Posts by Brent Lorentson

Imagine if in the not too distant future you could have the opportunity to be young again, and for the right price you could possibly never have to worry about ever growing old ever again.  RPG looks into this possibility and the chances people are willing to take for this chance to indulge their youth once again.  But like with anything that seems too good to be true, there is a catch, and in this game there are actually two catches.  First you need to have the millions of dollars in your bank account to even play the game, and the second catch is that you have to be the lone survivor of the game to receive the award of lasting youth. 

The days of Lon Chaney and Boris Karloff are long gone, but Hollywood refuses to give up on the classic monsters these men and others once brought to live on the big screen.  Despite how many years have passed since these monsters of the night first terrified audiences, filmgoers continue to fork over their cash to see these stories rehashed again and again. In the new release of Frankenstein vs The Mumny, we see the revival of two classic monsters and the opportunity to see them battle head to head.  Without the big budget to support this monster smackdown, is it still worth watching, or is this a battle that should have remained dead?

Consider that we are in a golden age of television, where it is just about impossible to keep up with all the good television shows, even with the luxury of DVR.  That being said, the notion of taking on watching a show that is broadcast overseas can seem a little daunting (yes, I know there are still legions of loyal Doctor Who and Sherlock fans, just to name a few).  When the offer came along to check out a comedy from Germany I was more than a little hesitant, but upon hearing the title Crime Scene Cleaner, well, my interest was piqued. 

I have to admit, seeing Ralph Macchio in any role other than in The Karate Kid is a bit jarring for me.  Growing up in the 80’s, it’s hard to see Macchio and not hope for him to randomly balance on one leg and do a crane kick, but alas, decades have passed and Macchio has come a long way.  Now we get to see Macchio all grown up step into the role of dad in his new film A Little Game.  While Macchio may share the headlines of this all-star cast that includes F. Murray Abraham, Janeane Garofalo, and Olympia Dukakis, the real star of the film is a name many would be unfamiliar with, Makenna Ballard.

Despite Stephen King’s place in modern literary history, Hollywood continues to be hit-or-miss at successfully adapting King’s work for the big screen and television. Personally The Mist is one of my favorite films based off of King’s work, but one can never forget The Shawshank Redemption. Unfortunately, though, there are many more duds than there are successes when it comes to adapting “the Master of Horror’s” work.  Big Driver is the most current work to be brought to the screen.

Whether you believe in horoscopes or not, just about everyone out there knows their “sign”.  I never really put too much stock in astrology; it always seemed like harmless fun people can have for a few moments each day as they read their horoscope for the day to see what possible good fortune can come their way.  In the new film, Zodiac: Signs of the Apocalypse, the film takes a different look at these astrological signs.  Rather than be signs that help reveal one’s personality, these symbols instead are supposed to be warnings for the upcoming apocalypse. 

Thanks to Chappelle’s Show, Comedy Central has helped pave the way for comics on the cusp of breaking out to produce their own sketch comedy shows to springboard themselves to a larger audience.  Key & Peele has flourished in the sketch comedy scene, and now there is Nick Kroll with his own sketch comedy show Kroll Show.  But in the world of sketch comedy, is there really a need for more shows? After all, NBC still has Saturday Night Live; well, to be fair, it has been a while since SNL has been consistently funny.