Todd Levin’s “Static” would work a lot better if it were shorter, better paced, and didn’t give away the surprise ending in the opening seconds. Seriously, if you’ve seen this type of film with this kind of set up before, you’ll catch on to where the entire premise is going. I figured it for a home invasion thriller like “Ils Them,” but then I eventually pinpointed where they were headed once Sara Paxton reared her gorgeous face.
The Full Moon space western “Oblivion” certainly is one of the most creative films to come out of Charles Band’s imprint. Surely, it can be silly and hard to follow, but it works well as a space western, and a western without the science fiction conventions. I was surprised this even had any monsters or aliens, as “Oblivion” works as a typical Western. Sans the giant man eating scorpions, of course. I digress. “Oblivion” is written by comics scribe Peter David and is admirably ambitious considering its obviously low budget.
“You are who you choose to be.”
Director Brad Bird’s “The Iron Giant” didn’t make much of a ripple when it premiered almost fifteen years ago. But ever since I sat down to watch it on a borrowed VHS, I haven’t stopped coming back to his science fiction animated film. I probably continue coming back to “The Iron Giant” because not only does it delve in themes of friendship, but it’s also about mortality, and the inherent violent nature of humanity.
<!–more–>Surely, the iron giant that crash lands on Earth is a monster sent to wreak havoc on our planet, but that’s only by the design of another species altogether. We’re never clued in to what kind of alien species built the Iron Giant, and what it had planned for us. All we know is that the Iron Giant crash lands from another planet, and is lucky enough to meet Hogarth Hughes.
2013 is probably one of the best years for film I can think of since 2010. There was a great surge in dramatic fare, indie fare, and so many great horror films arrived in to theaters for fans to savor and consume.
Surely, there were flops, and really bad films, but there were so many really great films, which is refreshing when you consider the state of Hollywood and cinema’s entire transformation from a theatrical presence and home media in to a digital realm where physical media is slowly disappearing.
It was a tough task to take our favorites of the year and decide on ten of our favorite, but in the end these ten won out as our favorite of 2013.
If you’re wondering where “Grown Ups 2” (aka Adam Sandler’s Vacation Part three) or “The Smurfs 2” are, we gladly avoided those movies upon their release. Partially because we avoided the first films, but mostly because we just didn’t feel like suffering or inflicting pain upon ourselves. We’re masochists, surely, but not religious about it.
And we weren’t interested in watching the ninety minute commercial for Google entitled “The Internship.” That said, we did watch our share of awful films in 2013. Some by choice, others by obligation, and this is the top ten that we couldn’t stop groaning over.
With our commitment to reviewing and viewing indie films, we devote most of the year to exploring all kinds of independent gems. Though we’ve seen a ton of wonderful films from many talented directors and storytellers in 2013, we narrowed our list down to five independent films that really stuck with us and kept us re-living them in our minds. It was a tough decision since we’re sent so many films and have a tough time deciding, but in the end we decided these were five choice indies you should seek out immediately.
Steve Goltz is quickly becoming one of my favorite indie directors working today. One of the creators of Slasher Studios, he and his group know slasher movies and when they deliver their own original slashers, they have a ball with classic tropes of the sub-genre that feel new. After their pleasing revenge slasher “Teddy,” Goltz delivers one of the more unique and engrossing entries of the sub-genre I’ve seen in years. While it’s true Goltz and writer Kevin Sommerfield provide their nods and winks to classic eighties slasher films, “Don’t Go to the Reunion” works to the beat of its own drum, delivering kills aplenty, and a very interesting whodunit mystery.