The Lock Box: A Transfix With Netflix - Chasing Amy (Spoilers)

Chasing Amy/Miramax

Chasing Amy is probably the best received of Kevin Smith's entire View Askewnivers film series. It's a very well written story about two best friends that work in the comic industry as one finds love where he least expects to, while the other is there to back him up.

The film is a true romance movie, filled with cuss-filled rants, and comic books. A romance film, nonetheless, told in a very Kevin Smith way. That, by no means, is a shot at the writer/director as I love all of his movies. But meaning that the story is told in a non-traditional way, i.e. our hero's love interest being a lesbian.

The movie opens at a comic book convention, set in New York. This is where we are introduced to Holden(Ben Affleck), our male lead, and Banky, his potty-mouthed best friend(Jason Lee).

Question: Do inkers really get disrespected the way Banky does throughout the movie? I would hope not; not everyone can ink and shade with such brilliance.

After clearing a Q and A with a planned "angry black man" stunt planned by Hooper X(Dwight Ewell) with the help of the pair, we meet the non-traditional Alyssa Jones(Joey Lauren Adams).

A game of darts and a shared moment later, Holden and his bestest pal, Banky, find themselves in a club, "with a lot of chicks." Overconfident and cocky as hell, Holden assures Banky that he will "hook up" with Alyssa. But, as fate would have it, it was not meant to be.

While Banky argues with Hooper about Archie's sexuality, Holden still tries to process what had taken place moments before, when Alyssa dedicated a sing to a special someone, only to find it was for her...pause for dramatic effect...GIRLFRIEND.

After convincing a still-shocked Holden that a friendship between the two would be a good idea, we're treated to a very nice montage is shown of Holden and Alyssa spending a lot of quality time together. While it was nice, it was no Rocky IV montage. I mean that thing had it all; anvils being lifted, running in the snow and even a damn car being pulled by Rock-o in the snow, no less.

The former could've been on that epic level, but what we were shown was nice, I guess.

Anyway, a confrontation between Banky and Holden leads the latter to inform Banky that he's in love with our precious Alyssa.

That realization also leads to Holden baring his soul in his SUV, while driving home in the rain from a cafe, I'm guessing. I'm not really sure, they didn't show any signs or labels there.

The setting they're in, in that scene, seems to be a metaphor for what's to come, as Alyssa doesn't hold back her anger towards Holden for bombarding her with emotions and feelings. Gross.

The storm between the two dissipates as she comes running after him with a warm embrace, followed by some good, old fashioned face sucking. Seriously, when Ben Affleck was kissing Joey Lauren Adams, it looked like he was trying to eat her face. He definitely would've made a good zombie.

Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams in Chasing Amy/Miramax

The next morning, Banky walks in to find the two snuggled up on the couch. Stunned, he drops his coffee and heads out side with Holden not far behind.

Alyssa faces similar circumstances as she tells her friends about being love with a man. Maybe these are the type of man-hating, agenda-having "dykes" Banky was talking about a few scenes earlier.

With regards to their friends, the couple faces an uphill battle full of obstacles, including Holden himself.

Showing Holden Alyssa's high school yearbook, Banky tells him how she got her nickname, "Finger Cuffs," in school. I bet you want me to describe it all to you, huh? Well, pervert, I'm not going to. Watch the movie, if you haven't, and find out for yourself.

A local hockey game foreshadows this scene perfectly, as Holden can't seem to let go of the information Banky had given him concerning Alyssa's past. Basically, he's being a big baby. The past is called the past for a reason, and Holden is just being a big, no-neck having baby. Why don't you go cry to your mama, you big baby?

Not able to shake said information, Holden basically cross-examines poor Alyssa about her past to the point where she storms out of the ice rink.

Not even an apology from her as to why she never told him about being with, not that it's any of his business, other men before him, will stop his butt-hurt. It seems to me that if he wanted a "normal" relationship, he probably shouldn't have fallen in love with a lesbian, right?

Enter Jay and Silent Bob. Jay being Jay and Silent Bob not being so silent as he gives sage advice to Holden. He tells him a story about how ruined his relationship with "the one" because of self inadequacies in comparison to her past.

The "Chasing Amy" story seemed to had resonated within Holden, seeing as how he didn't notice the dynamic duo had left without paying their tab. Nooch.

Even with all of the knowledge Silent Bob bestowed onto he, Holden never truly gets it until the very end.

Chasing Amy is a story about love, sex-- sex and love, and a lot of non-traditional stuff in between. But, it does bring up a major issue with relationships. Even with knowing what will end a relationship, we still continue to make the same mistakes, not learning-- not wanting to learn, as we need to experience the joys and pitfalls of relationships. I guess that's how we to grow enough to be able to tell our kids what not to do, knowing full well that they will eventually make the same exact mistakes we once made.

That's life; learning and passing on knowledge, regardless if it's been absorbed.

One of the better movies by Kevin Smith, it deserves a solid 4/5 stars

The Lock Box: 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' Is A Swinging Success

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes/20th Century Fox

Throughout history, there have been only a handful of sequels that are considered to be superior over the first installments. Off of the top of my head, I could only think of 6; The Terminator: Judgement Day, Aliens, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight Rises, X2 and the most recent of which, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Now, we can add the sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, to that list-- or at least I can. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was a film on an epic scale. Not only because of the action scenes or the film's set pieces, but because the performances was incredible. The film was cast so perfectly, they really made you feel the tension between the two species, throughout the entire movie.

Set 10 years after the first installment, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes you inside the lives of the apes that have, more or less, become the dominant species, or at least close to it, as well as the handful of human survivors, stashed away in a corner in San Francisco.

Led by Caesar(Andy Serkis), the apes have built a type of utopian society near a fresh water supply, with tree houses that would put the ones you might've climbed to shame. With Caesar and his mate, Cornelia(Judy Greer), sitting at the head of the table of this evolved group of apes, Koba(Toby Kebbell), the human-hating test ape from the first film, is back and never far from his side.

All of the old favorites from the first film are back as well, and are ape-ier than ever, including: Maurice(Karin Konoval), Rocket(Terry Notary) and also introducing Blue Eyes(Nick Thurston), Caesar's adolescent son.

Humans, on the other hand, are just trying to survive, but at least have an arsenal of weapons behind them.

The film itself doesn't focus on one group over the other, as director Matt Reeves(Cloverfield) has done a fantastic job giving an equal amount of screen time to both species. It does, however, focus on two families in particular, Caesars'(of course) and Malcolm's(Jason Clarke).

Andy Serkis(left), Toby Kebbell(middle), Jason Clarke(right) and Karin Konoval(far right)

Keri Russell joins the cast as Ellie, Malcolm's girlfriend, as well as Kobi Smit-McPhee, who of which plays his son, Alex.

Malcolm and friend, Dreyfus(Gary Oldman), have built a society of their own. But when their towns' power supply starts running low, it is decided that another alternative energy source is needed.

The plot provides a bit of social commentary as well, with humans relying too much on fossil fuel or nuclear power as energy sources. After all, they had invested in learning about solar or wind energy, everyone could've lived happily ever after and war could've been prevented-- maybe. But they didn't and that's how the first chance encounter between the two species happens, and it's just that; chance and out of nowhere.

A small party, which happens to include Malcolm, stumbles on to ape territory, with some of the humans acting just as you'd figure they'd(we'd) act. What follows, starts a ripple effect that's felt by both groups, thus setting up what I feel will be the third and final movie in the series.

At no ones surprise, the stars af the show, no offense to the humans that played humans, are the apes, played by humans. How Andy Serkis does not have an Oscar or two already under his belt is beyond me. I certainly hope this film does help net him one. I mean, the guy's an amazing actor, and it's been proven time and time again that not just anyone can play a fictional character, whilst wearing a unitard, that will end up being completely unrecognizable after a film's post-production. I really hope Andy wins an Oscar for this; I really, really do

In the film overall, there are no weak spots with the amazing cast that's been put together. The film has it all; drama, action, amazing set pieces, a cohesive plot that's not all over the place(I'm looking at you, Amazing Spider-Man 2), amazing performances and fantastic CGI.

This film will receive, and deservedly so, without question, a 5/5 star rating from myself. I would gladly pay again and again to see this movie. If you haven't yet, I suggest you "swing" by your local theater.

Ha-ha.

The Lock Box: A Transfix With Netflix - The Bay (Spoilers)

The Bay

Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the movies I've seen on Netflix. Now, I'm no Roger and Ebert, but I do a good and bad movie when I see one, and Netflix is full of both. So, this is the first Netflix review that I will be doing, as well as giving them their own sub-category within my blog. We'll call it: The Lock Box: A Transfix With Netflix. Catchy, right?

So, here we go.

First one is a documentary-style horror movie titled, 'The Bay.' Now, a lot of people have an issue with the whole first-person style of  shooting; motion sickness, doesn't let you focus on what's going on in the scene, etc.

I, personally, have no issue with these types of films. In fact, I very much enjoy them as I allow myself to get caught up in the moment, along with the characters.

With The Bay, it's not so much a horror movie because there are people captured by aliens, hunted by monsters or even mutilated by satanic clowns. It's scary because, like Contagion, it's entirely plausible.

The main character, Donna(Kether Donohue), is an online, intern field reporter for the local news station. Just so we're clear, the only reason I don't call her our protagonist is simply because, with the way this story was told, there isn't really a good guy. There really isn't a bad guy or antagonist, either. That is, unless you consider the government or companies that see no issue with polluting our ecosystem the bad guy; I'll leave that one up for discussion. Back to the story.

It starts off with actual news footage of incidents that have happened with groups of animals and different types of species dying in a mysterious and unexplainable way, followed by Donna being interviewed via online chat by an unknown person.

Donna's basically our narrator throughout the entire film. She sets up the story with talking about what happened in the weeks leading up to the "present" time in the film. The whole movie is basically one great, big flashback.

Anyway, the film gives you some exposition as to why things are about to go south with an online eco-fighter noticing how close a local farm is dumping chicken crap to the city's nearest water source.

Citizens are shown vomiting after competing in a crab eating contest with crabs fished from, you guessed it, the local bay. Also shown are men, women and children, that have been in contact with the water, breaking out with horrible blisters and legions with no one wanting to get near them for fear of catching whatever it is they have.

Jane McNeill in The Bay

Things pretty much start going from bad to worse as we meet Dr. Abrams(Stephen Kunken), as he contacts the CDC(Center for Diseases Control and Prevention) regarding the recent outbreak in his town.

The story also centers around two oceanographers, Jaquline(Nansi Aluka) and Sam(Christopher Denham). The couple(I guess...?) are the first ones that discover the cause of death in the bay and also the films first deaths, as well. After examining a fish caught from the bay, they find a mutated isopod, later confirmed by the CDC to be Cymothoa exigua, in the belly of said fish, eating it's way out. Mutated you say? Yes, from an apparent runoff of chicken excrement I had covered previously.

That is when the CDC are provided with more information as they are told about a nuclear reactor leak, which happened all of the way back in 2002, that was never properly cleaned up.

At this point in the film, every worker in the hospital that are in direct contact with any patient that pours through their doors, are wearing contamination gear, complete with masks and gloves.

People, infected or not, are either trying to flee the town, or are just deciding on killing themselves and their loved ones from the sheer panic.

And with that, I will decide to stop and NOT spoil the ending and also because my skins crawling and I don't like that feeling.

Like I had said, what makes this flick scary, is that it's entirely plausible, right down to the reaction of the general public. Regardless of how shaky the camera is, or how much you believe it could or couldn't happen, The Bay really makes you at least think about what could potentially happen with pollution to our drinking water.

With character development lacking, I'm gonna give this flick 3/5 stars. Even though it hasn't received much love from viewers, I'm going to suggest you check it out for yourselves. Especially if you want to feel like bugs are crawling over your body. It's definitely an underrated movie, as far as the horror genre is concerned.

If you have any suggestions for movies that you would like me to cover and review, comment below and we'll see if I'm paying attention to you or not(kidding!).

The Lock Box: 'Deliver Us From Evil' Delivers Us From A Bad Movie

Eric Bana in Deliver Us from Evil/Screen Gems

Typically, haunting & possession movies move at a such a slow speed, I feel like I'm taking the drug, Slow-Mo, from the sci-fi, action movie, Dredd. Almost always, these types of movies start off with satanic ritual being preformed in a cave, or a kid finding a mysterious box buried in their backyard.

Like every movie ever made, they build up to the second act with exposition of story that most of us don't even care about; what we want to see is some good, ol' fashioned good versus evil. With Deliver Us from Evil, we get just that, but not just in the second and third acts.

The teaser is one of the best I've seen for a horror movie, ever, and the pace of the movie never really slows down. There are some tender moments here and there, where the story allows you to catch your breath. But, even then it's short-lived, followed by a did-you-see-that moment that will leave you jumping out of your seats.

Our protagonist, played by the gracefully-aging Eric Bana, is NYPD Sgt. Ralph Sarchie. The character is flawed with inner demons that plague him throughout the first two acts, and Bana brings very real anger and depth to the character.

Along for the ride, is his partner Butler, played surprisingly well by professional superhero banker, Joel McHale.

Olivia Munn is brought in to play Jen, Sarchie's strong yet suffering wife. The pair have solid chemistry, but the amount of screen time they have together leaves you left wanting. Look, I'm not saying they should've wrote the movie solely around those two, but maybe one or two more moments together, like her practicing jujutsu, or revealing that she's an international assassin...! No? Just me? Okay.

Anyway, yes, the two make a convincing family rounded off by the talented Lulu Wilson, as daughter Christina.

But, the star of this movie, no offense to any of the other actors, is Edgar Ramirez, who plays rock-star priest, Mendoza. Yes, the priest in a movie is finally a certified bad-ass. No more, calm, collective, run-of-the-mill goody two-shoes servants of God. Ramirez is, without a doubt, the star of the film and definitely brings his character to life; one moment he's caring for one of the flock, the next, he'll going to town on a punching bag, and then go right back to kicking a demon's ass. What would be the Spanish equivalent of 007? Dos Equis, maybe? That could work, I guess. I even have the perfect slogan for him:  I go down smoother than the beer. Awesome, huh? But I digress.

Throughout the movie, we follow Sarchie and Butler, kicking ass and taking names. But, when they investigate an attempted murder at the Bronx Zoo, things take a creepy and sinister turn. Yes, there are shock cuts present throughout the movie, but it's a horror film. Besides, I can't remember the last GOOD horror movie that didn't incorporate some kind of shock cuts into the movie, one way or another. To me, those are the best moments; you think everything's going good for our hero(s) at the moment, and then-- WHAM!

Some moments are predictable, some aren't. It just depends on how much you allow yourself to be engulfed by the movie.

Eric Bana and Sean Harris in Deliver Us from Evil/Screen Gems

In the end, to the tunes of the Doors, Sarchie must face his inner demons, and confront the one that possesses the menacing antagonist Santino, played by the nefariously looking Sean Harris.

I enjoyed this film because it was an amalgamation of action and horror, while at the same time, showing the affects of holding pain or guilt inside, as it eats at you every day of your life.

While Deliver Us from Evil may not be a pretentious, "Oscar-worthy" film, it does bring up a valid answer to the question of why evil exists. In the film, Sarchie asks Mendoza the most obvious of questions: If God exists, why does he allow such horrible things to happen. Mendoza answers perfectly by saying something to the affect of, "So that people like you[Sarchie] can rise up and stop them." That's some good stuff there.

The ending was intense that left me clutching my teeth together, and couldn't have ended any other way. I give this movie a solid 4/5 stars.