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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 11th, 2012
When the History channel isn’t busy churning out reality shows, they manage to indulge the history enthusiasts with a fresh new documentary to tide us over. Granted I’m an obsessed fan of Swamp People and Brad Meltzer’s: Decoded, but what gets me most excited is when they bring out a new documentary. (I’m a history geek in case you haven’t figured it out.) So when I got the chance to check out Titanic at 100: Mystery Solved, I happily put this in my DVD player.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 11th, 2012
One look at the DVD case for Life Without Principle and you would get the impression that this would be your average run-of-the-mill Hong Kong action film. This couldn’t be any more misleading. I understand the companies need to make money, and the easiest way to do this is to make up some cover art with guns, fire, and a masked many with money flung in the air seems the way to go, but in the process it does this film and the audience a disservice. So please, if you are expecting an action-packed bullet-ridden spectacle I apologize
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 5th, 2012
When half your film takes place in one tight location, you are really taking a gamble with your audience. Chances are you’ll either have a suspense-filled set piece, or you’ll lose your audience as they stare at their watches waiting for the credits to roll. To the director’s credit, with 96 Minutes, she was able to pull off an immersive tension-building ride through the inner city that kept me wondering how it would all come to an end.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 5th, 2012
Hannibal Buress brings his unique voice to this hour-long special and delivers. I have to be honest, I had never heard of this guy when I got the DVD to review, and now I find myself hoping to catch a live performance if he ever brings his tour down south. Once a writer for SNL and doing some work with 30 Rock, this young up-and-comer is sure to make a name for himself and hopefully become a name regarded with the best of the comedy elite.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 29th, 2012
This movie has everything working for it with the exception of one thing, and that is the execution in which the story is told. The film has a decent cast, a good story, for the most part it looks good on the screen, but what hurts this film was the decision to tell the story in flashback. How can you have a great payoff at the end if in the very beginning we know how the movie is going to end? Why the filmmakers stuck with this edit is a mystery to me, and it’s a shame, because they have all the right pieces to make it work, but instead they shoot themselves in the foot.
