scene for the first time at the ripe old age of 10.

Fantastic movie with a great story, amazing special effects, just like the Kevin Bacon murder scene for an example with an excellent soundtrack, (Ki-Ki-Ki-Ma-Ma-Ma) and overall, fantastic ending to go with it.

I do not think I have to say much more, I give this movie a 9 out of 10.

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