Music Review: Lamb of God - Resolution

What can be said about Lamb of God that has not already been said? Well, probably a lot and from far better sources than I. However, this will not stop me from sharing a few words about them. Simply put, they are one of the best metal acts in the game. Simultaneously raw and refined, this is a band that knows how to go about their craft, furthering their abilities and expanding their horizons while not forgetting the core of their consent genre. They are among the upper echelon of metal, of this there is no doubt. Resolution only helps to prove it.

Movie Review: Haywire

On the surface, Haywire has a pretty simple and familiar story. How many times have you seen a story where a top government operative goes on a mission, gets betrayed, and needs to find out what happened? Don't bother to answer that, it will probably take too long to count them all. On top of that, you have probably seen me complaining about some recent movies feeling like they have been stripped down to the Cliff's Notes versions of themselves. Normally, this is not a good thing. However, there are exceptions to every rule and director Steven Soderbergh has crafted one. You see, Haywire is a movie that has been boiled to the bare essence, to its benefit.

DVD Review: Dirty Girl

I don't know about this one. I remember when I first saw the trailer for Dirty Girl and knowing immediately that I wanted to see it, Partly because I thought it looked like a good movie (as any good trailer should) and partly because I think that Juno Temple could be a good up and coming actress (based on the small parts I have seen her in). Well, now the movie is here and I am not quite sure what to say about it. It is not a terrible good movie, but it isn't downright awful either. It is a movie that feels like a mash up of well meaning ideas woven together by someone who wants to get it all out before he forgets it.

Movie Review: Underworld - Awakening

It's hard I believe it as been almost ten years side the first Underworld arrived in theaters. That 2003 film introduced us to a new goth-flavored look a a war between vampires and werewolves. Over the course of the series we have learned the war has been going on for centuries without humanity even knowing. We are also given the story of the first hybrid, a conspiracy between the races and how our hero became a target by pretty much everyone. A prequel film helped provide some insight to the start of the war by taking us back to the start. Now, with the fourth film we get a film that simultaneously furthers the story and feels a bit like a reboot, or at least a new beginning.

Blu-ray Review: Good Morning, Vietnam

War comedies are not exactly the easiest thing to pull off. There is the obvious example of Dr. Strangelove, which is a hilarious parody, but for the most part war is not exactly something to laugh about. Well, real war anyway, of we are talking about a fake war created for the purpose of a movie, that is something different, like Tropic Thunder, or dealt with in an over the top fashion like the Rambo movies. Good Morning, Vietnam is not like any of those movies in that it is an at times uproariously funny comedy that also deals with a very real war situation.

Movie Review: Contraband

You could probably make an interesting case study out of Mark Wahlberg and the roles he gets and the movies he is in. I have never really considered him to be all that great of a actor, yet he seems to fall into a lot of decent roles in a lot of pretty good films. He is an actor of little charisma and charm, yet seems to generally be somewhat appealing. It works for him. With Contraband we again see him in the central role of a decent film. I think the most interesting thing here is hat he is actually the most compelling character we get.

2011 at the Movies: Top 10 Movies of the Year

Better late than never, right? I really wanted to get this up closer to New Year's but year after year, that never seems to happen. Now, if you are new to my top movie lists, the rules are simple, it had to be a movie released in the calendar year and I had to have seen it on the big screen. I am sure you have already seen my back ten list covering numbers 20 down to 11, now we can move on to my choices for best movies of the year. Just remember, there are likely movies I missed, it happens, move on, enjoy the movies! (also be sure to check out my video countdown!)

CritCast #10: Top Ten Movies of 2011

It is finally here, my top moves for 2011. I hope you enjoy:

2011 at the Movies: The Back 10 of the Top 10

2011 had a bunch of good films. I thought I would double the fun of a top ten and give you my top 20. Just remember that this is no "best of" list. No matter how many movies I get to the theater for there will always be a few that got away. So, my self-imposed rules state that the only movies eligible for the list are those released in 2011 and seen on the big screen by yours truly. Without further ado, let's take a look at the back 10, aka 11-20 in the suitable order.

Blu-ray Review: Puncture (2011)

When I first heard of Puncture, that is all I knew, the title. With that little bit of knowledge I assumed it was going to be some manner of horror movie. Seriously, doesn't that word evoke perhaps a bit of Saw imagery or perhaps something related to vampires, like The Addiction? Perhaps it is just me and an underlying desire to see horror everywhere. In reality, Puncture has absolutely nothing to do with horror, at least what we normally identify with cinematic horror, and everything to do with lawyer drama involving safety needles for hospital use. Yes, that sounds much more exciting.

CritCast #9: The Back 10 of the Top 10 Movies of 2011

This edition of the CritCast sees me take a look at numbers 20-11 of my best movies for 2011.

Blu-ray Review: In the Name of the King 2 - Two Worlds

When it comes to genre film fans, there is one name that strikes anger into the hearts of fans around the world, even more than Michael Bay. That name is Uwe Boll. For years this filmmaker has turned out terrible movie after terrible movie. Seriously, sometimes I really wonder of he is capable of making a decent project. Most of the time the films are laughably bad, you need go no further than House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark to recognize his ineptitude. Still, they tend to provide a fun target. That brings us to one of his more recent ventures, a sequel to the 2007 Jason Statham vehicle, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale.

Blu-ray Review: Zombie Apocalypse

There was a time when I heard that a movie was being produced by The Asylum, I would scoff, laugh a bit, and move along. Those attitudes have changed somewhat. You see, I do enjoy my fair share of cheesy movies and The Asylum certainly delivers in that regard, just check out the likes of Transmorphers and HG Wells' War of the Worlds for a couple of examples. They often team with SyFy, another fine purveyor of trashy, low-budget genre fare. This time out they bring us Zombie Apocalypse, an entertaining exercise in CG gore and zombie blasting fun.

Movie Review: The Devil Inside

When I exited the theater and friends asked me what I thought of The Devil Inside, I wanted to tell them to stick to the INXS song. The problem was that I was fairly certain a goo portion of them would have no idea what I was referring too. Maybe I am wrong and they do know the tune, in which case I would love to be proven wrong. In any case, the opinion stands. This is not a good movie. Sure, I have seen worse, but I have also seen much better and for the more discriminating cinema goer, there are better exorcism movies of recent vintage to enjoy, such as The Rite and The Last Exorcism (no, I am not kidding).