Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on August 22nd, 2014
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For marks the return of the iconic graphic novel since it first splashed across the big screen in 2005. Sin City set out to make the ultimate comic book adaption in which the audience would see the panels move directly from the page and onto the screen. For me Sin City was a celluloid masterpiece that blended the Noir stories beautifully with all the Hollywood tricks that were at Robert Rodriguez’s disposal. Frank Miller’s beautiful black and white imagery was more striking than I could have imagined, and it was the film that had me rooting for the big lug Marv (played by Mickey Rourke who seems to have been born for the role).
Nearly a decade later, Rodriguez and Miller have finally gotten back together to create the long-awaited followup and in the process take on my favorite graphic novel story, A Dame to Kill For. For those unaware about the graphic novel but who saw Sin City, some of the imagery may be confusing, since certain characters who died in the previous film have managed to re-emerge for this prequel/sequel. Though the story does tie together more tightly this time around with its characters, the sequel just isn’t as much fun this time around.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 21st, 2014
Horror doesn’t necessarily need to be about the supernatural or have an axe-wielding maniac to be terrifying. Jump scares and gore effects are also some nice devices directors rely on to scare their audiences. But for me, what really gets beneath my skin is the possibility of what I see projected up on the screen can become a reality in my day to day life. The Sacrament attempts to show how quickly faith and love can quickly be turned and used as a weapon that can lead to the demise of the fragile and the faithful.
Eden Parrish stands in as the substitute to commune that many remember as Jonestown in 1978. This may not be a direct remake of the events that took place in Guyana, but it’s impossible to ignore the many similarities. Just as there was a documentary crew that investigated Jonestown, a documentary crew comes to Eden Parish, only the crew is hoping to find Caroline (Amy Seimetz), the sister to photographer Patrick (Kentucker Audley). When Patrick arrives with the Vice magazine team led by Sam (AJ Bowen) and cameraman Jake (Joe Swanberg), the commune turns out to be nothing like they expected.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 20th, 2014
Under the revamped Hammer production company, The Quiet Ones is the new release from the legendary UK company that was known throughout the 50-70’s for its Gothic horror. In this new resurgence of Hammer, no longer do we have Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee to look forward to gracing the screen, but what we do seem to be getting is a respect for what horror can be. Horror seems to have bottomed out as of late. Where horror seems to be delving into cheaper budgets and going the direction of found footage, which isn’t so much a bad thing, but as we all know the market is just saturated with this style of filmmaking. We can blame The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity films for the glut of copycats trying to cash in, but thankfully there are still filmmakers who have the ability to bring something new to the table. And that is just what The Quiet Ones does.
When we meet Professor Joseph Coupland (Jared Harris), he is lecturing a class at the University of Oxford about the supernatural. His theory that he presents to the class is that the notion of ghosts is mistaken for something that exists in our own subconscious. It’s this belief that Coupland has that prompts him to conduct an experiment where he plans to document that supernatural activity is nothing more than something that can be created with our minds and explained away by science. It’s Brian (Sam Claflin) who is hired on to document the experiment and is unfortunately dragged into something that is far worse than he could have imagined.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 14th, 2014
One look at the DVD cover art for this film and I somewhat had an idea of what to expect. A science fiction B movie that would have made Roger Corman smile with delight, and surprise surprise, that is exactly what we get with Agency of Vengeance: Dark Rising. This is actually the sequel to an earlier film Dark Rising: Bring Your Battle Axe. It isn’t necessary to watch the previous film to enjoy Agency of Vengeance. The film jumps into the action as we see a group of Rising Dark agents pursuing a large sandworm that is tearing up the streets of a suburban neighborhood. Leading the group is Jason (Landy Cannon), who never seems to stop with the wisecracks from the moment he first opens his mouth to the final credits of the film. The pursuit of the sandworm takes them straight to a park where it just so happens Jason’s ex-girlfriend is getting married. As for Jason’s ex, well, she’s far from the damsel in distress; in fact Summer (Brigitte Kingsley) is also an agent with the Rising Dark agency.
When we get a reveal of the giant sandworm that interrupts the wedding, we get the reveal of the CGI monster that unfortunately looks too cartoonish to ever appear threatening.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 14th, 2014
I’m a sucker for a good urban legend. Growing up, friends and I would dare one another to lock ourselves in the bathroom with candles and perform the “Bloody Mary” chant, and other times we’d pull out the Ouija board and attempt to communicate with the otherworldly spirits that seem to only want to talk during the midnight hour. Well, now there is a new game that you and your friends can get together and play into the late night hours, that is if you’re willing to risk losing your life in the process. The Midnight Game has managed to go viral with numerous posts online as well as videos of those willing to play the game and risk a confrontation with the Midnight Man.
When Kaitlan’s (Renee Olstead) family leaves her alone for the weekend, she seizes the moment to have her best girlfriends; Rose (Shelby Young) and Jenna (Valentina de Angelis) come over to keep her company. Even though her mom insists on no boys coming over, everyone knows that this is a rule that inevitably will be broken. It doesn’t take long for the boys to arrive; they turn out to be your generic jocks Shane (Guy Wilson) and Jeff (Spencer Daniels). Thankfully, not a lot of time is wasted setting up these characters, and the filmmakers were smart to simply allow the characters develop over the course of the film, but the absolute best decision was to have the characters simply discuss their fears with one another. So much is expressed about these characters in this reveal; even the things not said by the characters say enough to get us to understand them.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 11th, 2014
Many would agree that we are in the golden age of television, where the pedigree of the television drama has never been equaled in talent or scope of the stories we are seeing projected on our television sets night after night. As these stories have gotten bigger and bigger with every following year and season, it would also seem that drama TV has also fallen into its grimmest time. Not to mean that there is anything wrong with seeing these tales of survival like The Walking Dead or rooting for the ultimate anti-hero like Walter White. But as these shows continue to churn out, it’s impossible to not notice how bleak it has all become, and Low Winter Sun just may be as bleak as it gets.
The opening episode gets things started as Detective Frank Agnew (Mark Strong) and Detective Joe Geddes (Lennie James) work together in killing a dirty cop. Together they attempt to pull off the perfect crime and have it appear to be nothing more than a suicide, but nothing is that easy. When the cop’s body is found inside his car in the river, things get messier when the trunk of the car is opened and reveals a second corpse that has been hacked to pieces. Fearing the worst and the negative press this suicide/homicide may cause, the commander of the homicide division puts Agnew on the case.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 11th, 2014
I never knew just how many incarnations of Transformers actually existed; with this review of the Cybertron series, this will be my third take on the series, and for better or worse, they still manage to deliver a good time. Known originally in Japan as Transformers: Galaxy Force, this series had its run from 2005-2007. Cybertron does appear to be a sequel in the line of the previous series Energon, though some of the changes that were made unfortunately left me a little disappointed.
This time around Cybertron is in the middle of a crisis as a large black hole threatens to absorb the planet and home to the Transformers. With very little choice, the Transformers use the space bridge to travel to Earth where they plan to take cover until they can come up with a plan to save their home and the rest of the universe. This works as a nice jumping off point to get the series rolling, but sadly this is really all the series is about, and it takes 52 episodes to tell this story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 7th, 2014
In the wake of the success of Game of Thrones, many companies are trying to ride on that bandwagon and produce films that will hopefully capture the same audience. Unfortunately, it would seem so few come close to capturing the magic that the HBO series brings to the small screen. To be upfront, I haven’t seen the first Ironclad film, though upon looking it up on IMDB I see that it boasts a solid cast. (And after watching a trailer for the film, it is something I’d like to check out.) Fortunately in the case of Ironclad: Battle For Blood, it is a sequel that stands alone from its predecessor.
Set along the border of Scotland in 1221 — though the real filming was said to be done in Serbia — the film has a strong and promising start as we see Guy (Tom Austen) engaged in a battle to the death while onlookers cheer and make bets. Unfortunately, the story is more about Hubert (Tom Rhys Harries) and the choices he has to make while his father’s kingdom is being sacked by Celtic raiders that are seeking vengeance.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 5th, 2014
"You're different. You don't fit into a category. They can't control you. They call it Divergent."
In the wake of Hunger Games and Twilight studios have been snatching up the rights to young adult fiction and gearing up for franchises, all in the name of capturing the hearts and wallets of the legions of fans of these book series. Though there have been a few hits, the failures have been plentiful i.e.: City of Bones, The Host, and The Vampire Academy. As a guy approaching his mid-thirties, it’s safe to say I’m nowhere near being the target audience for this film, but call me crazy, I actually dug it.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 4th, 2014
When it comes to films with Dolph Lundgren, let’s face it: you know before it even starts there is no chance of this movie having what anyone would call an “inspiring performance.” Thankfully Lundgren seems to understand the limits of his abilities and tends to stick with the run-of-the-mill action/adventure films that seem to go direct to DVD. Sure he had hits in the past like Universal Soldier, Masters of the Universe (my personal favorite), and, of course, his most famous role as Drago in Rocky IV. This week I got to check out Lundgren’s new cinematic romp and (to my surprise) I had a good time with it.
When we first meet Harker (Lundgren), he’s part of a scientific team that is hunting a giant bear. I’m not talking about your standard grizzly bear. This is a towering beast; the kind you only hear about while telling campfire tales. This scientific team specializes in discovering cryptid beasts and is led by Travis (Scott Adkins), who seems to hate everything Harker stands for. Harker could care less about the science behind the animals he’s hunting, he is simply in this for the bragging rights of saying he slayed this cryptid beast. Things, of course, go wrong while hunting the bear, and the rivalry between Travis and Harker only intensifies.
