"THE MARTIAN" - MOVIEHOOVIE GRADE: B+
Matt Damon was great and I enjoyed the humor but I felt the movie dragged a bit in the later half and provided zero suspense for me (unlike, I thought, "Gravity" or Interstellar"). This was mainly due to its more-procedural/clinical approach to the story. It was light and fluffy entertainment for space geeks; not exactly thought-provoking or pulse-pounding sci/fi. I was mildly disappointed more-so than it had actual faults though, so just go see it and I'll shut up.
(1st watch; 10/4/15 - Theatre)
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"NADJA" - MOVIEHOOVIE GRADE: B-
For anyone who watched and dug "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night", this is that film's big sister. If you haven't seen that, see it first because it's way better. This film, however, has a pretty awesome '90s Cool going for it and I found the dialogue to be pretty tongue-in-cheek-funny. (Though I discovered afterward that most people seemed to take the proceedings pretty literally. Hm.) It's the Dracula story continued through his daughter. It's... not very good... but still manages merit; some cool b&w cinematography (and some terribly dated Vampire-O-Vision too) and a zany supporting performance by Peter Fonda as Van Helsing.
(1st watch; 10/2/15 - Netflix DVD)
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Beetlejuice is a coke-addled alcoholic headed for the titular deed, if he can just get over his own ego, in this touching '80s minor-"message movie"-classic. Keaton's the main draw here, and Morgan Freeman shows up for some extra early-role gravitas as his counsellor. I felt I gained some empathy for this type of behavior, so it was a worthy watch as a "worldview-expander".
(1st watch; 9/30/15 - Netflix DVD)
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"RESULTS" - MOVIEHOOVIE GRADE: A-
I loved this movie! It's offbeat, funny, surprising, really-well-acted by Guy Pierce and the rest and it was just a breath of fresh air. It's not a standard rom-com, but even if you wanna call it that, it's one of my new favorite rom-coms; the best since "Enough Said".
"BLACKHAT" - MOVIEHOOVIE GRADE: C
Michael Mann can still make a compelling shootout, I'll give him that! This one's got a doozy in it... and that's about it; pretty dull and poorly-scripted otherwise. Well, also, Dude-man Thor does a good American accent and isn't such a bad lead outside of Marvel. It's really not the worst thing you could watch on a lazy day.
(1st watch; 9/26/15 - Netflix DVD)
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"EAST OF EDEN" - MOVIEHOOVIE GRADE: C-
Egad! The best thing I can say about this "classic" is the camerawork was pretty and inventive. James Dean's a whiny brat; his and everyone else's acting is pretty bad throughout (and I loved "Rebel without a Cause" and "Giant"), and the direction and editing are bad! I was amazed at how many times I was thrown off by the cuts and weird blocking. And, yes, I like classic literature and movies. (It did make me consider reading the book.)
(1st watch; 9/24/15 - Netflix DVD)
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"TWO STEP" - MOVIEHOOVIE GRADE: B+
Sweet little Texas-set neo-noir. (No, not "sweet" like a home-cooked pie - look at the blood on the poster!) Definitely Coen Bros- and Tarantino-inspired, but very well-done by a first-time director. The acting is standout, the script is witty, the cinematography is really nice. That guy in the photo is a pretty captivating bad-guy; I'll be looking out for him and the director again. (It's not as violent as the poster makes it out, but people die, duh.)
(1st watch; 9/21/15 - iTunes HD)
