E.S.F.R.

NAKED

Directed by: Mike Leigh
Released: 1993

absolutely brilliant.. i can't believe i slept on this one for so long. amazing cinematography and direction, and david thelwis was great... i know most of the dialogue was improvised, which makes it even more impressive. the scene with johnny and the security guard, talking about the future/past/present as well as the book of revelations was one of the greatest, most thought provoking things i've ever seen. 9/10.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING

Directed by: Jonothan Liebesman
Released: 2006

not the worst thing i've ever seen, but not necessary at all. pointless story, decent enough gore. r. lee ermey was awesome, probably the only redeeming quality. it wouldn't have been as bad if they didn't call it a "leatherface origin" story, because it's not. you see how & where he's born, what he does for work when he's older, and that's it. takes about 6 seconds. 5/10

INCEPTION

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Released: 2010

almost perfect. there were a few flaws, but they were minor. my girlfriend and i were up all night talking about what the fuck happened in the movie-- not just the ending, but overall. there was a LOT that the audience was left to interpret, which i think is great. nolan didn't spoonfeed anything to you, and he left you thinking, which is something you NEVER see in mainstream hollywood films. honestly, even if the film was a piece of shit, i'd still give it a high rating simply because nolan is the only hollywood filmmaker i can think of who's actually coming up with new and interesting ideas. i hate admitting it, but leonardo dicaprio is a really good actor. seeing him in "the departed" and "revolutionary road" put me on the edge, but this pushed it over. 9/10.

FEED

Directed by: Brett Leonard
Released: 2005

an interesting premise for sure, one that's rarely (never?) touched upon. i'd heard that this film was disturbing, and it is, to a point. i think it's disturbing for certain people.. i was one of them. the whole concept of "feeders/gainers" is fucking sickening to me, which is what really bothered me. decent acting (mostly), direction was ok, story was good. while i did enjoy it, i think with a little more focus and someone else directing, this film could have been much better. 6.5/10.

THE FOURTH KIND

Directed by: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Released: 2009

not based on actual case studies, but probably based on real reported events. this movie freaked me out a fair amount, and i thought it was really interesting.. enough so that i've started researching some of the film's claims on my own. while it's not based on true events, the filmmakers did their research when explaining the alien abductions ... everything in the film is unanimous with what real "abductees" have reported. 8/10.