Hop's Thoughts

Bridge Of Spies - Hanks' best role since Big, but movie loses steam trying to appeal to masses. Vegucated - Funny, thoughtful look at the importance of convincing people to go vegan. The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie - Style over substance is influential, but club scenes drag. The Exterminating Angel - Bunuel's look at upper class fragility and the results. Fascinating! The End Of Summer - Ozu's penultimate film, is funny, charming and ends beautifully. The Hallow - Truly horrible, but distracted by beautiful co-star. Chi-Raq - Spike Lee combines Do The Right Thing with School Daze and Greek tragedy. Steve Jobs - Fassbender, co-stars, direction and cinematography are A-plus. Best of 2015. Almost Mercy - Need some humor and misses the mark consistently, but solid lead. The Conspiracy - Great idea, solid start and then becomes a cheap ambiguous mess. A Woman Under The Influence - Cassavetes' masterpiece. Rowlands and Falk are superb. The Forest - Great premise a...

This Friday, my niece was born. I received the message via text, with a picture attached. I cried. I was so overcome with happiness, I couldn't contain it. Later that day, I finally spoke to my brother and he told me all was well. He is not close enough for me to see this wonderful addition and with the way we've all become robots to technology, I've not even spoken to my sister-in-law yet. Everything has been through our phones, but very few voices have been heard and I am anxious to hear her coos and giggles, cries and sighs. It will, I imagine, melt my heart. Yesterday, I had a different feeling and it shook me; physically. I knew it was coming, but I wasn't ready for how it came upon me. Someone mentioned their parents "not being ready to be grandparents" yet and I laughed, told them they have time and went down to make myself some lunch. As I sat in the kitchen, I thought about my brother and his wife, staring in wonder at the life they created and the ...

Room - Cliche driven, poorly written script can't be saved by wonderful acting.  Bedevilled - Korean drama/horror works in many ways, but that ending really bothered me. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - shockingly bad, after solid first film.  The Trial - Welles' adaptation of Kafka novel as metaphor for Nazi Germany. Perkins shines. Last Shift - Underrated horror flick, with very solid performance by star and unnerving tension. Indigenous - Panama Jungle meets The Descent. Yep! Aside from good looking women, a dud. Criminal Minds: Season 9 - Repetitive, but character development and chemistry is its charm. Macbeth - Poorly adapted script and too much scenery, makes play lose all play quality. Crimson Peak - First complete letdown from Del Toro. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Hannibal Buress: Comedy Camisado - Very slow start, but the last 20 minutes is hilarious.  The Tribe - Sign language...no subtitles. One of the most bizarre films ever. Troub...

Nurse (3-D) - Aside from scantily clad beauties, this is a sad attempt at sexploitation. Flu - Korean thriller about avian flu. Forty minutes of editing could have made this a gem.  Last Year At Marienbad - Artsy puzzler with no payoff. Thankfully, it's much richer than that. Rome, Open City - Rossellini's war film has highs and lows, but the end to both parts. Wow! Wake In Fright - Cult classic that doesn't live up to the rep. Pleasance is brilliant, but that's it.  Hard To Be A God - Epic, but is it great. Hardest movie you'll ever judge. Gruesome and bold.  Days of Heaven - Malick's stunning look at life and love on the run. Style trumps substance. The Visit - Shamalyan's dud, never works on any level other than humorous rapping,  Persepolis - Animated coming of age story works well, despite some serious lags. Tokyo Chorus - 1931 silent Ozu, works common tale into something special. Poignant 10x. Ip Man - Wonderful action and solid acting, lift...

I'm adding a little change, with my top three movies, bottom three, biggest surprise, biggest letdown. Joyeux Noel - A beautiful true story, hurt by over-dramatization. Still works on some levels. A Pigeon Sat On a Branch Reflecting About Its Existence - Dreadful in every way. Cracks - Aside from a lovely to look at cast, the movie fails to deliver, Eva Green though. Monster - Korean crime thriller fails, due to too many undeveloped characters. Making a Murderer - Poorly done, but makes its point. About 8 hours too long. Sicario - Del Toro is the real gem, but Blunt takes nothing and makes magic. Great film! Silenced - Korean film about real life horror at school for the deaf. Well done, but horrifying. Experimenter - Silly biopic about Milgram's obedience testing. Stumbles from start to finish. Pay The Ghost - Nic Cage horror flick. Works, for about an hour, but then unravels horribly. Unfriended - Might actually be worse than The Gallows and Willow Creek. Awful! ...

Very rarely, do I write from my phone. Then again, today, or should I say yesterday, wasn't your typical day. I've been certain things for certain people, but not on this day. I was not the person one turned to, the one who shared a mutual admiration with. I was not the older brother, the funny one, the first to know. I was nothing, to anyone and as I stood at the base of a semi-frozen waterfall, I realized my insignificance. I realize that this one would move on and that one would simply find someone else to share with. I realized I'm not the pillar of strength, the guide or the one with sage advice. I left the crashing sounds of the water, emerged onto the street and as I hobbled home, even the thoughts of home wore me down. I stepped slowly, wishing to dash, but physically hindered. I cake across across a schoolyard, laughter bellowing, then turned and walked. The only thoughts, about how all that I want is slowly becoming as realistic as stopping that water from rushing...

I, Frankenstein - Better than anticipated and Yvonne Strahovski Room 237 - Silly, aside from the obvious observations - war, genocide, labyrinth The Outlaw (Korean) - Garbled mess with some worth ideas, but fails on each. Deliver Us From Evil - Great lead up to a disappointing final 20 minutes Ida - The best movie of the year, if not the last few Venom - Awful horror with a good cast Barricade - Will from Will & Grace sucks in this supernatural nightmare. Calvary - Incredible film by the people who made The Guard Samurai Rebellion - Mifune. Slow start, but wow what a finish. H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer - Documentary - Crap! Neverlake - Extraordinary take on Frankenstein. Blood Valley: Seed's Revenge - One of the worst movies ever made. Knuckle - Documentary about Pikey clans and their ongoing feud. Good, but sad. Only Lovers Left Alive - Jarmusch delivers the 3rd greatest vampire movie ever made. Fright Night (1985) - Re-watched. Sans Chris Sa...