What Did You Watch Today?

[zero]

A Haunted House is pretty hilarious.

I thought it had its moments, but was mostly pretty dull, but that's honestly better than I was expecting. I was floored when the best part of the movie turned out to be Cedric the Entertainer and the worst turned out to be Nick Swardson though. I did like that it was pretty much a straight parody of Paranormal Activity (and a little Devil Inside thrown in), but wasn't the non-stop barrage of dated pop culture references that spoof films have devolved into.

Anyhoo, my really dumb New Year's Resolution is to watch 365 films in 2014 and since I've been on vacation all week, I tried to get a massive head start, so here's what I've watched so far:

Texas Chainsaw 3D

One of the worst movies I've seen in quite awhile. And don't watch it thinking it'll be so bad it's good, it won't be. Just read this review and save yourself 90 minutes.

Devil's Pass

Surprisingly fun found footage movie with some decent scares and a unique premise. On Netflix Instant

The Last Will & Testament of Rosalind Leigh

Another surprise, really creepy and atmospheric. Kinda bummed I watched it in the late afternoon as it could've been a great late-night movie to ruin my life. Also on Netflix.

Resolution

Saw this one on a ton of best horror films of the year list and it really deserves the praise it got. Really great self-aware horror without beating you over the head with it. On Netflix.

Contracted

Fucked up with a capital FUCKED UP. Gross-out horror never makes me close my eyes, but I was watching a lot of this with my hands over my face.

Escape from Tomorrow

The story behind this film makes it worth watching. In case you don't know, they filmed it inside Disneyland/Disney World without Disney's knowledge or consent. The movie itself isn't great, like if David Lynch directed The Shining, but had to piece together the plot using only iPhone videos that families shot at Disneyland.

Paranormal Activity 4

Rewatched this to get ready for the new one, held up better than I thought it would, unrated version is solid.

A Haunted House

See above.

Reservoir Dogs

You've seen it, you know it's good.

Primer

I'm gonna need to watch this 47 more times before I even have the slightest clue what's going on. On Netflix.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Or "How Paranormal Activity Got Her Groove Back." Loved it, and goes back to what made PA3 work so well: great chemistry between characters you actually give a shit about between the scares.

House on Haunted Hill

The original with Vincent Price, not the shit remake.

The Crow

Haven't watched this in years, doesn't age as well without a layer of teenage angst, but it'll always hold a special place in my heart for the 11-year-old kid who thought it was the greatest movie ever made.

Cube

I'd surprisingly never seen this, even during my "I want to watch every weird film ever made" after seeing Dark City in 1998. Really liked it, has aged extremely well for a 90s movie, which is a decade that hasn't aged well, period.

Jug Face

Not the best horror film I've ever seen, but incredibly original and the relationship between the lead and her mom (played by Sean Young, where the hell has she been?) is so well done.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

A movie that probably would resonate with me a lot more if it were 1997 and I was 14 again, but I imagine there are a lot of kids that cite this as their favorite movie ever. The cast is damn good though.

The Battery

Watch this movie now. It's available DRM-free for $5 on the film's site, it's the best zombie film I've seen since 28 Days Later. Seriously, I just finished watching it and I already want to watch it again.

[Jimmy]

I didn't like Primer very much. There's people who gush over it, or swear by it, but I just think it's extremely pretentious and kinda dull.

[zero]

I appreciated the risk of not holding the viewers hand and trying to make it feel as realistic as possible, but the complete lack of exposition made it soar entirely over my head. It definitely tried too hard.

[Jimmy]

Agreed. I felt like he made a film to try and prove how smart he was. Don't get me wrong, I'm very impressed with what he managed on a tiny budget, and it's very original, it just annoyed me that he basically wanted people to not understand it, presumably to prove how smart his film is, which seems backwards to me.

[zero]

Flight

That honestly wasn't what I expected. I thought it was going to be Denzel at his Denzeliest and the airline would be trying to find a scapegoat for the crash, I didn't know it would be a realistic and painfully close-to-home look at severe alcoholism. Good movie.

[Benjamin]

Rush was awesome. Loved it.

[phatman]

I saw zero's post about wanting to watch 365 movies throughout 2014 and I've decided to do the same, thought it was a great idea and a great way for me to catch up on some movies I may have missed or just some that I haven't watched in a long time... So thanks for the idea zero ... Knocked off early from work today and knocked three out of the way which was great, not only because they were three that I'd wanted to watch but never got around to but it also gave me a chance to catch up on a couple of the missed days...

#1 Fruitvale Station

Loved it. Thought the acting was awesome and the story (true story which made it worse) was sad and compelling. Definitely had my attention for the entire length. Definitely one of the best movies I've seen from last year.

#2 The Spectacular Now

Yeah, I like the indie feel kind of movies with good writing and unique characters that you can relate to. Both leads I thought played the part well and the supporting cast was equally as impressive (anything with Kyle Chandler ill give a go). Pretty predictable but wasn't expecting too much more than what it gave me.

#3 Out Of The Furnace

Heard good things about this for awhile and I'm glad I finally got around to watching it. It got me and I didn't want to stop watching. Christian Bale and Woody Harrellson were amazing. Recommend this for people that haven't seen it yet.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I finally got around to watching Django Unchained. It were good.

[Josh]

In Bruges was good stuff.

My roommate also made me watch Side Effects. It was much less good.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Saw the second episode of the new Sherlock earlier today, my god, that speech was just the best. Great episode overall too, the whole thing was tied together beautifully.

[zero]

I really liked Side Effects. Total early-90s erotic thriller, they don't make those anymore.

[Benji]

I finally got around to watching Django Unchained. It were good.

Me too, forgot to mention it. It was a bit different to what I was expecting (in a good way). I would love to see it get a sequel.

[zero]

The Last Stand

The most rigoddamndiculous movie I've watched in quite some time, but it's super fun. Don't spend any money on it, but it's on Netflix now and worth a watch, you'll laugh your ass off. It has everything a cheesy Arnold action movie should: ridiculous inmate breakout, ethnically diverse bad guys, horrible one-liners, it's great!

[Benjamin]

12 Years A Slave. I'm still kind of digesting it. It's definitely worth the watch, and it's a really brilliant film. I really have to look up more of Steve McQueen's work.

Was really uncomfortable with the

rape scene

though. I don't know why. I could sit through the rest, even though it was really painful, but that one had me wanting to leave the cinema.

I'm scared how my girlfriend, and her sister especially, think about it, though. Have to ask them tomorrow.

[livid]

12 Years A Slave. I'm still kind of digesting it. It's definitely worth the watch, and it's a really brilliant film. I really have to look up more of Steve McQueen's work.

Was really uncomfortable with the

rape scene

though. I don't know why. I could sit through the rest, even though it was really painful, but that one had me wanting to leave the cinema.

I'm scared how my girlfriend, and her sister especially, think about it, though. Have to ask them tomorrow.

Well, it'd be a bit of a red flag if you weren't uncomfortable with it...

[Benjamin]

12 Years A Slave. I'm still kind of digesting it. It's definitely worth the watch, and it's a really brilliant film. I really have to look up more of Steve McQueen's work.

Was really uncomfortable with the

rape scene

though. I don't know why. I could sit through the rest, even though it was really painful, but that one had me wanting to leave the cinema.

I'm scared how my girlfriend, and her sister especially, think about it, though. Have to ask them tomorrow.

Well, it'd be a bit of a red flag if you weren't uncomfortable with it...

I was going for more of the "so uncomfortable it shouldn't be in the movie" uncomfortable, you silly!

[I Don't Mind]

Trying to make an effort to see all the big movies I wanted to see over 2013. So far...

Pacific Rim - tons of fun. I knew ahead of time to turn my brain off beforehand and not over-think things. It did things so well I was blown away. I also loved Charlie Day and thought without him in it, it would have been more like GI Joe, which I still loved, but know it's a guilty pleasure.

Man of Steel - Definitely could have had ~20 minutes cut from it to make a more condensed, compact movie. Thought the fight scenes were great. Great production work to show super speed attacks. Didn't like how depressing things got, or the death toll, or the vulgarity. I knew they were going for a more mature, dark, edgy, risque feel but I don't like Lois Lane having the mouth of a sailor. They did do a good job defining her as a well-rounded character from the get-go, but as the movie progressed I felt her character kind of stagnated or even regressed.

The World's End - Shouldn't have come out the same year as This Is The End, as the two titles are far too confusingly similar. But loved it way more than Man of Steel. A super strong middle that felt kind of hindered by a slow opening and a cringe-worthy end. Loved it on par with Pacific Rim.

[zero]

Where the Buffalo Roam

Bill Murray as Bill Murray as Hunter S. Thompson. Just watch Fear & Loathing instead.

[Berober]

12 Rounds 2. This film is a pretty standard action film, except there's a couple of scenes that are really... grim. Like, it just sort of subverts typical action movie pacing in those scenes and otherwise plays it pretty dead on.

[Benjamin]

Don Jon. I thought it was great, had a total blast.