Killers (Japan, Indonesia, 2015)

Nine Things About the Movie Killers

1. This epic tragedy, filmed as a partnership between Japan and Indonesia, easily wins the award for "feel-bad movie of 2015". It is over two hours of despair, hopelessness, and violence. And a lot of blood. But if you can handle that, it is also perversely compelling.

2. It is really two separate stories connected at one horrible nexus. The first story is about Nomura, a serial killer in Tokyo that records his murders and uploads them onto the internet. The second story is about Bayu, a disgruntled and angry journalist in Jakarta who has a secret obsession with Nomura's snuff films.

3. When a traumatic incident happens in Bayu's life, he suffers a psychotic break; he begins his own series of murders and uploads the recordings to the internet. Nomura contacts Bayu, and their lives begin to mirror each other, in some very unhappy ways.

4. The main thesis of the movie is that there is no point in seeing life as something beautiful and precious, because life is just hell, and there's nothing you can do about it.

5. I had to pause the movie at one point so I could mentally prepare myself for what was going to happen in the next scene.

6. There are are small sub-stories within the main stories, when Nomura and Bayu attempt to deal with relationships that occur in their unhinged lives.

7. The movie is about how it's unhealthy to hold onto the past.

8. It's also about how you can sometimes think you've formed a bond with someone... but you really didn't.

9. Nothing happy occurs in this movie, unless it's to set up something sad later. This is a bleak and bloody meditation on the darkness of humanity. If you think that's something worth exploring, this is one of the most creative stories I've seen - it really commits itself to going the whole way.

Otherwise, go ahead and skip this one.

Ex Machina (Britain, 2015)

Nine Things About the Movie Ex Machina

1. This is a strange and satisfying science fiction/mystery/thriller/philosophy film.

2. Screenwriter Alex Garland wrote the scripts for 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, which introduced the modern idea of zombies as rage-filled, fast-running, eating machines. He also wrote the under-appreciated Sunshine. Garland not only wrote Ex Machina, he directed it as well.

3.  It's about a computer programmer named Caleb who wins a lottery at work and is flown to the private compound of billionaire genius Nathan. Caleb is going to spend a week trying to help Nathan decide if Nathan's new robot, Ava, can pass as human.

4. This is not an action film. Not in the slightest. Most of the movie consists of just Caleb, Nathan, and Ava talking to each other. But the movie gets darker and creepier as it goes along, and Caleb begins to suspect he's being played - but he's not sure how, or by whom.

5. There are a few annoying plot holes; however, Garland is a smart enough writer that I'm sure he knew about them, and just had to accept them in order for his story to work.

6. The acting is great all around. Oscar Isaac (from Inside Llewyn Davis and A Most Violent Year) was especially excellent as Nathan - from the moment he appears on the screen, you know something is wrong with him, even though you can't quite figure out what.

7. Using the idea of artificial intelligence as a cover, the movie explores some deeply philosophical issues of identity, humanity, and existence.

8. Visually, the movie is full of glass and deceptively reflective surfaces, which effectively symbolize the intellectual maze that Caleb finds himself in. The ambient soundtrack is an excellent example of how sound can enhance a scene and manipulate a mood without being overly obvious.

9. If you're looking for a blockbuster science fiction movie about robots, then stay away from this one. But for more introspective and thoughtful viewers, this is a philosophical tangle of yarn that is ready for you to unravel.

Enemy (Canada, Spain, 2014)

Nine Things About the Movie Enemy

1. This is one of the only films in my life that actually gave me nightmares. And it's technically not even a horror movie.

2. It's about a neurotic, semi-depressed college professor, stuck in a routine life. When he sees a movie with an actor that looks just like him, he becomes obsessed with meeting his double.

3. From there the movie veers off into very surreal territory, and begins to fold over itself in unexpected and confusing ways.

4. Jake Gyllenhaal plays both the teacher and the actor. While they look identical, you can technically tell them apart because one of them wears a wedding ring. However, Gyllenhaal's two performances are so strong that he actually seems to be two actors. The two characters are so well delineated that you can tell just from Gyllenhall's body language and speech patterns which person he is.

5. There is a real, masterful sense of creeping dread and menace that builds relentlessly to the final scene.

6. Oh, and about that final scene. I don't care how good you are at predicting movies - you will not see this ending coming. And then either your soul will jump in frustrated horror, or you will start the movie over again. Or both.

7. There are a lot of really short scenes that last only a few seconds - or short segments of longer scenes - that provide some clues as to what's really going on. You won't realize their significance the first time you watch the movie.

8. The opening epigraph of the film is a quote from the novel on which the movie is based: "Chaos is order yet undefined". It not only sets the tone for the film, but provides the key for at least one of the film's possible meanings.

9. Part thriller, part allegory, part existential nightmare, this is perhaps the most brilliant and inscrutable movie of 2014.

Nightcrawler (USA, 2014)

Nine Things About the Movie Nightcrawler 


1. This darkly beautiful film is hard to categorize.

2. It's a character study of an... intense young man.

3. It's also a scathing critique of ratings-hungry news media.

4. And it's a midnight-black satire on the "fight to accomplish your dreams" concept.

5. Jake Gyllenhaal absolutely owns this film as Lou, an intense but aimless man who discovers he can make money by filming crime and accident scenes and then selling the footage to a news station. As the news station demands more graphic footage, Lou decides to step his game up, which leads to unpleasant consequences.

6. Some people are upset with the ending of the movie, but I thought it was well-played and consistent with the rest of the film.

7. The beauty (and terror) of Gyllenhaal's performance is that he never shows exactly what's going on inside Lou's head. Lou is a smooth, awkwardly friendly young man. But every now and then his mask slips, giving us a glimpse of what he's really like. And it's not friendly. Gyllenhaal rides this razor thin line brilliantly.

8.  The cinematography is gorgeous, showing nocturnal Los Angeles in a shiny darkness, reflecting the personality of Lou.

9.  From the unusual opening scene to the unconventional ending, "Nightcrawler" is dark drama with elements of a thriller and a crime film. This one will stay under your skin for awhile.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For [USA, 2014]

Nine Things about the Movie Sin City: A Dame to Kill For [USA, 2014]

1. In 2005, the original Sin City was released. It was a startling, ultra violent, hyper noir film based on the famous graphic novel. It was a masterpiece of atmosphere and style.

2.Nine years later, the sequel is released. Directed by the same two guys (Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller) this is more of the exact same thing. Same style, same atmosphere, and some of the same characters as the first film - even one character that’s dead.

3. As with the original, this movie features several separate stories that intertwine with each other. Characters float in and out of the various stories to kind of tie them all together and make it feel like one big terrible place. You can never be sure who will live and who will die.

4. Beneath the gorgeous visuals, the movie is a cynical, depressing look at a place where nobody is happy, everything is corrupt, and even if love isn't really just an act of betrayal, it's doomed anyway.

5. One of the stories takes place before the first film. One of them takes place after the first film. The other two stories don’t really give any clues as to when they take place.

6. You don’t technically have to see the first movie before this one, but it’s a good idea. There are numerous references to the events of the first film, and it won’t always be clear what’s going on if you haven’t seen it.

7. While there is plenty of violence in this movie, it doesn’t feel quite as brutal as the first one.

8. The strength of the movie is also its weakness. Filmed in black and white with splashes of color, it's a mixture of live action, computer animation, and comic-book-style illustration. It's gorgeous, but it’s the same stuff as in the first one. There are no new innovations in its style or technique, even though the filmmakers had nine years to think about it.

9. This movie moves a little more slowly than the first, and the stories aren’t quite as cool. But it’s still beautiful, violent, and one of the more original movies of this year. Fans of the first movie should still find plenty to love about this one.

“The Purge: Anarchy” [USA, 2014]

Nine Things About the Movie The Purge: Anarchy

1. I was one of the few people that really liked “The Purge”. It was sort of misadvertised, so I understand why people didn’t like it. It’s an epic idea - there is one night a year where all crime is legal. But the movie itself focused on one family in one house, so a lot of people thought the movie was wasted, silly, and unrealistic.

2. The reason I liked it so much is because I realized early on that it wasn’t really a horror movie. Sure there is a home-invasion thriller plot, but the movie itself wasn’t about that. It was a harsh allegory of American culture. If you can recognize the political, religious, and classist undertones, the movie unlocks itself for you and becomes a smart, engaging black satire. But most people didn’t recognize that, so they thought it sucked.

3. So for the sequel, they tried to fix those problems, to make it more accessible. So everything becomes more obvious. The social undertones of the first movie become blatant overtones in this one. The action moves out of one house and literally into the streets, where nobody is safe because the cops are all off duty.

4. It’s a decent flick, but they went a little too far in the other direction. There are multiple plots in this movie - each one showing the adventures of a small group of people who find themselves out in the open city when the Purge begins. During the Purge, the streets are run by rival street gangs, religious end-of-the-world nuts, and lone lunatics. There is danger around every corner. Little by little, the characters find each other and try to survive the night.

5. The story mostly works, but it’s really just cobbled together from parts of other movies, and is kind of predictable. Also, given the violent premise of the movie, there is surprisingly little blood and gore. A lot of the violence happens offscreen.

6. Unless you completely turn your brain off, there is no way you will miss the social commentary here. The movie makes bold statements about American capitalism, the merging of religion with national pride, and the unbalanced class system.

7. The ending is a heavy-handed moral lesson about revenge and forgiveness.

8. This movie will play right into the conspiracy theorists that believe America is turning into a police state run by evil super rich people. The “Zeitgeist Movement” Kool-Aid drinkers will think this is a documentary in a few years.

9. This is an entertaining movie that gives you a little to think about. It is louder and dumber than the first one, which many people will appreciate. There are some very chilling scenes, and some good action. But I was left feeling a little empty. It could be a devastating statement on American values. Or it could be a grungy super-violent grindhouse film. But it tries to walk the line between both, so it ends up being neither.
For such an outrageous idea, it’s not a very outrageous movie.

Resolution [USA, 2013]

Nine Things About the Movie Resolution

1. I didn't know much about this film before I watched it, I just knew that it was getting good reviews as an indie thriller.

2. This is one of those "polarizing" movies that you will either really like or really not like. I really didn't like it.

3. It's about a guy, Mike, that goes to visit Chris, his crack-addicted best friend, who is staying out in the country. Mike handcuffs Chris in his cabin and vows to stay with him for a week until he can get off the crack.

4. While they are staying in the house, they are visited by a bunch of random characters that live in the area. They also start getting even more random clues that some strange being is watching them and filming them. They slowly discover they are in real danger.

5. I appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do. But it doesn't work. Characters float in for a scene and then are never seen again. Instead of being mysterious, the movie is disconnected and nonsensical.

6. The directors admit that they have no direct experience with crack addiction or withdrawal. They just Googled it. This is extremely obvious. Chris the crack addict doesn't really seem to be very uncomfortable in his withdrawal. It's the worst portrayal of a drug addict I've ever seen. He is really just the comic relief in the film.

7. The crack withdrawal plot really has nothing to do with the real story. The directors added it to the script to give it "structure". Which means they needed to make it longer. This is a decent 30-minute film that was artificially stretched to last 90 minutes, so the whole point of the movie drowns in it's own "mysteriousness".

8. In what should have been the most suspenseful scene towards the end, the two guys suddenly take a break to discuss their friendship and how awesome each other is.

9. The ending is one of the dumbest and most frustrating endings in recent memory.

Stoker [USA, Britain, 2013]

Nine Things about the Movie Stoker

1. This little thriller about an extremely dysfunctional family is one of the best films of 2013.

2. It’s kind of like “Hamlet”, only more modern, gothic, and psychotic.

3. It stars Mia Wasikowska (who played Alice in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”), Matthew Goode (who played Ozymandias in “Watchmen”), and Nicole Kidman.

4. It’s about a girl, India, who celebrates her 18th birthday on the same day her father dies. When her uncle Charlie comes to the funeral, he moves in.

5. Uncle Charlie inadvertently awakens erotic feelings in India. As well as something darker.

6. I thought I knew where the movie was going, but it fooled me.

7. It was directed by Park Chan-wook, director of the famous Vengeance Trilogy (most Americans have only heard of the second film, “Oldboy”). This is his first English-language film.

8. The camera work is superb, as is the soundtrack.

9. There are many moments in the film that have double meanings. As perhaps the best example, finish the film and then go back and watch the first 60 seconds of the beginning again.

Prisoners (USA, 2013)

Nine Things About the Movie Prisoners

1. This is a dark psychological thriller about two fathers whose girls are kidnapped.

2. It starts off like one of those typical “I must find my daughter!” films. I was afraid it would be boring.

3. It eventually turns out to be closer to “Silence of the Lambs”. It wasn’t even close to being boring.

4. Hugh Jackman plays one of the fathers and Jake Gyllenhaal plays the detective. Each of them follows different leads to find the girls, with different results. The audience is left to decide for themselves which man – if either of them – is doing the right thing.

5. I’ve always been a fan of Gyllenhaal, and he is right on point here. He’s intense, layered, and commands the screen every time he’s on.

6. I’ve always been kind of “meh” about Jackman, but he surprised me with this. He has a fiercely raw emotion that makes you believe the lengths to which he’ll go to find his daughter. This is the best, most mature role I’ve ever seen him in.

7. The movie is almost two-and-a-half hours long, which gives plenty of time for the story and characters to marinate and come together. It repeatedly takes turns that I wasn’t expecting.

8. It is well written, not only as a thriller, but as a psychological examination of two complicated men and the demons who drive them.

9. It was originally rated NC-17 for being extremely violent. It was edited down to get an R-rating, but it’s still disturbing.

The Purge [USA, 2013]

Nine Things About the Movie The Purge

1. Despite how it is advertised, this is not a horror movie. The sooner you realize this, the better.

2. This is a dark, violent, well-acted, and uncomfortable allegory about the American class system.

3. The movie takes place over a span of 13 hours. Ethan Hawke plays a well-meaning, but rather rigid, father that lives in a very wealthy gated community with his family. They settle into their home for the evening behind their state-of-the-art security system to keep out of The Purge. The Purge is a night where all crime is legal. This is designed to let Americans vent their frustration, anger, and violent impulses, so that the rest of the year everyone can get along better. Anyway, the two kids end up compromising the security of their house, and the family must defend their lives from psycho college students who want things the family has.

3 There are some parts of the movie that, at first, seem dumb or unrealistic. But if you look at those instances as metaphor, the whole movie unlocks and begins to make sense.

4. This movie is less concerned with telling an actual story, and more concerned with examining issues of entitlement, envy, the dangers of using God as a foundation of patriotism, and the deep dehumanization of others (as well as the self) that is required to keep those things going.

5. The home-invasion thriller part of the movie is well-acted and has some surprises.

6. There is a lot of violence in this movie, but not like some people expect. It is not about showing rampant carnage so that the audience can experience their own Purge vicariously. The epic idea of the movie is scaled way down to become an intimate experience. This disappointed a lot of people.

7. This movie is not about the Purge, but about the reactions and consequences to living with such a system as The Purge.

8. It's about the self-deception that the wealthy engage in when they say "Things like that don't happen in our neighborhood". It's about the intrinsic instability that roils under the calm surface of the upper class, and how they really are like piranhas, tearing apart anything they see as prey - even if it is each other.

9. The Purge is a suspenseful and thoughtful morality tale that makes a depressing case about human nature. The more you think about it, the more impressive it is.

We Need To Talk About Kevin [USA, Great Britain, 2011]

Nine Things about We Need to Talk About Kevin

1. This was one of the best films of 2011.

2. Based on a book written in 2003, the film is a quietly devastating tragedy of a mother who realizes that something is mentally and emotionally wrong with her son, who has committed a truly horrific act.

3. While this movie is technically a drama, it could also be considered a horror film. This is the best of the 'bad seed" sub-genre of horror. But while it's about a boy with Terrible Problems, that's not the real horror. This movie is a nihilistic punch to the gut, and is more horrific than any knife-wielding maniac or possessed girl.

4. The movie's scenes do not follow chronological order; by jumping back and forth in time, the movie becomes somewhat of a puzzle, as the audience tries to figure out just what happened.

5. The jumps in the film also show the fractured nature of recovering from a deep trauma. Or maybe they show the fractured nature of a deteriorating mind.

6. The cinematography of the film is some of the most beautiful of the year. This makes a stark contrast to the ugly nature of the story.

7. What makes the movie so heart-wrenching is Tilda Swinton's portrayal of a mother desperately trying to find a reason, an explanation, for what has been happening. Or, if not a reason, at least a reason for hope that her world is not just a black hole of cruel pointlessness

8. Ezra Miller was 17 when he made this film. I don't know what allowed him to reach the parts of himself necessary for this movie, but he was masterful in his role.

9. It should not be watched by women who are pregnant or who want to become pregnant.