Evil Dead (2013)
[7] As much as I hate remakes on the whole, this new Evil Dead movie greatly surprised me with how well made it is and how genuinely scary and tense it is. It also avoids contemporary horror pitfalls -- the…
Blackfish (2013)
[8] This documentary focuses on the negative impact of keeping Orca whales in captivity for amusement park entertainment. It specifically focuses on the story of a whale named Tilicum and how he came to be a breeder and performer at…
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
[7] Matthew McConaughey stars as Ron Woodruff in this true story about a womanizing electrician whose given thirty days to live after doctors discover he carries HIV. The year was 1985 and the American government was loathe to take HIV/AIDS…
Nebraska (2013)
[6] Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) directs from a script by Bob Nelson this father/son road trip story about a senile old man who mistakenly thinks he's won a Publisher's Sweepstakes and insists on getting to Lincoln, Nebraska, to pick…
The Lords of Salem (2013)
[8] I haven't particularly liked any Rob Zombie movies until this one, which is strange because his devoted fans -- by and large -- detest this movie. The Lords of Salem features masterful style and cinematic execution, often reminding me…
Behind the Candleabra (2013)
[7] Michael Douglas plays Liberace for director Steven Soderbergh in this fast-paced tragi-romantic-dark comedy about the famed pianist's five-year relationship with a man forty years his senior. Matt Damon plays young Scott Thorson, the naive pretty boy who falls under…
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
[7] Martin Scorsese remakes Casino, only instead of the Las Vegas gambling backdrop, we now have the shady thievery of Wall Street. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jordan Belfort in this true story of Belfort's rise to highly successful stock-broker and…
Rush (2013)
[5] Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl star as real-life race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, who became world-famous adversaries in the 1970s. Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Backdraft) directs from a script by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), so…
The Green Inferno (2015)
[3] I enjoyed the blend of dark humor and horror that Eli Roth brought to his first film, Cabin Fever. And even though it was pretty much torture porn, I thought Hostel had merit, too. But The Green Inferno is…
Now You See Me (2013)
[7] Four magicians team up with a wealthy benefactor to basically rob from the rich and give to the poor in enormous productions that garner them more and more celebrity. Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson, and Isla Fisher play…