Blu-ray Review: Horns

Looking for something a little bit different? Something that dances on the fringe of the mainstream? Horns may be just the movie for you. Sound like a commercial, don't I? I really do not mean to, it is just that this movie is a little strange, a little odd, certainly experimental, and yet it remains wholly accessible. It is the kind of movie that should be championed on the big screen, but because it is different and not like everything else, it is left behind to find an audience on home video. This is a good film with an interesting central character and an execution that keeps the audience involved to the end.

Movie Review: Horns

On the same night I was to see Dear White People, which got turned into Before I Go to Sleep due to a broken projector, I was slated to take in Horns. Fortunately, that projector was working and, somewhat surprisingly, I found I was the only interested in seeing it at a 10:30 on a Wednesday night. Go figure. It has been awhile since I had a private screening. Anyway, this was the movie I think I was more interested in seeing anyway, even though I knew very little about it. All I knew was that it starred Daniel Radcliffe, who has been somewhat impressive post-Harry Potter (The Woman in Black was really quite good), and that Radcliffe would sport a set of devilish horns. Frankly, that is all I really needed to know.

Movie Review: Maleficent

Coming on the heels of Alice in Wonderland (the Burton one), Oz: The Great and Powerful, and Snow White and the Huntsman (never bothered with Mirror, Mirror), I found it difficult to muster all that much enthusiasm for Maleficent. Now, I am sure there are ways to have made those other movies, you know, good, and I am sure there is a way to tell a fascinating story about Maleficent. The problem is that none of this has actually been done. Maleficent is just the latest debacle in this revisionist fairy tale cycle. While there may not have been that many movies, yet, let's hope that it either comes to an end or someone with a solid idea steps up and gets the job done.

Blu-ray Review: Killer Joe

Director William Friedkin has made a career out not being pigeonholed into a genre. I am sure that was not an easy task when you are behind such a classic as The Exorcist. Still, when you see other films like The French Connection, Cruising, Blue Chips, and Bug and you will see evidence of a man who won't be stuck in a corner, a man who wants to tell stories no matter where they come from. Rather than play it safe, he looks for new worlds to play in, new stories to tell. His latest film, Killer Joe, is another step in that search for stories, offering up a playground of rednecks, killers, murder, and black comedy.