Hop's Thoughts

Felt - Billed as horror, this sad drama about dealing with rape is odd, but effective. Beau Travail - This simple story feels like a complex dream in Claire Denis' hands. Brilliant! Krampus - Silly, funny at times, but definitely a failure as a horror film.  The Danish Girl - Vikander stands out in a miss-the-mark fictional twist on interesting story. Extraordinary Tales - Animated Poe Anthology is so good on paper, but never translates. Deadpool - Overhyped, silly, with some very funny moments, but the film is rather boring. Emelie - It's not perfect, but it's what horror should be. Tense, uncomfortable and exciting. Anomalisa - Charlie Kaufman strikes again. The film resonates, but lacks something in the end. Joy - Arguably the worst script ever written. The movie manages to fail in every way possible.  The Battle Of Algiers - Content could be debated, but the look and sound is impeccable. 10 Cloverfield Lane - Obvious, silly and boring, but surprisingly well a...

By far, the least number of movies I've watched in a month in almost two years (since I've been keeping track). Tiny Homes House Hunters - Silly, but some cool houses.  Son Of Saul - Auschwitz from almost a found footage style. Cinematic Masterpiece. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Truly horrible in every way, but script and acting is atrocious. Philomena - Dench and Coogan's chemistry shines in this hilariously poignant film.  The Club - Poorly shot and directed film about repenting priests (or not). Didn't work for me. The Girl In The Car With The Glasses And A Gun - Stylish. Hard to like; impossible to hate. Close-up - Abbas Kiarostami's masterpiece is what docufiction should be. Left me speechless. The Traveler - Kiarostami's first. A boy experiences life. Surpasses 400 Blows in my opinion. The Lady In The Van - Despite Maggie Smith's presence, you never feel it. Awful last half. L'Eclisse - Antonioni's third part of "Trilogy,...

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! ...