Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Steve Miner
Starring: Adrienne King, Amy Steel, John Furey

Running time: 87 minutes

 

Five years after the events of the first film, a group of camp counsellors are back to Crystal Lake for some training. Unfortunately for them, Jason is still around ready to kill them off one by one, if they are not careful.

This sequel to the original quickly ties off the bow of the first film and then moves on to the next story. Slowly, we see more and more of Jason. He is slowly morphing from invisible to visible killer, though he still does not have the hockey mask that would become an integral part of his look.

The acting is a little better, though not that much. The story feels more adult, with nudity and all, and seeing the killer is a big plus. It is still cheesy and over-the-top by today’s standards, but, as a product of its time, it is still entertaining, though trying to repeat the end shocker a second time was not as fresh as the first time.

Rating: «««

Friday the 13th (1980)

 

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Starring: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Kevin Bacon 

 Running time: 95 minutes

 

A group of counsellors are trying to reopen the abandoned summer camp called Crystal Lake, where some terrible things happened decades earlier. As they are making final preparations before opening, on Friday the 13^th, they are picked out one by one and killed by a mysterious unseen killer.

This was the start of the movie franchise involving the character of Jason. It is a movie franchise that many will accuse of overstaying its welcome. In this first film, we never really see the character of Jason. We just see the killings from the killer's point of view.

The acting is mostly quite bad here. It is a very cheesy and dated flick. It was nice, though, to see a young Kevin Bacon at work. The most effective element here is the music. It makes the whole film feel scarier than it really is. That fight involving Jason’s mother towards the end was cheesy beyond belief, but that scene with Alice on the boat after that was a nice shocker.

 Rating: ««

Patriot Games (1992)

 

Genre: Thriller / Action
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Sean Bean 

Running time: 117 minutes

 While on vacation in London with his family, retired CIA analyst Jack Ryan intervenes in an assassination attempt on Lord William Holmes, by a splinter cell of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. In the process, Ryan kills one of the attackers, sending the fallen man’s brother on a hunt against the retired CIA analyst and his family, while the cell of the IRA focuses on carrying their mission towards the royal.

This is the second movie with the Jack Ryan character, after Hunt for the Red October. Still based on a Tom Clancy novel. Patriot Games has been criticized for straying away from the book, but, in itself, it is a very interesting action/thriller film. The story is compelling and the acting is good. Overall, a fun piece of cinema.

Rating: ««««

Being There (1979)

 Genre: Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Hal Ashby
Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas 

Running time: 130 minutes

 

Chance is a middle-aged simple-minded man living in the house of an older gentleman. Having never left that property, he spends his time working in the garden and watching television. When his benefactor dies, Chance has to leave the property with no ID and just one suitcase. After getting his leg injured by a backing car, the simpleton ends up in the mansion of an aging business mogul and his younger wife, where Chance manages to become a close council of the US president, despite the fact that the little knowledge he has he took from watching television.

This film is a brilliantly smart political satire that feels very actual, I must say. Peter Sellers is absolutely wonderful in the lead role. He makes you believe that character is real and not just the work of an actor. The supporting cast is also very solid.

I absolutely loved this gem of a movie. Great material that benefits from wonderful acting performances and masterful directing.

 Rating: «««««

A Walk in the Woods (2015)

 
Genre: Biographical / Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Ken Kwapis
Starring: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson 

 Running time: 194 minutes

 

Bill Bryson is an American author who returned to New Hampshire after spending a decade in the UK. Now in his 60’s, existential questions rise within him after attending the funeral of a friend. He decides to undertake the crossing of the Appalachian Trail, to the great dismay of his wife. Wanting to appease his worried wife, who doesn’t want him to make that trip alone, he looks for a friend willing to accompany him. The only one who wants to do it is a long-lost friend Stephen Katz, an aging recovering alcoholic with a temperament much different from Bryson’s.

This film is based on the memoirs written by Bill Bryson himself. It is a compelling tale that benefits greatly from the on-screen chemistry between Redford and Nolte. The supporting cast, on the other hand, was not given much and felt like an after-thought, considering the talent involved.

While interesting, this story lacked some elements, to make the whole thing more cohesive. It was still entertaining, albeit not without flaws.

Rating: «««

Would You Rather (2012)

 
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Directed by: David Guy Levy
Starring: Brittany Snow, Jeffrey Combs, Johnny Coyne 

 Running time: 93 minutes

 

Iris is a young woman having a hard time making ends meet as she cares for her sick younger brother Raleigh. In an appointment with her brother’s doctor, Iris meets Shepard Lambrick, a very rich man who offers the young woman to take part in a game at a dinner party he’s organizing. If she wins the game, all her brother’s medical needs will be met and her financial problems will be solved. She finally accepts and ends up in a twisted and deadly game of “Would You Rather” with a group of strangers.

This is decent psychological thriller that offers its share of interesting plot twists. It is violent, but it did not rely too heavily on blood and guts (by my standards anyways). The acting ranged from okay to not that good, but I was still entertained. Nice plot twist I really did not expect at the end.

Rating: «««

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Genre: Thriller
Directed by: John McTiernan
Starring: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn

Running time: 135 minutes

 

Based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name, this film tells the story of the Red October, a new Russian Typhoon-class nuclear submarine under the command of Marko Ramius. Though it moves with stealth, the Russian submarine’s presence in the waters is vaguely felt by American authorities. CIA analyst Jack Ryan perceives that Ramius wants to defect to America, and he must prove his point to the higher ups before the issue escalates into a full-blown confrontation.

This film offers a good cast of talented people well directed to deliver a captivating story on screen. It dragged a bit a times, but, overall, this is a very good thriller.

 Rating: ««««