The Revenant (2015)

I can’t emphasize enough how amazing and brutal that grizzly attack scene was. No idea how they filmed it. Just incredible. The whole movie is one fantastic survival-revenge story. The camerawork and shot angles are superb. Definitely a contender for Best Cinematography.

Rating: B+

Alpha Dog (2006)

The true story of stupid people making incredibly stupid decisions, which leads them to unsurprisingly bad consequences. The saving grace of the film is a great cast, solid acting, and an engaging story.


Rating: C+

Brick (2005)

An oddly filmed teen indie drama about misguided youth, dealing drugs, lost love, and friendship. The story was disjointed, although the mood was right on. 

Rating: C

Inception (2010)

A total mindf%#@. It takes the movie Dreamscape from my childhood and twists it into a visually stunning film. Very well made with fine acting. My only complaint is, like dreams, it never felt grounded. The movie takes place in a mostly make-believe world, which doesn't allow the audience to fully invest in the story. All the characters, with the exception of Leonardo, are written very shallow. I liked the movie, but in the end it was just a daydream—something to pass the time.

Rating: C+

Contraband (2012)

An average action thriller about smuggling and betrayal. Nothing to write home about.

Rating: C

Red Riding Hood (2011)

The first 30-40 minutes were pretty bad all around. The writing felt trite and the delivery wasn’t much better. The rest of the film was helped by the increased action. I thought they did a decent job of keeping the viewer guessing about who the wolf was. Still, you can probably skip this one.

Rating: C-