Killswitch (2014)

Living in the world of Alien lately, I decided I wanted to go into something different and watch one more documentary before the end of 2016. With that in mind, I decided on the 2014 documentary/drama Killswitch.

Plot/ The Internet is under attack. This award-winning documentary explores the threat Internet censorship imposes on free speech, innovation, and democracy.

In this digital age, no topic should be at the forefront of society than net neutrality. If you are unaware of the importance of this topic, you are wrong and this documentary breaks down the importance of net neutrality in a way that everyone can understand. This is not a partisan political documentary in any way, it does a great job of presenting the information while being open about the infringement being applied by both sides of the political spectrum. The documentary is well made and does a great job at profiling the cases of Edward Snowden and Aaron Schwartz, both polarizing figures of the modern digital age. Yes, there is a lot of message bias; it does outline the cases of civil disobedience, and it definitely appears that more attention was placed on the story of Aaron Schwartz than Edward Snowden, but the information from both accounts must be heard and understood. In the end, this may not be the best documentary out there, but it is one of the most informative and important films to come along in some time. If you care about freedoms and Constitutional rights, you should watch this and embrace the message.

The Glass House (2001)

Sometimes, I take pleasure in the fact that the daughters enjoy scary movies. Unfortunately, as they get older, I do have to pay more attention to what type of flick I select, with content and rating overriding the scare factor. One such movie we enjoyed over the weekend was a solid family friendly entry: 2001s The Glass House.

Plot/ An orphaned teenager is taken in by a Malibu couple but discovers they are not the caring friends they seemed to be.

I went into this with almost no expectations and only put on because the daughters wanted to watch something. Fortunately, what I found was better than I could have expected. While it is not a perfect film and is rather predictable, the atmosphere and characters do actually set it apart from many of the other PG-13 entries that sit in the genre. The story was interesting and believable, the performances solid, and the scripting created a realism that was easily imagined. Yes, there were some plot holes and it did have some predictable moments, but those issues are rather small (especially for a family friendly thriller). In the end, this will not be for the hardcore thriller fan, but it is better than many in the genre and perfect for a wintery afternoon with the kids. Give it a shot.  

The Den (2013)

After checking out Oculus on Wednesday, I took the evening off to digest all the craziness that is taking place in the world. Honestly, if I did not know better, I would think we are all stuck in some butterfly effect, as nothing truly makes sense on any level. Now, it is time to jump back into a movie with the 2013 entry The Den.

Plot/ A young woman studying the habits of webcam chat users from the apparent safety of her apartment witnesses a brutal murder online and is quickly immersed in a nightmare in which she and her loved ones are targeted for the same grisly fate as the first victim.

Having students that talk about visiting the chat roulette website, watching The Den brought those stories to life. While the premise of the storyline is interesting, there is truly nothing new in this found footage montage from a laptop. Yes, there are some interesting moments, the pacing worked, and the overall feel for this micro-budget entry was solid. Yes, it suffers from the typical subpar acting, there is minimal atmosphere, and the ending leaves much to be desired, but all low budget entries have some flaws. In the end, there is something about the film that made it more interesting and entertaining than one would expect. It is definitely a different take for the found footage genre, and honestly, with sites like chat roulette, it is at least plausible to imagine something like this actually happening online. If you are a fan of found footage flicks, give this one a shot.

Afflicted (2013)

Well, I thought that I made it out of the woods with this stomach flu, but I was wrong. Whatever this was, I wish it on no one. I am just happy that I did not pass it on, and was able to recover enough to make it to the Comets playoff game last night. Unfortunately, we lost, but it was a great season! The unfortunate thing about my illness was that I did not have the energy to even watch any movies, so this review will be from a movie I watched over the weekend and am now catching up on, the 2013 found footage flick Afflicted.

Plot/ Two best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely.

While I am not a huge fan of the found footage genre, occasionally I find one that is at least somewhat entertaining and refreshing to watch. That was definitely the case with this film. It is true that the movie is quite cliché, the idea of taking the found footage aspect and adding in the vampire twist was appreciated. Honestly, I ran out of patience with the paranormal centered varieties that have been offered up. Of course, the acting is uneven, the dialog is unconvincing, the story is predictable, and there are some plot holes that you could drive a truck through, but it is rather entertaining. In the end, this is actually one of the better and more interesting found footage movies to come out in some time. Yes, it is not for everyone (which is the case with this entire genre), but if you like found footage flicks, you should definitely check it out!

Tom Holland's Twisted Tales (2013)

When I returned Mr. Jones the other night, I had a film jump off the shelf and catch my attention. While I should know not to rush into flicks based on packaging, this one felt different. That film was 2013s Tom Holland's Twisted Tales.

Plot/ Tom Holland's Twisted Tales was a web series hosted by our friends over at FearNet. There are nine short films, all written and directed by Tom Holland that cover a myriad of topics as only he could envision.

One of the biggest miseries I have had since moving from New Jersey is living without FearNet. Yes, I could watch it on my computer, but I am usually working on something. When I saw this DVD on the shelf, I had mixed emotions. As with any anthology, especially ones made specifically for the web, I knew there would be quality issues because of their lower budgets. I was right! While there were some interesting pieces, there was a wide range from best to the worst in the series. There were also some acting flaws, pacing flaws and too many clichéd moments for me to love it. Yes, there were some entertaining and good moments in this, but for the average horror fan, it would not be enough to keep them enthralled for the entire 146 minute run time (something that should have been cut down if it were me). In the end, this would likely have been better for me to watch as they were originally intended on the web and one at a time. While it is not terrible, there was truly nothing new and it was a bit of a disappointment.

VLOG (2009)

It is finally time to finish the last flick from my trip to Family Video last weekend. Of all the movies I picked up, this one actually seemed based in reality more than the others did. In these days of assaults and murders prompted and searched for online, this definitely seems right for the times. Being from the creators of SAW was just a bonus. The flick is VLOG from 2009.

Plot/ From the producers of SAW, VLOG is a groundbreaking extreme-horror film about a real-life webcam girl whose online murder is not what it seems.

When I saw this one at the video store, I was excited. The premise seemed interesting, and with all of the craziness that takes place online between blogs, vlogs and sites like craigslist, this seemed right up that alley. While it was all that, it was quite anticlimactic as well. Yes, there was a touch of realism, some awesome gore (but not enough) and the ending was a decent twist, there was just not enough. Unfortunately, the pacing was a bit slow, there was not enough death, the storyline was uneven and the performances were bland. Honestly, if they could have built upon the scenes of gore (the exploding bong was definitely worth a double-take), this could have been an awesome flick. Instead, it was an average horror film and nothing special. You can check it out if you want to, but do not hold out high hopes.