Layer Cake

This was directed by the producer of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. It stars the new Bond, Daniel Craig (who was great recently in Munich). This was a conscious attempt by Matthew Vaughn to continue the success of his previous two producing credits, create a directorial career for himself, and make a more serious crime picture. The problem is that the best thing about the other two films was their sense of humor and their cinematic punch - both of which are lacking here. This movie feels pretty hollow as a gangster epic, and too straight to really be considered a successor to Snatch or LSaTSB.

Masters of Horror: Chocolate

A fun little short movie, part of a series, that deals with the kid from ET recieving transmissions from a woman - he can see what she sees, feel what she feels. After a few days of these weird spells, he falls in love with her. Then he sees a terrible event happen... then nothing. He decides he has to find her... This movie feels a bit made for TV (the director Mick Garris mainly does those Stephen King mini-serieses) , but the kid from ET is good in it, and it features the guy who played MAx Headroom - a bonus! Overall, not that great - feels like an extended twilight zone episode without the sociological lesson.

Munich

This was excellent. The best Spielberg film I have seen in years. The cast is great, mostly people I didn't know before. Eric Bana is wonderful as the eager Mossad agent who starts to question himself. The film itself is well structured, gripping, and even informative. It also manages to balance the issues and not present a view that is either pro-Isreali or pro-Palestine. I highly recommend it.

The Omega Man

I hadn't seen this since I was a kid, and it doesn't hold up. A poor retelling of Richard Matheson's seminal horror novella I Am Legend, this keeps some of the details but eliminates all of the pathos of the story, instead restructuring it as a rah rah rah Charlton Heston action movie thatfeatures actors in terrible makeup. A shame.

Shotgun Freeway

A somewhat interesting documentary that explains much (well.. touches on some, really) of the cultural history of Los Angeles. I rented this basically because James Ellroy is in it. It was an entertaining enough viewing, but wasn't especially great. I'm torn between thinking people who are from the area may like it more, or already know everything discussed. The film DOES feature the most disgusting plastic surgery victim I have ever seen, a Beverly Hills realtor who looks like a zombie who got fucked in the face by an elephant, yet she obviously thinks she is glamorous.

Tombs of the Blind Dead

Turns out we watched the PG english version. If you rent this, watch the Spanish version. I like the pacing and atmosphere of this movie, but it was just edited to death so it was not a good experience.

Masters of Horror: Incident On And Off A Mountain Road

From the director of the Phantasm movies and Bubba Ho-Tep comes this enjoyable little horror-thriller. A young woman is stalked by a fierce killer in the woods.. but in flashback, we see how she came to be anything but an easy target, as her ex-husband was a survivalist and she is at least as tough as he is. A fun little watch, but nothing heavy. The ending was nice.

F for Fake

Orson Welles' last completed picture, this is a great pseudo documentary that weaves archival footage, pieces of other documentaries he started but didn't finish, and new material ivented by Welles into a captivating treatise on fakery, reality, storytelling, the world of art forgery, Howard Hughes, and Picasso. Highly recommended.

Havoc

I rented this because Richard Roeper highly recommended it and it was co-written by Stephen Gaughan (who wrte Traffic and directed Syriana). The tale of a bunch of Orange County youths who are obsessed with street culture and try to mix with real LA low-lifes, with drastic results. Unfortunately, the movie is written by people who have no idea what kids really act like, and it's a ridiculous, laughable parody. Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips do get naked and erotically threatened by latino gangsters, however. Not recommended.

King Kong

Everyone had already seen this but me, but I liked it! I thought it had the less-than-serious feel of an early Hollywood movie, as well as great special effects and decent story... the Skull Island sequences were appropriately nightmarish, etc... Not a great movie, by any means, but enjoyable. I hope Jackson makes a smaller movie next time around; his cinematic skills are sharp, but he needs original material now. Heavenly Creatures was an amazing movie, and the Lord of the Rings was an amazing accomplishment... I'm eager to see where he goes next.

Wolf Creek

One of the best horror films I have seen in years. I initially avoided this in the theaters because the reviews were pretty harsh.. now I regret that. This movie does an amazing job at keeping you uneasy, presenting you with very unsettling situations that ultimately don't amount to what you think they will, and, above all, buidling tension. But unlike many movies that succeed at those levels, this also manages to deliver, in a truly impacting way. Terrific, with god characters and a generally great creepy feel. Recommended for anyone who loves horror - not recommended for people that get scared easily in films.