What's up Netflix!

I don't know what my mailman's problem is, but he seems to have something against Keanu Reeves (understandable) and Guy Pierce (not cool). He has failed to deliver 3 DVDs (2 movies) over this past week. Each one was "delivered" and immediately returned. You would think Netflix would find this behavior odd, especially how I prefer to hold on to movies for as long as possible. Certainly, none have ever been returned same day. I don't even think that's possible! So, why does my mailman hate me, and Canoe (tee hee), and Guy? Long story short, he better quit it. It's ruining my Sunday reviews!


Moon- 5 stars- I wanted to see this movie when it hit theatres, but it seemed to disappear fairly quickly. I can't imagine why. It is a beautiful film starring Sam Rockwell (one of the best actors of our time and frequent nudist), and directed by David Bowies offspring, Duncan Jones. If I told you this Sci-Fi thinker was an independent movie and looked like 100 million bucks, would you be surprised? Probably. It is just another example of using money wisely and fitting your script to your budget. You can put a lot into FX when you only have 1 principal actor. Moon tells the story of Sam Bell, an astronaut stationed on the Moon to oversee drilling of an energy source Earth desperately needs. His only companion is a HAL-like robot named Gerty (bit of a nod to ET?) voiced by Kevin Spacey. Soon, Sam meets himself in the wreckage of a moon rover and has to decide if he's going insane or if there are larger forces at work. The movies pacing moves slowly but deliberately, the acting is above and beyond, and the set decoration is enough to make Hollywood weep. Included in the bonus features is Jones first short, a hired gun thriller titled "Whistle". I can't wait to see what he does next (IMDB puts it as "Source Code" about a young soldier (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in someone else's body).

Dead Snow (Bonus Material)- 4 stars- I don't think I've ever reviewed a bonus disc before. Don't worry; I'll keep it short and sweet. If you rent Dead Snow (and I know you have all added it to your Netflix queue), don't forget to request the bonus disc as well. There's the standard behind the scenes doc, FX info, and another following one of the production assistants (Ever think the movies look glamorous? Just watch this doc!). My favorite parts of the ample bonus disc were two films behind the scenes from the director's point of view and the cast. The first, "Madness in the North", follows the hardships of filming outdoors in Norway's frigid north. Snow bellows in from nowhere and shuts down shooting for days, light changes so quickly they can't get their shots to match from previous days. It's crazy! The other, "Madness in the West", follows the cast and crew as they travel to premiere the movie at Sundance. I LOVE intimate looks into the festival circuit and these guys know how to have a lot of fun!


PS- Happy Pi Day! (um.... pie)