Unsane

     Unsane directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstien and James Greer is a psychological thriller. It is about Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) who goes to a behavioral center to talk about her previous stalker issue. They admit her into the center against her will. Sawyer thinks she is seeing her stalker working there.

     The story is interesting, as well as the characters. Most of the decisions in this are logical which is needed in this movie. The ending was great it leaves a bit of sadness at the end. You do feel for the main actress, she is in a terrible situation and it is only expressed better by Claire Foy's acting. There are amazing scenes in here that are only possible due to her acting.

     The cinematography in here is unique. Our main actress is usually separated from the background, most of the time she seems to be in her own universe. We also get some shots of her from afar through bushes and things letting us know the stalker is watching her. There is one scene that greatly uses cinematography and editing to make us feel like we are insane. This movie is great, with only minor flaws such as some character choices, and some problems with the story, this movie is definitely worth a watch at the movie theater.

Dedicated to Leilany Lopez

Lady Snowblood

     Lady Snowblood written by Norio Osada and directed by Toshiya Fujita is action movie about revenge. It stars Meiko Kaji as Yuki. When she was born her mother told her she would have to finish her quest of revenge and kill the remaining three people who ruined her life. She is strictly trained and at the age of 20 sets off to kill her enemies. 

     This movie is fairly acted with Meiko Kaji as our charming lead, and while the movie makes her look very beautiful she is very dangerous. This movie is one of the great samurai movies ever made. The sets look gorgeous with some of them using black backdrops which really makes the sets pop out. The score is similar to many samurai films but it is still great.

     The story is well written with a plot twist here and there. Nothing to unique about the story. The film is left slightly ambiguous which is ruined when you know there is a second film. There is a lot of blood in the movie which I think fits very well and enjoy it a lot. Like I said before this is up there for classic samurai revenge films, and if that is something that interests you, check this movie out.

P.S. This movie is a major influence to Kill Bill

Compliance

     Compliance is written and directed by Craig Zobel. It stars Dreama Walker as Becky who is the cashier at a fast food chicken place. Officers Daniels (Pat Healy) calls the place to inform the manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) that Becky has stolen from a customer. Sandra brings Becky to the back where Officer Daniels gives her instructions on how to handle this situation.

     The acting in this movie is great, Walker does fantastic in the main role. The plot of this movie relies on feeling for her character which Walker gets us to do. Without any words you can see the point in the movie where her character breaks. 

     The plot is what makes this movie standout. It is based on a true story. The movie tries less on the suspense part of it and focuses more on making us curious of how far it is going to go, because in the end you know this happened in real life and that is the lingering fear of this movie. This movie will be hard to watch for some people because of what happens to Becky. Some people do just want a happy ending and if that is you I would stay away from this movie. If you can stomach it and want to learn what actually happened this movie does the event justice.

Mute

     Mute directed by Duncan Jones and written by Michael Robert Johnson and Duncan Jones is a SCI-FI, mystery movie. The movie is about Leo (Alexander Skarsgard) a mute Amish man in a futuristic world. His girlfriend Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh) has gone missing, and he is determined to go find her.  Along the way he keeps running into Cactus (Paul Rudd) who is AWOL and 

trying to get papers to go back to the U.S.

     This movie is amazingly acted. Especially Alexander who is mute the whole movie, he gives us so much emotion without saying a single word. I do think they don't give him enough time in the movie, we get about a fifty fifty split of him and Paul Rudd. The way he acts with his eyes is amazing. Paul Rudd also does great as a witty jerk. Sadly, sometimes his character feels to generic. His character does border between someone we root for and someone we hate. 

     This movie also looks beautiful as most SCI-FI movies do. The soundtrack is nice. I think the movie does a decent job at setting up their world. My complaints are not enough time with Alexander, and some character choices with Paul Rudd's character. Besides that I thought it was a fun SCI-FI movie that kept me entertained for most of it.

Blade of the Immortal

     Blade of the Immortal directed by Takashi Miike and written by Tetsuya Oishi is an action, drama, samurai movie. It is about Manji (Takuya Kimura) who was cursed and is an immortal samurai. He is hired as a bodyguard by Rin (Hana Sugisaki) to avenge her fathers death.

     This story is unique, and mesmerizing. An immortal samurai is a great concept, and it works so well. One reason it works so well is that since he is immortal they do show our protagonist getting hurt. He isn't so amazing that you lose interest because you know no one can touch him. However I do think to much of the story is moved along by stupid decisions Rin makes. They aren't decisions that could be forgiven because she is a kid, she should still no better. 

     The action in this movie look amazing, and there is plenty of it. There are many blood soaked fights but it just adds to the story instead of taking it away. I do wish I felt more of an emotion towards the characters but some is still there. The story has a great concept and the only flaw of the story is some of the decisions made by Rin. Besides that this is an amazing samurai movie.

The Cloverfield Paradox

     The Cloverfield Paradox directed by Julius Onah and written by Oren Uziel is a SCI-FI mystery. The movie takes place on a spacecraft. We have 7 different people from all around the world. Earth is running out of energy and these 7 people are trying to find a source of unlimited energy.

     This movie has a good story, if you are into science or just possible theories of the world this movie is for you. I had a fun time with them being in a paradox and the world attacking them. The story besides that is simple enough. It feels like your typical horror SCI-FI that takes place in space. The acting was good, none of it stood out but it also didn't take away from anything.

     There is not much to say about this movie, nothing amazing. The story is good and I did feel entertained throughout. You can't really compare this to the other Colverfields because they are all different but I feel this one is the worst of the three. This is a movie you should watch if you have nothing better to do.

2/5

The Cube

     The Cube directed by Vincenzo Natali and written by Andre Bijelic and Vincenzo Natali and Graeme Manson is a Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi movie. It is about a group of people who wake up in a cube and must come together to figure a way out.

     The two bad parts about this movie is the acting and then some of the dialogue. The acting isn't the best for example Maurice Dean Wint and how he opens his eyes as much as possible when is he mad or trying to be intimidating, that being said some times the acting is so bad it is funny. The dialogue in this movie is not the best. It does bring up some serious questions to think about. Like if it is ok to leave one of the people behind because he is disabled. The problem with this is the character who says this is unlikable which takes away from what she is saying.

     Everything else is great, the concept of this story is very interesting. The cinematography is great and the fact they shot it in just one room is inspiring. There is a great scene in here that builds so much tension I moved to the edge of my seat. I do wish the ending was better, they left us with so little. My final thoughts are this movie is fun, with a great concept and a must for horror, Sci-Fi fans.

3/5