Exit Humanity
Netflix Streaming
DVD
Directed by John Geddes
Starring Brian Cox, Mark Gibson, Dee Wallace, Bill Moseley, Stephen McHattie, Jordan Hayes, Adam Seybold
Foresight Features and The Collective
Originally Released: September 18, 2011

So what does the zombie movie Exit Humanity have to do with my Thanksgiving celebration? Please endure (and indulge) me while I explain a little.

Several years ago, I found myself in a position where I was going to be alone for Thanksgiving. I decided rather than do nothing; I would create my own unique personal tradition for the November holiday: I would cook up some good quality Italian sausage in place of the stereotypical turkey, and watch some zombie movies.

This may not be traditional, but look at it this way: while you were putting up with Aunt Ethyl embarking on a diatribe about Obama being an Antichrist as she shovels bad stuffing into her pie-hole, I was escaping into a kick-ass zombie apocalypse set during the U.S. Civil War era.

That’s right: zombies through the Civil War era.

Memento
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Jorja Fox, Stephen Tobolowsky
Summit Entertainment
Originally Released: September 5, 2000

Christopher Nolan has a magnetic touch for filmmaking. His resultant products as director are always compelling viewing and – perhaps the more important aspect – make for incredible rewatchability. His movie, Memento, written by Nolan and based on a short story by his brother Jonathan Nolan, is no exception to this rule, and is conceivably one of the finest mystery and mindfuck movies ever made.

But where and how to start reviewing Memento…? I have lost count of the times I’ve watched this movie, but the convolutions throughout the plot make it exceptionally difficult to review without revealing key plot points, revelations, and, for lack of a better idiom, spoilers.

All I can really say at this point is that if you have not seen this movie before, cease reading right now and go and watch it. I mean it! Stop reading my drool here and get over to Netflix and watch the damn thing.

For those incredulous, read on, but be warned: there may be spoilers in these here waters…

Lady Vengeance
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Park Chan-wook
Starring Lee Young Ae, Choi Min-sik, Kwon Yea-young
CJ Entertainment
Originally Released: July 29, 2005

Lady Vengeance is what I call an evergreen movie – one of those films with high value in the re-watchability area. In other words, you can always come back to it and view this movie over and over again, still enjoy it, and in some cases, get something new from the experience.

Third in Park Chan-wook‘s Vengeance Trilogy, Lady Vengeance follows the story of Lee Geum-ja, who is framed for the crime of kidnapping and murdering a little boy. Innocent of the crime, she is imprisoned for numerous years, during an incarceration in which she develops many connections and loyalties with existing inmates. Upon her release, she begins to follow a long-developed plan to uncover the man responsible for the crimes and seek vengeance upon him.

Paranormal Activity 3
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Starring Chris Smith, Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery, Katie Featherston, Jessica Tyler Brown, Sprague Grayden, Hallie Foote, Dustin Ingram
Paramount Pictures
Originally Released: October 21, 2011

As a horror fan, it seems to be increasingly problematic to find a new film in the genre that impresses me. There have been several good releases over the last few years, but it seems they are drowned amidst the mediocre attempts. Paranormal Activity 3 does not tumble into any shade of mediocrity, in fact, it’s a shining example of a good, solid horror story that pays homage to its influences and delivers on the frights it promises without over relying on the stereotypical bloody gore shock value.

In point of fact, the third chapter of Paranormal Activity is not only of a high standard of excellence, it actually eclipses the previous two films, quickly having become the best of the series – an extreme rarity for franchises with more than a couple releases.

Season of the Witch
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Dominic Sena
Starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy, Stephen Campbell Moore, Stephen Graham, Christopher Lee
Rogue / Relativity Media
Originally Released: January 7, 2011

Lead us not into temptation”¦

Like the title says, this Dominic Sena movie is about a witch. Or is it?

Establishing itself during the middle ages, full of religious persecution, the Crusades, and the Plague, Season of the Witch (totally unrelated to the 1972 George Romero classic of the same name; or the third chapter of the Halloween franchise) is a journey movie, that is essentially a medieval (and tamer) homage of The Exorcist, taking influence from adventure films such as Lord of the Rings, National Treasure, and more.

“¦or is it?

With the grandiosity of the above description being fairly accurate, Season of the Witch actually falls short of the epic feel of the comparisons above. In fact, the movie has been critically panned since its release, rightful in some areas, but snubbing one particular element worth highlighting: While many areas of the film are a bit of a let-down, there is a fun aspect to the film that props it up, making it a movie worth checking out at least once.