12 Rounds 2: Reloaded

I'm shocked at what a poor actor Randy Orton was in this, and the plot was just as bad. Not good sir. 2/5

12 Rounds 2: Reloaded on Netflix

All About My Mother

This might be my favorite Almodovar yet - tragically dramatic yet still campy & funny. Very touching. 4/5

All About My Mother on Netflix

Automata

This post-apocalyptic thriller centers on AIs & the definition of life quite well, although the acting is rough. 3.5/5

Automata on Netflix

12 Rounds

John Cena hadn't found his acting chops quite yet in this bumpy thriller throwback to Die Hard. Good, not great. 3/5

12 Rounds on Netflix

The Deer Hunter

I first saw this film when I was about ten, maybe younger. I remember having nightmares for days afterwards, but, after a few years, I forgot this film almost completely. I remembered only the Russian Roulette, but that was all. The topic of this film has been coming up in reference to modern day PTSD, and I felt it was time I saw it again. I was not disappointed, and I can't understand how I ever could have forgotten the feeling of this film. I saw it last night and was so moved I couldn't write about it then. Still, today, it is haunting me. Yes, I think it needs editing. Yes, It could have been a half hour shorter, maybe more. Yes, the opening act is too long and the second act is too short. But it doesn't matter, because every note that needed to be hit was, and every feeling the filmmakers wanted to convey came through. I will not forgot "The Deer Hunter". Truly one of the finest films about combat PTSD ever made. 4.5/5

The Deer Hunter on Netflix

Get On Up

Chadwick Boseman was amazing, but the script was hard to follow & full of holes, I wanted more information. 3/5

Get On Up on Netflix

The Age of Adaline

This is a beautifully sweet & moving romantic drama in the vein of "Benjamin Button", lovely direction. 4/5

The Age of Adaline on Netflix

Every Secret Thing

I found this dark thriller intense with tremendous acting by Macdonald & Fanning, very compelling. 4/5

Every Secret Thing on Netflix

The Maze Runner

Of all the teen-centered dystopian thrillers in the past few years this is one of my favorites - riveting & unique. 4/5

The Maze Runner on Netflix

Heaven Knows What

This tense drama attempts to recapture the feel of "Requiem for a Dream" but misses the mark. Good not great. However, everyone remember the name Caleb Landry Jones. He's going to be the next Phillip Seymour Hoffman - he's amazing. I'm on record now. 3/5

Heaven Knows What on Netflix

Love & Mercy

Dano & Cusack are both Oscar-worthy in this powerhouse of a drama told in non-linear fashion. Just amazing. 4.5/5

Love & Mercy on Netflix

North Face

I don't think I've ever seen a mountain drama quite this intense & well directed before - brutally tense. 4/5

North Face on Netflix

Jarhead

I feel this is the true inheritor to "Full Metal Jacket", a dark, tense & blackly comic portrait of the state of war. 4.5/5

Jarhead on Netflix 

La Casa Muda (The Silent House)

I saw the 2012 American remake of this a while ago and had mixed feelings about it. I thought the plot was interesting engaging, with a twist I didn't see coming, but felt the pacing was slow and that Olsen overacted. I've been interested to see the Spanish original for a while to see if it was better. In some ways it is. The house itself is far creepier & I felt Colucci's acting was more believable at the beginning of the film. However, the ending just doesn't make any damn sense in the original film. I've just been reading Wikipedia entries to try and wrap my mind around it but it just doesn't make sense. On this front the American film is FAR superior as the entire ending makes far far more sense. However, I have to say the I think the Polaroid flash sequence in this film may be the most frightening scene ever caught on film. It's just marvelous, as is the entire long sequence after the credits, which I bet most viewers miss. I found both versions long continuous shot believable, although I do see where cuts can and were likely made in both version. All in all I'm even more mixed about this version, because the ending was so weak. I would end up recommending the American for that reason alone. 3/5

La Casa Muda (The Silent House) on Netflix

Unfriended

I have to start by saying I do NOT get all the negative reviews of this on Netflix. Due to the low ratings on this I went into it expecting very little and instead was blown away by the inventiveness of it. There are a lot of complaints that movies cannot be made without big budgets anymore, but this film proves that premise wrong. This little horror film probably cost next to nothing and yet was different and fresh and not like anything else I've ever seen. It's a fresh vision for a very modern age - give this one a chance people. 4/5

Unfriended on Netflix

Skin Trade

I would watch Tony Jaa read a phone book but this was painfully bad with horrid acting from everyone. Just bad. However, I honestly feel Jaa is the best martial artist of this generation, and if his English was better he could be such a star here. I hope he keeps at it. 2/5

Skin Trade on Netflix

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

I had no earthly idea what was going on for most of this - the Asia sequences felt like a different film. Now I don't know the source material, but this really felt like two movies jammed into one. Only watch it for The Rock and Channing Tatum. 2/5

G.I. Joe: Retaliation on Netflix

Unfinished Business

What a terrible, awful, unfunny mess this is. No sense of character or wit or timing at all. Hated it. 1.5/5

Unfinished Business on Netflix

The Signal

This horror film was half tense thriller & half super black comedy with a perfect balance of the two. Great film! 4/5

The Signal on Netflix

Soundless

It really felt there was nothing here - no compelling characters or plot, no great music or direction. Very average. 3/5

Soundless on Netflix

Nightcrawler

What a gem! This tense thriller kept me captivated from minute one & Gyllenhaal was astonishing. Amazing film! 5/5

Nightcrawler on Netflix

The DUFF

This is a pretty cute & witty high school coming-of-age flick with a good lead performance by Mae Whitman. 3/5

The DUFF on Netflix