Posts by Brent Lorentson

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.

After the success of James Cameron’s Titanic the world was flooded with several TV movies and documentaries that told the story of what happened the morning of April 15^th 1912 in the Atlantic, so I will spare you the details.

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, but you need to look elsewhere.  But for those willing to sit back and watch a solid thriller about greed and corruption you are in for a treat.

Director Johnnie To is as much a staple to Hong Kong cinema as Martin Scorsese is to American cinema.  For those unfamiliar with To’s work I would recommend checking out some of his better known titles like Election, PTU, and Vengeance to see some great modern Hong Kong cinema that action fans will have a lot of fun with.   He’s a filmmaker that has a broad cinematic canvas that gives each of his films a unique style, but somehow while watching it you know you’re watching  a To film.

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.

Following in the footsteps of other ensemble pieces like Magnolia and Crash (though sadly not nearly as good as these two), this is a story about people being brought together over the course of a day and meeting during one catastrophic moment.  This time the moment that brings all these lives together is a carjacking that goes horribly wrong.  As the night progresses and difficult decisions are made, the lives of all involved are altered as the consequences of their actions become increasingly severe.

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.

His low energy deadpan approach kind of reminded me of Steven Wright but far more entertaining.  With bits that go from being caught jaywalking in Canada, to getting his debit card stolen, and masturbation while wearing a hoodie to “feel creepier” I find it hard to believe there isn’t a topic he couldn’t find the humor in.  What I enjoyed most was how it seems he enjoys discussing topics that make the audience feel a bit uncomfortable to laugh about, like when he discusses how he hopes his nephew doesn’t get into college.  It seems cold, and it is, but when he said it I couldn’t help but laugh.

There is something about the disaster film that I can’t resist, and that something is seeing things get destroyed.  I think we all have this in us, where the little Hulk inside us all just wants to smash or see things get smashed.  Thankfully we live in an age where CGI and other special effects can allow us to see all kinds of havoc unleashed from the safety of our living room.   With Metal Tornado in my hands to review I knew what to expect, so I turned off my brain and let the mayhem ensue.

In a small town in Pennsylvania a covert government group is working on the Helios project.  The goal of this experiment is to harness the sun’s energy and create a limitless clean energy.  Everyone on board for the project has the best intentions and are excited when the day finally comes they get to test out their device.  Too bad things don’t go as planned, and though the experiment first seems like a success, with further study they discover some of the energy is missing.  The loose energy becomes a swirling magnetic vortex that sucks up anything metallic that is in its vicinity and is only growing stronger as it makes its way to the ‘City of Brotherly Love’,  Philadelphia.

What will a parent do to save the life of their dying son?  This is the question that Scott Kane (Drew Fuller) is confronted with in the low-budget action film The Kane Files.  In a desperate race against time, Kane needs to get together the money to pay for his son’s heart transplant, and along the way there are plenty of bullets and plot twists to keep the viewer entertained, but the film lacks any real substance to warrant ever mentioning again.  Though not the most unique plot device for a film, the idea of parents doing whatever it takes to save their children is rich with potential that it frustrates me is never touched upon.

With a nonlinear story line the film makers have their fun playing with the viewer being careful to reveal who the real good guys and bad guys are.  This choice on their part was a wise choice; it made a plot that seemed rehashed come alive and left me feeling that possibly the unexpected was around every corner.  Our hero Kane has only one option in getting the money in time to save his son, and that means returning to a life of crime he promised his wife Anna (Whitney Able) that he gave up to have a life with her.  Desperate for the cash and willing to do anything to save his son, Kane takes the job which is to kill a man that is pressuring crime boss Daniel Morgan (William Atherton) into giving him money owed from a race or he’ll go to the cops.  When the hit goes bad Kane is on the run, and Morgan sends out all his men to find and kill Kane.  The plot, as I said, is fun, just poorly executed, which can be blamed on many things, but what matters is the film is still a fun little ride.  Along the way we meet an FBI Agent played by the great William Devane that simply chews up the dialog and makes it sound great (the man will always be a badass for me since watching Rolling Thunder).  Ethan Embry also is around as a local officer out to catch Kane; he’s the guy flexing the most acting chops here, and I’d like to see him playing some darker roles down the road.

It’s never a good sign when you look up a title of a DVD in your hands and IMDB has no trace of it.  With a little more searching and I found the film but under the title My Dog’s Christmas Miracle, which is only a title that serves the purpose at trying to make a cash grab at suckers with a soft spot for holiday films and talking mutts.  This is one of those films that is somewhat of a rarity, it goes in the so-bad-it’s-good pile.  You know that pile of films you know that are awful but you can’t help but enjoy the disaster that unfolds before your eyes.  Like Ishtar, Troll 2, and numerous Ed Wood films, Cinnamon belongs on this list, but for kids.

Cinnamon is a spoiled Maltese that lives in Beverly Hills with her owner Madeline (Cynthia Gibb) who is a professor at the local college.  Madeline is having terrible luck with dating, which is fine by Cinnamon because she doesn’t want to share her owner.  All is going somewhat well till one day at the college; Cinnamon mistakes a rolled architecture plan for a bone and destroys the plans before Kevin’s (Greg Evigan) big meeting at the school.  Once Madeline and Kevin lock eyes, they are just smitten for each other and can’t stop thinking about the other which is no good for Cinnamon, because this takes the attention from her.  As the two grow closer, Cinnamon grows concerned if her master falls in love she’ll be replaced, so the only option is to do whatever it takes to keep these two lovebirds apart.  The relationship aspect of the film really is the only part that works but will most likely bore kids no matter how much they may love dogs .