Brent Lorentson

When it comes to revenge, Hollywood has exploited the theme in just about every conceivable way.   It’s a genre that has been done so much that it’s hard to find a fresh hook to bring the audiences in, much less create a story that will motivate the audience to root for this blood thirsty protagonist.  Getting the audience on your side as your hero hunts down individuals for retribution is asking a lot, but still there is always going to be an audience that will fill theater seats.
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The World War 2 genre has been done to death by Hollywood, but The Monuments Men gives us a fresh look at the war and delves into a story that is a breath of fresh air to the genre.  Despite all my history classes that delved into the atrocities of World War 2, it was never discussed about what happened to the great landmarks that were spread throughout Europe and encountered the cold hand of war.  Granted, when measured against the staggering amount of lives lost throughout the war, the thought of a sculpture being destroyed or a Picasso painting being incinerated simply seems petty by comparison.
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With a title like The Zombinator you basically know the kind of B-movie spectacle you are getting into.  Any notions of great special f/x or even a good script should be cast aside, and you simply have to tell yourself to sit back and enjoy the silliness that should follow.  But what the title did was build up these crazy thoughts of a cyborg from the future to take out hordes of zombies.  Well, this isn’t that movie.  Even the cover art gives promise to this kind of cheesy film, but there are no cyborgs from the future; instead we get another run-of-the-mill film about a documentary film crew that stumbles into trouble.
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With a new Transformers film on the horizon, it is no surprise that the animated series finds its way on DVD.  Shout Factory releases the entire series of Transformers: Energon in a 7-disc set with 51 episodes that amount to over 18 hours of Transformer fighting goodness. Over the years there have been numerous incarnations of the hit animated series; just how well does this series fare?  Honestly it surprised me how much fun this series turned out to be, and it left me wishing that Michael Bay had drawn some inspiration from this series.
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There is something I find unsettling about an amusement park after hours, when all the rides are shut down and the laughter and screaming of kids running around are gone.  These parks, for the most part, are designed to take us to another time or another world where reality is how the park engineers design it to be.  So when Skip (Jason Spisak) arrives at the Old West theme park to be the overnight janitor, I could appreciate the surreal world he would be stepping into.  As we go along with him on a tour during his first day, his guide and superior is played by Jon Gries, who seems to have a story for just about everything at the park.
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In 1998 following the release of Roland Emmerich’s version of Godzilla, the story would continue following some of the characters that we met in the film as well as a host of other characters and monsters.  With a 40-episode run coming out to about 14 hours of television, the DVD release of the series comes out at just the right time for those who need a temporary fix before seeing their favorite big green lizard splash across the big screen once again.
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Martial arts films are just about as done to death as the slasher film.  Just about every angle and direction that you can take with these films has been explored by now.  When it comes to the martial arts genre, seeing a student or son avenge their father or master is just about the motivation in most of these films, but audiences accept this  because what we are sitting down for is the action.  Seriously, how many people remember the plots of the old Jackie Chan or Jet Li films?  But go back even further to the core classics like The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin or Five Deadly Venoms; these films are all rooted in the spirit of revenge. 
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With all the zombie media out there have you ever thought what you would do if you found yourself in the middle of the zombie apocalypse?  It’s fun to discuss your plans for survival and clever weapons you may devise to battle the hordes of the undead.  But what would you do if a loved one was infected and became one of the undead? Would you be able to simply put them down so easily?  Or would you tend to them with the hope that somehow they could return and not be the flesh-eating monstrosity they’ve come to be?
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The summer camp horror genre seems to have been on the back burner for a while in my opinion.  Sleepaway Camp, Friday the 13^th, and The Burning are some of the classics I used to watch over and over when I was younger.  Camp Dread looks to revisit this old-school sub-genre and reboot it with a new twist; this time it’s using a backdrop of a reality show to get these unsuspecting campers together.  It’s not the most original approach to the genre, but what is most surprising is that Camp Dread actually holds up with the previous films and franchises I mentioned and could easily be seen as an unofficial sequel to any of them.
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On the heels of the reality TV Pentecostal preacher dying from a snakebite, Holy Ghost People delves into the dark side of religion and how those who believe can be corrupted and taken advantage of.  It’s not that the film is looking to exploit or demonize a religion or anyone’s beliefs, but instead it explores the people who have no problem using another’s beliefs and weaknesses to manipulate them.  Though the film takes place deep in the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains, it could just as easily be about a chapel just up the street; after all, faith and corruption are everywhere so long as there is someone eager to believe.
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Ever watch one of those reality shows and wonder what would happen if someone got killed, or what if one of the cast members turned out to be a psycho ax murderer?  Well, I’m not ashamed to say the thought has crossed my mind from time to time in hopes that it would make the season of Survivor mean a whole new thing with the stakes raised, and instead of a vote off you were literally cut out of the show.  Well, HazMat tackles this very notion of a reality show breaking from the script (come on, we all know by now reality shows are scripted) after the show’s participant gets the thirst for blood.
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