Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on May 4th, 2017
“Of course I have issues; that’s my father.”
When I walked out of the theater in 2014 after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy I knew I had just seen something special, and knowing a sequel was already guaranteed had me excited to see what was next for this band of misfits. Since the release in 2014 the film hasn’t just become my favorite Marvel film; it is one of my favorite films, period. So as photos and trailers began to trickle out, I began to wonder if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 could actually hold up to the first. For many the first film was a surprise hit that no one saw coming, something so toe-tapping fun between the soundtrack and action scenes, but most importantly it was the chemistry of the Guardians that had won over the audiences.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 25th, 2017
I have to admit I’m a sucker for cryptozoology, and stories about chupacabras and Bigfoot are fun to talk about. In the reality-TV-show world, there are many shows that have people travelling in the woods in search of evidence of these creatures. The proof is sketchy at best, but still it makes for entertaining television. Now we have the found-footage film Chupacabra Territory that dares to take us on an adventure into chupacabra territory where four hikers manage to get lost in the woods. Is the found footage worth checking out? Well, that all depends how big a fan of the found-footage genre you happen to be.
As a creature that rose in popularity in the 90’s, when I’m watching this film with its ancient texts and stories about possession I’m sort of scratching my head wondering what the hell these people are going on about. I’m fine with taking liberties with this kind of stuff; after all, it’s nothing that has been proven to exist, but it’s as though the filmmakers didn’t know if they were doing a creature-in-the woods film, a disease-outbreak film, an alien film, or a possession film. It’s all over the place, and that frustrated me as a viewer, because the film just doesn’t make sense.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on April 21st, 2017
The best way to describe this film is epic; they really don’t make films like this anymore, and leave it to Amazon Studios to present us with such an ambitious film. At one time Brad Pitt was set to star in the film, and then the lead role was offered up to Benedict Cumberbatch. Due to his conflicting schedule with Doctor Strange, he too had to drop out. Eventually Charlie Hunnam (Crimson Peak, Sons of Anarchy) was given the role, and to be honest, I don’t think there is another actor who is more suited for the role. Percy Fawcett (Hunnam) was a loyal soldier in the British army who seemed to never get the recognition that he deserved, and frankly this is something I feel Hunnam can relate to. He’s been in some great roles over the years, but somehow he’s a guy who’s been overlooked and hasn’t quite gotten the spotlight that he deserves. Now he is poised to explore the wilds of the South American jungle in the new film from James Gray. Does the famous explorer find his lost city? Climb aboard, and I’ll tell you all about it. I hope you’ve had all your shots and brought some bug repellent.
In 1906 Fawcett made his first journey into the Amazonian jungle with his partner Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) for a mission that would have them mapping the borders of the country. It’s at a time where there is a dispute over who controls the rubber that is being found in the jungle, and Fawcett has been hired by a neutral party to settle the border lines. To continue their journey through the jungle it requires the men, along with some guides, to journey to the end of a river, a task that is believed to be impossible due to the natives and other natural threats that prowl about in the jungle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 20th, 2017
When it comes to writer/ director M. Night Shyamalan, it’s hard to find a more polarizing director between film critics and film geeks. I was a fan up until he did The Village. It’s not as though I “hated” the film; I just was getting sick of the gimmick plot twists that seemed to go hand in hand with his work. As he continued to release films, I just would shrug at the trailers, and my enthusiasm for his films quickly declined. For me Unbreakable has grown to be my favorite work of his, which is funny to me because the first time I saw it I had a hard time deciding how I felt about the film. It was a comic/ superhero film that showed us perhaps what it would be like in the real world if some regular Joe realized he was perhaps meant for something greater. It’s been 16 years, but Shyamalan has finally released a film in my opinion that can stand toe to toe with Unbreakable, and it’s with his new film Split.
Split is a return to form. Gone are the big budgets and special effects. What Shyamalan delivers is what got us to appreciate him in the first place: great real-world characters caught up in an extreme circumstance. Kevin (James McAvoy) is not your average guy, at first glance he may seem normal, but trapped inside are 22 other personalities who have their own agendas and are wanting to take control of his mind and body. Why he isn’t locked away in some padded cell is a question that is never answered to my satisfaction in the film, but if he were locked away, there wouldn’t be much of a film, so I suppose I’ll have to let this slide. For Kevin and his numerous personalities there is something frightening about to occur: the rise of a new personality, one which has been deeply suppressed and is possibly the most dangerous of them all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 14th, 2017
Every year there are dozens upon dozens of horror films released, each with the intention to make an impact on the genre. Horror is easily my favorite genre in film, but it’s a genre that easily allows itself to spill into other genres. It doesn’t matter to me what the budget is, or whether the special effects are on point; what matters most is if the story holds up. I mention this because going into The Bye Bye Man I had heard some pretty bad things, but I don’t usually let that get in the way of my opinion of a film; after all, everyone has their own tastes. For me the film’s tagline “Don’t think it. Don’t say it.” should have the added line, “Don’t remember it.”
Three friends decide to move in together in an off-campus home, Elliot (Douglas Smith) and his girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas) seem to be the happy couple as Elliot’s childhood best friend, John (Lucien Laviscount) seems to be the third wheel. They think they are supposed to be moving into a fully furnished home, yet upon walking through the door, the furniture is out of sight. After investigating the new home they find that all the furniture has been stashed away down inside the basement.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 12th, 2017
The trouble with most holiday films is that once the holiday passes, there is about another year of waiting till it seems right to put the film on again. Everyone knows about A Christmas Story and Polar Express, but really, the staple holiday films are sparse, but they are great. Every year, despite the high probability to fail, studios churn out some holiday films in the hopes that one of these attempted swings will turn out to be a box office giant. I believe it’s safe to say that there hasn’t been a holiday hit for a while, but despite the long odds, Office Christmas Party comes out strong with a big cast and raunchy intentions. Is it enough to lure people into the darkened Cineplex or have you want to go out to Netflix or Redbox to cure those holiday fever blues?
T.J. Miller plays Clay, a childlike CEO who has a big heart for his company and his employees. He’s the likeable boss everyone wants to have, but really, you just can’t picture him ever successfully running a business. As Clay’s right hand man is the serious face of the corporate branch, Josh (Jason Bateman), who has just finalized his divorce in time for the holidays. There is a fun chemistry between Miller and Bateman that seems to fizzle after the first quarter of the film because for some reason there was a need to create romantic tension between Josh and Tracey (Olivia Munn), one of the heads in the tech department. Right out of the gate this film feels familiar and uninspired, as though it served no other purpose than to be a paycheck for all involved. Miller has moments in the film but simply is never given much to really work with.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 6th, 2017
With Season 8 gearing up, Season 7 of Archer makes its way onto DVD, for many to binge and catch up before the season premiere. I have to admit this was a show I had watched perhaps a handful of episodes but I could never quite get into. I’ll admit at times I can be a bit thick-headed when it comes to watching an animated series. After repeated requests (or demands that may or may not have been at gunpoint), I settled in and binged a season of Archer. To my surprise, I had a blast with the show and quickly devoured more episodes which finally caught me up to Season 7. So what trouble has the former world’s greatest secret agent, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) gotten himself into?
The season kicks off with a nice visual reference to Sunset Boulevard as a pair of detectives discuss the significance of a body floating in the pool of a famous Hollywood actress. Unfortunately the body belongs to none other than Sterling Archer. The show then quickly takes us back six months earlier to where Archer and his cohorts are now starting up their own private detective agency. It seems like the logical jump since being international spies for a terrorist group, and being drug dealers didn’t seem to work out so well.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 31st, 2017
“First, there is an opportunity. Then…there’s a betrayal.”
It’s been 20 years since the release of Trainspotting, and it’s fair to say a lot has changed in the past two decades. I remember going out to the United Artists Mission Bell Cinemas to see Trainspotting the weekend it came out. I was with my best friend at the time, and neither of us was old enough to buy tickets for the film, so we ended up having to sneak into the film. We’d seen the trailers, and in a time before the internet, there just wasn’t much we could find out about it aside from reading articles in the entertainment magazines. To this day, I remember walking out of the auditorium simply floored by the film. Everything from the soundtrack to the visuals just hit me, and this was one of the first times I realized what creative influence a director has on the look and feel of a film. I came out as a fan of Danny Boyle and the insane kinetic energy he puts into the look of his films. Over the years Danny Boyle has stepped out of the independent film spotlight and become a big-league director with several other award-inning films i.e.: Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and Steve Jobs.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 25th, 2017
Daniel Clowes is one of a handful of writers in the industry that when I see his name attached to a project I can’t help but be curious to see what he’s up to. In 2001 he wrote Ghost World, which was based on the comic he created. It was an independent film smash, and I’d consider it a cult sensation. Then he had Art School Confidential that had the same humor and a great cast, but it just didn’t seem to connect as well with audiences. I love the odd little characters Clowes manages to bring to life, despite many being so over-the-top, he manages to somehow keep them grounded in reality. So when the offer came along to review Wilson, the new film he’s written based off his graphic novel, it was an offer I couldn’t pass up.
Wilson (Woody Harrelson) is one of those guys who at some point we’ve all come across, the one who just manages to offend you by his very presence, and when he opens his mouth he manages to say the least appropriate thing. He’s been divorced for 17 years, and his most loyal companion is his dog. Wilson is definitely a frustrating guy who you can understand how no one could really want to be around, though when his father dies, as a member of the audience we still manage to feel some empathy with the guy. Out of fear of dying alone, Wilson reaches out to attempt to find his ex-wife.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 20th, 2017
We’ve reached a point where I’m starting to wonder if there is anything new that can be brought to the vampire genre. They may not be my favorite horror creature, but vampire movies tend to be fun for the most part, and being fun is mostly what we look for when we decide to check out a horror film. Bloodrunners attempts to show us something new, taking us back to the prohibition era of the 1930’s, but is this a trip worth taking? Grab a bottle of hooch and a stake for the road, because it’s nightfall, and I’m about to dive into this vampire tale.
A new club has opened up. It offers up swinging music and most importantly illegal booze that is served on the hush-hush. Trouble is, news about the place travels fast, and it is even frequented by some dirty cops. Running the club is Chesterfield (Ice-T), a smooth band leader who also has been in the illegal hooch selling business for a while. This is a role for which from the start Ice-T was perfectly cast, and as the film progresses, for me it’s his performance that kept me engaged. Despite the modest budget, the club looks more than serviceable; after all, most speakeasy joints were in hidden-away rooms that the police were never supposed to suspect. This is where Jack Malone (Michael McFadden, who also had script writing duties) shows up to shake down the place.
