Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 22nd, 2015
What if monsters were not just a thing of our imagination, that all the movies we’ve seen and books we’ve read were not just creatures that entertained and horrified us, but actually existed beyond the woods and in the darkness? That is the jumping off point for director Adam Green’s new project Digging Up the Marrow. Only this time his film takes a very Meta approach and is done as a documentary. What instantly came to mind was Blair Witch Project in the execution of the film. Sure, there have been many copycat films since the release, and it has spawned an entire genre of filmmaking with found footage, but how does Digging Up the Marrow measure up? Does it hold its own in a genre that seems to be played out?
First I’d like to say if you already plan on checking out the film, do yourself a favor and just watch it. Avoid the trailers or any talkbacks; this is a film that should be experienced with as little exposure to the plot as possible. Even with writing this review I’m trying to censor myself more than usual simply because this isn’t so much a film you watch over and over because of how great it is, it’s a film you instead go into for the experience of what the hell will happen next. Once the twists have been revealed, though, it’s still a fun viewing experience; it’s still just not the same thing. So here is your last chance to click away from the screen.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 21st, 2015
When Divergent ended, it planted the seed for the sequels that would follow. I really enjoyed the first installment and our introduction into the factions that supported this society. What I enjoyed most after revisiting the film is how the film handles the budding relationship between Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James), never too sappy but being a couple we could root for since they were both outsiders to their community. Now that the factions and the characters have all been set up, and with the rebellion beginning to take shape at the end of the first film, Insurgent wastes no time in jumping into the story and delivering one of the better sequels in some time.
To be fair, Insurgent really is its own film. We’re no longer watching our characters train and play capture the flag, or take part in simulations to pass a test. Things are ramped up, and our heroes are being hunted down by Jeanine (Kate Winslet) and her followers. The charm and the innocence we saw in the first film where Tris is wide-eyed with excitement with her training is all gone, and we see this in an overly symbolic scene where we watch Tris cut off those lovely golden locks of hers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 20th, 2015
From the moment Son of a Gun opens up taking you behind bars as JR (Brenton Thwaites) is being processed into an Australian prison, it is the start of a journey that throws everything at its audience till the final credits roll. I have a hard time figuring out just how to classify Son of a Gun; it is everything from being a film about self-discovery, a guys-behind-bars film, to being a heist film and so much more. The title refers to JR as he goes about serving his time behind bars and captures the attention of an infamous thief Brendan (Ewan McGregor). Brendan takes in the young man and protects him from would-be attackers, but of course the protection comes at a price. JR makes up for it by helping spring Brendan from prison in a clever prison break that somewhat reminded me of the prison escape in Superman 2 (you know, when Lex Luthor is rescued via helicopter), same thing only slicker.
It’s when Brendan makes his escape that we see the bond continue to develop with JR, and he teaches him the ropes of being a good thief as well as teaching him a few life lessons along the way. It’s a formula we’ve seen before, but it is a formula that works, and in this film writer/director Julius Avery knows how to deliver the action beats stringing the viewer along for this intriguing yet recycled plot. By the time we get to the gold heist I was sucked in, because the performances are just that good, that they manage to make this rehash seem fresh and even exciting at points.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 18th, 2015
What if there was a place where you can act out your wildest fantasy, whether it be murder, theft, or sex, and at the end of the day you could go home as though nothing happened? That is the tease Vice offers its audience in a sci-fi action film that blends bits of Blade Runner, Stange Days and Westworld into one tight little package. For fans of the sci-fi genre, the movies I reference are staples in the genre, but let me be clear; at no time does Vice measure up to these films. When we meet Kelly (newcomer Ambyr Childers), she is an android leading a life behind the walls of VICE where she is programmed to live the same day over day after day. For all androids within the walls of VICE, they all are living out a Groundhog Day life, only what changes are the outsiders that pay to do some pretty horrible things. I feel a little horrible saying this, but I wish we got to see more of these horrible activities take place, and in a weird way I think that’s the most obvious plot hole of the film. Why is there not constant mayhem occurring behind these walls? In a world where it is a free for all to kill and maim these androids; instead filling the background are well-to-do folks just minding their own business and sipping martinis. This is still Kelly’s life, and early on we see her in a violent encounter that leaves her and her friend dead.
Being dead means very little to an android who has their memory wiped every day, so after Kelly is patched up she is ready to function for another day and face whatever violent act awaits her. That is till she starts having flashbacks from her previous memory swipes, and we get to see she has been a part of some pretty cruel activities.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 16th, 2015
Here it is, Brittany Murphy’s swan song performance before her untimely death. Though I may not have been her biggest fan, I could still appreciate growing up and watching her from films like Clueless and Girl, Interrupted, but for many she will always be the girl who said “I’ll never tell” in Don’t Say A Word. The DVD promo art on the cover is banking on those loyal fans, and it does seem like an insensitive cash grab by the studio, especially since Murphy isn’t even the star. Instead she does nothing more than fill in a co-starring role in an unfortunate, forgettable performance. So if you were looking for something more, I want to warn you from the start this is not her movie.
The film instead is focused on Christine (Shantel VanSanten), a young woman who narrowly survives a car accident that takes the lives of both her mom and dad. Her boyfriend, James (John Robinson) was the driver in the unfortunate accident, and together the two try to make a life together while trying to cope with the tragedy that quite literally haunts them. Taking Christine in while she works on finishing her degree is her older brother Bill (James Patrick Stuart), a local cop, as well as his wife Susan (Brittany Murphy) who happens to be a psychologist.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 16th, 2015
For your safety you should keep him away from the booze and doughnuts.”
Wolf Cop wasn’t a film haphazardly thrown together; instead its path to being made was epic in its own right as the filmmakers entered their concept into a Canadian online competition where people voted week after week on what potential film would be lucky enough to get made. Wolf Cop slayed the competition, and as they say, the rest is history. Now audiences around the globe can take in this campy, B-cinema darling from the comfort of their living room. But is it all just a gimmick for a title, or is there more than meets the eye? Well, it’s a gimmick for sure; as for there being a story, it depends how hard you look.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 12th, 2015
“Tell everyone to get ready. Jimmy is coming.”
If someone were to tell me while walking out of Schindler’s List that 20 years later Liam Neeson would be an action star, I would have thought they were out of their mind. Between the trio of Taken films and numerous films that seem to be cut from the same ilk, Liam Neeson seems to be walking in the same footsteps as Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood as being the go-to everyman that just so happens to be a badass with or without a gun. It’s that odd bit of typecasting that in many ways hurts Run All Night; after all, the trailers give us the vibe that this is nothing more than am action film where yet again his family is in peril, when really it has so much more going for it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 10th, 2015
I’m starting to wonder if it is time we officially made a sub-genre for kidnapping films. It’s a storyline that has been played out for decades but continues to offer up some engaging and oftentimes heart-wrenching tales that for the most part have happy endings but that seems to be a far stretch from reality, though I doubt audiences are looking for these bleak realistic endings and mostly prefer the Hollywood ending where everyone is rescued in just the nick of time. When Prisoners came out, I had hopes that it would be a film that wouldn’t shy away from the harsh realities, and for the most part it succeeded, but I still felt it held back. Now we have Atom Egoyan throwing his hat into the murky subject matter. Let’s face it; kidnapping is a horror no parent wants to experience and would much rather not think about.
Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) is the unfortunate parent who in the moment of doing something as trivial as running into the shop to grab dinner for the family, his daughter is taken without so much as a trace of evidence. Not only does he have to face the guilt of losing his daughter while being only yards away from her, but we see how he is on the receiving end of blame from his wife Tina (Mireille Enos) and a suspect by the police. Sometimes films like to dangle the shadow of doubt that the parent could be involved with the disappearance. Though in this case where we know Matthew’s innocence, we are able to feel his frustration as all this time wasted while looking at him as a suspect and the real criminals are only slipping farther away.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 8th, 2015
I’m going to come right out and say that before I got season 3 to review, all I had previously seen of Longmire was through advertisements I would catch every now and again. It was a show that seemed to have a lot of promise, but with the amount of DVD watching that comes with writing for the site, you have to be a bit picky about what you want to watch in your “spare time”. Thanks to the help of the internet I was able to watch some season 1 and 2 recaps and surprisingly when I started up season 3 there wasn’t much difficulty in catching up and getting into the groove of the show.
Sheriff Longmire (Robert Taylor) is a brooding character who by the time season 3 has rolled around not only has he lost his wife, but his best friend Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips) is about to go to prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Season 3 wastes no time jumping into the drama as Longmire is thrust into action to save Deputy Branch Connally (Bailey Chase) who has been shot. When the deputy is finally able to speak, the man he is able to identify as a shooter is a White Warrior Indian who is believed to be dead. To help with these claims, while removing a bullet the doctors remove a crow’s feather that had been stuffed into the wounded deputy.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 6th, 2015
Despite the twinge of disappointment I felt as I exited the theater after seeing Elysium, I still believed writer/director Neill Blomkamp was more than a one-trick pony with District 9. Now two years after the release of Elysium, Blomkamp is set to release Chappie, a sentient-robot film that from the trailers evokes comparisons to Robocop and Short Circuit, which could mean either that could be a hit or another disappointment. A disappointment could be trouble for Blomkamp. After all, his concept images and storyline for an Alien sequel has relit excitement for a franchise that many had felt died after the third entry. I look at Blomkamp’s film and feel he is what the sci-fi genre has needed, a creative party who isn’t making films just because he can. Blomkamp is a fresh voice that the genre has desperately needed. A voice that is willing to tackle social issues but entertain the masses at the same time. When it comes to Chappie, despite my concern, despite all the naysayers, Blomkamp has made a film that takes many risks, and he comes so close to knocking it out of the park.
Chappie takes us into a world where the days of human police officers working the street has become a thing of the past. It’s an experiment we’ve seen explored before, and most will think about Robocop in many of the early scenes. As I watched, I couldn’t help thinking, was this nothing more than an attempt on Blomkamp’s part to show he should have been the one to helm the Robocop remake? We even get a glimpse of another robot that is being designed by a mullet-brandishing Hugh Jackman that looks just like the ED-209, only this version is called the Moose. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
