The Reel Life of Real Life

Rating: R:18 Genre: Horror, Mystery & Suspense Directed By: Wes Craven Written By: Wes Craven Released: June 1 st , 1984   Runtime: 91 minutes Studio: New Line Cinema Summary: When Nancy starts telling her friends about the nightmares she’s been having including a particular scarred individual with knives as fingers threatening to kill her, they realise they’ve all been having the same nightmare every night... Something sinister is happening on Elm Street, and as the dreams become more frequent and more deadly, Nancy must find a way of stopping Freddy Krueger before it’s too late... Review: Freddy Krueger is quite possibly one of the most iconic characters to come out of cinema history. His appearance, if nothing else, is not a pleasant site. You wouldn’t like to meet him in a dark alley way, would you?! But even the concept of this story is scary enough because it's revolved around the idea that people can’t control their dreams, meaning t...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Documentary, Drama, Special Interest Directed By: Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost Released: September 17 th , 2010 Runtime: 86 minutes Studio: Universal Pictures/Rogue Summary: When Nev Shulman, a New York photographer, receives a Facebook request from a child named Abby, he cannot guess the unusual odyssey on which he will soon embark. Abby sends Nev an unusually skilled painting based on one of his photos. Intrigued, he begins online relationships with the rest of Abby's family, including her older sister, Megan. Though troubling inconsistencies soon emerge, Nev continues his online flirtation with Megan, resulting in a road trip to meet her in person. Review: There are some theories that this might not be an altogether legit documentary in the sense some of it, if not in some theories, all of it are fake and merely put together for our entertainment. I think whether or not the contents really did or did not take place is irre...

Rating: R:18 Genre: Drama Directed By: Martin Scorsese Written By: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese Released: September 19 th , 1990 Runtime: 146 minutes Studio: Warner Bros. Summary: A young man grows up in the mob and works very hard to advance himself through the ranks. He enjoys his life of money and luxury but is oblivious to the horror that he causes. A drug addiction and a few mistakes ultimately unravel his climb to the top. Based on the book "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi. Review: This is such a well-paced engaging story with memorab le characters played by a phenomenal cast. Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci stand out most notably. Amidst the violence, humour can also be found in the oddest of places and keeps recurring right the way through. The script is sharp and always on point, depicting the life of a mob with such thrilling energy it’s utterly entertaining. Goodfellas is at its simplest, a fantastic movie. It was brou...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Romance Directed By: Baz Luhrmann Written By: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce Released: May 16 th , 2001   Runtime: 126 minutes Studio: 20th Century Fox Summary: Starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, it is a musical set in the year 1899 about a young English writer named Christian who has come to Paris with the intention of following the Bohemian revolution taking hold of the city’s drug and prostitute infested underworld. He comes across the notorious nightclub, Moulin Rouge where he begins a dangerous love affair with the star dancer, Satine.... But the patron of the club, the Duke, also has his eye on her and is fully intent on getting what he wants. Review: Well, you can tell immediately it was directed by Baz Luhrmann. His distinct feel in a movie is evident from the word go.  His chaotic-like mark is stamped immediately.   The shots move very swiftly as Christian begins...

Rating: R Genre: Classics, Comedy, Cult Movies, Horror, Musical, Science Fiction & Fantasy Directed By: Jim Sharman Written By: Jim Sharman, Richard O'Brien Released: September 25 th , 1975 Runtime: 100 minutes Studio: 20th Century Fox Summary: In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker (Meat Loaf) and a creepy butler (Richard O'Brien). Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named "Rocky."  Review: This is one of those films where you have very little clue what’s going on but you can’t look away. The songs are catchy. The characters are quirky and fun. Tim Curry is phenomenal in this.  The ...

Rating: NR Genre: Drama Directed By: Maris Pfeiffer Runtime: 80 minutes Summary: Crass and impulsive, a brash young woman harbours a secret desire for love but cannot prevent herself from pushing the limits of her relationships. Review: This came up on my suggestions in Netflix, so I threw it on, not putting much thought into the decision making. I feel quite neutral. It’s nothing to get excited about, but it’s not all bad either. The main character is a bit complex; annoying, demanding, impulsive, vulnerable. As lead she’s both interesting in terms of character development, but generally unlikable. A bit hapless. One of those characters who means well but ends up making her own messes worse for herself. Some moments I cringed for her. She comes across as quite immature in many ways. She’s still young and starting out in life. The mental battle between persisting with what you want to do with your life, over the need to earn money comes into play. Perhaps...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Horror, Mystery & Suspense Directed By: John Erick Dowdle Written By: M. Night Shyamalan, Brian Nelson Released: September 17 th , 2010 Runtime: 80 minutes Studio: Universal Pictures Summary: Five strangers' day begins with an elevator ride in a Philadelphia office tower. The elevator gets stuck, and the trapped passengers, who expected to be together just a few minutes, now face the revelation of their secrets and transgressions. Frightening events turn annoyance into terror, as they begin to realize that one of them is the devil. Review: I was more hopeful about this I have to admit. I thought the idea of the whole film taking place in one elevator sounded like a fairly cool premise. Even if the whole devil idea was a bit eccentric. A small cramped space made for a decent horror film – to my way of thinking prior to viewing. Unfortunately, the whole film did not necessarily remain completely set in the elevato...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Comedy Directed By: Nancy Meyers Written By: Nancy Meyers Released: Sept 25 th , 2015 Runtime: 121 minutes Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Summary: Starting a new job can be a difficult challenge, especially if you're already retired. Looking to get back into the game, 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) seizes the opportunity to become a senior intern at an online fashion site. Ben soon becomes popular with his younger co-workers, including Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), the boss and founder of the company. Whittaker's charm, wisdom and sense of humor help him develop a special bond and growing friendship with Jules.  Review: I watched this in the cinema when it came out and I enjoyed it at the time. I watched it again recently. This is a nice little film. It’s sweet. Directed by Nancy Meyer, there’s not a whole to of room to go wrong. Robert DeNiro leads the cast, followed closely by Anne Hathaway. Th...

Rating: PG  Genre: Comedy, Special Interest Directed By: Jonathan Wacks Written By: Terry Runte, Parker Bennett Released: August 16 th , 1991 Runtime: 98 minutes Studio: MGM Home Entertainment Summary: Teenage Tom McHugh (Ethan Hawke) is madly in love with his ravishing next-door neighbor, Geena Matthews (Teri Polo), but becomes hopelessly tongue-tied whenever she's around. When his parents go away on an impromptu road trip, his suave law student brother shows up and begins coaching Tom on how to pick up women. Things are going great until Tom discovers a body in the trunk of his brother's car, and his perfect date with Geena takes multiple turns for the worse. Review: I didn’t really enjoy this film. I was hopeful because it starred Ethan Hawke. But this wasn’t enough to lift the story… The plot is bizarre. That was one of the things that made me curious to see it. I was expecting it to be better. In hindsight I’m not entirely sur...

Rating: NR Genre: Horror Directed By: Rolfe Kanefsky Written By: Rolfe Kanefsky Released: April 28 th , 2017   Runtime: 91 minutes Studio: Cleopatra Entertainment Summary: A man and his wife (Natasha Henstridge) move into a home where an entity that feeds off lust and desire plans to destroy the world. Review: Oh wow. I don’t even know where to start with this. Trashy doesn’t even begin to describe this wanna-be horror show. The saying “Show, Don’t Tell”, while wise words on paper for the majority of films in the world, it does not do anything for this film. When it comes to horror, I think the saying should be altered to “Imply, Don’t Show”. This film does not know what suspense means. I think it would be fair to say that it tried too hard. A lot of the gore and “scares” were so in your face, so over-complicated and so overdone that it became tacky and laughable. Was this film trying to be sexy? I feel somewhat foolish for even askin...

Rating: R:15 Genre: Comedy Directed By: Todd Phillips Written By: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel, Todd Phillips Released: November 5 th , 2010 Runtime: 100 minutes Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Summary: Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) will be a dad for the first time when his wife gives birth in five days. He intends to catch a flight home from Atlanta so he can be there for the delivery, but a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) throws a monkey wrench into his plans. Desperate to reach his wife before their baby is born, Peter's sanity is tested when he must take a road trip cross-country with dog-toting Ethan. Review: This came on the TV last night for Father’s Day. I was watching it for a while trying to figure out why this film was chosen for the occasion and then I realised there’s quite a few references to fathers and it seems to be a little theme the film’s got going on; from the ...