Catching up with several 2013 movies I missed

Who doesn't love a rip roaring holiday cold? This girl, that's who. Unfortunately, my spouse is the one who is really ailing, and he's sick enough that I've been home with him for almost three days now. I heat the soup, I nag about taking the meds and I spray Lysol like a crazy person whenever he leaves the room. Oh, and I also head to the Redbox for the movie rentals (so that's a plus).

Controlling the DVD rentals is a breeze. This poor spouse of mine is so sick he'll watch anything, as long as it doesn't involve him controlling the remote (yep, he's that sick). I could go on a romantic comedy bender, but I'm not in the mood. Instead, I seem to be picking heavier stuff, including at least one straight-up horror film. That's usually not my style. Maybe I'm getting feverish too?

I thought I'd share my opinions about what we've seen thus far.

Elysium

Of all my recent rentals, Elysium was the one movie I was the most excited to see. Matt Damon almost always delivers for me. I rarely dislike any movie he's in, and that's the case with Elysium. I didn't love it - but I didn't hate it, either. I found fault with parts of the film's plot, but overall? I thought Elysium was kind of cool.

And I'll say this: Neill Blomkamp might be a new director, but he's becoming a favorite of mine. Elysium was nowhere near as amazing as District 9, but some of the same elements were. I love Blomkamp's vision for a futuristic dystopia in both films. Parts of Elysium looked a lot like District 9 to me, particularly the rough, crime-riddled areas of Earth - now inhabited by those unfortunate souls who weren't wealthy enough to go to Elysium, a paradise-like space station far removed from the pain and suffering those still on our planet must endure.

As I said, this is far from a perfect film, but if you liked District 9 and went all Neill Blomkamp-crazy after, as I did, you should see it for yourself. I hope that at some point, as Blomkamp adjusts to being a Hollywood heavy hitter now, he'll continue to deliver interesting stories and outstanding films in the future. I'm very optimistic, even though Elysium fell a bit short of the mark.

The Purge

I told you the truth: I actually chose to rent and watch a horror movie. Aside from The Conjuring, this is the only other time in recent memory that's happened. I wish now that I could just purge The Purge from my brain. The idea of this film is actually interesting: On one night each year, everyone is allowed to commit crimes without fear of punishment (including murder). Supposedly, this is a way for Americans in 2022 to get out their violent urges all at once, leaving them peace-loving for the rest of the year.

Okay, so it sounded stupid when I actually wrote it out. But the idea is actually a good one, a perfect set up for a horror movie. Overall, The Purge has great ideas and, at least at times, great tension, but honestly? The family involved in this film is so flipping stupid I was almost rooting for them to get offed 30 minutes into the movie. This is the kind of movie you can hate watch really easily though, so have at it, horror fans!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

I love a great YA book adaptation. The Hunger Games movies (particularly Catching Fire) are a shining example of an excellent adaptation. The same can be said for the Harry Potter movies, of course. Sadly though, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones failed to live up to my expectations.

If you're bothering to read this, I highly doubt I even have to sum up the Mortal Instruments series of books by Cassandra Clare for you. They're among my favorite stories, and I actually did think adapting City of Bones on the big screen would work well. I found the movie confusing, and I've read the book - so I can only imagine how lost non-Instruments fans were when they popped this one in the DVD player.

To summarize: The Mortal Instruments movie has very little in common with the book. It should be better. The dialogue was incredibly cringe-worthy, the action sequences were preposterous and I'm not a fan of the casting choices, either. Is this the worst movie I've ever seen? No, but it's pretty close. Stop trying to Twilight everything, Hollywood. Just stop it.

Okay, there you have it: My End-of-Year Sickness Movie Extravaganza. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them. I suspect we've got at least a few more days of this horrible illness in this house, so I've got several more hours to fill. If I see something worth reviewing, I'll escape into my germ-free office space to come and tell you all about it.

Photos courtesy of Collider.com and Teen.com