Nosferatu (2024)

I was so excited when I watched the first trailer for Nosferatu. I knew that I had to go see it. I originally planned for opening night, but family got in the way. That changed today as I made it out for an afternoon showing of 2024s Nosferatu. 

Plot: A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

This was an amazing film. Every aspect of the movie was finely crafted to give it life and allow it to breathe and it does. The overall visuals are amazing and work extremely well at creating a dark yet beautiful experience. The cast was tremendous and their performances were top notch. The atmosphere was amazing, storyline interestingly updated while staying true to the classic, the dialog was outstanding, soundtrack perfect and the effects work well within the story. The pacing started to become uneven toward the end and Count Orlock could have had a little more depth, but those are extremely small issues. In the end, this movie should solidify Robert Eggers as a master of the genre and quickly become a classic. It already has become my favorite Christmas movie and it is one I am sure I will revisit many times. If you haven’t seen it yet, head out and do it. It is well worth it. 

John Wick (2014)

This has been a long and cold few days here in Pennsylvania and I definitely had a fun time with it being my birthday week. With that, I decided to take a few days off and kick back and relax., although, now I do have a small backlog to add to the page in the coming days. Next up for review is the 2014 action flick John Wick.

Plot/ An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.

Every once in a while, I need some mindless action and this one definitely hit the spot. Yes, there were a ton of clichéd moments, uneven performances, it is very unbelievable, and the characters were flat, but that was not what this movie was about. This one was about over-the-top action scenes, a crazy amount of blood and violence, and an incredibly powerful message about loss and revenge; something that many people in society should be able to easily relate to. In the end, this one is an entertaining action flick that definitely brought the best out of Keanu Reeves. If you like mindless action and can accept the inherent flaws in that type of flick, this one is for you. Give it a shot.

Anamorph (2007)

After a few days of chilling out with some vintage classics, I decided to come back to modern day and find something more mysterious and thought provoking. After some debate with the voices in my head, I decided on the 2007 psychological thriller Anamorph.

Plot/ Stan is a quiet, solitary detective in New York City. A few months ago, he solved a gruesome case of serial murders, although an undercover police officer lost her life. A new set of similar murders begins: the bodies are elaborately displayed and the killer uses equipment from art and early movie making in the tableau, or he leaves a clue as to where the investigators are to stand to get the full artistic effect.

When I stumbled upon this the other day, I had no idea what to expect. As a rule, I never read reviews before watching anything, as I do not want that to influence my overall feeling, and in some cases ruin the storyline. In this case, I am glad that I stayed true to my beliefs. I thought that this flick was original, taking an interesting storyline and creating a good flick. It has many solid elements including decent atmosphere, nice cinematography and some graphic visual effects. Sure, some of the acting is so-so, some characters are undeveloped and there is really no violence or gore (especially considering striking array of graphically arranged dead bodies). All and all, this thriller is a lot better than many that have come out and one that flies a bit under the radar. If you are looking for something interesting, check it out!