With Netflix's increased library of online movies, I've been catching up on a lot of movies that I had never seen before.
Vacancy: A fairly run-of-the-mill horror thriller that gets an upgrade thanks to it's somewhat high profile cast. I'm not sure what Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale are doing in a film like this, but it sure improved its watchability. The premise isn't revolutionary; estranged couple trapped in a creepy motel. However, it has enough decent thrills to make it entertaining. Be forewarned, as with most horror movies, the characters are pretty stupid to allow all the terrible things to happen to them. In reality, most people probably would have escaped and/or avoided this situation a lot sooner than the people in the film do. So if you like to think or analyze character motivation, this may not be the film for you. Rating: ***
Spellbound: This is a documentary from 2002 on the National Spelling Bee; an event which has for whatever reason risen in popularity over the past few years. The director does a great job of chronicling 8 different kids in their quest to be champion. I thought it was a glaring omission though not to have a home schooled kid represented in the film considering they always seem to do well in these events. I've certainly seen a lot of the Bees and always find them interesting, but I was glad I didn't know who had won this particular one as it made it more engrossing to see which of the kids profiled would emerge victorious. It was a nice bonus to see a portion of the film to then Bee moderator, Dr. Alex Cameron, who I had as a professor at the University of Dayton. Dr. Cameron passed away a few years ago and I always regret not knowing when I had him as an instructor that he was the Bee moderator because I would have loved to talked to him about it. Overall, the film is really well done and if you have any sort of interest in this subject, I would recommend you see this film. Rating: *****
The Ice Harvest: This was a noir comedy that was largely ignored by audiences when it came out a couple of years ago. Directed by Harold Ramis, it stars John Cusack and Billy Bob Thorton as a couple of crooks who try to steal money from the main mob boss in Topeka, KA. As usual, everything goes wrong and there are a number of double-crosses along the way. The cast here is particularly good, but the film kind of meanders and doesn't do enough to draw you in. A lot of the beats seem familiar and there are a number of scenes that could have been eliminated; which isn't good when your film is only 89 minutes to begin with. Unless you're a big fan of the film's leads, you can probably skip this one. Rating: **
Harland Williams: What a Treat: I typically don't bother with stand-up films unless I really love the comic. In this case, I had never seen Harland's stand-up before but he was always such a great and hilarious guest on Conan O'Brien that I figured it was worth a luck. Unfortunately, it wasn't the same thing. I think a lot of Harland's worth is having someone to play off of. His humor is bizarre and off-the-wall, so watching someone like Conan bewildered about what he's discussing adds to the comedy. In his special, however, the jokes don't work as well. In addition, he uses a lot more colorful language, which can be effective with the right jokes, but seemed unnecessary here. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood that day, but I didn't find a whole lot of it to be funny. What a Treat? More like What a Shame. Rating: **
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox story: I ended up avoiding this one in theaters, even though it had a lot of promise. Judd Apatow co-wrote the script and it features a lot of actors typically found in his movies. However, I've just never been fond of John C. Reilly as an actor and the trailers just didn't offer enough humor to entice me to check it out. But since it was available online at Netflix, I decided to give it a look and I'm glad. This is a very sharp and funny look at the musical biopic, which has become popular recently with films like Ray and Walk the Line. It nails all of the cliches that are typically found in these movies. There are also a number of songs, which are all very clever and yet catchy too. Perhaps what is most remarkable about the film is that it still comes off a bit inspirational. Yes, they are mocking the genre. Yes, it's about a fictional character. But they really explore the character and make the audience actualy invested in how it plays out. Even if this genre isn't to your liking, there are enough fun cameos sprinkled throughout the movie to keep you entertained. This is a solid movie that probably deserved more viewers than it had in theaters. Rating: ****
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