Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 12th, 2017
In 2003 Open Water hit the screen; it was a success since at the time the found-footage genre hadn’t yet saturated the market. I thought it was a fun little movie that was creative, and what impressed me most of all was the use of the sharks in the film. The danger always felt real, and to a point it was a convincing film. It was inevitable that a sequel would follow, though it came and went so fast, it’s not big surprise that many seem to have forgotten the film existed. Now it’s nearly a decade since the sequel came out that we now have a third installment, Open Water 3: Cage Dive.
It’s unfortunate for this film that 47 Meters Down also happens to come out the same year. (You can check out my review of that film on the site as well). With a bigger budget, polished cinematography, and a recognizable cast, it’s no wonder that 47 Meters Down was the one to score at the box office while Open Water 3 managed to sink with barely a whimper. This isn’t the first time films with similar plots have released at the same time, but most often the case there is one that stands out; this isn’t the film to do that.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 10th, 2017
It’s hard to believe it has already been twenty years since Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on television. I was still in high school at the time, and when I first heard about the show, I couldn’t have been any less excited. All I could think about was the cheesy movie that had Luke Perry. At the time horror was having a weird revamping so to speak. Horror seemed to stop being scary and instead went the direction of trying to be cool and have slick visuals, rather than deliver genuine scary tales. This was a show that at first glance seemed to be everything that annoyed me with what was happening in horror, but when I accidentally stumbled upon an episode and started watching, that was it; after one episode, I was hooked. For a show that began about teenagers facing the daily horror of high school while also attempting to save the world from the creatures from the night, the show also managed to inject depth by tackling some major social issues that were taboo at the time.
Sunnydale is far from your typical small California town; after all, its high school stands over the Hellmouth, basically the portal to hell that attracts evil of all kinds. The series kicks off with a fun two-part episode that brings Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) to town after getting kicked out of her old school. Just when she thought she had escaped the vampires and demons from her previous home, she’s left to discover there is no escaping who she is and her responsibility as The Slayer. The big bad of Season One is The Master, an ancient vampire who of course seeks to bring terror and chaos onto the world, but he isn’t ready to have The Slayer or her friends get in the way. Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) are the unlikely duo who are not only her friends but become reluctant sidekicks in the fight against the undead. Just as Buffy was destined to be The Slayer, there is her Watcher, Giles (Anthony Head), who is responsible for training Buffy while also serving as the high school’s librarian. Oh, and of course there is Angel (David Boreanz), the vampire with a soul who will go on to be Buffy’s brooding love interest.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 6th, 2017
In 2008 Taken first exploded on the big screen and not only created an action franchise but also took Liam Neeson from being a respected dramatic actor and transformed him into an action star. It’s been nearly a decade, but now the action franchise is getting the television treatment where we get to see the revenge-fueled CIA agent in action before retirement. Remember the now infamous line, “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you…” The television series aims to show us just how he developed those skills, and the possibilities seem quite awesome, but does it deliver?
Clive Standen steps into the role of Bryan Mills, a younger version of the character Neeson once played. Let’s face it, not many actors can be as smooth as Neeson and just ooze the badass persona Neeson has seemed to have mastered over the span of his career, but Standen is a suitable option to hopefully see mold into the character we’ve grown to love. The series kicks things off as Bryan is travelling with his younger sister, who is tragically killed in the opening moments of the show. Bryan takes it upon himself to discover who is responsible for her death and in the process is recruited by a special ops group in the CIA run by Christina Hart (Jennifer Beals).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 29th, 2017
With a title like 2:22 it’s more than a little on-the-nose to point out something major is going to occur at this time. For a film about premonitions, it’s a shame the film opens up as it does, because it leaves no mystery to the audience and simply tells us what is going to happen, or at least something close enough in the film’s final act. I hate films that are done in flashback just as much as I hate it when it doesn’t put in the effort to conceal how things are going to unfold. In a lot of ways the film is like Groundhog Day, only instead of the same day replaying over and over, it is the same events occurring over and over for our protagonist to figure out.
Dylan (Michael Huisman) is an air traffic controller who is good at his job; he claims it’s his ability to see patterns that helps him do his job as well as he does, though after a freak accident in the control center nearly causes two planes to collide, he is put on a temporary suspension. It just so happens that Dylan meets Sarah (Teresa Palmer), who was on one of the flights that almost collided, and the two seem to fall for one another at first sight.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on September 24th, 2017
When it comes to ranking the top 10 cool movies of the past five years, Kingsman:The Secret Service would easily make the list. From the opening sequence to the final credits, the movie was simply a fun ride with so many kick-ass moments. I mean, the fight in the church alone is worth the price of admission. The moment I heard Matthew Vaughn was returning to helm the sequel, I instantly got giddy with excitement. Heck, ever since his first film Layer Cake, the guy has managed to produce a stream of cool films that I’ve enjoyed. It’s when the trailer for the sequel first dropped something didn’t feel right; it still looked like a fun movie, but it just didn’t suck me in like the previous film’s trailer did. I ignored my doubts, because after all, Vaughn has proven himself again and again, so when it came time to see the screening for the film, I had forgotten about my doubts and I was just ready to have a good time.
Now that we know how the Kingsman organization works, the film wastes no time throwing Eggsy (Taron Egerton) into the heat of action. We watch Eggsy engage in a fight/car chase as Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” plays in the back of a cab. It’s a fun and flashy fight with the camera moving around in impossible angles as the fight literally does some off-the-wall stuff. It’s great for an intro, but this is what we get hit with again and again as the film goes on, and it quickly loses its flair.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 24th, 2017
When it comes to shows that simply sneak up on you and manage to suck you in, This Is Us would be a show I never saw coming nor expected to simply fall in love with. As a show that is on network television, it stands toe to toe with the best that cable has to offer. But what is most surprising is that what sets this show apart from the rest of the pack isn’t a complex antihero or dragons; instead it is as simple as being a show that feels as anything I’ve seen on television in some time. As the title would suggest This Is Us is simply about a family and the struggles and successes that come day to day, though as many of you can understand and relate, there is nothing simple about life and the constant hurdles that are thrown at us on a day to day basis. When I would listen to people talk about the show, it seemed every episode managed to make them cry or at least evoke some strong emotion. I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical about a show being so well made that it could easily prey upon the viewer’s emotions, but after only one episode I was hooked, and I was reaching for the tissues.
The first episode of a television show is generally called a pilot; it’s an episode that is made to introduce the studios and hopefully larger audiences to the show. One of my favorite pilots was for The X-Files; another great first episode would be for The Walking Dead. I mention these to hopefully give a little context for the statement I’m about to make, the first episode of This Is Us is perhaps one of the greatest first episodes for a TV show; easily I’d put this in the top five.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 24th, 2017
To attempt to film in a single unbroken take is an ambitious move. Alfred Hitchock did this with his film Rope, and though it’s an impressive achievement, it’s not one of his great films. What works against the film from the start is that it has to entertain its audience from start to finish, and that’s a difficult enough task for films that have well over 1000 different shots. It’s a bold move, and it is what writer/director and camera operator Justin McConnell delivers us with his feature film Broken Mile. Just for a moment think about what he’s attempting: 80 minutes of filming hoping his actors deliver their lines and hit their marks, he has to hit his marks with the camera, and then while filming in the real world and not a stage, hope no one jumps in and ruins the shot. This is far from being a safe film to shoot, but it’s an attempt I can admire, and when I sat down with the film, believe me I was rooting for it.
When Shaun (Francesco Filice) wakes up, he’s face down in a tub of his own vomit. He’s a drug addict, and when he comes to he discovers his “girlfriend” is dead from what looks like an overdose. We stick with him as he panics and calls the police, but afraid of what can happen to him, he hangs up and calls his ex-girlfriend, Amy (Caleigh Le Grand). Things get complicated when we discover that the dead girl isn’t Shaun’s girlfriend, but instead the girlfriend of his best friend Kenny (Patrick McFadden). Sean bolts before Kenny can discover what has happened to his girlfriend, and this is what kicks off the film.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on September 9th, 2017
In case you’ve been living beneath a rock and out of contact with any and all social media, this weekend the long-awaited film adaption of Stephen King’s It releases. Some of my friends look at the trailer for the new film and instantly reject what they see; they immediately cling to their memories of how the original mini-series scared them. One thing you’ll hear them all saying is how Tim Curry made such an impact on their lives and to this day gave them reason to fear clowns. While I respect their opinions, when you revisit the film, you can’t help but notice how dated the film is, and really, if you’re over the age of 10, it just isn’t scary. I grew up on reading Stephen King, and as a fan, I’ve always been frustrated that it seems no one could ever get his horror stories right. Sure, there is Misery and Carrie, but there are many more miserable failed attempts of his material. The Mist (especially the black and white version) is perhaps my favorite adaption of his work, that is to say, up until now.
When the film starts up, those of you familiar with the mini-series will perhaps have a sense of déjà vu at first. Without a doubt our first introduction to Pennywise, the dancing clown, is at first a little off-putting, but if you hang in there, you’re going to be happily terrified by this performance. Bill Skarsgard fills the clown shoes this time around, and there is no doubt a new generation of kids are going to be terrified of clowns because of this performance. There is nothing friendly in this performance, and after our introduction and we get a glimpse at what he’s capable of doing to children, that’s when the unease sets in, and as an audience member you realize from the start that no one in the film is safe.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 9th, 2017
What happens when a group of friends decide they want to get together and make a horror movie? I’d imagine the result would be something close to Granny of the Dead. I’m not sure what kind of budget they had to make the film, but I’d imagine it wasn’t very much, and the talent on the screen doesn’t really scream the next box office star, but the film has charm, the kind of charm that they did the film not because of the paycheck but instead they just wanted to have fun and make a movie. I’m hoping that is the case with the film; if so, then I can forgive a lot. For instance, have you ever seen the fan film that is a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark? Is it great? No, but it has so much charm, and you can see how much fun they had making it that you want to watch more. That’s the vibe I got from this film, and again, if that’s the case, bravo for simply getting a movie done and into the hands of critics across the pond.
The set up is simple; a strange supernatural force has seemed to take hold of the elderly individuals of the small Welsh town and in the process has created a zombie outbreak. Ed (Marcus Carroll) wakes up to find his grandmother has turned, and is cooking up his cat but turns her hungry eyes onto him. He escapes to his room and calls up his friend who seems excited by the zombie outbreak and enjoys dispensing his “how to survive the zombie apocalypse” advice.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on September 2nd, 2017
Every once in a while a film comes along that not only takes you by surprise but exceeds all expectations and just sticks to you. Last year it was La La Land, and this year for me it is Good Time. Checking out the trailer after the film began to pick up some buzz on the internet, I thought that it looked good, but nothing about the trailer stood out to me to lead me to believe this was anything special. But the thing that the trailer just doesn’t seem to capture is the experience. As you often see the tagline “a thrill ride”, this may be the first time in a long time where I feel this generic tagline actually fits, because that is precisely what this film is. From the moment the film takes off, it doesn’t let up till the closing credits begin.
First off, for all those who see Robert Pattinson in the cast and roll your eyes, let me just say this is the role that will change your opinion of the man. Since doing the Twilight films Pattinson has done just about all that he can do to leave that role in his past and become something more than a pretty-boy actor. He’s had great roles; one of my favorites was a supporting role in the Aussie thriller The Rover, and early this year he took on the role as a grizzled adventurer in The Lost City of Z. Now we get him as the relentless scumbag bank robber Connie in Good Time. He hasn’t been better, and if this role doesn’t have him as an award contender for best actor, then there is something seriously flawed with the system.
