Friday, July 26, 2013

Vampire Bats (2005)



Number Rolled: 57
Movie Name/Year: Vampire Bats (2005)
Genre: Horror
Length: 89 minutes
Rating: NR
Director: Eric Bross
Writer: Doug Prochilo
Actors: Lucy Lawless, Dylan Neal, Liam Waite, Timothy Bottoms, Brett Butler, Tony Plana, Jessica Stroup, Arnie Pantoja, Brandon Henry Rodriguez, Robin Hines, Josh Segarra, Andrew Matthews, Donna Duplantier, Damon Lipari, Jerrod Paige, Bobby Campo, Stephanie Honore, Jacque Henry, Emily Michel, Peggy Walton-Walker, Craig Ferguson

“Vampire Bats” is the follow up to “Locusts” from earlier in 2005. Dr. Maddy Reardon and her husband, Dan, have just moved to a new town in order to build a calmer, easier life – preferably away from evil locusts. While teaching, Dr. Maddy is informed of the death of one of her students and begins an investigation to find out what did it. She knows for sure it wasn’t the two students the sheriff arrested.

I haven’t seen “Locusts.” I didn’t even realize this was a sequel until the characters in the movie said something suspicious that made me decide to look it up. To be honest, although I might look for “Locusts” in order to see it, it wasn’t necessary. This movie did well standing on its own. In fact, this movie did really well altogether.

It was a B movie, but the story and the actors were really on the ball. The bats might have been one step up from claymation, but I found that forgivable. In movies like this, I often find myself really bored. In the beginning, I was fairly certain nothing would be different. However, the storyline wound up breaking stereotypes and Lawless certainly showed just how amazing she still is. There was a little bit of a secondary love story that I found unnecessary, but they really didn’t spend much time on it, so it didn’t affect my opinion all that much.

“Vampire Bats” was a good, solid, B-movie. A creature feature, without a doubt, but one that was absolutely worth it.

Overall Opinion – 3.5/5

P.S. The Random Rating: PG-13 (For sex references and blood/moderate violence)

P.P.S. The sound started to come on a delay in the last half hour or so.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012)



Number Rolled: 80
Movie Name/Year: What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012)
Genre: Comedy
Length: 109 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Kirk Jones
Writer: Shauna Cross, Heather Hach, Heidi Murkoff
Actors: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Ben Falcone, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Rodrigo Santoro, Joe Manganiello, Rob Huebel, Thomas Lennon, Amir Talai, Rebel Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey

Five women found out that they were expecting a child at approximately the same time. Each individual story was told on its own and the viewer learned, as the story progressed, how each story intersected with the others.

Going into this movie I was prepared for a bit of a letdown. The description didn’t really interest me, but I added it to my queue because of a love for Elizabeth Banks. I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was very funny, although I’d still consider it more of a drama than a comedy, and the actors were all really amazing. What I found the best part was that the storyline seemed relatively realistic.

Sure, most new daddies don’t get their kids from Ethiopia or have rich car-racing dads of their own trying to stuff money down their throats, but the actually pregnancies weren’t glamorized as much as I thought they would be. The five women don’t have the same road to travel despite having the same goal. Pregnancy is not a cut and dry issue. Some women feel certain things, others a whole different set of symptoms and some, for a lucky few, barely feel anything. “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” travels down five very different paths that lead to a child.

I enjoyed the movie. I didn’t absolutely love it but I wasn’t staring at the clock, either. I feel the connection between the stories was flimsy, at best, and the way they had the babies delivered definitely tested my suspension of disbelief. However, with its faults, it still wasn’t bad.


Overall Opinion – 3/5

Monday, July 22, 2013

Slither (2006)



Number Rolled: 35
Movie Name/Year: Slither (2006)
Genre: Horror
Length: 95 minutes
Rating: R
Director: James Gunn
Writer: James Gunn
Actors: Don Thompson, Nathan Fillion, Gregg Henry, Elizabeth Banks, Tania Saulnier, Michael Rooker, Haig Sutherland, Jennifer Copping, Brenda James, Lorena Gale, Jenna Fischer, Ben Cotton, Dee Jay Jackson, Matreya Fedor, Amber Lee Bartlett, William MacDonald, Iris Quinn, Michael Cromien

It was a quiet night out in a small hunting town when Grant and his wife, Starla, got into an argument. He went for a walk and found something strange. A meteor had fallen to the Earth and split open. The strangest slug-like creature popped out of it and Grant went to investigate. That was when it hijacked his body. The disappearances began and the Sheriff, Bill, is left with the task of apprehending the culprit(s) before things get worse.

Horror is a good enough main genre for Slither, but it could also fit into the Sci-Fi/Fantasy or Comedy genres. It had enough jumpy moments for me to agree with the horror possibility, but I spent the majority of the time laughing at the script. The storyline was a little cheesy, but it was so well written that it was almost difficult to remember how cheesy it was.

The cast really made the film. With actors like Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks and Michael Rooker, I should have known that would be the case. Three beloved series are represented throughout those three actors (Firefly, The Hunger Games, and The Walking Dead). Right there you have to know the movie is going to be able to pick up an audience from those fan-doms. The best part is that all three of them work really well together.

I won’t lie, this movie is a bit of a creature feature, but don’t hold that against it! Much like in movies like Jurassic Park, it’s an easy fact to forget. Don’t go into it thinking, “creature feature,” go into it thinking, “aliens.” Then just sit back and enjoy the massive amounts of sass coming from Nathan Fillion.

Overall Opinion – 4/5


P.S. There’s a short scene after the credits finish rolling.