Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 16th, 2019
When it comes to Robert Zemeckis films, you never know what you’re going to get. Like most, I’m a fan of his Back to the Future trilogy, and then there is Who Framed Roger Rabbit that to this day I feel is his best work. While he’s churned out many good films, there are films of his that I’m simply not a fan of. Forrest Gump happens to be one of those films. For the most part he makes audience-friendly films, but what I’ve always admired about the guy is how he’s always attempting to integrate new technology into his films. Zemeckis has become one of the pioneers of motion-capture technology. Ever since The Polar Express (2004), he’s been making improvements with the technology, and now with Welcome to Marwen, it is stunning to see just how far he has come.
The funny thing about Welcome to Marwen is that it may be one of the biggest-budget art films produced in a long time. Though the film is very much in tone with Zemeckis’s style, at the same time there is enough quirkiness in the characters and story that it may be a bit jarring for some. Because of this, it’s no surprise that it will have a divided audience that will love or hate this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 9th, 2019
It’s been expected that Season 10 of Archer would be the last one. With Fox recently putting out the 9th season Archer: Danger Island, it’s giving fans a chance to catch up before Sterling Archer (voiced by H. John Benjamin) sets off on his final adventure. There are still plenty of questions left unsolved from Season 7, and if you were hoping Danger Island would help fill in the blanks, well, sorry to disappoint; instead, season 9 gives us something completely new that I enjoyed, though I have to admit it left me scratching my head for where things may be going.
Season 9 takes us to a little island in the South Pacific named Mitimotu in 1939 just before the second World War is about to kick off. In this timeline, Sterling is a one-eyed seaplane pilot who works for his mother, Mallory (Jessica Walter). Sterling wakes up in bed with the newly wedded Cheryl (Judy Greer). No, Archer and Cheryl are not married; instead she is wed to a treasure-hunting Nazi named Fuchs (Chris Parnell). For those who were wondering, Pam Poovey (Amber Nash) is around as Sterling’s co-pilot, and I have to admit she was my favorite part about this season. The one oddball addition to these characters is yet another familiar voice: Lucky Yates, who this season is playing a talking parrot (well, macaw) that can say more than just a few words and in fact enjoys bantering with the characters over the course of the season.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 27th, 2019
This review is going to be a little different from what you may be used to seeing here at Upcomingdiscs. We’re about to venture off the path of mainstream films and delve into the dark and seedy areas of cinema where the naughty, the gory and the cult lurk. This comes with a warning: these films are not for everyone. Seriously, this is your chance to click away, because these films can leave an impression on the viewer and are difficult to unsee. Also these films do come with a not-rated label, so no one under 17 permitted, for those youngun’s still sticking around to read, go ahead and click onto the Mary Poppins Returns review. I read some nice things there; this here is no review for you. I don’t want to be held responsible for the nightmares these films may cause you down the road.
OK, now that we’re all adults here, let me begin. Cult Epics was kind enough to send us a couple titles to review. For those not familiar with the brand yet, they are a company that has been acquiring a variety of art house, horror, and adult cinema, releasing the titles onto Blu-ray. Many of these titles are what fans of cult cinema can be ravenous for, for instance the copy of Nekromantic 2 I got to review had a beautiful remastering of the film from the 16mm negative, and it is loaded with a variety of bonus features. Behind-the-scenes footage, a 20th anniversary concert, short films, and more have been put together for this release, so for those of you who are fans, Cult Epics has pretty much done you a solid and put out a release that is meant to satisfy the fans.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 19th, 2019
This is one of those films where the cast had me equally excited and concerned with how the film would turn out. On one hand it has Harvey Keitel; the guy is a living legend between his roles in Reservoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, and countless others. Keitel is one of those actors who elevates just about any film he’s in, and he’s in several films I’d even call classics. Then on the other end of the spectrum there is Hayden Christensen, one of the most lifeless performers to ever grace the screen in my opinion. I still have bouts of anger when I see him as Anakin Skywalker. But I’m always ready to have an actor surprise me, and I always go into a film with an open mind once I sit down and start watching it. Unfortunately The Last Man is a dud and was a film I struggled with so many of you won’t have to.
The film opens up with a dream sequence that looks more like a first person shooter scene in a video game. Apparently this is a dream that Kurt (Christensen) has been having quite often. This is told to us through the film’s narration, and I’d just like to come out and say I really hated the voice-over work on this film. I get that they were trying to go for a neo-noir style, but the narration is delivered with such a monotone delivery it felt more like a voice track someone would listen to while trying to sleep. Another issue with this narration is that it is so on-the-nose with the information that it is telling us things we can obviously see and figure out for ourselves. It was fine when giving us a little back story, telling us how the western civilization collapsed, but as you continue watching, everything you hear just begins to seem redundant.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 7th, 2019
It may only be March, but I’m willing to bet The Standoff At Sparrow Creek will make the list of my top films of 2019. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is the next breakout film people will be talking about, because it’s just that damn good. Think about what Reservoir Dogs mashed up with Glengarry Glen Ross would be like if they were mashed together and the characters were all members of a militia; then you’ll somewhat have an idea of what The Standoff at Sparrow Creek has in store for you. We’ve all heard rumblings about militia groups, the kind that have their hidden bunkers that have stockpiles of weapons and ammunition that are ready to go into battle at a moment’s notice. At the same time we live in a world where it’s heavily frowned upon to want to own an automatic assault rifle, and those involved with these groups are often depicted as country bumpkins who are military washouts or just “gun nuts”. Well, writer/director Henry Dunham has decided to offer up a new look into this group and even dares to get into their heads and what motivates them. But Dunham isn’t trying to make any political statements, but instead he’s crafted a well drawn out thriller that explores each of these characters and gives them each motivation for their actions, keeping them human despite their actions at times.
What kicks off the film is a shooting at a police funeral, In a panic to find out who may be responsible, Gannon (James Badge Dale) has all the members of his group meet up at a lumber mill to sort things out. It’s at the mill where Gannon discovers that a gun and other materials are missing and that the person responsible for the shooting is one of the members of his group. Knowing the police are going to be out for blood, Gannon decides to interrogate the members of his group in hopes of finding the rogue killer and offering them up in order to preserve the safety of the militia.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 4th, 2019
It’s been a while since there has been a good invisible man film. It’s one of the original Universal horror monsters that just doesn’t seem to get the fanfare that I feel it deserves. Some of the greats in Hollywood have tackled incarnations of the character. John Carpenter with Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992); then there was Hollow Man (2000), but neither of these films are what you would consider classics, though they are films I had fun with. So when The Unseen crossed my path, I was looking forward to this. After all, it has been a while since this type of character has been tackled; then factor in that it is being helmed by Geoff Redknap, who previously worked as a special effects artist on Cabin in the Woods, Watchmen, and numerous other projects. This just seemed like it would be a good match. The result is a bit of a mixed bag.
When we meet Bob Langmore (Aden Young), he’s a bit of a suicidal mess who works at a lumber mill. I can appreciate that this doesn’t go the typical route where we see a scientist who gets involved with an accident that causes them to transform. For some reason Bob just seems to be afflicted with this disease that seems to be eating away at his physical form. He’s able to hide this by using gloves and tape, but Bob understands that he can only conceal this for so long. His family life is a mess as well; his wife has left him, and his daughter wants little to nothing to do with him. The family dynamic is actually one of the strong points of the film, though I wish it didn’t wait so long for Bob to actually have screen time with his daughter.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 27th, 2019
At first glance, Mary Queen of Scots has all the makings of a film you’d expect to be nominated for numerous awards; after all, it’s a period drama that showcases some remarkable performances from Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie. Unfortunately this retelling of the story between Queen Elizabeth (Robbie) and Queen Mary (Ronan) is bogged down with its politics and the struggles these women have being leaders while their differing religions present a conflict preventing them from ever working together. Let me just jump into this and attempt to sort this film out.
For those who are not history buffs, I won’t disclose who it is that we see in the opening moments of the film as they are being led to their execution. It’s an odd way to open the film; despite it being historically accurate, it just seems a bit off-putting. The film then takes us to Mary arriving in Scotland to claim her throne after being away in France. At the same time Queen Elizabeth has been ruling over England and Scotland; since she hasn’t married and has no children, it is Mary who is ready to take on the reins of becoming the heir to the throne of England. This is the start of many squabbles between the two queens, where we see their relationship dissolve from a unique sisterhood to the pair becoming envious of one another. Basically how most families are, only without the royal labels.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 22nd, 2019
It was 1985 when The Key to Rebecca first aired. It was a made-for-TV film based on the novel by Ken Follett. I had never heard of the film until a couple of days ago and had no knowledge of the book, so I was pretty much going into this with nothing more than the blurb you can read off the back of the DVD box. The one thing that jumped out at me was the running time on the film: 3 hours and 14 minutes, so one thing I knew was it would be a film I’d be spending a decent amount of time with. I have nothing against long film. I don’t care what the runtime is on a film, just so long as the film is good, and unfortunately The Key to Rebecca didn’t turn out to be the suspense-filled spy film I had hoped it would be.
The film takes place during the 2nd World War and is set in Cairo, Egypt. It’s in the middle of the desert; where the film opens up and we see Alex Wolff (David Soul) is being rescued. It doesn’t take long before we discover that Wolff is working as a spy whose purpose is to supply information to the Nazis as they prepare to advance into Egypt and seize control. This is where Maj. Vandam (Cliff Robertson) comes in. Basically he is a spy hunter, and after it is discovered that a spy is responsible for the murder of a British soldier, he is put to task to find the spy and uncover his mission. It’s a fun setup, but with a 3-hour-plus running time, there is so much padding to this story that it loses its punch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 20th, 2019
When I first heard that Bradley Cooper would be making his directing debut with A Star is Born, honestly, I kind of groaned. It’s not because I didn’t believe he’d have the chops; after all, he’s worked with many successful directors over the span of his career. I groaned because I believed the world didn’t need yet another remake of the film. This will be the fourth incarnation of the film, and while many can debate on which version is their favorite, the film was pretty much a relic I felt should have stayed in the past. I mention this and want to also put it out there that even after some of the trailers I had caught for the film, my excitement level was pretty low going into this. Well, this turned out to be the sleeper hit of the year for me. Sure, many could have told me this would be a hit, and because of the cast I wouldn’t dispute it, but when I walked out of the auditorium I felt like I had experienced something special (even if it had been made three times before).
The film opens with Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) taking the stage and performing for a large crowd. After his show he’s looking to get a drink and stops off at the closest bar; as it turns out it is one that caters to drag queens. Jackson doesn’t care about the location; all he’s interested in is getting some drinks, but that all changes when he sees Ally (Lady Gaga) perform on stage. As the night stretches on and the two continue to get to know one another, one thing is undeniable; the chemistry between Cooper and Gaga is phenomenal. The flow of the first act of this film is perfect, and by the time Maine has Ally convinced to go on tour with him, I was convinced this movie would be a box office smash.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 14th, 2019
Shout Factory is at it again, releasing yet another cool and unappreciated film from the past, so hopefully a new audience can possibly embrace this fun, punk-rock, exploitation gem. Writer and director Penelope Spheeris, who created the brilliant documentary The Decline of Western Civilization (1981), followed her documentary with the 1984 film Suburbia. It’s no surprise that she would follow her punk documentary with a low-budget film that delves into the lives of kids who are entwined in the punk scene. Seeing how Roger Corman is listed as a producer on the film, it should come as no surprise that this is shot on a low budget; this is one of those times where cheap goes a long way in setting the tone for a film and keeps the look of the film honest. But is it worth taking a trip through Suburbia?
The opening sequence of the film has Sheila (Jennifer Clay) hitchhiking and being picked up by a young mother who has her child with her. They are driving along through a rough area when the car gets a flat, and the passengers have no choice but walk to find a pay phone. It’s while waiting for a payphone that we see the young child get attacked by a wild dog. It’s a random and violent act, but as you continue watching you can see that there is a message hidden in this savage attack, and it’s also setting us up for the story that follows.
