The Cook (2013)

A young TV actor holds a memorial party for his deceased sister. It is held in an abandoned park where, a murderous, shamanistic drug-lord lives. The actor and his friends are hunted by this seemingly supernatural killer.

Carrie (2013)

This movie is hardly a scene-by-scene account of Brian De Palma brilliantly 'Carrie'. Yes, it impossible not to compare any remake to its original version, especially when the original is considered a classic. It is sad that with these days' shortage of originality, even a seemingly talented director such as Kimberly Peirce, succumbs to the commercial appeal of movie-making in the sole interest of monetary gain resulting in watered-down quality. Well, I'm not even sure if this movie will make its money back, given the mediocrity in all aspects of its quality. But then again, there are a lot of junks out there that make tons of money. All the efforts for the reimagining, whether it be an attempt to create a franchise or sequel or to modernize the narrative has totally undermined the essence of this otherwise compelling story. The destructiveness of social isolation, religious fanaticism, BULLYING, to name a few, underlined in Stephen King's novel were in no way conveyed effectively in this movie. There is a lack of connection in Moretz's performance and she is unconvincing as a socially deprived and awkward girl. Julianna Moore as always delivers a competent performance. But she can only carry the movie so far. As talented as Moretz is, she is a miscast for this movie. As such, the movie is moderately entertaining at best.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

I really liked the first thor, it had a great Shakespearean tone with an interesting and engaging main character and an even more intriguing villain. It was one of my favourite films of 2011 and after the Avengers which is I believe to be one of the best superhero films ever made (only second to The Dark Knight). I was excited for Thor: The Dark World, So I went in with big expectations. The acting was all on top form, Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman had decent chemistry and both were comfortable in their roles and Tom Hiddleston once again stole the show as Loki. However Christopher Eccleston's Malakith was a weak and lacklustre villain that followed a dull and average plot that gave our main villain no real motivations for his evil scheme. However don't get me wrong I really liked this film the rest of the Dark Elves are truly creepy and well designed characters. The production values of this film is unflawed and you can see just the amount of work that has gone into the design. The humour is a refreshing change of pace and keeps it fun and light hearted. The Action is marvellous too giving us fantastic battles, chases and epic fights, with London being an brilliant setting for the film. Interesting character development, a terrific score (even if I did miss Patrick Doyle's first theme) and the special effects are some of the best in the business. As well as being far more action packed and epic than the first. However the ending will either get some grinning with joy or just darn frustrated. In conclusion, anyone who is a marvel fan I believe will enjoy Thor: The Dark World as will anyone who liked the first with plenty of throwbacks to the original and enough set-up and cameos for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 2.