After psychology student Julia witnesses her friend’s suicide, she begins to notice the signs of an unholy entity stalking her. Now as rolling blackouts plague New York, she begins to be stalked by creatures that live in the shadows, “They”, now as her friends begin disappearing, she must search for a way to stop “They”, but are they real or figments of her mind and trauma? Continue reading
Tag Archives: Drama
After Hours (1985)
Street Pickup: Why don’t you just go home?
Paul Hackett: Pal, I’ve been asking myself that all night.
Everybody knows “Taxi Driver”, everybody knows “Goodfellas”, everybody knows “Cape Fear”, but a little known film from legendary director Martin Scorsese that film buffs rarely ever talk about is Scorsese’s vastly under-appreciated 1985 dark comedy “After Hours”. This intriguing, funny, and sometimes mind-blowing film takes place in the grim lonely streets of downtown Manhattan where a workaday word processor named Paul Hackett meets a young girl at a cafe. The two spark up a conversation and he calls her trying to set up a date with her. Seeking a change from the monotony of his everyday routine, Paul travels downtown for a late night rendezvous with Marcy (Rosanna Arquette), a shy beautiful girl who seems innocent enough. What starts off as a gentle tale ends up as a horrifying nightmare.
The Punisher (2004)
Let those who enter this film remember, this is nothing like the film which was released in 1988. A film that was very loosely based on this comic book yet was only used as a cheap vehicle for the fading acting career of Dolph Lundgren. Don’t get the two mixed up; for that one was a mindless action cheese fest, this one is far more superior and intelligent. For those who have read my reviews and noticed my high reviews for the comic book movies, you’ll notice I’m a comic book fanatic. I read “The Punisher” comic books when I was a kid; they were very violent but they were damn good and fun to read, and I wasn’t surprised to discover that Marvel has scored another hit with this loyal adaptation that respects its audience and readers. Hear that DC Comics? Marvel respects its audience.
Before Sunrise (1995)
Two people from different parts of the world meet on a train and decide to tour Vienna for one night and witness everything the city has to offer while they bond with one another and fall in love, but as the night ends and the two become closer, will they separate come morning, or will they stay together? I’m officially considering myself a fan of Richard Linklater; this director/writer creates some of the most thought provoking films ever made, it’s hard to believe his films aren’t being released into the mainstream.
The Guys (2002)
Where were you on 9/11? Everyone who was somehow connected with the horrible tragedy of September 11th asks that; especially people who were living in New York at the time. Where were you on 9/11? What were you doing at the time? I’ve been asked that ever since. Being a born and raised New Yorker, it’d be only natural the topic of 9/11 would pop up sooner or later, and instantly the conversation and everyone involved in it would shift into a sort of sad slumped shoulder mode and gaze down in sadness. 9/11 had a profound effect on everyone, especially people who lived in New York during that tumultuous summer. Since then, there’s been countless films, television specials, documentaries, books, memoirs, and even comic books and trading cards chronicling the tragedy (for a lack of a better word).
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
It ends here. Let’s hope. The finisher to the Matrix trilogy begins where we last left off from “Reloaded”. Now the Sentinels are making their way into Xion faster and faster and the crew are looking for a way to seal off their exit. Meanwhile Neo has awoken from his coma and is unaware of the traitor in their ranks. You’ll have to forgive me for not finishing, it gets a little confusing from there. But nonetheless you have to wonder why the classic “The Matrix” was so poorly received when the sequels made its way into theaters years later. Was The Matrix, after all, just a one trick pony? Just a fad? Or was it the Wachowski Brothers’ plan to have the sequels fail? Maybe the Wachoski’s didn’t give their all in the sequel story arcs, or is it all a trick of the architect?
Dreamcatcher (2003)
Written while King was recovering from his tragic accident in which he was hit by a car, “Dreamcatcher” follows many of the themes of his traumatic event, even featuring a main character being violently hit by a car in the middle of the road. It’s unfortunate for King, that “Dreamcatcher” is one of his many onscreen misses. “Dreamcatcher” is a formula gone horribly wrong with plot elements and a story so contrived that it’s hard to watch this while not thinking about other stuff this borrows from. Borrowing from John Carpenter’s variation of “The Thing”, four men go up to a cabin in the woods to meet after years of separation and must take on an alien entity that can possess bodies; and borrowing from “Invasion of the body snatchers”, many people are getting overtaken by an alien that uses spores to enter one’s body and take over them.