Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 15th, 2013
Some movies have a way of simply sneaking up on you and leave you exiting the theater with a multitude of thoughts and emotions. When a film comes along where you are able to forget your troubles or the stresses of the real world, and long after the final credit has rolled you still can’t shake certain images or lines of dialog from your mind, this is usually the best sign of a good film. The Call I must confess snuck up on me and managed to suck me into “the hive” of the Los Angeles 911 dispatch center and has kept me in its clutches as I write up this review.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 14th, 2013
I think it would be safe to say that ever since Edward Stratemeyer penned The Hardy Boys he has garnered a legion of loyal fans of the popular young adult book series. For many young readers these books are what planted the seeds for them to later become private investigators or join some form of law enforcement. Then there were the casual readers like myself who became obsessed with the crime genre and would later move on to edgier writers. Whatever direction readers may have taken, it’s safe to say that the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew deserve the same respect as other classic characters in fiction like Sherlock Holmes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 7th, 2013
In a film the pays its respects to the French soldiers who are participating in the war on terror as well as the journalists that risk their lives to cover the war, Special Forces delivers more of the same in this new release. Though the default setting has the spoken language in English and has English-speaking stars, don’t let this French release fool you; the dubbing is terrible and the film is better viewed in its original language. Elsa (Diane Krugar) is a French journalist who is in Afghanistan to cover a story about a woman sold as a child. By now we should all know speaking against the politics in these countries is not just bad, but when you are a woman this could get you killed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 6th, 2013
Normally when I see trailers for films about “inspiring true stories” I try to remind myself to avoid that film at all costs. Sure I’ve seen more than a few of these kinds of films, but that’s the problem with them, once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. When Chasing Mavericks was brought to my attention I was ready to ignore, but then I gave it a quick look at IMDB and to my surprise it had two directing credits, Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, which just so happens to be in my all-time top ten films) and Michael Apted (Gorky Park, Nell, Gorillas of the Mist), and with that my mind was made up.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 28th, 2013
When an action title comes along and you see the name Steve Austin headlining it, the expectation level shouldn’t be too high (unless, of course, you’re an obsessed fan of Stone Cold). I’ve seen more than my fair share of straight-to-video action films, so it takes a lot to deter me from giving a film a chance, and when it also gives Dolph Lundgren billing, well, the film becomes hard to resist. Tommy Wick (Austin) does work for a crime family to help work off the debt of his brother, who is currently serving time in the state penitentiary.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 25th, 2013
The story about Finn, the human, and Jake, the Dog is something I’ve managed to come into without any knowledge of what is going on. It’s not as though there is a complex plot built around the characters but I’m somewhat at a loss why the 12-13yrold boy lives with his talking dog with no parental unit to be seen. I know it’s a cartoon and considering this takes place in the land of Ooo, hoping to find a plot thread that follows any real world logic is asking a bit much.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2013
When I see the claim “inspired by true events” I tend to always take this with a grain of salt, because really just about anything can be inspired by a true event. It’s a misleading caption that frustrates me when I see it used to promote a film. Why does it bother me so much? Its simple; people read those words and begin to think everything is just about entirely true. In this case the film Snitch was inspired by true events. It took some time but I did manage to find a video on You Tube about a PBS television show that inspired the film. This again is an example of what Hollywood does to spin the truth in order to fill seats at the theater.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2013
Ever since Ben Affleck stepped behind the camera and took on the role of director, I’ve found myself not only becoming a fan of his work but believing the man has greatness ahead of him. When I first watched Gone Baby Gone, I was more than a little impressed; after all, it was his first time at the helm. But then Affleck released his follow-up film, The Town, and it blew me away. Sure, there were some great movies that came out that year, but the fact that it didn’t make the list of best picture nominees I just can’t understand.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 19th, 2013
From the opening title card, Mafia does its best to fit in with the blaxploitation films of the 70’s, and even with Pam Grier in one of the key roles the film just doesn’t hold up. It seems a lot of filmmakers and fans have on rose-colored glasses to the exploitation era (I’ll lump myself in with this group as well), but the filmmakers who attempt these films forget a lot of these films of the past had a strong political or sociological message they were trying to send. Just making a film set in the 70s and throwing on some filters doesn’t mean you made an exploitation film; it simply means you captured the cheap low quality of the pictures they made back then.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 15th, 2013
I remember watching Heavenly Creatures and believing Melanie Lynskey would break out and become a star. I never would have guessed her co-star Kate Winslet would be the one to emerge from the film and be the A-list actress she has become. After all, when you watch Heavenly Creatures, it’s hard to believe this was the first role Lynskey had in front of a camera; I would have imagined she was destined to play some great roles through her career. Unfortunately that’s not the case, but I’m glad to see at the very least she has a career up on the screen.
