Edge of Tomorrow - A Simple and Quick Spolier Free Review

Edge of Tomorrow is Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers.  I enjoyed all three of these movies and have watched the later two many times.  Last night I went out to see Edge of Tomorrow.  It was a Tuesday night at the movies, and that means TONS of people.  I saw the movie at the Landmark Theatre in New Westminster.  I like this theatre because you can reserve your seats, for all showings, without paying an extra fee.  This feature is amazing because you never have to wait in lines, and you can show up minutes before the movie starts an know you will have a good seat and that's really beneficial on a Tuesday night when it's crazy.

In Edge of Tomorrow, an alien race called the Mimics, have landed on earth and have started an all out war.  The human race is quickly losing.  The militaries of the earth have banded together to create the United Defence Force.  Cage (Tom Cruise), an officer of the UDF, is sent to the front lines to help defend the earth.  During one conflict he inadvertently harnesses the Mimics time travel abilities.  Now Cage has to repeat the same day over and over again until he gets it right.

Time loop movies can be hit or miss.  They quite often show you way too much of the same portion of the day or just not enough.  Edge of Tomorrow finds the right balance.  Each time that Cage repeats a day, the movie shows you a slightly more advanced section of his day.  This helps the story progress.  It's an interesting way to tell a story and hard to get right.  I really enjoyed watching this movie and look forward to it being released on video so I can watch it again.

As with any movie, especially a science fiction movie, Edge of Tomorrow does have some faults that the critics will pick away at, but if you are like me and just enjoy watching a good story and are able to suspended your disbelief, Edge of Tomorrow will keep you entertained from beginning to end.

A Million Ways to Die in the West: A Review

I am really lucky to get my hands on a ton of screener movie tickets.  It's a great way to see movies, and as an added bonus, I don't have to pay for them.  The only real inconvenience with screener tickets is that you have to arrive fairly early to the theatre in order to get good seats.  I can't complain at all though, free is awesome!  Last night I made the trek out to Silvercity Riverport in Richmond, BC to catch advanced screening of A Million Ways to Die in the West.  I, and from the sound of it, the entire theatre had a blast.

Seth MacFarlene wrote, directed and stars in A Million Ways to Die in the West.  He plays Albert, a cowardly sheep farmer.  After he fast-talks his way out of a gun fight he is branded a coward and his girlfriend leaves him for Foy (Neil Patrick Harris), the dashing owner of the Moustachory.  Contemplating suicide as means to escape the west, Albert finds himself in the middle of a saloon brawl where he meets the mysterious Anna (Charlize Theron).  Anna helps Albert find his courage as they slowly fall in love.  When a notorious gun-slinger (Liam Neeson) shows up in town looking for trouble, Albert must test out his new found courage.

Seth MacFarlene is not the best actor out there, but I felt that worked well for him in this film, especially when he is surrounded by other great actors.  A comedic western, with quick-witted dialogue from MacFarlene and a ton of sight gags, A Million Ways to Die in the West had me laughing from start to finish.  Throw in a few musical numbers, some poking-fun of old racial stereotypes and an interesting view of the oldest profession in the world, this film is definitely one of the best comedies I have seen in a while.

A Million Ways to Die in the West will be released to the general public on May 30, 2014.

Afflicted: A spoiler free review.

I was lucky enough tonight to be able to watch a free screener of a new independent horror film: Afflicted.  When I first read what this movie was about, to be honest, I wasn't really interested.  The story is about two friends who set out on the tour of a lifetime, around the world in 365 days, documenting the entire process on film for their blog.  At the early stages of their trip something mysterious happens to one of the friends and he becomes "afflicted".

I thought the premise sounded quite boring and done before, but I figured I would give it a chance, after all it was a free screener.  I watched the trailer a few days ago, before seeing the movie.  I was intrigued.  I sure am glad that I decided to give this movie a chance.  Over the course of the movie, I jumped a few times and chuckled a little bit at the screamers in the audience.  Using the "classic" Blair Witch styling of filming, the movie was quick paced, thrilling and quite interesting and at no time did I wonder when the movie would be over.

Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, the writers/directors/stars of Afflicted, recently made a big splash at the 2013 Fantastic Fest, walking away with Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director in the horror section of the festival for their film.  Their wins were well deserved.  I really enjoyed this movie and would recommend anyone to see it...even if horror/thrillers are not their usual cup of tea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtfSuXbPYUU