Brent Lorentson

When I first heard Anna Kendrick was stepping behind the camera to direct her first film, I kind of expected it to be another Pitch Perfect film … but to find her instead doing a thriller about a real life serial killer and rapist who appeared on a game show in the 1970s was a curve ball I wasn’t expecting. But this isn’t simply a true crime story but instead is about how women were marginalized and heavily objectified. But the biggest takeaway I had while watching this was simply how dangerous things were back then and just how easily a serial killer could be prolific and walk the streets while no one suspected a thing. To get it out of the way, my major gripe with this film is that we meet Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) in the very beginning, and we see that he’s a vicious serial killer who lures his victims with charm while posing as a photographer.
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I always found it a bit funny when Hollywood churns out movies that have similar plots to compete against each other. Back in the 90s Armageddon dueled the same year with Deep Impact, when disaster films were all the rage. 2024 had the same situation, though not in the form of big blockbusters, but this time in the form of two horror films about nuns and strange pregnancies taking place within the confines of the convent. The prequel to The Omen was better than I had anticipated, and when Immaculate was released, I just never got around to seeing it … at least until now. While The First Omen is a slow burn that actually pairs well with the first film, Immaculate I feel is the more bloody and popcorn-friendly romp that I feel fits into the sub-genre of nunsploitation (something I wouldn’t object to seeing more of).  So is this film worth congregating in front of the television for 90 minutes, or is this a hard pass in a year that seems to flourish with quality horror films, but not much of anything else?
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With it being December this is when all the critics and groups start to announce their picks for best films of the year. This year has been a bit of a lackluster year in my opinion, but there have been a few gems that have managed to surprise me. A Real Pain, the directorial and writing debut for Jesse Eisenberg, is one of those few gems that crackles with great dialog and impressive cinematography, but most importantly is anchored by the performances of its two leads, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin. On a surface level, this is a story about two cousins going on vacation together, but really it’s about two young men struggling with their own pain. You’d think a film like this would be a drag or even a chore to sit through, but instead it is engaging and heartfelt throughout and has moments that will have you laughing and crying.
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It’s that time of the year again when critics start to makes their lists of the top films they’ve seen since January. Personally, this year has been a bit lackluster when it comes to “great” films, but there have been a lot of fun films to come out this year. To be even more specific, the horror genre has kind of taken off the year in my opinion. Now, while Sting may not be the best horror film of the year, it is a lot of fun.  Every year there’s that fun movie that comes along that flies under the radar, but I feel is great. Cocaine Bear and Violent Night immediately come to mind. Sting, at least in my humble opinion, is what going to the cinema is all about. It’s not high art, but instead it’s pure escapism, and it’s just a fun way to shut your brain off for 90 minutes while a giant alien spider wreaks havoc on a New York apartment. Is it the most original concept? No, but it has just enough scares and blood to make arachnophobes squirm in their seats.
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As a horror fan, 2024 has easily been one of the best years for horror releases in a long time. It’s not just that we’ve gotten several horror releases this year, but the quality and the diversity of the genre has kept the year fresh. Cuckoo is one of the better horror films of the year. It sadly got overlooked at the box office, but it’s one of those films that for those who have seen it, I feel it leaves an impression, because aside from taking familiar tropes, it manages to feel fresh but also has a WTF factor that seems harder to come by these days. In my opinion, Cuckoo is a film that works better knowing as little as you can about it. Going in blind definitely puts you firmly in place to enjoy the film’s ambiguity, and when it starts to go into some strange directions, just go with it. The film may seem a bit odd and confusing as it progresses, but that’s the fun of it.
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It has been a while since I’ve seen a movie as clever and as bonkers as Hundreds of Beavers. This is a movie that no studio would ever consider doing; it’s a fun and wild homage to the silent film era and the old B&W cartoons, most notably the Warner Brothers cartoons. But really this film is more than that. It is rich with so much slapstick influence, while visually it’s a marvel with its use of miniatures and creating images that make it look like cell animation that has come to life … all while looking like a film that a group of friends got together and decided to make. On a surface level this film seems like it would fail, but after the first 15 minutes I was mesmerized and in love. I’d imagine the casual filmgoer would take a look at this film and immediately check out, and that’s fine. This is a movie for a niche audience and is destined for cult status … It’s funny … It’s weird … But what’s it all about?
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There are certain filmmakers who are working today that when I hear about them working on a film I can’t help but get excited. Guys like Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott are a bit obvious, but for good reason. With the new wave of filmmakers a couple who come to mind are the Safdie brothers (Good Times and Uncut Gems), S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk, and Brawl in Cell Block 99), Gareth Evans (The Raid films), and then there is Jeremy Saulnier, who has previously knocked my knickers off with Blue Ruin and Green Room. Saulnier is one of those rare talents who knows how to capture the darkness in his characters and takes them to edge and puts them through some pretty hellish kinds of situations, but he manages to keep it all in the realm of reality where we as a viewer can feel everything we are watching could really happen. The way he depicts violence in his films is one aspect that makes it feel so real. He’s unflinching with bones breaking, stab wounds, or shootouts. This rawness he gives his films, and then there is the grittiness to the way he shoots his films.
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Every year there are a few gems that come along that surprise me. Last year, for instance, Perfect Days and Past Lives were a couple of my favorite films from last year. Now we still haven’t even entered award season, and there have been a few films I feel have been pretty great. Furiosa is one, and then there is Love Lies Bleeding, the violent sexual thriller from A24 I just didn’t see coming. I’ve heard some buzz on this one, but to be honest, having Kristen Stewart in it kind of turned me off. Sure, I liked her as the kid in Panic Room, but since then aside from Adventureland and American Ultra I just haven’t been that impressed. But with awards season coming up, I felt I needed to give this film a shot. Worst case scenario it’s at least less than two hours, so no big loss … Now that I’ve seen it, man, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to see this. Love Lies Bleeding is this unexpected gift that as it continues to play it takes you on this unexpected journey through love and extreme violence that kind of feels like what would happen if the Coen brothers had a cinematic love child with David Cronenberg. Yes, it is that cool, queer, and weird all at once.
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In 1989 John Woo released The Killer, and it became an instant classic in Hong Kong cinema. The Killer and Hard Boiled were my introduction to John Woo and his Gun Fu cinema. The way he choreographed his shootouts it was like watching this beautiful bullet-fueled ballet and typically always shot in slow motion. When he came to the US, John Woo was able to find some success in the action genre, delivering hits like Broken Arrow and Face/Off. His career has kind of cooled off, and when they announced that Woo was going to be remaking The Killer, I’ll admit I hated the idea. It’s a movie I don’t feel can really be improved, but with Woo involved, I was still willing to give the film a chance. My concerns were pretty much confirmed when I heard about the casting and I saw this was going to be a straight-to-streaming release. Let me be very blunt; the 1989 version of The Killer is top-tier action, and it is a film that I feel just can’t easily be replicated, nor should it be. Unfortunately Hollywood just wants to reboot and remake everything …
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Ever since I saw the Demon House documentary in 2018 I’ve kind of been obsessed with this story. It is one of the best documented stories of the paranormal out there with a number of witnesses, many of whom are government officials, and people who you would consider reliable. It was inevitable that a film would be done about this house, and it seems Lee Daniels (Precious and The Butler) is the guy who got the job. This story is one that took a while to bring to the screen, and what kind of blows my mind when it comes to bringing these “true stories” to life is that they find these fascinating stories and then decide to just change things and make them more “Hollywood”, and for the most part that is never a decision that improves the story (like was it necessary to change the location from Indiana to Pennsylvania?). So I’m going to just say that if you want the “true” story, check out the documentary. It is at least a nice companion to the film … As for my review of the film, I’m just going to focus as much as I can on the film and ignore the true story.
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We are living in the era of the “legacy sequel”, it seems all sorts of properties that began in the late 70s or 80s are getting sequels and for the most part they have been rather successful at the box office. This is the part that frustrates me with streaming services, a film like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F has been gestating for years, it even went to becoming an a TV series that failed to take off but after the success of Top Gun: Maverick, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and the Creed films it seems Hollywood execs have decided maybe a new Beverly Hills Cop film might be a good idea after all. Then factor that this summer isn’t all that stacked with tent-pole films you’d think Netflix would take a chance and give Axel Foley his time on the big screen like he deserves, but nope this new film is exclusive to Netflix and while I get their motivations, I still think they are stupid for missing out on the potential added income, just like they’ll most likely forego releasing the film on physical media. It is an interesting time in film and I don’t feel it is a good thing, streaming may be huge but most of the films that are direct to streaming whether it is Netflix, Prime, Apple and so on…most of these films just are not very good and unfortunately it seems audiences are fine with settling for mediocrity.
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“Ladies and gentlemen! Start your engines.”

Back in 2015 when Mad Max: Fury Road was released, it was a film that I don’t think anyone expected audiences to respond to as they did. It was 30 years since audiences had last been to the Australian Wasteland when they previously saw Max, then played by Mel Gibson, play the title hero in a dystopian trilogy that has a very loyal fan base. Fury Road managed to exceed expectations as it delivered on having over-the-top chases through the desert wasteland, spectacular stunts, a great score, and then there was the character of Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, as a one-armed badass who managed to steal the film from Tom Hardy, who was now starring in the title role of Max. While I do love Fury Road, my major gripe was with the over-simplicity of the film. Basically it is nothing more than one large chase where our heroes spend 2/3 heading in one direction and then in the final portion decide to turn around and continue their chase.
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