MOVIES

Rain Man [1988]

Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman as long-lost brothers? Why not? Both actors are in prime form here, especially Hoffman as the autistic savant, Raymond. Their journey across the country, and the pitstop in Las Vegas, is memorable with a lot of great moments. There are several great lines (“Kmart sucks!”) and the slow-to-develop relationship between the two brothers is endearing. I really enjoyed this movie, even though Tom Cruise’s character was a major dick. 8/10

[REC] 2 [2009]

I liked the first movie, and it ended on a batshit crazy note. I was pretty psyched to finally catch this sequel on DVD, especially after hearing some really great things. [REC] 2 picks up right where the first movie left off, with a new squad entering the quarantined apartment to see what the hell is going on in there. The sequel takes things in an interesting direction, one which I won’t mention for spoiler reasons. I liked what was done with it, and the new batch of characters are likable, but it felt like it was missing the extra spark that the original had. Still a good horror film, but not up to the level of the first. 7/10

The Troll Hunter [2010]

I had been wanting to see this ever since hearing about it this year. A “found footage” movie about hunting trolls in Norway? Hell yeah! While the concept certainly is full of possibilities, I felt the movie’s deadpan delivery hindered it a little. The fact that everything was taken (mostly) seriously was a little disappointing, but there were still some amusing moments. For such a small budget, the trolls looked believable, and they were competent hunting targets. A good movie with a great concept, but I feel like it could have been more. There really is no need for a Hollywood remake though. 7/10

VIDEO GAMES

Saints Row 2 [PS3]

I cranked this up the other night after having it sit on my shelf for quite some time. I had to make a new character since I had the Xbox 360 edition of the original game, and there were a few jokes about my new appearance (“Did you get a haircut?”). It felt a lot like the first game, which is expected, but it looks like they made some fun new additions. One of the first side missions I attempted involved driving around a sewage truck and spraying down buildings, pimps and hookers. Pretty crazy shit. I am looking forward to seeing what else is in store.