Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on April 19th, 2016
For the Gasparilla International Film Festival, to nab the latest film from writer/director Richard Linklater is kind of a big deal. GIFF was the second festival to show Everybody Wants Some after its debut at the acclaimed South by Southwest festival. With the film being lauded as a spiritual sequel to Linklater’s cult hit Dazed and Confused, I had to admit I was a bit skeptical about this film and its ability to even match up to its predecessor; after all, it was the indie darling that helped launched the careers of Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, and many others. This ensemble of talented up-and-comers managed to capture this cinematic lightning in a bottle about high school, and for me it’s a film I manage to watch at least once a year when I come across someone who hasn’t yet seen the film.
Posted in: Random Fun by Brent Lorentson on April 15th, 2016
It has been “Ten years of film,” the Gasparilla International Film Festival touts proudly upon its program magazine. It’s certainly a feat to be proud of for a festival that has had its share of troubles over the years and at one point was seriously close to never happening again. But in 2016 the festival is ready to kick things off on a beautiful spring day in the heart of downtown Tampa, Florida at the Tampa Theatre for its opening night film Eye in the Sky. The red carpet is rolled out for this big-time affair that has drawn a fair amount of media attention and plenty of festival-goers to fill the historic theatre to experience this moment when Hollywood comes into our city to put on a cinematic show. And over the next few days film fans will be flooding down the aisles to look upon the screen, to take in a few films and have a chance to experience a film with the potential to be the next great classic, or perhaps its only public viewing.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 15th, 2016
David Crane struck television gold after creating not just one of the biggest comedies of the 90’s but one of the biggest shows of all time when he created Friends. Love it or hate it, Friends was a series you just couldn’t escape while it dominated the ratings through its 10-season run. Well over a decade since the show has gone off the air; it’s a show that continues to thrive in syndication. And that is where Episodes picks up, the show from Friends creator David Crane and starring Matt LeBlanc, who plays himself in a show that parodies the life of a fading celebrity who is struggling to find his next big hit.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 10th, 2016
It comes as no surprise that even in 2016 we continue to have issues with how we handle and discipline criminals while they are incarcerated. We have a system that pulls in troubled youths that seem to come and go through the judicial system and seem to spend a majority of their lives behind bars. Hollywood has seemed have an eye on this problem and has churned out many films about misunderstood inmates that are incarcerated and are unfairly treated by the system and those who are in control of the inmates. Cool Hand Luke, Sleepers, and The Shawshank Redemption are a couple films that jump out at me, and today it’s Stealing Cars that dares to explore this problem.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 7th, 2016
Any time I would catch the show Storage Wars, I always would watch with this morbid curiosity with the hopes that one day they’d open a storage unit and discover something more than a few lost boxes. With the millions of storage units that are spread throughout the country, you’d have to imagine that hidden away in a couple of these units are some pretty awful things that would turn the stomachs of most. Is this simply a thought I have from watching too many horror films? Most likely, but I can’t be the only one out there; after all it would seem this line of thinking is what brought The Hoarder to the screen. In the new horror release we get to discover there is more to fear than a few old dust bunnies when venturing out to the local storage unit; in fact it can possibly turn into a trip you may never return from.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 3rd, 2016
Keanu Reeves is a guy who I don’t think anyone would be crazy enough to say is a “great actor”, but instead he’s a guy who has been in some pretty great films. For me he’s an actor I grew up with from his days doing the Bill and Ted movies and Point Break. (Seriously, how dare they attempt to remake that gem?) Between Speed and The Matrix, those are the two movies I’ve held onto for so long as his career took a more interesting turn; that is until John Wick came along and blew my mind with all the insane coolness that was up on the screen. Finally it seemed I was on track to getting the Keanu Reeves that I grew up watching. I know, so what’s the point of all this? Well, until now, none of the Reeves films that I’ve liked could I really say it was because of his performance, and Exposed is finally the film he’s needed where he can show he’s more than just a brooding action star.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 30th, 2016
The name Quentin Tarantino carries the weight of legacy as such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, and more recently Christopher Nolan. I’m not saying one is better than the other, but simply by name recognition alone Tarantino is in the company of directors that when you hear that his name is attached there will be a loyal fan base flocking to the theaters to see what they have to dazzle us with. This time around Tarantino returns to the cinema in his biggest release to date; in glorious 70mm we have The Hateful Eight.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 17th, 2016
Here we go, yet another killer crocodile film to whet your appetites for fun, cheesy gore and perhaps a late-night scare or two. Sure, the thought of another killer crocodile film may cause some (OK, many) to roll their eyes, but in the killer-animal genre, it’s the crocs and gators that still manage to get my attention. Perhaps it’s because I’m a Florida boy, born and raised, and around these parts it’s not much of a surprise to hear about gators being found in the strangest places. With The Hatching bringing us some cold-blooded horror out of the UK, I figure I’ll test the waters with this film from across the pond and see what it has to offer.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 11th, 2016
Bad Robot in my eyes is simply the best at keeping things a secret. In this day and age to be able to surprise audiences is just about an impossible task. When the first Cloverfield trailer was released in 2007 in front of Transformers, it was a trailer that had us all guessing up until its release. In my opinion Cloverfield was one of the best found-footage films to come out, and was a grand achievement considering it was a monster film that had been pretty much been kept under wraps until its actual release. Bad Robot managed to surprise us again, releasing a trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane that set the internet on fire with theories and hopes for this to be a long-awaited sequel. But is that what this really is?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 9th, 2016
Maybe it’s simply just a part of growing up, but when I listen to the radio and I hear what is topping the charts I just roll my eyes and wonder, “What is this crap I’m listening to?” We’ve all experienced this at some point, I’d imagine, and as I’ve gotten older my music tastes have seemed to move to before my time, as I’ve moved past my days of listening to strictly metal and rock that ruled the 90’s to now embracing the music of the 60’s and 70’s. I listen to the pop music that floods the airwaves now and hear “music” that lacks substance and meaning, as it is just noise to play on the dance floors of clubs. It’s here where I feel the series of documentaries Penelope Spheeris should conclude her saga of music over the decades.
