Five seemingly random story lines intersect at precisely 11:14 p.m. in this innovative drama-thriller written and directed by newbie filmmaker Greg Marcks. Even though they’re strangers, Buzzy (Academy Award winner Hilary Swank), Mark (Colin Hanks), Cheri (Rachel Leigh Cook), Jack (Henry Thomas) and Eddie (Ben Foster) will become a part of one another’s lives — even if it kills them. Patrick Swayze and Barbara Hershey co-star.

First off, Netflix classifies this movie as a thriller. Halfway through, I realized there’s nothing thrilling about it. I liked this movie simply because I like movies that play with time. That’s one reason I loved the Back to the Future series. Why I liked the repeating-day stories of 12:01 (tough as it was to like) and Groundhog Day.

It’s why I liked Go, Vantage Point, and Pulp Fiction, which is similar in its storytelling style in that indie film 11:14 jumps around the same half-hour span, telling different parts of the same story from—for lack of a better term—different vantage points.

Patrick Swayze plays a caring father, even if his actions are misguided. His daughter, played by Rachel Leigh Cook (who doesn’t get a link on Netflix, though I don’t know why), is an out and out bitch. Shawn Hatosy and Hilary Swank have a wonderful chemistry as convenience store employees, one of whom wants to rob the place.

Overall, this movie is nothing new. It’s not very groundbreaking, and its scope is such a tiny microcosm of time—20 minutes tops. And despite good performances by the cast and some cool directing by Greg Marcks and Bree Sharp covering Nancy Sinatra way before Jessica Simpson did, I can’t in good conscience recommend watching it.

Rating: 3/5

In the wake of his young bride’s mysterious death, grieving newlywed Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) is forced to return to his haunted hometown, where he butts heads with the ghost of a creepy ventriloquist who was infamously murdered years ago. Amber Valletta and Donnie Wahlberg co-star in this chilling horror offering from James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the same team that created the Saw trilogy.

“From the writers and director of Saw” begins the trailer (also, look closely at the DVD cover). Because apparently that’s the only way to get people to watch it, right? I mean, the main doll is named Billy, after the Jigsaw Killer’s tricycle-rider, and he appears in a cameo in the film’s third act. These two are signs of a classic.

Ryan Kwanten (True Blood’s Jason Stackhouse) stars in this thriller of a tale about a haunted dummy. It’s light on backstory and heavy on creepiness, as it plays with deviously creepy things in the fist place. Dolls. Ventriloquist dolls.

If you aren’t afraid of ventriloquist dolls, then this movie is just run-of-the-mill terror. Scares where they belong, a couple of weird characters, an estranged father, and of course, the scary old lady who is so good at her job that she can talk at the same time as the dummies.

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Our long title would have been longer if I didn’t shorten the Harry Potter bit. Our show would have been longer if I didn’t shorten the Harry Pottery bit!

Today brings Jay, Nessa, Adam (bulletproofheeb), Nick, Kati, and Sarah (whose ‘h’ I keep forgetting) into the studio-basement-cave thing to discuss as many random topics as:

• Who would win in a fight between ______ and ______?
• The worst ever movies you could find on Netflix
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

This episode is so big IT CANNOT BE CONTAINED IN ONE EPISODE!!!! So, basically, stay tuned for next week when we continue the discussion. [part two can be found here]

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An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years. (Eric Wilkinson, IMDB)

You’d think this is a boring movie, the Man from Earth and I’d grant you that. The entire film takes place in an old, rustic cabin in the middle of nowhere. But it should be said that this is the last screenplay written by sci-fi writer Jerome Bixby, the man who brought you the episode “Mirror, Mirror” on Star Trek and, among other things. And apparently this man knows how to keep an audience in place for the 87 minutes this movie runs.

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