Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 11th, 2021
Come Play is the most recent film to be expanded to feature length following a successful short project. With the moderate success of Lights Out, it’s no big surprise that a studio would want to take a chance on Come Play, whose short film, “Larry”, worked as a prototype for the feature it would become. This kind of thing happens quite often with genre projects, but sometimes you have to wonder is there really enough story to expand a 5-minute short into a 90-minute feature. Using the addiction to technology and its ever-expanding AI features, there is plenty of story to be mined from this. Recently there was the update to Child’s Play that had AI technology seeking a new best friend it would kill to have, and in that film, Chucky was able to manipulate the technology around him. Come Play somewhat takes the same approach but instead creates a boogeyman for the age of modern tech. Then factor in that it’s a film under the Amblin umbrella, a company that is responsible for Poltergeist, ET, and numerous 80’s and 90’s genre classics … well, it’s hard to not have some raised expectations.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 30th, 2021
When it comes to the DC universe on television, I feel like Warner Bros. knows exactly what they are doing and truly understands the comics as well as their audience. Now that WB has merged with HBO, I was worried about whether some of the DC TV shows would continue on, since I’ve been impressed with the first two seasons of Titans and the first season of Doom Patrol. I was even more curious about whether Doom Patrol could continue to deliver it’s WHAT THE F*** moments that were sprinkled throughout the first season. Now that I’ve come to the abrupt end that Season 2 delivered, I’m happy to say the show has managed to outdo itself. One thing I want to get out of the way before I delve into this review: the season is only nine episodes long due to the pandemic, so the show does end with many story threads left wide open.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 28th, 2021
I’ll come out from the start and say how much I love the film Snowpiercer (2013). I was already a fan of Bong Joon Ho since I had seen The Host at a film festival, and I just thought his career would have exploded after the release of Snowpiercer. The tension created in that film as you see the tail section carefully move their way to the front of the train and the horrors they encounter along the way is engaging, and it speaks volumes. The stories about cannibalism are heart-wrenching, and the violence is intense. You definitely feel the desperation and are rooting for the tail section from start to finish. Sure, there was plenty of class warfare on display, but in the film it was very clear who was “good” and who was “bad”. Now we have a TV series inspired by both the graphic novels and the film, and this time those lines of good and bad are not so clear as it spins a new tale for us. This isn’t simply a TV show version of the movie, which is something I’m thankful for, but instead this is another version of events that could have happened on this epic train that is essential to mankind’s survival.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 14th, 2021
The Twilight Zone is simply one of those pop culture staples that everyone knows about even if they’ve never seen a single episode. Because of SYFY channel I’ve gotten to see the original show as well as the reboots that would follow. While I’m not as passionate about the anthology series as others, I certainly can appreciate its impact on the not just the sci-fi/horror genre but the history it’s had on television as well. I was curious about this new incarnation of The Twilight Zone, but I was less than enthusiastic about Jordan Peele being involved with the show. As much as I’m a fan of Key & Peele, his foray into horror and sci-fi has left me more than underwhelmed. Being a fan of anthologies and with a little bit of curiosity, I went into Season 2 of The Twilight Zone with an open mind, and the result is a bit of a mixed bag.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 17th, 2020
When I first saw The Strangers, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by how much that movie stuck with me. Sure, there have been plenty of home invasion flicks over the years, but The Strangers is definitely right up there with the best like Funny Games and Inside. Writer and director Bryan Bertino is one of modern horror’s underappreciated creators. He is so good at keeping things simple, utilizing small casts and single settings, and keeping the horror relatively grounded in reality. With The Dark and The Wicked, he gives us his best work to date, and for me one of the best horror films in years. Personally, this is my favorite new horror release since 2016’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe. I’m sure plenty of people will disagree with me, and for as much love as I have for Hereditary, what The Dark and The Wicked did that honestly very few horror films manage to do is genuinely get under my skin. This movie actually creeped me out, and it didn’t use big gory FX or go for cheap jump scares. This literally is a master class in creating tension and delivering a story to audiences that starts off in familiar territory but takes us in new and fresh directions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 12th, 2020
When you check out the poster and Blu-ray cover art for this film, you could easily think that this was yet another cheesy teen romance, but the film is something else entirely. There is a bit of teenage romance in the film, but mostly the focus is on the mental health of the film’s protagonist, Adam (Charlie Plummer) and his struggles with schizophrenia. It’s a heavy topic, and somehow the film manages to tackle the topic in an honest way without being overly depressing. This was challenging material, especially when your target audience is under the age of 18, and during the time of COVID, it’s a bold move for a studio to put out a film with this kind of heavy subject matter. I didn’t expect to like this film, if I’m being honest, and I’ll happily admit that the film surprised me. That doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t come with its share of problems, but are they enough to discourage someone from checking out this film?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 8th, 2020
In 2004 when Collateral first came out, Michael Mann gave audiences something they’ve never seen before: Tom Cruise playing the bad guy. Sure, he played the vampire Lestat in Interview with the Vampire, but he just never seemed all that menacing. In Collateral we get to see him as a cold, professional killer with his salt-and-pepper hair and nondescript gray suit. Also at this time, Jamie Foxx was still carving out a name for himself as a serious actor; this was just months before the release of Ray (the movie that pretty much catapulted him into stardom). I was stoked for this movie when it first came out because it was Michael Mann getting back to what I felt he was great at, the down and dirty crime films like Thief and Heat. I have to admit, I do have a slight bias when it comes to Michael Mann films, and I’ve seen Collateral numerous times before doing this review. Considering it’s been 16 years since its release, sure, the film still holds up, but what I feel will surprise new audiences or those who are revisiting the film is the amount of talent that is on the screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 3rd, 2020
Ben 10 seems to be the Batman of animated shows, not that they have anything in common with their plots or characters but by how many times the character of Ben Tennyson has been in movies and shows and then rebooted all over again. It’s a fun series, and the few movies I’ve seen I’ve liked them, but the one major complaint I have towards the character and series is how repetitive it all is. Sure, this is a problem in most children’s shows, and the issue bleeds into shows for adults, but with all the repetition it raises the question of why bother rebooting, rebranding or doing it all over again if all you’re going to do is retread the same material. It’s because of the recycled plots and the all-too-familiar story trends that I was hesitant about bothering to review kids’ series. So what does Ben 10 Versus the Universe- the Movie bring to the table? Well, for the series it does present a new narrative. For those even slightly familiar with the Marvel films you’ll see a familiar trope, but for the most part it works here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 27th, 2020
It was over twenty years ago when The Haunting came out. I remember actually looking forward to this movie, mostly because of its director Jan De Bont, who was responsible for the 90’s summer blockbusters Speed (1994) and Twister (1996). For the record, I choose to pretend that Speed 2: Cruise Control never happened, because let’s face it, that was simply one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. To De Bont’s credit, he’s also the cinematographer of some pretty great films as well; Die Hard, Flatliners (the good one), and Basic Instinct, to name a few. Now another thing that had me excited was where CGI was at the time. The Frighteners had come out in 1996, The special effects in that film were great and they hold up to this day, so really, with a bigger budget, a solid director and cast, this film should have just been amazing. The result ended up being a film that shows what happens when you rely too heavily on CGI for scares rather than crafting good old-fashioned suspense with atmosphere and story.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 11th, 2020
It’s not uncommon for actors to want to take that leap from being in front of the camera to taking on the mantle of being director. There are some big names who have made that transition successfully. Ben Affleck, Mel Gibson, George Clooney, Peter Berg, and Clint Eastwood are some of the bigger names that I can name off the top of my head. For The Vanished, Peter Facinelli is adding his name to that list. So how does he fare in this low-budget psychological thriller? While I wouldn’t put him in the same league as those previously mentioned, Facinelli does show some promise, but the film’s greatest weakness is its script, which Facinelli also is credited for writing. This is one of those instances where I just wonder if someone else took a pass at the script how much the film could have improved, because this was a frustrating film to sit through.
