Posts by Brent Lorentson

Growing up, several of my favorite films were created by Tom Holland; in my eyes this guy is a legend.  He’s responsible for writing and directing Child’s Play and Fright Night, two 80’s classics that most know about, but he also penned Psycho 2, which I know I’m in the minority but I actually like more than Hitchcock’s. But Holland also wrote this other film Cloak and Dagger with Henry Thomas and Dabney Coleman that was released in 1984, and this was just one of several movies I would watch over and over again to the point I’m sure it drove my parents bonkers.

SyFy Channel is at it again, a film about the near end of the world.  With the backlog of disaster films, you would imagine if there ever was an emergency and the world was on the cusp of massive destruction, thankfully there is a film out there to at least give us an outside-the-box theory of how to prevent the end.  After all it’s not as though NASA or the numerous geniuses working in labs in front of computers or telescopes would have any idea about what to do.  It’s always someone nestled in a small town no one has ever heard of, but this resident has the answers to everything.

Joel and Ethan Coen have been churning out hits for decades.  From Raising Arizona to Fargo and No Country For Old Men as well as many cult hits in between, the Coen brothers have a unique voice that has led to their long success in the Hollywood system.  With their new release, the Coens delve into the Greenwich Village Folk scene in the winter of 1961.  It’s a time that most audiences (myself included) may not be very knowledgeable about. The Coens take on this niche genre of music and present an engaging tale about a struggling musician and his journey to find success in an industry that at the time had a deaf ear to Folk.

The key to making any good romance work is that you have to be able to root for the couple, that no matter what these characters may face, you have to be on board and believe this cinematic love affair is meant to be.  In the case of Twice Born, I have to say it does such a good job at getting me to root for this couple that I want to punch the film in the face for what it puts them through.  Yes, you read that correctly.  This film managed to get me so wrapped up in the characters that I found myself cursing at the screen simply because what Gemma (Penelope Cruz) and Diego (Emile Hirsch) endure is heart-wrenching to the extremes

There is something charming and irresistible when it comes to the characters of Mordecai and Rigby.  The slacker duo that consists of an oversized blue-jay and a raccoon have a charm about them that seems to appeal to all ages, but for me I find them to be the most relatable of animated characters.  Perhaps not so much now but back in my teen years these two sadly remind me a lot of myself, the obsession with film, slacking off about work, and most notably the awkwardness around girls. With this DVD release we get a collection of episodes that explore the love lives of not just Mordecai but Rigby and even Muscle Man as well.

Let’s be honest, anytime you hear about a SyFy original movie, expectations are lowered, and you settle in for what is most likely going to be a forgettable, cheesy film.  But sometimes a film comes along, and it manages to take you by surprise, and you just have a good time with it, and not at the film’s expense (Sharknado, I’m looking at you).  When it comes to where Scarecrow falls, well, this is one of those fun little films that captures the spirit of some great 80’s monster films; Pumpkinhead continually came to mind while watching this.

Prison films seem to work as one of the perfect examples of characters in life confronting the crossroads in their lives to either continue down the road they are going and amount to nothing, or seize the opportunity to make a change and make something of themselves.  Most often the character needs to overcome personal demons whether they are emotional or drug-related, but it is still a demon that has dragged them to a dark place in their life, and it’s behind bars where these characters find their redemption