The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

My View:  The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones  (2013)  PG-13    Clary Fray (Lily Collins) is a girl living in New York City with her single mom (Lena Headey). Her ordinary life is suddenly shattered when she discovers that her mother never told her the truth about her heritage and her dead father. Clary discovers that she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors who are in a continuous battle to protect the world from demons. After her mother is kidnapped, Clary meets Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Alec (Kevin Zegers), two Shadowhunters who introduce her to the dangerous alternate New York called, Downworld. Now, with the help of her human best friend, Simon (Robert Sheehan), the Shadowhunters and Clary must battle demons, warlocks, vampires and werewolves to get her mother back. This film is overly long, and for viewers who haven’t read the book, this film is extremely confusing.  I liked Lily Collins as Clary, but hated who played her romantic interest of Jace, Jamie Bower.  There is absolutely no chemistry between Collins and Bower, and their one romantic scene is so contrived it’s laughable.  Some of the action sequences are enjoyable, but they are too few and far between to make the film move along at any sort of pace. This film misses on so many marks, which definitely makes it tedious to watch.    My Rating:  Cable    The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Website

My View:  You’re Next  (2013)  R  The Davison clan has gathered together to celebrate their parents' 35th wedding anniversary at their isolated home in the country.  The dinner party comes to a halt, though, when the family is attacked by men dressed in black wearing Halloween masks in the shape of animals. This is a film that celebrates the slasher/horror films of the 70’s and 80’s. The dialogue and acting are intentionally over-the-top, which makes it so much fun to watch.  It’s a film not to be taken seriously, so just go with the action, which there is plenty of as every known horror device is exploited.  I really enjoyed the performance of Sharni Vinson who plays the girlfriend of one of the Davison boys.  She is very convincing as the tough-as-nails Australian girl who leads the fight against the attackers.  This film is violent and bloody but is well done, which makes this film highly enjoyable.   My Rating:  Full Price    You're Next Website

Indiefest:  The World’s End  (2013) R  Five friends reunite twenty years later to relive a pub-crawl they never finished in their hometown.  Their mission is to visit twelve pubs with the final destination as the legendary pub, The World’s End.  As they plow through the pubs, they realize that something is not right in their town.  There are mysterious things going on around them, and completing the pub crawl may be the least of their worries. If you liked or loved Shaun of the Dead (2004) or Hot Fuzz  (2007), you are going to love this film.  This is one of those films that you may have to see twice since there will be lines that you will miss due to the laughter being so loud.  It's a brash, exciting film about a Pub crawl that goes terrible wrong.  All five of the cast are entertaining to watch, but it's Simon Pegg and Nick Frost that really shine in this film.  Pegg, as Gary King, is brilliant as the leader of the gang who is trying to relive his glory days.  Frost, who plays one of the gang who in the past was wronged by Gary and holds a grudge.  All five cast members have great chemistry together on the screen and handle both the comedic scenes and the action scenes with equal aplomb.  The violence isn't over the top and many of the action sequences are filled with comedic bits that make this film an engaging film to watch.  My Rating:  Full Price   The World's End Website

Forgotten Film:  Re-Animator  (1985) R  Herbert West (Jeffery Combs) is a medical student going to school at a small New England university. He rents a room from a fellow student, Dan (Bruce Abbott), who soon discovers Herbert is conducting experiments in the basement of the house where they live.  These experiments are about bringing back to life the dead by “re-animating” the bodies.  West begins to use the re-animated bodies to do his bidding and kill the people he dislikes.  This is a horror film that contains quite of bit of intentional comedy yet continues to exhibit scary scene and after scary scene.  Jeffery Combs is the reason to watch this film as he is quite a creepy character and makes this film entertaining to watch.     My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   Re-Animator Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD):  Epic (2013) PG   While I enjoyed this animated film, I didn’t think it was up to the standards of the Pixar films of the past.  M. K. (Amanda Seyfried) has moved to the country to live with her father.  She discovers that there is a race of tiny warriors who defend the forest, and she joins their fight.  Not a bad film - just not a great one.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Epic Website

Weird Credits: From the Credits of The World's End:  Physical Comedy Consultant 

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Salinger (2013)  A documentary about one of the most reclusive authors in the world, J. D. Salinger, who wrote The Catcher in the Rye.  Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, John Cusack and Philip Seymour Hoffman are some of the people who are interviewed in this film.   Salinger Info

Until Next Time!