Movie Review: The DUFF

It seems that every few years we get an updated teen comedy that attempts to shine a light on high school life. You would think that by this point they would have gotten it right and stopped making them by now, but no. Granted, you could say that about any type of film. Anyway, the tried and true formula needs to get tweaked every once in awhile to accommodate new ideas and the changing high school landscape. Although, I still think they were at their peak in the 1980's with movies like The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Weird Science. Fortunately, there are still a few who can squeeze out further worthy films.

Movie Review: The Final (2010)

So, the other day I was watching a movie called The Final. It wasn't a great movie, but it was still rather effective. It is a recent horror film from the team of director Joey Stewart and writer Jason Kubati. Neither one has many credits in their respective roles, but they came together and turned out a movie that managed to sneak its way past my defenses and kept me, for the most part, interested. It is a movie I have no problems recommending, so long as you are not expecting anything groundbreaking.

Critical Capsule: The Host (2013)

I know I shouldn't have bothered. I had a strong suspicion it would not be a good movie. I would have been better off going to see The Call or Meet the Croods. Still, I somehow managed to find myself sitting in a theater watching The Host. If you know me, there is a good chance that you are wondering why I went, certainly there must have been something better I could have gone to see. You would probably be right. I am sure there was. Unfortunately, there is no going back in time like Christopher Reeve in Superman II.

Blu-ray Review: The Howling - Reborn

Was it as bad as I was expecting? No, but again, I was expecting pretty bad so that is faint praise delivered with a backhand. The Howling: Reborn is an obvious cash grab based on market research and a desire to get in on the Twilight craze. This is not a horror movie, it is not a werewolf movie. It is a mopey teen romance wearing the guise of what someone deemed hip and cool. If you are part of the Twilight crowd, you would be better served revisiting one of your beloved movies, or for something different go watch the Buffy the Vampure Slayer television series. If you are looking for a werewolf movie, check out Dog Soldiers or Ginger Snaps, or revisit the original The Howling.

Movie Review: I Am Number Four

As I left the theater I must say that I was disappointed. That's not good considering that I did not have much in the way of expectations going in. It looked like a cross between Push and Jumper. I hoped it would be closer to he former while expecting the latter. It turns out that the comparison is not completely justified, but to go with it, it is much more like Jumper, meaning it is not a good movie. It is a marketing movie, a product that looks like it wants to be a Twilight-esque feature that guys can enjoy. It begs, borrows, and steals from a number of other properties yet doesn't give the ingredients enough time to simmer into a cohesive finish.