Posts by Brent Lorentson

The quack pack returns for season three of the A&E reality series smash hit, Duck Dynasty.  After season 1 I was thinking perhaps this would be a show that would be amusing but quickly lose steam with the season that would follow.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  The Robertson family is quickly becoming the most recognizable family on TV considering they are flooding the stores with their books, DVD’s, and many other products you can find at Wal-Mart.  I can’t help but think this is a family that is doing everything right, and good for them for the success they’ve managed.

For over 40 years Aerosmith has been rocking the airwaves, and with over a 100 million albums sold, it is safe to say they are one of America’s greatest rock bands.  It had been seven years before that the band previously performed in Japan, and after the devastation the country endured during the earthquake and tsunami in early 2011, the band was inspired to return to Japan and perform.  Rock For The Rising Sun is more than simply a documentary of a concert in Japan; instead it is the documentation of the band’s journey that follows them along their stops throughout their tour and their interaction with the fans.

At some point or another as kids we’ve experienced either the fear of the dark, what lurks in the closet, or perhaps the dread of what awaits under the bed.  As adults most view these fears we had as children as impractical, but for those of us who remember these fears, the possibility of what terrors awaited us come nightfall was something very real.  Sure, mom or dad would check the room to assure us there was nothing there, but we knew better.  We knew the moment the parents left the room the dreaded terrors would crawl out from there dark hideouts and come for us in our sleep.  It’s this childhood terror that director Steven C. Miller (director of the Silent Night remake) attempts to bring to the screen.

The cartoons I’m most fond of from my childhood are all cell-animated, simply because I grew up in a time before computer generation effects and animation had been fully realized.  Now when you flip on the TV it’s hard to find any true animation; everything has moved on and evolved to CGI.  When the studios have the time and money, they can release some breathtaking features like Finding Nemo and The Croods. But when it comes to television the CGI never seemed to match the quality of the features.  That is until Dreamworks released Dragons: Riders of Berk.

The Cinemax anthology series continues to be my guilty pleasure that when it’s over I simply want just a little bit more.  The show takes sleaze and debauchery to a whole new level, and I mean that in the best way possible.  At first glance and even if catching an episode out of context, for some the show may resemble some B-grade skin flick, but for those who sit back and give it a chance, you’ll discover it is so much more.  But for those who may find beautiful women randomly discarding their clothes mixed with random acts of violence offensive, well, here is your chance to run away and never look back, because this show takes pleasure in pushing the limits of decency and good taste.  And that is what makes it fun.

When describing Greg Sommer, at first one would believe you are describing what most would consider a man-child.  You know, the 30-something male who still lives at home with mom and on the weekends dresses up in elaborate cardboard costumes and takes part in epic backyard battles.  But in this case that would only be a superficial look at a man that seems to have found the secret to happiness and has the tenacity to pursue his dreams unlike anyone I’ve ever met.  Skull World is a documentary that follows Greg over the course of three years, and what he manages to accomplish in that time, man-child or not, is still impressive.

Without my girlfriend’s six-year-old daughter to help me out, I had the opportunity to tackle this 10-episode compilation DVD of the hit Cartoon Network series.  I can’t blame Makayla for her lack of interest in the show; after all, with the title character being a sixteen year old boy who fights robots and aliens, well, I don’t believe she fits the target audience.  On the other hand, as I started watching I began to see that anyone who enjoys aliens and robots is sure to enjoy the show at least to some degree.