Posts by Brent Lorentson

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

Good news, you just inherited a home from a family you never even knew you had; unfortunately, once arriving onto the property you start to lose your sanity.  That is basically The Invoking in a very crude nutshell.  The cover may elicit hopes for a more hard-edged haunted house film or a film revolving around some unseen evil in the woods, but this is not the case. Writer, cinematographer, and director Jeremy Berg sets off on his first- time feature film and delivers a film that underwhelms but does have its merits.

It was during the filming of season 2 that original Dallas star Larry Hagman passed away. Hagman had reprised his iconic role for the new generation version of the smash hit series that ran from 1978-1991. The character of J.R. Ewing — and the iconic question of who shot J.R. — is simply a part of the pop culture vernacular whether you followed the show back then or not.

You know a show is kind of a big deal when it reaches the 200-episode mark. Seth MacFarlane has more than just made his mark on the television landscape with Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show; he’s made a name for himself as a modern icon of pop culture. MacFarlane has led the Griffin family through 200 episodes of raunchy humor while sneaking in a message or two between the jokes and gags.

The idea of a vigilante priest hitting the streets to clean up crime is something I can easily get behind. The Reverend is said to be an adaptation from a graphic novel of the same name, though it’s a title I found very little about when doing a cursory search over the internet.  What I did find had the plot centering on a Reverend caught in the trappings of the battle between good and evil. Mixing in a supernatural element, some may start to think about The Preacher graphic novels; well, don’t fret, this film doesn’t pack the punch that those beloved graphic novels do, but it’s a noble attempt in the indie horror collection.

Upon first glance, The Adventurer: Curse of the Midas Box looks like nothing more than a straight to video mash-up of Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, and numerous other young-adult adventure films.  The first impression would be correct, but what is surprising is simply how much fun this film is, and it was made for a quarter of what those block busters had.  It’s a treasure hunt filled with legends of mythical beasts and a location filled with a labyrinth of secret passages.  The film simply is the kind of movie that fits in snugly with the adventure films I grew up with throughout the 80s and early 90s.