Movie | Madagascar 3 | PASS

Afro Circus! Absolutely delightful and a must see!

Movie | Another Earth | PASS

If you enjoyed Brit Marling's acting and writing in Sound of My Voice as much as we did, then this is a must see. Low budget, intriguing, slow paced and full of emotion...perfect!

Movie | Black Moon | Pass

"A young girl who lives on a tropical island loses her parents to a voodoo sacrifice, but although she manages to escape the island, a curse is put on her. Years later, as an adult, she feels a strong compulsion to return to the island to confront her past. Her husband, her daughter and her nanny go with her, but once back on the island, the woman finds herself elevated by the locals to the stature of a voodoo goddess, and she begins her inevitable descent into madness, with disastrous results for her family." -IMDB

Actually pretty freaky. Sure, there's the melodramatic acting from the 30s, but it all has a similar feel to Island of Lost Souls. That's a good thing.

TV | DCI Banks | Pass

Decent police procedural. Why, oh WHY, can't they release this on Region 1 DVD?!%$^&*/1!

Movie | Left For Dead | Fail

An amateur cast doing the best they can and decent production values don't save this movie from a poor script, incessant freeze frames, overly used slow motion and a dreadfully slow pace. Too bad, it had potential.

TV | Catfish | PAss

Continues the premise of the movie, to surprisingly good results. If you liked the movie, then you must see this show.

Movie | Catfish | PAss

Engrossing documentary about the dangers of online friendships and (specifically) Facebook. The guy at the center of the film is a, uh...character. He's very focused on himself and has his hands down his pants every two seconds. It's distracting and the production is quite poor, but this is still a good movie and worth watching.

Movie | Machete | Pass

"Machete don't text."

Over the top actioner starring a monster cast that is of the "grindhouse" ilk (meaning shock value trumps all else). If that's what you're looking for, this is it!

Movie | Sound of My Voice | PASSPASS

Just my cup of tea! I can't say much about this movie - just see it!

Movie | Jumping Jack Flash | PAss

The first 7/8 of this movie is utterly charming, featuring a one in a million cast. The only reason the end falls apart is because of a weak script. Don't let that stop you - revisit this one. I hadn't seen it for a many, many years and I had forgotten how much fun it is. A forgotten classic!

Movie | Silver Linings Playbook | Pass

Great cast, cool music (soundtrack chosen by Danny Elfman!), fun setting and well done. But, it's hard for me to enjoy an hour and a half of sad people leading sad lives. If you are drawn to this movie, you will love it.

Movie | Anvil | PASS

Another excellent (two in a row!) documentary about starving artists. This time it's metal musicians. Fanfreakintastic!

And, yes, nothing says "Rock Star" like a fanny pack.

Movie | Deja Vu | PAss

I honestly thought I'd already seen this movie. Turns out I didn't.

Excellent action flick! Great cast, every element was top drawer. The ending made us go a bit, "Huh?", but that shouldn't slow you down from seeing it.

Recommended.

Movie | The Bed-Sitting Room | Pass

Whacked out British post-apocalyptic surrealism. A bit tedious to sit through, but still very interesting. For genre fans only - and ones that don't mind very little violence and a slow pace.

TV | Hamish Macbeth | Pass

It's old home week for the cast of supporting actors from Monarch of the Glen! That's a good thing.

Movie | Splice | PAss

Turns out what super nerds can create is super scary. A must see if you want a horror movie with brains and a fresh take. Great cast, amazing FX.

The only thing that holds this film back was the slightly unsatisfying end (the very, very end is very satisfying - I mean right before that). Somehow, it feels predictable and not feasible, somehow. You'll know what I mean if you see it and don't let that stop you if you're interested. It's still very much worth a watch.

There is some seriously freaky stuff going on in this movie...

From the same director that brought us the fantastic Cube.

Movie | Indie Game: The Movie | PAss

An excellent look at the creators of independent video games. These are some serious artists, just not the kind we're used to. Other than a pace that is a tad slow, this is a very good documentary and well worth seeing.

Movie | Men In Black 3 | PAss

Good fun! You'd have to be pretty jaded not to have a good time watching this one (or any in the series, for that matter).

Movie | Count Yorga, Vampire | Pass

Totally dated look at a vampire in the early 1970s. Still, there were moments. It's a movie for genre fans only.

TV | Stargate SG-1 | Fail

We never made it past the pilot. It was just too hokey for us. Bummer, because it would have been fun to have another long series to watch. It probably gets better, but we'll never know.

Movie | Total Recall | Pass

Lens flare much? Not bad for a remake. Surprisingly, worth a rental.

Movie | Chocolate | Pass

Listened to too much hype about this movie, so it was going to take something really special to meet expectations. Unfortunately, it didn't. The plot was pretty dumb and the first two-thirds of the movie is slow and boring.

But, the martial arts mostly made up for the lame script (the depiction of the hero with "special needs" was downright ridiculous), especially the fight with the chaotic break-dancing fighter (who wears a track suit...a homage to Bruce Lee?) and the last fight scene on the side of a building.

Stick around for the outtakes over the credits where we learn, once again, that you can't make movies like this in the United States.

By the same director behind the Tony Jaa classics (and there are many references to him in this). Worth a rental if you've seen everything else and you're in the mood for a Muay Thai actioner. Otherwise a skipper.

Thanks for the loan, DubS!

Movie | The Lives of Others | Pass

Good but very slow. Also, depressing.

Movie | Bad Ass | Pass

What a straightforward movie. There are no surprises whatsoever, the plot totally predictable. It could easily have been starring Charles Bronson (who is mentioned) and produced in the 80s. Still, the cast is superb and so much fun to watch, it makes it all worth it. Featuring several of the Sons of Anarchy cast as well as several other notable actors, Trejo is simply amazing. He pulls this rather silly script (that does have moments, but even then doesn't really add anything new) along and makes it all worth watching. I'd love to see him get more serious roles that are outside of the usual box he's pigeonholed in. He's a great actor, every bit as good as Bronson and Eastwood. Maybe better!

TV | Frisky Dingo | Pass

I wasn't a huge fan of Archer and Unsupervised, so I began watching this with much trepidation. What bothers me about both of those shows is twofold - the joke delivery pattern and why they are animated in the first place. Frisky Dingo suffers the first of these problems, but somewhat avoids the second with impossible creature characters. Much shorter episodes make the whole thing more likeable and it turned out to be humorous. The jokes wear thin quickly, but this format doesn't let you get sick of it all. The characters are actually interesting (though Xander Crews and Archer are the same - sadly, because they are the most unlikeable).

Turns out third times' the charm. This one is worth your time if you're looking for goofy "Adult Swim" fare.

Thanks for the loan, DubS!

Movie | Safety Not Guaranteed | Pass-ish

Though there were moments, I didn't really like this movie very much. The characters were poorly developed and that was pretty much the whole point of the thing. Yes, there was also the question of whether or not he was crazy, but the movie just made a point of showing that all of the characters had massive emotional and mental problems (especially Jake Johnson's character). N liked it a lot more than I did, but I was disappointed after all the hype.

TV | Dead Boss | Pass

Britcom about a woman wrongly accused of killing her boss...or, is she? Actually quite clever and funny.

TV | Mongrels | Pass

If you loved Meet The Feebles, this is a must see. Puppets can (most often) be horrifically lame, or they can be memorably funny (rarely are they hilarious). Fortunately, this show features the later type.

Cars | Suzuki (USA) | RIP

Sayonara, Suzuki.

TV | Monarch of the Glen | PASS

For the second time, we watched the entire series. Despite some minor inconsistencies, this is an utterly charming television show and an absolute must see!