Movie Review Monday: From Dusk Till Dawn

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film is 1996's From Dusk Till Dawn, directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring George Clooney (in his first leading role) and Quentin Tarantino with Harvey Keitel, Salma Hayek, and Juliette Lewis.

Wikipedia appropriately describes this movie as a "action black comedy horror thriller", which is a clunky mouthful but accurately captures the unique mash-up of genres in this film. There is a lot going on but it all comes out as a cool movie that does its own thing versus what your typical Hollywood movie typically churns out. I would liken it to something like Shaun of the Dead, which has some great action, zombie effects, and lots of laughs.

I had heard some things about this movie so I knew what to expect with all of the genre mixing. I won't spoil things for you here, but just know it essentially starts out as one movie and then becomes something completely different towards the second half. It all just works and the movie is a lot of fun. The wonderful practical effects in the film are done by industry legend Greg Nicotero (made popular most recently with his stellar work on The Walking Dead).

If you're into horror, action, and Quentin Tarantino/ Robert Rodriguez productions, you owe it to yourself to check this one out as it is a cult classic. You'll have a lot of fun and you won't have to think too much (which is always a good thing every once in a while).

Check out From Dusk Till Dawn streaming right now on Netflix!

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 10/31/14

Welcome to this spooktacular week in geek!

Bad Halloween puns aside, this week I wanted to highlight some of my favorite geeky horror films. Most of them have some sort of comedy element to them but are still fun Halloween watches with friends or family. Hopefully you've seen them all but if not, I highly recommend them all!

• Shaun of the Dead

This is one of my favorite movies of all time in general and was what I thought of first when I thought up the idea for this post. It's a classic British comedy with zombies (or zomedy, see what I did there?!) from 2004 starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in their first of the "Cornetto Trilogy" of films that recently concluded with The World's End. The movie has a lot of great gags, is full of heart, and is all in with the action. I love it and you need to watch it if you haven't before (or even if you haven't watched it in a while).

• Ghostbusters

This classic comedy from the 80s is a supernatural romp with some comedy legends like Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis. I still find it a fun ride these many years later and it is a cultural touchstone for sure. The theme song alone is awesome and worthy of any Halloween playlist!

• Alien

This one is a little different since it holds a unique place as a sci-fi horror film from back in the day. It inspired several sequels and prequels and is an awesome movie. Starring Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, we were first treated to the Alien back in 1979 and the movie still holds up very well. The basic premise is that Ripley is a lone survivor on a ship lampooned out in space as a vicious creature kills all of her fellow crew members. Weaver rocks in this movie and she definitely gets to play a great, strong, female character here. Check it out if you haven't gotten around to it, it is well worth your time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: The Cabin in the Woods

Good day to you all and welcome to another Movie Review Monday! This week, our movie is the 2012 film, The Cabin in the Woods! So this is an interesting on to review since I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen/heard of it. Nevertheless, the general plot of the movie centers around a group of college students who go out for a vacation at, you guessed it, a cabin in the woods. When they arrive, they get far more then they bargained for. As they elude danger lurking in the woods, they soon discover something more sinister is at play. Chris Hemsworth is probably one of the more notable main actors in the movie. While this synopsis sounds like a typical horror movie, Cabin in the Woods is a totally fresh take on it all that is very smart and clever, which you will quickly realize.

Fair warning, this movie does have a lot of gore in it but even so, it is a fun watch since it is not what you're expecting initially. If you're looking for an original movie streaming on Netflix now, this is for you!

Have a great week and enjoy the film!