Monday, February 8, 2010

Movie review wrap-up

Legion- This one was an odd sort of take on the zombie genre...with an opening five minutes straight out of Terminator. No, really. The most annoying thing about Legion is that there probably was a good movie somewhere in this mess of bad acting, poor editing and a final act that can only be the result of a writer freaking out and pulling random words from a fishbowl until it made a sentence that resembled something like a sequence of events. Prepare for a five-take of WTF moments. My advice is don't even try to analyze how Legion ends. It's only going to hurt your brain. Otherwise, a couple cool fights and the occasional decent scene make for a "why the hell not" rental.

Big Fan- Big Fan couldn't have survived as a wide release film, which is a shame, but damn if it doesn't make for a great indie DVD release. It feels odd saying this, but Patton Oswalt delivers one of the best performances of the year in a film about the New York Giants' biggest fan and the events following his violent run-in with the team's star linebacker. There's some great stuff to take in here, a lot to think about and a payoff that's pitch perfect. I highly recommend checking this one out.

World's Greatest Dad- Yet another independent film that saw a quick release in limited theaters before making its way to DVD. Robin Williams plays an aspiring author with a life that pretty much sucks and a son you wouldn't mind seeing get thrown under a bus. When the kid does kick the bucket in David Carradine fashion, what's a dad to do save write a suicide letter in hopes of saving his only son a little embarrassment? When that letter launches the father's writing career, we're left with a surprisingly touching dark comedy and one of Williams' best performances to date.

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