'Preacher' - Review: "Pilot" (Spoilers)

Having created and finished two of the greatest shows to air on television with Breaking Bad and Mad Men, AMC has some holes to fill in its original programming. So, here comes Preacher, which may have the craziest pilot episode in recent memory. There's a lot to digest here, so hit the jump for my spoiler-y thoughts on last night's premiere.

"The Invitation" - Review

The Underrated Thriller of the Year (So Far)

Last year, Joel Edgerton took a break from big blockbuster films and directed a small independent project that he also wrote. That movie was The Gift, which starred himself, Jason Bateman, and Rebecca Hall. It turned out to be a refreshing mystery with affecting drama and a great pay off. The movie came out of the blue and under everyone's radar and it turned out to be a wonderful treat to break of the monotony that naturally comes after having several giant explosion heavy superhero movies every year. Do not get me wrong, they are a lot of fun, but sometimes you need a change of pace and The Gift was a wonderful one. This year, it has happened again with The Invitation. Directed by Karyn Kusama, who previously directed the very problematic Aeon Flux and Jennifer's Body, and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, who also worked on Aeon Flux but also wrote Ride Along 2 and directed Tracy Lett's Bug, this film film feels like it wants to break free on its own terms. It has no studio dictating how it needs to be made. It has nothing to prove and no expectations to fulfill. This is a passion project and it is one that really works. The Invitation is an incredibly affecting mystery/thriller that has an unexpected emotional punch. Just like The Gift last year, The Invitation is a gem that feels fresh and deserves your time.

Note: if you are at all interested in seeing this movie, just do it. Stop reading and go. Like 10 Cloverfield Lane just recently, you will have a much better experience knowing next to nothing about it going in. It is currently in select theaters, but it is also available on every major VOD platform, including YouTube and Google Play. It is only 5-7 bucks to rent. There is no reason why you should not see this movie. Go do it. You will not regret it. If you feel like you need to know more, read on at your own risk. I will not spoil anything intentionally, but you have been warned.

'The Walking Dead' - Season Finale Review: "Last Day On Earth" (Spoilers)

On tonight's season finale of The Walking Dead, our group meandered in the woods again and then came face to face with Negan and his friend Lucille. My thoughts on the episode are after the jump.

'The Walking Dead' - Review: "Twice As Far" (Spoilers)

This week on The Walking Dead, Carol's self doubt grows and Denise goes for a walk with Daryl and Rosita. My thoughts on the episode are after the jump.

'The Walking Dead' - Review: "Not Tomorrow Yet" (Spoilers)

This week on The Walking Dead, Abraham tells us why dingleberries are brown and Rick's group goes Die Hard, except with more questionable morality. My thoughts are after the jump.

"The Witch" - Review

"I Will Guide Thy Hand"

Imagine if all the senseless killings in the Salem Witch Trials were not actually caused by extreme self righteousness and religious fear but by the actual creatures that the pious leaders were making up! The Witch explores this possibility, like The Crucible written by Stephen King and directed by Terrence Mallick after he watched The Shining. Okay, maybe that specific collaboration and set of circumstances does not exist, but the closest thing to that reality does. It is the first great film of 2016 and one of the best true horror films in recent years. It finds truth in both reality and fantasy and is all the more terrifying because of it.

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" - Review

A Little Too Much Pride

This concept is ridiculous. I remember when this book was popular how ever many years ago that it began to top the best seller lists and my high school friends were swearing by it. I picked up the book and I skimmed through it. I was familiar with with the original Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen so seeing zombies randomly show up in the original text of the novel was absolutely goofy and hilarious to me. It was such a random but subtle kind of parody that was completely infectious, no pun intended. When I heard years ago that people were attempting to make a movie, I was very excited. I expected it to be an absolutely hysterical farce of a movie. The idea is so silly that I thought it would lend itself to a great parody film. What we got with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is not that. There are silly moments to be had, but the film actually takes itself rather seriously. It invests itself in the romance and tries for legitimate zombie action. Because of this, the movie loses focus and it becomes a very odd mix of tones. Is this supposed to be funny or not? There is definitely a guilty pleasure element to some of this, but not enough.

"Bone Tomahawk" - Quick and Dirty Review

Patrick Wilson, Kurt Russel, Richard Jenkins, and Matthew Fox in Bone Tomahawk

I have always been an advocate for genre originality. Don't just do the same old thing over and over again. Make the established genre rules that exist your own. That is why I deeply appreciate the little known Bone Tomahawk, even though I do not think that it is completely successful. For the first two thirds, it finds itself being a sort of western Tarantino-type carbon copy, but it actually works. There is a fantastic cast including Kurt Russel, Patrick Wilson, Richard Jenkins, and Matthew Fox who are all uniformly excellent with the physicality of their roles. The characters are very likable and interesting and their dialogue is witty. For the micro-budget that the movie had to work with, the film has great production value and is shot well; giving it a claustrophobic feel that absolutely works even though the desert seems to stretch on. It represents the feelings of the characters well and the impending doom that is about to meet them.

It is when that impending doom arrives that it sort of loses me a bit. Without spoiling too much, once these characters reach the location that they are traveling to, they meet the enemies that they have been warned about since the beginning and it gets violent, and I mean VERY violent. The film pulls a 180 and suddenly becomes a horror film on the level of something like The Hills Have Eyes. This includes some of the most disturbing death scenes in recent memory. It made sense that this movie had a limited release and no MPAA rating. Surely if it had one, it would get slapped with the NC-17, which cannot be marketed well at all. While the carnage is impressive and terrifying, I do not think that it meshes well with the rest of the film as well as it could have. It tries to be unexpected with its gore and scares but ends up feeling jarring. It abandons character development and deliberate storytelling and just becomes a bloodbath in the end. Normally this is fine if that is the kind of movie that I expect that from, but I found that they left character arcs hanging and opted for a simple "life sucks and you are not prepared for it" message when the first two thirds of the film hinted toward something more nuanced.

I enjoyed Bone Tomahawk and I admire its originality. I wish that it had a little bit more to say after the carnage was done.

Grade: B-.

Bone Tomahawk is now available on DVD and blu-ray.