Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2022
For me the promo art for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins is without a doubt one of the most memorable VHS covers I can remember from my childhood. The hero dangling by one hand from the tip of the Statue of Liberty has always stuck with me. As a kid, when finally getting to see this over-the-top action sequence, it left an impression on me to the point that when I made my first trip out to Liberty Island as a kid, all I could do was stare in wonder at how they could have pulled off such a crazy scene. As I’ve gotten older, my impression of the film has changed, but this sequence is still up there when it comes to favorite action sequences of all time. Now Kino Lorber has put out a remastered copy of a film that has fallen through the cracks, though I know it does have a cult following. What are my thoughts on this action spectacle, and is it worth revisiting?
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on February 18th, 2022
The Naughty Dog series Uncharted has been a bit of an obsession in my home since I played the first game. I always viewed the series as the Indiana Jones video game fans always wanted but just never got. There’s a reason for the game’s popularity. Each game comes with a great story, fun action game play, and memorable set pieces. It’s no surprise that it would eventually become a blockbuster movie, but what has surprised me is how long it has taken to bring the character of Nathan Drake to the big screen. Sure, you can argue we’ve gotten a new Tomb Raider film, and some could argue Uncharted is simply an Indiana Jones knockoff. But then I’d have to ask those people, have they actually played the game? Even with another Indiana Jones film in post production, and as much as I love that franchise, that fourth film simply left a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m slightly concerned about what could happen with a fifth film not helmed by Spielberg. It’s these thoughts that have me gotten me so excited about the prospect of an Uncharted film, a passing of the torch for a new adventure franchise that’s filled with treasure hunting, exotic locations, and plenty of action. After a decade of development, does the film live up to my expectations, or does it disappoint like so many other video game adaptations that have been released over the years?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 16th, 2022
Kino Lorber has plundered the vaults of MGM and released one of the better known Charles Bronson films, Murphy’s Law. To me this is one of the Cannon classics where it was simply a fun tough guy film filled with everything that would make today’s woke audiences cringe. There is no way a film like this would get made now, and it’s a shame, because, well, this is pure escapism and is a good time from start to finish. I’m not saying that this film is perfect, but it captures the energy of what made Cannon films fun during the 80’s and early 90’s. Charles Bronson is playing Jack Murphy, a detective who has hit hard times with his wife wanting a divorce, though he’s not ready to give up on that relationship. Things are about to get much worse when Jack is framed for the murder of his ex-wife and her new boyfriend who runs an exotic dance club.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 5th, 2022
Superhost is a not-so-flattering social commentary on the youth of today who seem to be driven more by the amount of likes and subscribers they have than the actual human interactions they encounter in the course of a day. Whether it’s Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or any number of platforms you can think of, it seems people have just become obsessed with seeking the approval of “followers” instead of taking stock in the friends they have in their “real” social structure. The pandemic, of course, doesn’t help any of this, as it seems every week there is some new dance or challenge people are doing in the name of clicks. Also recently it seems suicides and murder-suicides have been occurring more with these “social media influencers”. Maybe it is just the old man in me coming out, but I look at the social media culture and wonder if man has reached his peak and we are all simply on a steady decline from this point forward.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on January 14th, 2022
In 1996 when Scream first came out, it’s hard to explain to this new generation of teens just how much it changed the genre and the film industry. To say the horror genre was dead is an understatement. Sure, the early 90’s had a handful of good films, but when you look at where the genre was in the 80’s and earlier, you can see the difference. Then when you look at how the genre has evolved since the first film premiered, what Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven did has been emulated but not quite surpassed. Even with the three sequels that followed, they had the same spirit but just not quite as good. Sure, better horror films have come along in the 25 years since, and several have changed the genre for better or worse. We’ve seen horror go with the intense hyper realism and the re-boot which Scream 4 (2011) took its meta take on, but where could the series go next?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 24th, 2021
In 1999 when The Sopranos first premiered on HBO, I don’t think anyone was expecting just how much it would change the television landscape. In its run it made cable TV a main contender for the Emmys, but it also changed the way we see TV, as it took the gangster movie dynamic and stretched it out into a series that ran successfully for 86 episodes. Then there was the way the series came to a close that has had fans and critics talking nearly 15 years after it last aired. It’s the show that raised the bar for what television can be and has been the standard since which only a handful of shows have been able to match in quality. Personally (and I know this is a controversial take), I’m only a fan of the first three seasons, but even a bad episode of The Sopranos is better than most television shows out there.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 17th, 2021
While I enjoyed the first couple seasons of Rick and Morty, I wasn’t all that sure about the show’s staying power with Adult Swim. I’d talk about the show with some friends, but for the most part this seems to be a show that finds its fan base more in their late teens. It’s fair to say it’s been more than a few years since I was a teenager, so perhaps it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that I was a little hesitant with this season (feel free to check out my review of Season 1). When Season 3 came out, the show blew up in a big way, gaining numerous fans, and even managed to make “Pickle Rick” a part of everyday pop culture and make Szechuan sauce at McDonalds a thing. The show, for those who may be unfamiliar, is something of a blend between Back to the Future and more than a sprinkle of Futurama. If that sounds like a fun ride, well, then this may be the animated series for you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 16th, 2021
I was disappointed when it was announced that James Wan wouldn’t be returning to helm the third Conjuring film, but when the reasoning was that he had a new original concept to direct, well, it still made me pretty happy. When it comes to the technical side of filmmaking, I feel James Wan is one of the most exciting directors currently working in the industry. What the guy pulls off is impressive mostly because he relies more heavily on in-camera trickery than depending on CGI. Sure, he did Aquaman and is about to do the sequel, but those films aside, he’s pretty much a master of the practical craft who I’d put up there with Hitchcock. So when I saw the trailers for Malignant, I’ll admit I was a bit excited, especially when Wan had said that this was a nod to the Giallo films of the past. But did he deliver?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 10th, 2021
Over the past decade we’ve seen a resurgence in reboots, remakes, and anthologies, so it isn’t much of a surprise that the beloved horror anthology Creepshow would get the reboot treatment. To be fair, this is an extension from what the first films set out to be, though the big difference is that instead of just being a film with a few stories, it is now a TV series, each episode containing two tales to horrify and entertain. When I first heard about the series I was cautiously optimistic. The first two films I consider classics, as do many other fans of the horror genre. Then there was that third Creepshow that I feel we all just want to forget and pretend never really happened.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 8th, 2021
When Netflix released The Haunting of Hill House, I fell in love with the series. I have watched it several times since its release, and it continues to hold up. So when it was announced that Mike Flanagan would be returning to do a follow-up series, it was impossible not to get my hopes up. Mike Flanagan is perhaps the best thing to happen to horror in quite a while. He doesn’t depend on gore or crazy special FX, but instead his focus is more on that natural evil that people can do to one another. From Hush to Doctor Sleep to The Haunting of Hill House and his most current work Midnight Mass and all his projects in between, he’s maintained a consistency that I feel ranks him as one of the better visual storytellers of the past decade, and he seems to only get better with each project.
