Peculiar Reviewer

Fall 2012. A DiCaprio Christmas Day double-header. The return of a Master. Two gothimated (that's goth + animated) movies. Which will you choose? The screen awaits. The Master (September 14th) This is Paul Thomas Anderson 's first film since the 2007's knock-out film  There Will Be Blood . This also marks the return of Joaquin Phoenix in his first dramatic role since Two Lovers (2008), a film that no one saw. Of course, Philip Seymour Hoffman will master another performance. Django Unchained (December 25th) Quentin Tarantino directing Leonardo DiCaprio - will Di finally win an Oscar this time?! Or will the Academy wait until he's old and gray to recognize that he's the most talented actor since Marlon Brando. The film is inspired by 1960s spaghetti westerns.   The Great Gatsby (December 25th) Baz Luhrmann 's version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's beloved novel will no doubt be much different than the 1974 release starring Robert ...

Alert all lesbian werewolves immediately! There's going to be a big screen adaptation about them! Comb back that mane and polish your Thriller jacket for Jack & Diane . The film's premise is a love story about two girls who meet in New York City, where somewhere in there Diane's body starts to go through violent changes. The cast includes Juno Temple ( The Dark Knight Rises ) and Riley Keough ( The Runaways ), who also happens to be the King's granddaughter. Elvis, not King Tut. Aussie pop sensation Kylie Minogue  makes an appearance as a lesbian tattoo shop owner. Jack & Diane were originally to be played by Ellen Page and Olivia Thirlby, however Juno fame proved too great for a lesbian horror story. The official theatrical release date is November 2nd, but you can catch it On Demand September 27th. Love is a monster, not a battlefield.

Have you heard about the upcoming series Mockingbird Lane ? Use The Munsters theme song as your ring tone? Just me? Well, the beloved, yet short-lived classic 1960s television show The Munsters is getting a fresh face on NBC next year. It is currently being developed by  Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller , which means we can rest-in-peace-assured it will at the least be visually stunning. Portia de Rossi ( Arrested Development , Ally McBeal ) was given the quirky role of vamp-mama Lily Munster, after Mariana Klaveno dropped out due to a contract conflict. Jerry O'Connell ( Stand By Me , Scream 2 ) will play the clumsy Herman Munster, and the brilliant Eddie Izzard will embody Grandpa. My DRAG-U-LA was all revved up for this remake, but after learning that this family will don the non-monster look, my engine blew on Maple Street. Do this cult series justice or Marilyn is sure to haunt you for the next fifty years...

It's not often when a movie comes along that takes hold of you throughout its duration, feeling its tension that cuts like a knife. The film that took home Iran's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, A Separation is new on DVD this week. The film begins with the separation of Nader and Simin, an urban upper middle-class couple residing in Tehran. Simin does not want their 11-year-old daughter living under the predominate conditions in Iran, unable to get her husband Nader to agree on the family leaving together. Writer/producer/director Asghar Farhadi gives us a somewhat simple plot, combined with a calculated pacing to portray the breaking of a bond with intense fervor. Amidst this separation lay the contrasting ideologies about religion, gender roles, and morals. Much like a classic Hitchcock thriller, delicate investigation unravels characters' intentions. A Separation ...

Aren't you tired of taking your kids (or your kid self) to animated movies that spew out the same story, different animal? Just because it's an owl this time and not an eagle, doesn't mean it's not the same story fellas. So of course, I was elated to see the new animated ghoulish refreshment  ParaNorman , which by the way   doesn't feature any Lady Gaga songs, and its characters don't painfully attempt to mimic the language of what 45-year old screenwriters think our youth talk like, or want to hear. The makers of the also amazing Coraline (2009) bring you a story about a boy who can see and speak to the dead. He's super normal. Monsters are cursed with being perceived as what they appear to be on the outside, and little misunderstood Norman who is voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee ( Let Me In ) must bring harmony back to his ghost town. The creators make sure to cite their horror genre pre...