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Written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges), Seven Psychopaths is the story of a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell), who gets caught up in his friend Billy’s (Sam Rockwell) dog napping scheme. Billy runs the seemingly harmless operation with a partner, Hans (Christopher Walken) and all appears to be going smoothly, until Billy and Hans nab Bonny the Shih Tzu who belongs to Charlie (Woody Harrelson), a crazy mobster. Weaving tales of truth and fiction together into a larger than life display of fantasy, action, and drama, Seven Psychopaths is the film that appears to be writing itself. But with such loose canons involved, not everyone can escape with their life, what hardships will be endured, who will survive, and will Zachariah (Tom Waits), a psychopath with a bunny, ever find his long lost love?Highly anticipated and almost impossible to fail based on the cast alone, the film features some of pop culture’s greatest anti-icon icons; and, with a screenplay that turns and cuts quickly delivering dashes of comedic pepper mixed with the tang and zest of brutal action/violence a new favorite black comedy is born. While not perfect, it takes our heroes a moment to find their character’s center, and the laughs aren’t initially as hearty as one would hope, the film still has enough off beat charm and quotable moments to hold a special place in hearts of those who love to quote films. As squirrely and unpredictable as a three toed cat on a diving board, this one’s sure to stick with you and leave a smile. Worth it! Seven Psychopaths is rated R….for awesome.

In the height of the Iranian revolution many followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini rallied against sources of Westernizing influence; in particular the U.S. was targeted for connections to and harboring the Shah, the outgoing leader of Iran. In November of 1979, protesters stormed the U.S. embassy taking its occupants hostage– but six state department workers managed to escape. Hiding in the Canadian Ambassador’s home things looked bleak, if caught they would face almost certain death; and, with pressures mounting Canada was loosing a foothold in the country as well. It was up to the CIA to figure out a way to free the state department workers. Agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) dreamt up the only cover story that stood a chance, create a fake movie and tell Khomeini’s people the six were a film crew scouting locations for this production. With his connections to Hollywood, Lester Siegel and John Chambers (Alan Arkin and John Goodman), Mendez got the ball rolling, but would he have enough momentum to get the workers out of the country in one piece?
Based on true events, details of which were only released during the Clinton administration, the potential for a screenplay is rich and downright unbelievable but riveting none the less. Proving his skills as a director are truly of merit Ben Affleck hits gold again with this suspense/thriller/political/historical gem. Staying true to historical detail Affleck and crew have painstakingly re-created scenarios and scenes to a fault and a delight. Compelling history that’s just as relevant now as unrest in the Middle East continues, despite the fact the players have changed. Acting from the ensemble feels natural and right in the wheelhouse of all involved. This one’s a winner through and through, and be sure to sit through the credits to continue the important history lesson to be learned here. Argo is rated R.

True-crime novelist Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) thinks he may be onto something big in a series of previously unsolved murders while investigating and writing his latest novel. Unbeknownst to his family, the house they’ve just moved into happens to be the scene of a recent and grizzly family slaying; driven by a selfish desire to write his next success Oswalt has kept this secret in hopes of doing a more thorough investigation for his book. Naturally it’s just a matter of time before odd happenings start to grasp his attention. A dark specter has taken notice of their presence, but how to stop such a force from wielding its malevolent powers, and what is the golden thread that ties this series of murders together?
Based on the concept of found super 8 footage the film follows an otherwise formulaic pattern of so many modern ghost stories. A pattern that starts with several jump scares in predictable places, an ambient score based on long droning tones and other “eerie” sounds clanging and distorting, and a stylized bit of editing… to hopefully make up for lack of suspense? As with any horror film, your fear is subjective, based on how much we like the characters, and belief in whatever the monster or ghost or ghoul happens to be at work. With the right mix, fear is almost certain. End result here, a few tense scenes but an overall disappointment once we get our big reveal, proving some of the biggest scares are really in the mind. Maybe a matinee but more so a rental. Sinister is rated R.