Day 304: The Descent: Part 2 (2009)

Only one day left until the great holiday of Halloween, but that means one thing and that is tonight is Devil’s Night. There are creatures in this world that can only be the spawn of Satan or death itself and that is the case in the film The Descent: Part 2. The last place that Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) wants to be is back in the caves especially when you just barely escaped with your life. Unfortunately for her, that is exactly where she is going to end up doing thanks to an idea by Sheriff Vaines (Gavan O’Herlihy). The rest of the team Sarah was with is still missing and the sheriff wants to go back in with Sarah and a cave team to try and find the rest of them. What he and the team do not know is they are about to face death itself. The film also stars Jessika Williams (Doctor Who) as Susanne Small, Douglas Hodge (Robin Hood) as Dan, Josh Dallas (Once Upon A Time) as Greg, Anna Skellern (Gambit) as Cath, Michael J. Reynolds (Police Academy) as Ed Oswald, Natalie Mendoza (Moulin Rouge) as Juno, Krysten Cummings (Ghost Machine) as Ellen Rios, and the film was directed by Jon Harris (The Woman In Black). To read the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.

Day 155: Me Before You (2016)

I know exactly what you are thinking right now and I know that you know that I’ll watch just about anything. So, I know from the bottom of my heart that all of you will forgive me for today’s film which is Me Before You. Sam Claflin (Snow White And The Huntsman) plays Will Traynor, a man who has everything going for him until a fatal accident leaves him a paraplegic. Emilia Clarke (Game Of Thrones) plays Louisa Clark, a bubbly girl who always thinks of others before herself. Louisa needs a job and she finds one taking care of Will who seems determined to not care that she is there. With her willingness to never give up on people, they form an unlikely bond that will later be put to the test when she finds out about Will’s plans for his future. The film also stars Vanessa Kirby (About Time) as Alicia, Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) as Treena Clark, Charles Dance (Last Action Hero) as Stephen Traynor, Janet McTeer (Maleficent) as Camilla Traynor, Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone) as Patrick, Brendan Coyle (The Jacket) as Bernard Clark, Samantha Spiro (From Hell) as Josie Clark, Stephen Peacocke (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) as Nathan, and the film was directed by Thea Sharrock in her directorial debut. 

First of all I know that this is a chick flick, but don’t judge me because I am crushing on Emilia Clarke who is the dragon queen. I used to think it was a myth or just some silly wives tales when you hear about women crying at these kinds of movies, but it’s no myth. Literally in a theater filled from top to bottom with women, I heard so many of them crying towards the end of the film. Women seem to love these Nicolas Sparks type romance movies which is why these keep getting made. I will admit that some tears rolled down my face during the film because even though it’s a sad story there is definitely a positive message in the film overall. If there is anything of value from this film it’s the dynamic of the relationship between Clarke and Sam Claflin who just seemed so natural throughout the whole film. Emilia was the shiniest and brightest light of all in the film with her knack for being a quirky gal in the film. She was so enjoyable to watch on the screen even though the film was predictable. That shouldn’t comes as a surprise because all of these types of films are all the same and they follow the same formula. Take this for what it is or as I should say take or leave it because it makes no difference to me. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade only because these are not my cup of tea usually and for it’s predictability.

Day 51: The Dark Crystal (1982)

A friend of mine had been asking me to see the Jim Henson film, The Dark Crystal for quite sometime considering I had never seen it. So, I decided to watch the film considering it was released the year I was born. On the planet Thra, a crystal controls everything on the planet, but one day a piece of the crystal is broken off and two races are born. There is the Sketsis, a group of malevolent creatures who use the power of the crystal to continuously replenish themselves and then they are the mystics who are natural element wizards and they are peaceful. For 1000 years, the Sketsis rule the planet with their dark crystal until one year. Their emperor cannot heal with the power of the crystal and there is a race of being known as gelfing (elf like creature) named Jen (puppeteered by Jim Henson and voiced by Stephen Garlick) who is part of a prophecy that could bring down the Sketsis for good. It is his mission to bring the crystal shard and put it back in the crystal to bring normalcy to the planet before it’s too late. The film also stars Lisa Maxwell (Free Bill) as the voice of Kira, Barry Dennen (Jesus Christ Superstar) as Lord Chamberlain, Michael Kilgarriff (Doctor Who) as the voice of the general, Jerry Nelson (The Muppet Show) as High Priest, and the film was directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz.

First I have to say that you have to take into consideration that this was the early 1980’s and there really wasn’t any CGI. With that being said, this film was absolutely innovative as far as animatronics were concerned. The amount of work that went in to building the sets and working all of the creatures is absolutely insane and it definitely made everyone else step up their game. The film is just visually stunning as everything in all of the sets to the actual creatures is filled with so much detail. I was definitely impressed with that aspect of the film and I was also impressed with the acting. The one thing that absolutely annoyed me that I probably would have looked past as a kid is how annoying Jen really is. He is told right from the beginning that he is to get the crystal shard and connect it before it’s too late. He is constantly question why he is doing it like he is questioning his very existence. That was the one part of the film that just bothered me every single time it occurred on screen. Of course, my complaint could have been about something else like when the garthlings move, you can see human legs moving it underneath or the weird rabbit looking creatures that you can tell are being moved with stilts. Those things didn’t necessarily annoy me because I realize the time this film came out. Now the film may have been marketed towards kids back in the day, but the film is a little dark which was fine by me. The same team that did this film would go on to make The Labyrinth, so they were doing something right. If you live fantasy movies from the 80’s or love puppets and things of that nature, then check out this film. I am going to give an A- for a final grade.

Day 36: Pride And Prejudice And Zombies (2016)

It’s been a little while since I went to the movie theaters to see a film and so I decided to check out one of the new films. A lot of people remember the Jane Austin book Pride And Prejudice which takes place in 19TH century England. In 2009, Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the parody book Pride And Prejudice And Zombies which combines the elements of the original book with Zombie fiction. When I found out they turned it into a movie, I had to see it and here is my review. The story follows Mr. and Mrs. Bennett (Charles Dance and Sally Phillips) and their five unmarried daughters who love in 19TH century England which is plagued by Zombies. When a new eligible bachelor named Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth) and Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) move into town, things that may lead to a zombie revolution begin to unravel as soon as Bingley falls in love with Jane (Bella Heathcote). Meanwhile, Darcy struggles with the eldest daughter Elizabeth (Lily James) who is tough and struggles with the idea of marriage. The film also stars Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as George Wickham, Suki Waterhouse (Insurgent) as Kitty Bennett, Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones) as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Parson Collins, and the film was directed by Burr Steers (17 Again).

The film overall wasn’t that bad of a film because it had the zombies, cool action scenes, but it felt more like a romance movie most of the time. It was the courting of Elizabeth which I understand was a big part of the original story, but I just felt like they could have done more with it. It’s basically like a 19TH Century Victorian aristocratic zombie movie with the fancy old English talk. Some of my favorite parts of the film had to be when my favorite Doctor Who Matt Smith comes on screen as the bumbling Parson Collins. He had some of the most hilarious scenes in the film as he was in my opinion the comedic relief that was needed. I probably should have read the book because while a friend of mine called a certain scene, it would’ve been nice to know some of the details that are eventually revealed in the film. I was pleased with the acting in the film to the point I wouldn’t mind seeing more with Sam Riley, Lily James, and Jack Huston. As I said before, the film wasn’t bad, but I probably should have read the book first to know what I was getting into when I chose to see this film. With that being said, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade. It’s in theaters as we speak so go out and see it for yourself.