The Lobster

Break up?  Spouse pass away?  Single and alone?  No problem.  You have 45 complementary days to stay in the singles hotel.  After that of course, if you can't find a compatible mate and fall in love, you will be turned into an animal - of your choice.

The key feature of The Lobster is that everyone takes the absurdity of their world absolutely seriously, from those who run the hotel, or check mall patrons for their unexpired marriage certificates, to the rebel loner faction who live in the woods, disavowing all relations and punishing members who flirt, even as they hide from hotel hunting parties who try to capture them for immediate transformation.

David, recently divorced, must find a compatible mate, perhaps one nearsighted like him or who can also speak German.  His desperation leads him on, through the hotel and the woods, as he tries to avoid his choice of fate - to become a lobster.

The Lobster

2015, 119 minutes, directed by Yorgos Yanthimos

distopia, minor subtitles, dry humor, surreal, outdoors

Shelter a.k.a. 6 Souls

Adam, a young psychiatric patient with multiple personality disorder, seems to be exhibiting personalities of those who actually lived - all murder victims.  As his doctor, Cara Harding, digs into his pasts, it starts to appear less psychiatric and more supernatural...

This film was made in 2008, released in Japan in 2010 as Shelter, then released in the U.S. in 2013 as 6 Souls.  Apparently it was considered so bad that a name change was warranted before release in its home country.  I agree.

Shelter a.k.a. 6 Souls
2010, 112 minutes, directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein

Kick-Ass 2

I love the dichotomy of the hit-them-with-sticks heroes in spandex and the blood-and-guts of Hit Girl.  It's like they don't belong in the same film, yet here they are, playing out in unison.  Where is the next sequel?

Kick-Ass 2
2013, 103 minutes, directed by Jeff Wadlow

Columbiana

With recent life events, my time for cinema is short.  I certainly didn't expect to watch, much less enjoy, this love story, laced in a long arc of violence and revenge.

Columbiana
2011, 108 minutes, directed by Olivier Megatron

The Lego Movie

Everything about this film was pretty awesome.

The Lego Movie
2014, 100 minutes, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Oblivion

I avoid Tom Cruise films on principle, but at this point HBO stays until GoT so why not.  Oh, yeah, because I saw this, it was called Moon, and it was better.  Partly because it didn't include Tom Cruise.

Oblivion
2013, 124 minutes, directed by Joseph Kosinski

Star Trek: Into Darkness

I feel like I've seen this before.  Oh yes, I have.  You know, I've had to endure many reboots in the last decade.  The Star Trek one, as mentioned in my previous review, was one of the better ones.  After this film, I may have to retract that.  I'm disappointed both in the parallelisms they choose to keep (come on, radiation from the warp core again?) and the continuity they choose to break (they can get to and from Klingon space in 10 minutes?).  All in all I'm glad I saved this for Netflix.

Star Trek: Into Darkness
2013, 132 minutes, directed by J. J. Abrams