Posts by Brent Lorentson

At some point as we’re getting older I think we all get a little nostalgic for the things we liked when we were younger.  For everyone I believe our reasons are different for having this trip to the past, whether it’s playing that old cassette that never seemed to leave our car radio, revisiting old NES games, and most commonly I think it’s the movies and TV shows we looked upon so lovingly in our youth.  Sadly, though, these trips to the past seem to leave us scratching our heads, wondering what we were ever thinking.  And that would about sum up my experience reviewing Shout’s release of the Nickelodeon series Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.

Have you ever watched a movie that is so insane that when it ends you’re stuck on your couch wondering what just happened?  Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger did just that, and as it turns out, that is not such a bad thing.  The film is such a mash-up of crazy visuals and violence, it’ll leave your mind rattled for some time just trying to make sense of it all.  This is pure splatter cinema straight out of Italy where the gore runs red and by the buckets.

It’s only the first of October, and already the Christmas spirit is being thrust upon us.  It’s not that I’m trying to be a Grinch about it, but for me my true Christmas is in October when we get to celebrate the ghouls and goblins that lurk in the shadows.  But I did what I could not to let the season we’re in get in the way of a movie; after all, Die Hard was a Christmas movie in the summer; same goes for Iron Man 3.  Sure, those are action titles, but they are still great no matter what time of year you watch them.  So perhaps So This Is Christmas may turn out to be this under-theradar gem that will surprise me.

Family Guy has reached a level of impact upon the American pop culture where I believe the characters need little to no introduction.  Is there anyone, really, that doesn’t recognize Stewie; after all he’s reached the status of icon and has even become a fixture of the Thanksgiving parade as one of the many floats.  Where The Flintstones, then later The Simpsons were at one time the dominating animated family on the television tackling day to day struggles of the modern American (each in their own and unique way), Family Guy (love it or hate it) now seems to be the go-to animated family.

Football season is well on its way, and that can mean one thing; fantasy football players are at their computers making trades and setting up their lineups.  For some fantasy football is nothing more than Dungeons and Dragons for adults who like football, but those that have their own league, well, you know how cutthroat things can get once your star receiver is injured and that perfect replacement just hit the waiver wire.  The F/X (now I think FXX) show The League may take more than a few jabs at those who take fantasy football a little too seriously, but for myself this is one of my comedies on the air right now. 

The idea of taking a long road trip with your loved one or best friend is something everyone has to do at least a few times in your life.  There is something that occurs while driving down long lonely roads with nothing but music, scenery and good conversation to keep you company.  The road trip film is almost a genre onto itself and can be funny like Plains, Trains and Automobiles, insightful like On The Road, or horrifying like Joyride.  These films are so easy to relate to, because at some point we all share in these kinds of adventures, perhaps not so exciting but memorable nonetheless.

Even though director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean’s 11, Magic Mike) has an Oscar under his belt and numerous box office hits, the road to getting Behind the Candelabra was a difficult one.  Originally Soderbergh had planned for the film to play in theaters, but every studio was afraid of the project believing it to be “too gay”.  Sure, there have been numerous films in Hollywood that dealt with homosexual subject matter, and considering this was also a bio pic I’m still surprised the typically liberal studio system was so afraid of this project.