Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
It’s a little hard for me to realize it really has been 20 years since Stone Temple Pilots emerged out of the grunge scene with their album Core. I remember hanging out at my friends house playing Sega Genesis while listening to this tape (yes, cassette tape) over and over with some Pearl Jam and Nirvana thrown in as well. For me these guys are like moments of time from my past that I’ll always look fondly upon. Whether it was my first mosh pit or first house party, this was the music that surrounded me. I feel the need to divulge this simply because no matter how impartial I may try to be, it’s hard to be critical and removed with every review that comes along.
With that being said, I’m going to come out and say I love this performance. Once I put this in my player, I cranked up the volume and just allowed my ears to ingest this musical delight. Sure my neighbors may not have been happy after all the sound hits like a punch, but this is what I’ve come to expect from STP.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
We’ve all heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”; well ,in this case it should be extended to not judging it by its title either. I read the title for Some Guy Who Kills People and thought it was a clever ominous title, but the movie that followed didn’t live up to the title but instead pulled a bit hard at the heartstrings. I came into this one expecting horror and instead got pleasantly surprised by this sweet horror (very loosely fits in this case) comedy about a relationship between a father and daughter.
When we first meet Ken Boyd (Kevin Corrigan) we find him working behind the counter at the local ice cream shop, and with his quiet, creepy demeanor he couldn’t seem more out of place. It’s soon revealed that he’s been recently released from the local mental institute and is simply trying to start a new life for himself in the world, though it seems he lacks most social skills with anyone he encounters. In flashbacks we witness the beating he took in high school that has understandably traumatized him through adulthood, but could it be enough to unhinge him to the point of murder?
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
When I first saw the trailer for Savages I was more than a little unimpressed; in fact I was beginning to accept that there were no more great films to come from one of the directors I believe was in the top five working directors of the 80s and the 90s. Over the past decade he’s managed to churn out some decent films, but nothing that can measure up to Platoon, JFK, The Doors, Natural Born Killers or Nixon. With Alexander he took a big gamble and it was a commercial bomb, and since then it seems he’s been playing it safe. What I always respected about Stone was that he never used to play it safe; he took bold chances whether it be with the topic of the film or with the style of the film, but it seemed the commercial failure of Alexander took its toll.
One piece missing from Stone’s crew that I feel has made an impact over the years has been the absence of cinematographer Robert Richardson. Could this be the key ingredient missing all this time? Richardson has done some great work with other directors most notably with Tarantino (Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds) as well as Scorsese (Hugo). But for me when I look at some of the great director and cinematographer relationships over the years, the one with Stone and Richardson seems to be the perfect marriage of talent put to the screen. After working on several films without Richardson at his side, I feel Stone has found a suitable fit for him with Daniel Mindel (Domino, Star Trek) as his shooter this time around.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 29th, 2012
What if your favorite childhood toy were to not only come to life but also be your best friend for life? This is the scenario writer/director Seth Macfarlane (creator of Family Guy and American Dad) set out to explore in his first live action venture behind the lens in this summer’s comedy Ted. With the freedom of an R rating I was curious to see what Macfarlane would bring us and what I came away with was something of a surprise.
The film opens in 1985 with the Narrator (Patrick Stewart) introducing us to the young John Bennett who it turns out is the most unpopular kid in the neighborhood. He’s like most kids from this time with his Indiana Jones poster on the wall and his astronaut-themed bed sheets. But what John craves most is friendship. It’s on Christmas morning that his parents give him a giant teddy bear that he wastes no time in naming Ted. Though he loves his toy, John can’t help but wish that the bear were his “real” friend, and it’s that night while under the sheets with Ted, John makes the wish for Ted to become his best friend forever.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 25th, 2012
It’s been six years since the end of the Civil War, and zombies have managed to overrun the landscape. Had this been the actual turn of events, I believe more kids would surely enjoy digging into their history books, but as we all know this is not the case. But this is the “what-if” scenario that writer/director John Geddes portrays for us in his new Canadian horror film Exit Humanity.
We meet Edward (Mark Gibson) as he has returned home to find that his wife has been attacked by the undead and his son is missing. With no choice but to dispatch his zombie turned wife, he sets off into the countryside to find his son. In his search Edward confronts many zombies along the way, and with each confrontation he learns more about them. When the time comes and Edward does find his son, he is too late; his son is also among the walking dead. After killing his son, Edward is left as a broken shell of a man. His only drive is to take the remains of his son to Ellis Falls where he intends to bury his ashes and end his own life. Paired along with a narration given by Brian Cox, this is one of the stronger opening acts in the zombie genre in years. Unfortunately this doesn’t last.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 21st, 2012
With technology constantly evolving and becoming more affordable, it has allowed more and more film makers to get their projects made. With so many films now filling the market it’s become harder to sort through the crowd and find the ones that actually stand out from the pack, and because of this some really good films just get lost among the masses. A Bag of Hammers seems to be one of those films. This isn’t groundbreaking cinema, but it’s a story that has us look at the idea of what family is from a unique perspective without beating the message into our head.
Allen (Jason Sandvig) and Ben (Jason Ritter) have been best friends for years who are also a pair of bumbling grafters that want nothing more than to go through their lives having to do as little as possible. At first this slacker comedy seems like something we’ve already seen before, but the lead characters are charming enough to keep you watching. It’s when Lynette (True Blood’s Carrie Preston) and her 12-year-old son Kelsey (Chandler Canterbury) come into the story that things start to shift directions. Lynette and her son have recently moved to Burbank to try to make a new start with their lives, but with a weak resume and lacking any office skills, getting a job is becoming a bleak and impossible task. She’s trying to be a good mothe,r but nothing seems to pan out, as the bills pile up and it becomes more difficult to keep their refrigerator stocked with food. But still Kelsey does what he can and doesn’t complain, because for him all that matters is having his mother around.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 19th, 2012
Since the age of 15 jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour has been strumming his Gibson guitar with The Mommas & The Papas and even doing some guitar work for Pink Floyd’s the Wall ‘’Run like Hell” track. It was during his time with the Mommas & The Poppas that he was given the name “Captain Fingers” which would also later go on to be the name for one of his more successful albums. In 2010 after fifty years of performing, Guitar Player Magazine awarded Ritenour a lifetime achievement award, that same year his new album which he produced Lee Ritenour’s 6 String Theory received several accolades from the music community.
Back in 2004 Ritenour put together a project that would try to encompass the work he had done over the years. To do this he brought in other musicians of the various styles he had played in to come together and record live with an audience; this project was called Overtime.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 15th, 2012
Ever since his departure from Saturday Night Live, Adam Sandler has become one of the most successful comedians of all time. Granted not all of his movies have been great; in fact, some are better left forgotten, but he has a loyal fan base that will keep returning to the theater to see the funny man with hopes of the next big hit. Sure, he had success with Grown Ups, but when looking over his films from the past decade I can’t help but wonder what happened. I’m a big fan of Funny People; it was a more serious role for Sandler, and I appreciate when actors and film makers step outside their comfort zone and try something different. But in the end the fans still want what got us to love them in the first place. With That’s My Boy it’s Sandler returning to his roots, and he’s cranked it up.
Joining Sandler is Andy Samberg, who recently left SNL after being a cast member with the show for seven years. With That’s My Boy being the first release since his recent departure we’ll soon see if he will have a life after the long running sketch series or fade into obscurity like many other cast members that have left the show over the years. Though there is only a 12-year age difference between Samberg and Sandler, the two play father and son in this crude raunchfest.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 13th, 2012
Films have been around for decades that have followed the life of crime and the pitfalls that come with it. And with the success of the AMC series Breaking Bad, it seems meth is the new drug of choice for Hollywood to exploit for the big screen. There have been plenty of great films and shows to come out of the exploitation of the drug trade; my personal favorites are Blow and Traffic. But what always made this subgenre of film engaging is that it seemed to always balance the pros and the cons of living the life of crime, and in the end the audience would be given the message that crime doesn’t pay. Even the most popular drug film of all time, Scarface, ends with our anti-hero dead.
When it comes to Kill Speed it would appear as though nothing was learned from these films, and instead this felt as though it were a recruitment film for drug trafficking. I don’t believe this is what the filmmakers set out to do with this film, but it does strongly give the message that it’s OK to commit a felony, and not only will you not get in trouble, but your country will label you a hero. I really want to believe that this was not the intention here, and not to sound like a prude, but as a responsible viewer I have a problem with the “hero” of this film being a greedy punk who runs drugs and money but suffers no consequences even when he is caught and even gets the girl. This is bad storytelling wrapped in beautiful aerial cinematography.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 11th, 2012
When you look through the list of accolades that writer, director, and producer David E. Talbert has received, you can’t help but be a little impressed with the playwright who is working his way to the big screen. Once you win an award that labels you best playwright, there is a certain standard that you should be held to with the works that follow, and if I were to simply judge his talent based upon how A Fool and His Money turned out, well, best playwright wouldn’t be a label I’d be throwing around.
There is a lot to like about the first half of this production; though the down-on-their luck family may feel a bit stereo typical, it’s hard to not relate to this family that is struggling, especially in today’s economic climate. The father is working hard to keep a roof over his family’s head and steer his children in the right direction so they can have a better life than he does. But no matter how hard he tries, it just never seems to be enough. To help make ends meet their son has been skipping out on school to work, but this has caused his grades to slip which means he’ll have to quit the job to focus more on school. The daughter though is seeing a guy that that the mother disapproves of, but her father seems to be okay with him because he believes the guy is taking good care of his little girl, but of course the mother sees the boyfriend for what he really is but just can’t seem to change her daughter’s mind. Already we have plenty of drama, when the father loses his job and the bills are already piled so high that his marriage is at a breaking point.
