Quick Movie Review

Project Almanac (2015, USA) | Rating: 2.5/5
Seeing the previews to this movie didn't bring any interest for me. I pretty much pick this up on a slightly curious whim. Seeing the previews and completing the movie, it gave me the similar feelings as Chronicle: an interesting concept with an unfortunate decision on making it found footage. I think this movie would've been better off if it was simply filmed in a more traditional style then these conveniently placed cameras to bring us along for the ride. The characters are decent. They don't have any stand out personalities and I think the story and concept is what really keeps you going to the end...even though it isn't anything new. I mean...it's time travel. There's nothing wrong with time travel movies, I mean I enjoyed Looper, but the difference between these two movies is memorability. Looper presented a slightly new twist to time travel and police related movies while this movie just takes typical teenage shenanigans with some wonky, unbelievable camera work and time travel. It's far from a terrible movie, but it's not very memorable.



The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Japan) | Rating: 3/5
Around the time I found out and watched Song of the Sea, I came across another beautifully animated gem. It is a lengthy animated movie, but I don't see many children watching it as the contents are for maybe older children and adult. The movie based on a Japanese folktale and does a very good job illustrating the story to its audience. The story might be a little slow, but the animation and the interesting characters make the movie very enjoyable. The progression of our dear princess and her adopted family keeps you engaged and the story broadens your knowledge on Japanese culture and tradition to some extent.



Bedlam (2015, Australia) | Rating: 1.5/5
I picked this movie because the cover looked like a terrible and possibly cheap movie...which it was. Well, maybe not exactly terrible, just not executed very well. It has some interesting elements to it by uncovering the unorthodox and unethical methods of Bedlam Asylum, but a lot of things that occurred behind these concrete walls were hilariously ridiculous. It tried to mix up the slightly less insane with the funnily crazy people that it seemed unrealistic that people could be dealing with such mental problems, but I guess it is a tiny bit possible. The way the guards treated the patients was over the top and the acting for it made me laugh. This is a bad asylum movie, but I found it strangely entertaining in some ways. It wasn't funny bad enough to see it, but if you have absolutely nothing to do, it won't hurt anything.



Liars, Fires, and Bears (2012, USA) | Rating: 3/5
I've never heard of this movie and I'm pretty sure no one I know has either. I just saw the cover on a cart, read the description, and simply gave it a chance. As dark it might seem, it's a slightly light movie content wise. We have an adult male who is immature and can be childish with his decisions and he comes across a very mature little girl who tends to take charge and points out his immaturity. Running away together, they learn so much from each other and somewhat change for the better...in short. The whole movie revolves around their relationship with each other and slowly reveals why this girl ran away from her parents. It's a nice little ride and the characters are interesting. I suggest giving this indie film a try.



Willard (2003, USA) | Rating: 2.5/5
When this first came out, I briefly heard some comments about this movie. Whether they were good or bad, I really don't remember at this point, but I know this movie was talked about for a short period of time. Because of those vague talks about this movie, I wanted to give it a chance. It's definitely a different movie and almost a bit comical if you think about it. We have these elements that we've seen before: a loner/socially awkward main character who still lives with his mother/parents, is mistreated at school or work, and decides to take some strange approach to get revenge on those people who oppress him. That's pretty much the gist of this movie...with rats. Willard, the character, definitely struggles, but somehow finds a way to make it through life with his new rodent friends. The movie is a bit comical at times as a lot of situations seem ridiculous, for lack of a better word. It's strangely an entertaining and alright film.


If there's something you want me to review (or want a more in depth review of the movies above or previous ones), check out this post on how you can submit requests.