An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story

Found dead in her bed in 1986, Christine Morton's death left Williamson County, Texas in shambles and caused her husband Micheal Morton to be found guilty of murder and facing a life sentence in prison. In November of 2011, with the case now twenty fife years old, we learned of the startling new evidence of another man's DNA linked to Christine's murder. "An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story" is the documentary story from CNN Films about an innocent man convicted of murder and the family he lost because of it.

Even though we don't want to admit it, we seen have this story before. We all know of people who have gone to jail because of a crime they did not commit. This murder mystery is nothing new and could have been just another 48 Hours Mystery episode.

That said, five things still make this one different.

 1) Michael Morton is an honest, down-to earth southern guy who was really in a bad spot. He was a very likable guy which adds a good perspective to the story.

2) There is a hidden secondary plot that focuses on prison life including sleeping conditions, food, the plantations and the scary images of rape.

3) As we should, we learn more and more about the in's and out's of the criminal justice system and  again this is just one of many examples where the verdict of the criminal justice system isn't always right.

4) From attorney John Raley and the many others, there are many great interviews in this film which add to the depth of the story.

5) The ending provides some interesting closure going every which way we want it to go and in the end provides the justice that is needed.

In sum, An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story is a documentary that needed to be told and make it's point. This documentary will likely be forgotten down the road but it is still a very fine work from CNN films and famed director Al Reinert.

4/5

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Curse of Chucky

To say in 1988 that we were going to have a horror film about a doll as a killer that later spawned a successful series would seem unreal. No doubt it would be interesting but very silly regardless and also a risk film due to the possible bad reactions to it. Still as history showed, Child's Play was a hit and it made it's mark on the horror world. It was the first movie in a popular series that still has nothing close to it in the horror genre.

That said, now in 2013 after nine years, we get a new Chucky film. The whole idea is again forced, questionable and asking for trouble. The series already faced it's fate if it wanted to be a black comedy film like the last sequels or edgy horror like first two movies in the late 80's and early 90's.

Curse of Chucky uses only one set and obviously was made with a smaller budget. A small package has been sent to the home of wheelchair-bound mother Sarah Pierce (Chantal Quesnel) and her daughter Nica (Fiona Dourif). The package containing good doll Chucky, which of course always leads to trouble.

We have seen this type of plot before with a house in the middle of nowhere but with the Chucky films, you can say that it's a little different. The movie uses it's budget here, introducing more characters than usual with "Clue" vibes and these characters all bring something unique to the table and that's something different with this series.

Obviously, the main reason why these films are successful are the main attraction, the doll Chucky who is the center of attention and he leads all ships to these films. In this installment, Chucky is not as funny as previous and he seems to show up when he wants to but he is still the same Chucky. He does bring fresh and new kill scenes which I liked. Brad Dourif does his usual good voice work for Chucky and Chucky does have a new look which gives him a little different vibe than before.

Once the third act is about to come to a close and the dvd player is about to turned off, we see that the ending is ambitious and wants to do a lot of things. It takes you in many directions so you need to follow it all but still though, this is a very different ending for the series. The ending is smart and an example of how a movie can go against the grain in a direct-to-dvd film. It also gets bonus points for a cool cameo that pays homage with characters from earlier films in the series.

Like most sequels, this really is an unnecessary film and for a series that returns after almost ten years, this should not have been very good especially considering that it is a direct-to-dvd film, but it was good. I think this film will end up being one the biggest surprises of 2013 and maybe even in horror movie history.

3.5/5

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Thor: The Dark World

 

 

Out of everything in the Marvel Universe, when it comes to paper (comics), Thor is about the dumbest character. He will always look like the California surfer guy smoking the second hand smoke. He's a character that is supposed to fit into Norse mythology but I don't see much of that in him whatsoever. Unlike someone like Batman or Spider Man, this character has only one weapon and that is a hammer and this is cheesy.

That said though, Thor still has a lot of potential. The character is different every which way. Also Norse mythology is a very uncommon thing in the comic book world and also in the film world and this shows originality. Thor is also a character with an interesting history that breaks many norms and no doubt the series has an audience.

After an impressive run at the box office with the first feature film, Thor: The Dark World is the sequel. The plot has Thor (Chris Hemworth) fighting Malekith ( Christopher Eccleston) who is a villain that is trying to destroy this world by making it darker using the weapon called Aether.

Like the 2011 film, the cast here is a hit. Chris Hemsworth is the likable Thor who again brings a sarcastic tone. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman ) is Thor's love interest and is a character that goes with the flow and who along with Darcy (Kat Dennings)  brings more humor than the first movie which was unexpected. After what he did in The Avengers, (Tom Hiddleston) Loki is the character we are most looking forward to seeing. Here Middleston plays Loki, Thor's brother, as the same type of character as before. Loki is silly and an un-credited villain though ironically he ends up being on the good side here. Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is the humble father who is trying to keep the peace between the brothers and also outsiders.

This being a superhero film, the next biggest question that comes up is just what does the villain  bring to the film. Even with the tired concept of trying to take over the world again, Malekith is the villain we want. With different makeup and being a dark character, the weapon of Aether brings a different element to the table. It's also not that hard to follow the story like some other superhero films plots that we have had in the last couple of years.

Unlike the first movie, there is a big ending here presented in a joking matter that feels like something out of a David Lynch movie. There are so many turns in the third act and final scenes that it creates a lot of discussion coming out of the theater. Still though, it sets the Thor series up for what seems like an interesting sequel and it also shows that director Alan Taylor is willing to make some very risky moves. Call it a mixed ending at best.

After the story, the next interesting side of Thor is the main world Asgard which is full of interesting colors, lights and tones. Nothing in the Marvel Universe really comes close to Asgard. As with the 2011 film, the part of the sequel in Asgard is a little thing of the film but it goes a long way and something I would enjoy seeing many more times.

It is probably something we don't need but Thor: Dark World is still none the less a very solid sequel. It is so good of a sequel it shows that something of this depth can work again. This will get even more interesting when we get the next sequel.

4/5

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Ted

Is there anyone in this world who really didn't grow up with a stuffed teddy bear? It's something that defines childhood and can create long lost memories. A fine example of this in the film world is Pixar's first film "Toy Story". It was about a boy's childhood told through toys; a story of kindness and the early years of school. Even though it may be somewhere in the back of the mind with those notions, the movie Ted is the exact opposite of what a teddy bear is or a film about teddy bears should be and that's what makes it fun.

In 1985 on Christmas morning in Boston, 8 year old version of John Bennett (Brett Manley) gets a stuffed teddy bear and John wishes the bear he calls Ted could be real. As it goes, Ted does turn real and an everlasting friendship starts. Now in 2012, still as friends, Ted and John are pot smoking, both have bad jobs and they look like they will never grow up. The plot involves both of them growing up and some more of that friendship.

With the older John Bennett being played by star Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane directing the movie and voicing Ted, no doubt this is a star-studded cast. Wahlberg is playing a tough character that brings both characteristics of a slacker and a hard worker but he evens out this character and gives a good performance. With many ties to the television show Family Guy, Ted definitely is more of a slacker than John but MacFarlane with good voice work makes Ted fit nicely into the story. Ted creates some messages that we have never seen before nor I don't think we will see again. The needed story that we do get is John's love interest Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) who has the necessary chemistry with Wahlberg and is a very likable and even lovable character .

Out of everything that MacFarlane does here that I like, what I like the most is how he plays a nerd in this story. From the Phantom Menace jokes, the Indiana Jones poster in the background in the first scene and all the cracks he makes about Flash Gordon, he gives a side of a director that is welcome in a film and I enjoyed it.

Ted is a strange concept and a silly film, especially the scenes at Fenway Park. Still, if you just go with it, it's pretty much bearable. (pardon the pun) This is a different coming of age story that could never not stand out.

4/5

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Blackfish

Founded in 1964 by Milton C. Shedd, Ken Norris and David DeMott, Sea World was the newest theme park attraction in the 60's. It was a theme park attraction that was different for the 60's and even now due to it's marine life theme. From it's popular roller coaster Kraken in Orlando, Florida to the Madagascar Live! Operation:Vacation show in San Diego, California, this points to why Sea World is so successful. That said, Blackfish by CNN is made for the whole world to show us what is underneath the surface of this company and some of their wrongdoings.

Blackfish makes it's main points through Tilikum the 12,000 pound killer whale who has had 21 offspring and has helped make Sea World successful but has also been responsible for three deaths. Tilikum is a whale that has put his mark on Sea World and now will always define it. Through the use of nets and hooks, Tilkum was wrongfully captured off the cost of Iceland in 1983. I don't think there is anyway a whale or any other type of marine animal for that matter should be taken away from a place where they grew up or where their family is and taken to a Sea World park. It is like taking a human being out of  their house and putting them in a far away place without any hope of ever getting back.

To learn information about Tilikum, we see interviews with the former trainers of this whale. These are great and informative interviews that show the power, love and intelligence of this whale. They also point to more of Sea World's wrongdoings.

The biggest point Blackfish makes is about the deaths caused by Tililkum that we do see through some scary scenes. One involved a 1991 incident with the trainer Keltie Byrne, another is a strange 1999 incident that involved Daniel Dukes and also an incident in 2010 involving the now well- known trainer, Dawn Brancheau. Afterwards, you cannot look at this large mammal the same but also there are many holes in place in these stories. Where was security in the Daniel Dukes incident where he got in the Tilikum's tank? Dawn Brancheau's story has obviously been covered up many times by Sea World. There is a lot interesting information out there that we really still need to learn.

Also included in this film, are some fun commercials from Sea World. We see a family from Detroit from the 90's doing a promotion, a first time baby whale shown in 1994 and it's fun to look back at this. We also learn about whales' brain which was unexpected. It's the little things like this shows off some Sea World nostalgia and you can see that director Gabriela Cowperthwaite has done her homework.

Blackfish is one-sided but it is a film we need. It is great for what it tells us and it's effect on us. Frankly, nothing in this will want to make you go back to Sea World again. Blackfish is a chilling documentary that can't be always full explained but it is nothing short of amazing. Even though it is a documentary, Blackfish is still no doubt one of the top films of 2013.

5/5

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The Blair Witch Project

"In October 1994, three film student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary...."

"A year later their footage was found"

This great quote in short tells the details of the Blair Witch plot. It is a plot that like most horror films can be questioned. How can the woods be the only setting? What is the purpose to this? Could it really work with only three cast members? Taking this all together, still The Blair Witch Project is something we could never have experienced or predicted what it was going to be.

By using a small budget of only $20,000 to $25,000 aside from the opening shots, The Blair Witch Project is set only in the woods. The setting of the woods helps this film break the norm for horror movies. The woods here have a strange eerie feel, and is very original. You have the feeling along with characters of never getting out and no doubt it will you make at wilderness quite differently.

With the small budget, the film only needs three cast members. Heather (Heather Donahue) is the only girl of the group and really emerges as the leader as they try to get out of the woods. Mike (Michael Williams) is a character who becomes very creepy once the harmful effects in the woods prey on him. Josh (Joshua Leonard) is the quiet member of the group in this bad situation. The cast really works due to the good acting by actors who are unknowns who we don't recognize making it realistic.

After a plot and story that seems like it can't get much better, the ending is one that REALLY can't much better. The ending comes out of nowhere as again it is in the woods and in a place that seems like it's in the middle of nowhere. It is a heart-pounding and very scary ending. The final shot is very clever as there are different possible theories raised about what just happened. This is one of the best endings in movie history, no doubt.

The Blair Witch Project is not normal horror. It is horror that goes way above the normal common ground and makes it's own mark on the movie world. We know we are going to get good horror films in the years to come but The Blair Witch Project will always be beside those at the top.

5/5

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Carrie

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While living in his trailer, a very young author Stephen King started writing "Carrie" for Cavalier Magazine. After writing three pages, he thew it in the garbage but was later pressured by his wife Tabitha to finish it. King, an English teacher at the time shaped the story from two girls he knew from high school and grade school. After successful profiting from the successful novel, King quit teaching and moved full time to being an author.
    
Only two years later in 1976, a film adaption was made and directed by Brian De Palma. A classic film for it's time, it made every actor in the film to what they are today and as the saying goes "The movie made the book and the book made Stephen King". You can also say that after the Carrie movie it was the norm to make as many as possible film adaptions of Stephen King novels.

Now in 2013, there is a Carrie remake. Actually, you could say it's the second remake of this story with a 2002 tv film being the first remake but no one really saw it. To me, remakes are always a mixed bag. It's puts an older story into the present world while putting new actors in. But usually there is a question of why do need a new story of one we have seen once before and it usually shows that the director does not a have creative bones. If a remake like this goes bad, it's a waste and just a bad film to usually good story or in the rare case sometimes, a bad film to a poor story (Prom Night).

Following the same story as original and using similar dialogue, Carrie is about Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is an awkward teen who does not fit in well at high school. After a tampon incident in the girls locker room, Carrie learns that she has telekinetic powers that changes her life dramatically.  This is a story of horror, teen life and culture.

Carrie is a movie and more important than most remakes, where the cast is important. The story works and revolves around characters more than the other elements of the film. Chloe Grace Moretz has been around since even before 2010 with small parts but then found herself cast in larger movies like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and "Kick-Ass". She is a child actor that really has had a lot of variety to her career. Being pretty as she is, it's very hard to envision Moretz ever being an outcast in school but it's a flaw that is overshadowed by a powerful performance where she really runs with this character.

To anyone that's been through it, we know that the high school experience sometimes is not a positive one. While trying to do all the schoolwork, you have to try to fit into the cliques and the popular groups of the school. While Carrie White deals with that, she also deals with a crazy mother played by Julianne Moore.  Unfortunately, we are given no background as to how she had Carrie along with a very confusing first scene of Carrie's birth. This character is very unsettling and awkward and you want her out of every scene though that's exactly what the character purpose is and why she is there. When we will look at Moore's career down the road, this no doubt this will be one of her most different and unique roles while being still very much a positive one in this movie.

As mentioned earlier, this is a different type of remake with a really good cast and the prom scene is also very important different due to how it unfolds and it's importance to the plot and the close of the movie. There are some negatives with bad digital blood and a dated 70's feel but the prom scene does what it needs to do. It definitely shows another side to Carrie and is the big and spectacular action scene as it should be and it is very much out there.

In the long run, Carrie has a lot of  messages. A teen who in the end finds herself even though it's not a positive experience. A teen who's living with a difficult mother who never really resolves the issues with her. It is also about what really high school is and kid's manners and how they relate to each other. As with the original, there may not be a main overall message but this movie is still very powerful.

While a good movie, its is still really unnecessary. I don't think it is something that there is a big audience for and there are still much better horror movies out there in 2013. Like the 2011 movie Fright Night even with it's flaws, Carrie is a positive remake that pays homage to the original as well as bringing a good new and fresh light to this story.

3.5/5    
      

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