Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Lore (2012)

Sympathy for the Nazis?

At the end of World War II, a family of Nazi supporters finds themselves on the wrong side of power.  Lore, the oldest child, finds herself an outcast, trying to care for her siblings while also being on the run.  It is commonly known that the whole world has a severe disdain for Nazis, especially for Hitler.  As a result, there have been loads of films which show how foul the Nazis were.  In contrast this powerful film portrays the events from the perspective of loyal Nazis.  Lore helps us to remember that those who supported Hitler were people as well, regular people us, misguided though they may have been. 

Lore gets 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director:
Writer:
Starring: , ,
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 76 out of 100

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Upstream Color (2013)

So dreamy...

Two people's lives are intertwined when they are infected by the same parasite.  Sounds weird?  It is, a little, but in a good way.  Shane Carruth (Primer) returns with a very different, yet equally engaging film.  Watching it made me feel like I was seeing a Terrance Malick film.  Carruth gives us narrative wrapped in a dream-like atmosphere which is part sci-fi, part thriller, part love story.  This is one of those rare films that is good on every level.  Carruth is one of my favorite younger filmmakers and I can't wait to see what the rest of his career looks like.  Bring it on Shane!!

Upstream Color earns every one of its 5 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director:
Writer: Shane Carruth
Starring: Shane Carruth, ,
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Metacritic: 81 out of 100

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Under The Skin: First Trailer With Scarlet Johansson

This one seems to be exceedingly creepy.  Gotta see it!  (Via Twtichfilm.com).

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Warm Bodies (2013)

Every time I think of you...

First, I love zombie flicks and have watched a good number of them.  So when I heard about a story where a zombie and a girl fall in love and then he becomes human, I was interested, to say the least.  The premise is intriguing, even original.  The introduction gave me hope that this would be one of my next favorite movies. Sadly, the rest of the film fails to live up the promise shown in the first five minutes.  I was hoping for something more on the level of Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, or Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, but got stuck with another sappy romantic comedy that wasn't very funny. 

With only 2 out of 5 Poblanos Warm Bodies failed to get my heart pumping...

Director: (50/50)
Writer: Jonathan Levine (screenplay), (novel)
Starring:  (X-Men First Class), (I Am Number Four, The Sorcerer's Apprentice),
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 59 out of 100



Thursday, February 14, 2013

Incendies (2010)

 One plus one equals one

When the mother of a set of adult twins passes away, she leaves them with some bizarre final instructions.  They are instructed to find their father and their brother, both of whom they've never met.  The interwoven narrative moves seamlessly between the past and the present to tell the story from two perspectives - the perspective of the twins in the present and their mother's perspective in the past.  This is a very engrossing film.  It is hard to pigeonhole into one genre.  It has some thrilling elements, a lot of drama, but there is also some mystery.  Overall, I love this film because of the strong story and the way the story is told.  Plus its in French!

Incendies gets 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director:
Writer: Wajdi Mouawad, Denis Villeneuve
Starring:  , ,
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 82 out of 100

Friday, February 8, 2013

Jeff Who Lives At Home (2011)

Is this all there is?

Jeff is a pothead slacker who lives in his mother's basement.  He is also a philosopher at heart.  When his mother asks him to run an errand for her, his day takes several interesting turns.  This film is very funny.  It is well written, well paced, engrossing, and just a plain old good movie.  I have nothing bad to say about this film.

Jeff Who Lives At Home gets 4.5 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Writer: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Starring: Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Ed Helms (The Hangover) and Judy Greer (Thirteen Going on Thirty)
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
Metacritic: 60 out of 100

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

I've got a bad feeling about this

When a group of young tourists signs up for a tour of the Chernobyl nuclear accident sight, they get more than they bargained for.  Just reading the description of this film lets you know it won't turn out well for anyone.  Bradley Parker makes his directing debut and does a very respectable job with this genre film.  Co-written by Oren Peli, the man behind the Paranormal Activity film, Chernobyl Diaries has a lot of great things going for it including the fact that it is very creepy.

Chernobyl Diaries creeps 3 out of 5 Poblanos out of me!

Director: Bradley Parker
Writer: Oren Peli, Carey Van Dyke, and Shane Van Dyke
Starring: Jesse McCartney, Jonathan Sadowski and Olivia Dudley
Rotten Tomatoes: 20%
Metacritic: 32 out of 100