SquidFlicks

Category: Featured Films

Feature Length films produced by big studios are the main stay of modern Hollywood. These are their reviews. *Dun Dun*

  • Campfire Stories

    Campfire Stories. Hearing that title you expect to hear, or see rather, stories that leave your bones cold even though your body is warm, stories that give you goosebumps all over your body. Stories that are suppose to give you nightmares and cause you pain. Pain that’s brought on by the suspense of the story, and NOT by the horrible acting of one. Sadly, the only pain you’ll be experiencing while you watch the 2002 release of “Campfire Stories” is just that.

    You can pretty much tell the direction this whole thing is going within the first five minutes of the film. Shot on video, you can tell the budget wasn’t too big, so you have to lower your expectations a tad so that you can appreciate the film for its stories it’s trying to relay through the film. I found myself not appreciating anything from this film.

    The wraparound focuses on two young men driving down a deserted road and stopping suddenly at the sight of a young, female traveler (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) standing in their path who also claims to have had car trouble (though her car is nowhere to be seen). The travelers decide to team up and look for help by, of course, wandering into the woods, and this is where they encounter a very unsettling David Johansen playing an oddball character called “Ranger Bill.”

    The stories start horrible, but they do get better as each one passes. The only shining hope in this one is Sigler, maybe its because i liked her so much in The Sopranos. I can’t say I’d ever recommend this to ANYONE but if you want to watch ever horror anthology, like me, it’s one you’ll have to suck up and endure.

    Overall, Campfire Stories is a poorly written, acted, and directed film. It’s one of the WORST anthology films to be put on DVD. Avoid Campfire Stories, but SEE Campfire Tales. Kudos to Jamie-Lynn Sigler in this one.

    1/5 Reels
    Dying Squid Rating
    Watch at your own Risk!!!

    Trailer:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykSYa3fyG94

  • Trick ‘R Treat


    Halloween. A time when we have an excuse to act like a kid and dress up. Traditionally a holiday where kids go from house to house asking for candy in various costumes. Horror movies are seen regular on televisions all over the world and we just cant seem to get enough of the macabre. Skulls and Jack O’ Lanterns are symbols of the season,however; another tradition of Halloween dates back thousands of years. Human sacrifices were common then and if you were ever to break that tradition you may get visited by a demon or two. Meet Sam. Like the crew in the 2008 release of Michael Dougherty’s “Trick ‘R Treat.”

    Going into this film i had good expectations. For a few years it has received praise for being the best horror film in years, and one of the best anthology films of all time. I never expected it however to be as amazing as it was. The way the film was setup, reminded me of “Pulp Fiction.” All of the stories were intertwined, and you’d see certain scenes and characters featured in one story in the background of another.

    Glen MacPherson, the film’s cinematographer, did an outstanding job with the look of the film. It caught the real essence of the fall time and everything seemed to be just in place and very eerie looking to it all. Just like wine, time did this film justice and ever disappoints

    Michael Dougherty did a superb job writing a well entertaining film that isn’t predictable at all. The stories were all very original, and they kept you in shock as the film reveals its twists and turns throughout. The acting was great as well. Dylan Baker was excellent as the Principal gone killer. Others that stood out to me were Britt Mckillip and Brian Cox.

    This is a def. new film im going to watch every year at Halloween time. It’s one that you’ll never get tired of and always fun to go back try and to connect everything together. Michael Dougherty has stated that he plans to make a sequel, hell i say make a new one every year!

    5/5 Reels
    Platinum Squid Rating
    Don’t Miss this instant Classic!!!

    Trailer:
    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jh0DwJZjz8

  • Escape from New York

    1997. The year that saw the death of Princess Diana, Gas was $1.22 a gallon, Titanic was released, and life was simpler and less worrisome. A lot of the 90s was spent living a more stress free life than many of us do now. Some however, depicted 1997 as a totally opposite reality. Picture 1997. The year where the entire Government structure is changed and the state of New York is turned into a maximum security prison. The President’s life is in danger and a man called Snake has to save him. Welcome to John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York.”

    This film’s story, I feel, is way ahead of it’s time. By having the set-up be in New York is such a memorable image of America, it could really hit home. Pitting the sole leader of the free world in danger against the gangs and criminals of New York is a ballsy move and it sure as hell worked to perfection. The Criminal anti-hero, Snake Plissken, is as badass as they come. Only caring for himself and no one else makes him one BAMF guy.

    The actors in the film are as seasoned as they come. Donald Pleasence, Kurt Russell, Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau all starred in this cult classic and they raised the film’s quality tremendously. They each have their own unique and distinct role which they all execute wonderfully.

    Carpenter composed the music himself, and he, yet again, delivered in high form. He’s use of heavy synth in his compositions makes his sound the true “Carpenter sound.” The main theme makes you get ready for the action adventure you’re about to witness and doesn’t lay off until the closing credits have rolled.

    Overall, this film is a underrated classic in my eyes. I feel it’s one of Carpenter’s best scripts, and films. If you have Escape lately, then pop some popcorn, lay back on the couch and watch the 1997 that you never thought would be.

    5/5 Reels
    Platinum Squid Rating
    Watch it NOW!!

    Trailer:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckvDo2JHB7o

  • Toy Story 3

    Guess who’s back? Back again? PIXAR’s back…tell a friend!

    All Slim Shady references aside, Pixar has once again entered the realm of public conscience with another stellar film. Now, you may be asking, “Brandon. When does Pixar ever make a bad film?” The answer? Never. Time and time again,  Pixar has proven to be one of the most reliable studios in the movie-making business. Not only do they deliver with amazing visuals and rake in at the box office, all Pixar films are guaranteed to make you do one of two things: laugh until you cry, or flat-out cry. All of these hold true for Toy Story 3.

    When the first inkling of Toy Story 3 came up in 2009, many wondered what the story would center around. Would Andy be grown up, or would he retain his age as a child? The thinkers at Pixar don’t disappoint – the movie begins with Andy, now 17, packing for college. WOAH! Where are the toys going to go?! Well, they end up at Sunnyside Day Care, donated by Andy’s mom. Sunnyside introduces us to several new characters, the most notable of which are Lots-O (voiced by Ned Beatty) and Ken (voiced by Micheal Keaton). Both add a flair to the movie that was much needed. Let’s face it – we’ve been familiar with the principal characters since the mid-1990s, and the new characters are welcome. Without spoiling the rest of the story, I will just say that the third film in the Toy Story franchise is probably the most entertaining of the trio.

    Pixar’s visuals never fail to disappoint. They are the best in the business when it comes to 3D animation, and it shows in each of their films. Toy Story 3 is no exception. Several times, I had to do a double take, as I thought something was actually real. Little things like grass blowing in the wind, or a tortilla (you’ll see) flopping around look completely natural. What’s even more interesting is the time Pixar takes to perfect each frame of the movie. An article I read in Wired magazine mentioned that 3 frames of Toy Story 3 took approximately 27 hours to properly render. Not only do they spend over a DAY compiling seconds of footage, they also meet and discuss and view the frames, to determine what needs to be fixed. I saw the film in 3D as well. It wasn’t gimmicky, cheap 3D like some movies. But at the same time, it didn’t feel, at least to me, like it made any difference in viewing whatsoever. If you want to save some money, just see it in 2D – from my perspective, the extra money isn’t worth it. One more note – Toy Story 3 is the first film to feature Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound. Not that I can tell the difference between the current 5.1 and 7.1, but the movie sounded great.

    If you’re looking for a quality film to go see, pick Toy Story 3. Especially if you’re a 90s kid, and grew up with Buzz action figures like me. This movie will make you laugh. This movie will also make you cry (guilty!). But most importantly, this movie will instill the message that being a kid never really ends – it just depends on how you embrace that inner child that all of us truly have. Toy Story 3 succeeds in being one of the best films I’ve seen yet this year, and Pixar once again succeeds at blowing audiences away…to infinity, and beyond.

    5/5 Reels
    Platinum Squid Rating
    You must be INSANE if you don’t plan on watching this movie!

    Trailer:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_FfHA5whXc

  • Get Smart

    Maxwell Smart is a dedicated member of CONTROL, yet another secret government spy organization similar to Britain’s MI6 (James Bond, for those of you who don’t know). Max has been trying to become a field agent for over 8 years, but he’s stuck as an analyst of radio and communications chatter from suspected terrorists throughout the world.

    (more…)

  • The Shawshank Redemption

    Where do I start with this movie? Writing this review was insanely difficult for me, for one big reason; this is my all time favorite movie. I’ve been in love it for a couple years-to the point where I’ll even put up with the commercials when they run it on TNT or USA. Personal emotion aside, this is an amazing film. Darabont (who later gained the rights to The Green Mile because of his work on this film) created nothing short of a masterpiece with this movie.

    Plot:

    The Shawshank Redemption is a drama in the purest sense of the word. It weaves a tale of lies, money, lust and violence in a two hour epic. The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Robbins) and his journey through a lifetime in prison. The movie simply follows him over the period of a few decades in a corrupt New England prison known as Shawshank (clearly). During his time at Shawshank, Dufresne befriends Ellis Redding (Freeman), deals behind closed doors with Warden Norton (Gunton) and Guard Captain Hadley (Brown). The one thing I refuse to do with this blog is ruin story lines as some other reviews do. I simply want to give a summary of the overall plot. Having said that, the ending to The Shawshank Redemption is simply amazing.

    Acting:

    There is no subpar acting job in The Shawshank Redemption. Robbins and Freeman both play their parts(which are not complicated roles for two veteran actors) perfectly and they never ruin the attention span of the viewer. Gunton and Brown both play the people you love to hate; Gunton is the man you want to see go down in flames and Brown is the prick you just want to see on screen. Every other inmate from the the stuttering Heywood(William Sadler) to the wise Brooks(James Whitmore) grows on whoever happens to be watching at that point in time. In fact, there is no actor in The Shawshank Redemption that does anything less than a great job.

    Verdict:

    We all have movies that we can recite dialog from memory or watch over and over without getting bored, and The Shawshank Redemption is that movie for me. I’ve watched it easily a hundred times in my life, if not more. It is one of the movies that every living person needs to see at least once before they die.

    5/5 Reels
    Platinum Squid Rating
    A Must-See!

    Trailer:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTSDBhczJMU

    Purchase:

    The Shawshank Redemption

  • The Last of the Mohicans

    last_of_the_mohicans

    This is a guest review submitted by Derek Dowell! Thanks Derek!

    Nice hair, Hawkeye! (The Last of the Mohicans – 1992)

    It’s 1757 and uber actor Daniel Day-Lewis, despite being a hardcore frontiersman, sports great flowing tresses of salon quality hair. Not what you’d expect from this method actor of a white “Indian” miles from the nearest Wal-Green’s, running bare-chested through the wilds of the northeast in pursuit of deer with his two Mohawk buddies.

    Based on characters created by James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans boils down the tediously descriptive passages of that late 19th century series of books into an historical pseudo epic with a magnificent soundtrack. You wanna talk about dense word imagery? Back in high school English class, reading and reporting on a book by Cooper counted double. I read them all. At the time, I thought I was coming out ahead despite the possible long term brain damage. Now I’m not so sure.

    Thank goodness The Last of the Mohicans doesn’t try to emulate JFC’s verbose style, otherwise the camera would still be lovingly lingering over every single blasted leaf on a tree in the opening shot. Having said that, the cinematography is marvelous! For those of us who didn’t graduate from film school, that means it looks awful purty.

    Here’s the situation. France and England are squabbling over the New World (not Pandora, you cretin – the OTHER one). Some of the Indians side with one and some with the other. Thrown into the mix are a couple of English sisters destined to be kidnapped by the baaad Heron Indians, one of whom, Wes Studi (he of the perpetually scowling countenance), lets you know immediately that good things are not in store for our heroes. You might remember Studi as the tough-guy Pawnee from Dances with Wolves two years earlier. **SIGH** Yes, he was also in Avatar, and that’s all I have to say about that.

    One of the sisters, Madeline Stowe, falls for Day-Lewis (Hawkeye). He is likewise smitten, despite the fact that she must be using the wrong conditioner since her hair is not nearly as luxuriant and well-groomed as his. Still, we assume he wants to make babies with her from the meaningful glances between them that go on for five freakin’ minutes! But first he must rescue her from Studi’s bad Heron-ness. The final 15 minutes of the movie are as strong you’ll find in Hollywood and is the reason anyone pays to watch shadows on a wall in the first place. There’s sacrifice, heroism, suicide, murder, and an eternally building crescendo of some kind of Irish jig and reel music over booming drums – and that’s just at the line at the concession stand.

    The Last of the Mohicans manages to successfully mash together historical context, romance, and a darn good action adventure that satisfies like a really good potato chip and bologna sandwich. By gosh, this film deserves a 5/5 rating but since modern audiences are allergic to history and have the attention span of fruit flies, I’ll grudgingly lower the rating by one notch – but that’s all, damn it!

    4/5 Reels
    Gold Squid Rating
    Rent it, buy it, live it!

  • The Crazies (1973)

    Every human being on this planet has rights. In America most of them are featured in our first amendment rights. The right to free speech, assembly, freedom of religion, are all examples of the rights that Americans hold. However, all of those right could be taken away from us via military action. This action is called Martial Law. Nobody would want to have to live in an area under Martial Law, like the group of civilians in the 1973 release of George Romero’s “The Crazies.”

    (more…)

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Look! It’s a bird, it’s a plane – no, it’s Brandon, rising from the dead to write a review! It’s a miracle, I know, but I just saw quite possible one of my favorite films of all time, and I decided to make my comeback with it.

    I went into Alice in Wonderland with huge hopes. Ever since I’d heard bits of rumors that this movie might actually be made, I’d been on the edge of my seat with anticipation. From the first teaser trailer, I knew that I’d have to see this movie. I’m a huge fan of Tim Burton, and when Johnny Depp was announced as the Mad Hatter…well, that sealed the deal for me. This was going to be at the top of my “To See” list.

    I suppose I should first start with my favorite aspect of the film, the visuals. As always, Burton has created a world unlike any other; he has taken a classic story and put a dark, semi-gothic twist on it. Just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton completely flips and twists the world in which the story is set, from the one that the viewer is most familiar with – in this case, the 1951 Disney animated feature. No longer is Wonderland a bright and mysterious place – it’s taken an obvious turn for the worst. The landscape is barren, and the entire world seems to be gloomy. This is definitely a welcome change, as it completely fits the storyline of the movie.

    Speaking of storyline, this version of Alice is what Burton calls a “re-imagining” of the story – Alice is 19, and the events in Wonderland don’t directly follow Lewis Carroll’s original books, nor the 1951 Disney adaptation. Without giving any spoilers of the movie, I will say that the storyline is very well crafted. Burton has definitely achieved his goal of wanting this movie to “feel more like a story and less like a string of events”. This movie definitely moves from one scene to another much better than the ’51 Alice, as this film actually has a set plot to it. The events are quite suspenseful as well, though I think some scenes were unnecessary, and were only added in for laughs.

    Of course, you can’t have a Tim Burton movie without Johnny Depp. The two make for an infallible pair, and once again, the combination results in much entertainment. Depp again shows that he is the man to play the oddest characters, and gives the Mad Hatter the insane portrayal he deserves. Helena Bonham Carter makes an appearance as the Red Queen, and does an amazing job. The actress I was most pleased with, however, was Mia Wasikowska as Alice. She’s a relatively unknown actress outside of the United Kingdom, but I can’t see why. Her rendition of Alice was spot on, and she seemed to definitely enjoy the role. Not to mention the fact that she definitely looks the part. One more note on the acting – as an avid Harry Potter film, I was quite surprised to see a few actors and actresses from the HP films make small appearances. Alan Rickman, Frances de la Tour, and Imelda Staunton all have small roles, and did quite well in them.

    This movie isn’t perfect, but its flaws aren’t enough to make it less of a film. A few scenes of cheesy dialogue bothered me a bit, as I felt they really weren’t needed for the progression of the film. Even though Burton meant for the film to feel like a story, it felt like a rush to me – some scenes were very quick, while others dragged on. There was a lack of balance between the two, and to me, it messed the flow of the story up just a bit. However, these flaws were not nearly enough to ruin the film for me, or the rest of the audience. One note – you might want to reconsider if you were thinking of taking children to see this movie. There are some pretty intense scenes that might scare the little ones!

    Overall, I found hardly any flaws with Alice in Wonderland. This movie definitely delivers. It is a worthy remake of the classic story, and will please everyone. I highly recommend you see this movie, whether you are a fan of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, or just Alice – this movie is definitely worth watching.

    4/5 Reels
    Golden Squid Rating
    Check it out!

    Trailer:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCM4JiJ6B2I

  • Hancock

    Intro:

    Superheroes are the best tool for fighting crime in any major urban area. Batman protects Gotham City, Superman, Metropolis, and Spiderman, Manhattan. For the most part, the heroes listed are on decent terms with the cities and people they serve. Hancock, on the other hand, is a superhero that Los Angeles would be glad to be rid of.  He consistently demolishes various parts of the city whenever crime is afoot, can be found sleeping on the streets, and drinks heavily. In addition, he’s also a huge jerk. It’s no wonder everyone hates him.

    Perhaps if he cleaned up his act, the public would start to appreciate him more. It takes a lot of persuasion from an adoring fan and PR man Ray Embrey to help improve his image. Just as things start to turn for the better, an unexpected discovery opens a huge weakness, an Achilles heel, to the mighty Hancock. Will he survive? (more…)