Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 29th, 2023
I can’t help but feel a bit hoodwinked by this film. From the director of Friday the 13th, we are talking the original film before Jason decided to take over the duties of slaughtering camp counselors. Yes, I’m talking the Sean S. Cunningham who also delivered us the guilty pleasure The New Kids and a little later in his career Deep Star Six. As though to sweeten the deal and make this film all the more tempting to horror fans, Bruce Campbell even stars in the film. Campbell at this point had been successful with the Evil Dead films, Maniac Cop, and the criminally underrated but cult classic TV series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. I thought for sure I had stumbled across a gem of a film and that I’d be excited to write about it. Sadly, within 20 minutes of watching the film, I immediately understood how this film had slipped past my radar. Thankfully the film isn’t rotten, but it is the kind of straight-to-video or late-night film that is meant for a rare breed of cinephile, one who can ignore the cheap effects and generic plot; in other words, people not so different from myself.
Jack (Bruce Campbell) is the unfortunate inmate who is being transported to another prison in the middle of a nasty snowstorm that causes the squad car to wreck. Jack and the officers escorting him trudge their way through the snow to reach a small airport. At the airport all the passengers are stranded, and there are no flights departing till the storm settles down and the runway is cleared. The phone lines and radios are down, so all anyone can do is sit around and wait. Things end up going bad when one of the stranded passengers turns on one of the officers escorting Jack, which results in an altercation that leads to both the officers being killed. What makes things more interesting is that when Jack kills this suspicious stranded passenger, he discovers they are not even human, but some kind of strange alien that disappears into a pool of goo when they are killed.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 26th, 2023
In 1962, I can understand why Hell is for Heroes would be a successful film. You have Steve McQueen just getting hot after his success with The Magnificent Seven, and then you have a cast with Bobby Darin, James Coburn, and Bob Newhart making his big screen debut, not to mention that war films were still pretty popular at the time; and then you had director Don Siegel at the helm. Some films are simply a product of their time, and they simply don’t age well; then there are films that are classics and are simply timeless. Hell is for Heroes ends up somewhere in the middle for me. It’s not a bad film; actually I think it is pretty good, but I think its legacy is more about how it manages to have so much talent together before these actors and filmmakers really hit their stride or were in their prime.
When the film opens up, we’re in 1944 France, and we’re with a group of GI’s who seem to be waiting for their last orders before they get the go-ahead to go home. These guys have seen their share of bloodshed, and they are just eager to get home. They’re writing to their loved ones with the good news, and their spirits couldn’t be higher. This is also where we get to meet the soldiers. Reese (McQueen) has recently been reassigned; he’ a cold and bitter man who seems to have accepted he may not escape this war alive, but he’s going to take as many Nazi soldiers down with him as he can. The film has a slow start, and I mean it is at least a good thirty minutes till we see Reese and his squad get reassigned and told they are marching up to the Siegfried Line to hold off the Nazi advance. Once this first act is over, though, this film is pretty entertaining to the very end.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 22nd, 2023
In 1965 when The Truth About Spring was released, Haley Mills was turning 18 and was already a well established star after being in a string of hit Disney films like Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, and then That Darn Cat. Back when this film was made, it was simply a family adventure. It is simply so charming and wholesome; it really is the kind of film that is just about impossible to find at your local cinema anymore. When watching this, I couldn’t help but realize how if this very same film was put on the big screen today it would cause certain groups out there to lose their minds, all because it is a story about a tomboy who “changes” for a young man she falls in love with. Now, I’m not about to stir anything up and bring up politics or social ideologies with this review, but it was something that I wanted to mention, because sadly something’s in this movie just wouldn’t be done in a film today, despite how innocently this film was made many decades ago. I’m reviewing this through the lens of how this movie was meant to be seen upon its release, and without social commentary, because frankly to do so otherwise is exhausting and simply tarnishes the joy of the experience of this film.
The film opens up on a sailboat, and we meet Tommy Tyler (John Mills) and his daughter, Spring (Haley Mills). We get to watch them pull off one of their more innocent schemes when they come aboard a cruise liner and “convince” the crew and the passengers to give them supplies. As part of the scheme, Spring is taking on the role of being a malnourished boy, and it’s this performance that tugs on the heartstrings of the passengers to allow this scheme to be successful, though it’s obvious the captain doesn’t seem convinced by the act; but still he gives the Tyler family the needed supplies. The instant chemistry we see between Tommy and Spring should be no surprise considering they are real life father and daughter, and this isn’t the first time they performed on screen together. It’s the relationship between the father and daughter that really propels this film, whether it is their innocent jabs at one another or even the heartfelt exchanges that come later in the film, it’s the natural connection the pair have that makes the film work.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on April 7th, 2023
You don’t have to be a sports name to know the name Michael Jordan, and there is a good chance you’ve even heard of the Air Jordan even if you are not a sneakerhead. What is a little surprising is that someone out there believed that the story about how a shoe could change the sports industry and go on to make the Nike company a multi-billion dollar industry could be a movie that people would actually want to go see. Well, that person was screenwriter Alex Convery, who wrote a screenplay that would make it onto the Hollywood Black List (For those that don’t know, The Black List is a list that comes out every year that ranks the top 10 unproduced screenplays. It’s an elite list to be on, and typically these eventually get turned into films that gain critical acclaim). As it would turn out, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon would get a shot at the script, and after a polish it would become the new film Ben Affleck would direct since the last film he helmed, Live By Night back in 2016. Though Affleck has had a few duds in his career in front of the screen, when it comes to his directing career I feel he’s got a strong record, Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo I feel are each great films. Live By Night was a bit of a misstep, but every director has one miss eventually, so when I saw he was going to be directing Air, though I wasn’t quite excited about the story, I was excited to see that he’d be directing again. What I didn’t see coming was just how good this film would be, and it is no surprise why Amazon Studios elected to give this film a theatrical run rather than dump it onto its Prime streaming service.
The opening credits of the film do a fantastic job of setting the tone of the film and hitting us with a montage of pop culture events that were taking place in 1984. Then we get to meet Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon). He’s an executive with Nike who is pretty much a talent scout for the company. At this point Nike is a bit of a joke in the sports world, with Converse and Adidas leading in shoe sales with big names like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as the face to their product. The basketball line of shoes is about to be shut down if Nike can’t manage to score big, and it’s up to Sonny to find the perfect athlete to promote their line of shoes and keep them in the shoe game. In other words, this film is pretty much an underdog story. All the companies are looking to secure this new rookie for the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan. Nike just can’t compete with the big names, but Sonny is desperate and feels they can attain greatness if they can somehow manage to court Jordan to sign with them. Literally that is the plot of this film, and we all know how it is going to end, so what’s the point in watching? It’s really as simple as seeing the men behind the scenes and just how much of a risk they took to make it all happen. Then there is the solid cast, the fantastic script, and the attention to detail that Affleck and his team brought together to create this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 23rd, 2023
Damien Chazelle seems to have a thing for dreamers, or at least those who want to be larger than life. Whether it is a drummer aspiring to reach perfection in Whiplash, or an actress wanting to be a star in La La Land, to even being the first man to walk on the moon in First Man, he’s always made these films with an enthusiasm and energy that we can’t help but want to see them succeed. In his new film Babylon, he seems to be doing something a little different and on a grander scale as he explores the early days of Hollywood as it made the transition from the silent film era to the “talkies” (basically what we’re used to seeing on the big screen today, just minus all the CGI effects). A lot of money was injected into the production of this film, and you see it in every frame of this movie that is certainly a love letter to a time when Hollywood was trying to figure things out and entertain its audiences. But what I don’t think anyone was expecting is how deep this film was willing to go into the drug abuse and the sordid debauchery that went on in these early days of cinema.
The film opens innocently enough with Manny Torres (Diego Calva) simply trying to get an elephant to a big Hollywood party. Manny is a Mexican-American who is just trying to get his foot in the door, and we get to see these early struggles pay off, but first we get to experience this party that is lavish and epic with a strong Caligula-on-cocaine vibe. It’s at the party where we meet the rest of the cast we’ll be following over the course of the film. There’s Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), who believes she is a star who just simply hasn’t been discovered yet; there is also Sidney (Jovan Adepo), a horn player who is just trying to get by; there is Elinor St. John (Jean Smart), a Hollywood gossip reporter, and then there is Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), the biggest silent film actor in the business. Then we get to see the moment where Manny first meets Nellie and the moment where he falls in love with her; then moments later see how Nellie is simply plucked from the crowd to become a star, This sequence is so well crafted at letting the audience experience the party while getting to know these characters and several others, all while we are subjected to various sex acts and body fluids and drugs that when it ends we can feel the hangovers that these characters are experiencing. Unfortunately for most of these characters, they are due on set in just a matter of hours.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 10th, 2023
We knew it was coming, a new chapter in the Ghostface franchise that has been a staple in the horror genre since the first Scream released back in 1996. Over the years we’ve gotten to see our favorite horror fan/serial killer terrorize the citizens of Woodsboro and even venture out to LA when he terrorized the film set of Stab (you know, the movie within a movie). It was only a matter of time before our killer ventured out of Woodsboro again, and this time he follows in the footsteps of another masked killing icon, Jason Voorhees, as Ghostface sets out to terrorize the Big Apple in Scream VI. Last year’s Scream I felt did a good job at rebooting the franchise (or worked as a requel) and worked as a way of passing on the torch from Sydney and Gale to the next generation, Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega). This new film will also be the first time Sydney doesn’t make an appearance on screen, though we do thankfully have Gale (Courtney Cox) and Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) returning in their “legacy” roles. Does Scream 6 manage to impress with the new cast and new locale, or does it take a misstep as Jason Takes Manhattan did for its franchise? Well, to be fair, it kind of did both.
It is crazy to think just how big of a year 2022 was for Jenna Ortega. She started the year off strong with her role in Scream; then she was great in the cult hit X from Ti West; then there was Wednesday, which really put her over as a star, and with the momentum her career path seems to be on, I’m expecting her to reach A-list status shortly. What I really enjoy about her character, Tara, is she’s not just a younger version to replace Sydney. This is a well-written character who a modern generation can root for and care about. Then there is Sam, the older sister who is not just recovering from discovering her ex-boyfriend was a homicidal maniac but is still haunted by the fact her father is Billy Loomis, one half of the original Ghostface killers. Its this relationship that anchors this new film, and when we catch up with them, there is a wedge that is building between them, because Sam is being overprotective and Tara is wanting to rebel now that she is away for college and just wants to move on from her past trauma. Just this element alone and how it is handled elevates this film from the typical franchise sequel and had me happy. Also returning are the brother and sister duo of Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding), who are attending the same college as Tara; you know, survivors got to stick together. The writers seem to be having more fun with these returning characters and basically do a great job of making Mindy a more toned down version of her uncle Randy.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 6th, 2023
One of the things that stands out to me the most about Voodoo Macbeth has very little to do with the true story about how Orson Welles, who at the time he was only 20 was hired by the Negro Theater Unit to direct a stage production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all black cast in Harlem. What’s more intriguing to me is that the film was actually the first feature film to come out of USC and gain theatrical distribution, but the film is listed with having 10 directors and eight screenwriters. With hat much ego and creative talent, it is impressive that they managed to squeeze out a cohesive story, and one that looks pretty good, though it does have some issues. I applaud the ambition to tackle a period piece and also a story that is a bit of both film and theater history, considering this was one of the first and most wildly successful stage productions with a black cast, but is also the production Orson Welles helmed before stepping behind the camera to direct his first film, a little thing called Citizen Kane.
The film is pretty straightforward as a mostly historically accurate telling of how the play came together. It glosses over how the Federal Theater Project was established during the Great Depression to fund live artistic performances, in this instance to fund the Harlem theater district. Rose McClendon (Inger Tudor) runs the Negro Theater Unit and is eager to get Macbeth into production. Her partner, John Houseman (Daniel Kuhlman) comes up with the inspired choice to bring in Orson Welles (Jewell Wilson Bridges) to direct the project which he is hesitant to take on until his wife, Virginia Welles (June Schreiner) convinces him to do the project. It’s also his wife who gives him the idea to shift the setting from Scotland to 1800’s Haiti and give it a voodoo theme.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on February 24th, 2023
Not since Snakes on a Plane has a title for a movie been so absurd that I just had to see the movie. While Snakes on a Plane delivered on its B-movie camp, it was still kind of a bad movie no matter how hard Samuel L Jackson seemed to try to carry that film. Cocaine Bear embraces its absurd title, and it goes over the top and beyond with a black ear ingesting more cocaine than Tony Montana would ever dare to snort. The film is loosely based on true events, the truth being that a drug runner did die while tossing numerous bags of cocaine out of a plane in 1985 and that a bear was found dead after ingesting a large quantity of cocaine. This film attempts to rewrite history by posing the “what if?” that the bear encounters many unfortunate humans while on its cocaine binge. For me the moment I heard they were making this a movie, it was on my radar. I mean, this is the kind of storyline that gets me grinning ear to ear, because I know it has the potential to be great if put into the right hands. The Broken Lizard gang (Super Troopers) or David Wain (Role Models) would have been my first guesses at who would snatch up this project, but when I heard Elizabeth Banks was going to be at the helm, I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant. As an actress I love her work, but behind the camera she had Pitch Perfect 2, which was of course successful, but let’s face it, I’m not the film’s demographic. Then she had the recent Charlie’s Angels reboot, and we all know how that did. I wanted to remain optimistic till I at least saw the trailer to see how she’d tackle the project, because honestly this was either going to be a hit or a miss, but when I saw that trailer my worries were put at ease, and this was back to being one of my more anticipated movies of the year.
The film opens up in 1985 over Georgia, and we see Thornton (Matthew Rhys) tossing the cocaine-filled bags out of the plane and then his unfortunate (yet humorous) demise. We then get to met a charming couple that is on a hike in the hills of Chattahoochee, Georgia. They are the first to cross paths with the “cocaine bear”, and, well, let’s just say nature isn’t too kind to them. While these opening minutes set the tone of the film, buckle up, because things are only going to get crazier as the film progresses. As for the actual plot of the film, it is a bit of an ensemble piece with a bunch of characters that are doing their own thing, but the “cocaine bear” just is wreaking havoc and is simply making everyone’s bad day even worse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 10th, 2023
This may come to a surprise for some, but there was a time that comic book movies just weren’t taken seriously. We had Richard Donner and his Superman The Movie film, and then there was Tim Burton’s take on Batman. Every other movie that was based on a comic book property was treated as cheesy camp fodder that no one took seriously. Wes Craven’s attempt at adapting Swamp Thing was slightly impressive for the time, but in retrospect I’m just not really a fan of the film despite how much I like the DC character. As for the sequel, The Return of Swamp Thing, I know I’m in the minority when I say how much I enjoy this camp classic. The first Swamp Thing I felt took itself too seriously and was lacking in the fun practical FX department, but to be fair, it also had a low budget and felt the need to be an origin story. Helming the sequel is one of the B-movie workhorses of the industry, Jim Wynorski, who is responsible for the 80s kill-bot classic Chopping Mall. It’s time to return to the bog and deep dive into the camp classic from 1989, The Return of Swamp Thing.
The film wastes no time getting things started when a group of hunters are attacked by Leech Man in the swamp, and it is Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) that comes to the rescue. I’m a fan of these practical FX suits, and just seeing this fun showdown in the film’s opening minutes definitely sets the tone for the rest of the film. If this sequence leaves you groaning and rolling your eyes, well, to be fair, this film just isn’t for you. But if you like your old TOHO man-in-suit battles, and enjoys some goofy B-cinema from Roger Corman or Lloyd Kaufman, then this film you are going to eat up. From the get-go we know this film is very tongue-in-cheek, and sure, I one day want to see a straight-up horror adaptation of the character, but till then, this is what we got.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 3rd, 2023
I get it. At first glance Ghost Warrior seems like a movie that is easy to disregard, but if you are looking to step outside the mainstream and dip your toe into the murky waters that is B cinema, Ghost Warrior is a heck of a fun place to start. The film is produced by Charles Band. He’s pretty much royalty when it comes to B cinema. His biggest claim to fame is the creation of Full Moon Features, and if you were around in the mom and pop video store days, you more than likely passed plenty of his work on the video store shelves. Movies like Puppet Master and little gems like Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama were Band’s bread and butter, and he’s been successful enough to produce well over 350 films. When it comes to Ghost Warrior, this is before Full Moon became notorious for low-budget horror, but this film does show that he could produce a quality film on a thin budget and have a running time of only 81 minutes.
The film opens up in Japan with Yoshi (Hiroshi Fujioka) as a samurai attempting to protect the woman he loves, but in the process he falls from a cliff and into a frozen lake where he remains frozen for 400 years until he is discovered by a pair of hikers. This opening sequence is a good looking sequence, and that is thanks to the cinematography from horror great Mac Ahlberg. Let me take a moment to just say that it is criminal that Mac Ahlberg isn’t a household name with horror fans, Just to name a few of the great horror films he shot: Hell Night, Re-Animator (personally my all time favorite horror film), House, From Beyond, and countless others. The look of this film elevates it to the point where it can hold its own with bigger 80s films released at the same time, and seeing the image cleaned up for this release, it looks really good.
