Posts by Jeremy Butler

This 1974 film has previously been regarded as an Italian version of the widely successful American supernatural film, The Exorcist. It’s been suggesting that The Antichrist was an attempt to cash in on some of the success that the American film experienced a year earlier. After watching it, I don’t see why the two films can’t coexist. Whether or not the American film had any bearing on this one will never be determined, but it stands to reason that if you enjoyed that one, there is no reason that you won’t enjoy this as well. I suppose there is the risk of it feeling redundant, but a little redundancy has never bothered me. Besides, if you can’t deal with films with similar premises and themes, your lists of viewing pleasure is going to shrink exponentially. I won’t spend a lot of time comparing the two films for couple of reasons: one, I believe that would be doing this film a disservice, given that I found it mildly entertaining; and two, it’s quite some time since I watched to The Exorcist, so my memory of it is slightly foggy. That said, I believe that will give me an objective view of The Antichrist, because I won’t waste undue time with comparisons.

The film follows Ippolita, the adult daughter of a wealthy Italian aristocrat, who has been paralyzed since she was 12 years old following a car accident that also killed her mother. Having severe attachment issues, she falls into a depression after learning that her father has become involved with another woman. Accustomed to monopolizing her father’s time, Ipploita does not take the news of the relationship well. Meanwhile, despite the decade old accident that left her wheelchair bound, there appears to be no medical reason for her paralysis. Suspecting her condition is psychosomatic, the family consults an expert who attempts regression therapy in an effort to cure her. However, the therapy opens her up to something else. Something far more sinister in nature.

“At present your home is not safe, even when you are there. So protect yourselves. Be sure to have good locks, good security systems.  I’m addition, you might consider getting a watchdog. And I’m not necessarily talking about a large dog. Any dog that can bark will make a good watchdog.”

Well, this dog does a lot more than bark in this 1979 family-friendly comedy. Standing for “Canine HOMe Protection System,” C.H.O.M.P.S. is the story of a young inventor who creates a revolutionary home security system that is as cute as it is effective: a robotic dog that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Given that he modeled the robot after his actual pet, that creates a couple of funny hijinks later on in the film, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. The film stars Wesley Eure, an actor popular for his starring roles in family-friendly entertainment that includes Land of the Lost, Finders Keepers, and the educational television series, Dragon Tales. Eure also does us the honor of formally introducing us to the film in the opening moments. Joining Eure is Valerie Bertinelli of One Day at a Time fame, as well as the TV Land network staple Hot in Cleveland, which also starred the recently departed Betty White (R.I.P.).

It’s amazing how a pretty face can get you act against your better instincts. Letting someone you just met, a complete stranger, move into your house and giving access to your top-of-the-line security system. Yeah, that is not something that happens unless the person is breathtakingly beautiful. Incidentally, Lily Krug fits that description to a tee. She is a knockout beauty without question. However, looks alone wouldn’t have been enough, given the dark turn her character was destined to take; there had to be some malice behind those eyes. She had to have the eyes of a heartless and calculating sociopath. Did she deliver? Let’s just say, whenever I see her in future roles, even if she is playing a protagonist, it’s going to be hard not to see the predator that I know is lurking behind her eyes.

Shattered follows tech millionaire Chris Decker (Cameron Monaghan), a recent divorcee, who after selling his company has withdrawn from the world. He dedicated his life to his company, so much so that he prioritized it over his family, leading to his subsequent divorce. Now without it, he finds it difficult to let go of the things he pushed aside in favor of his work, i.e. his marriage and his relationship with his daughter. However, according to his soon-to-be ex-wife (Sasha Luss), he needs to move on. Almost as if on cue, enter Sky (Lily Krug), a captivating and disarmingly charming woman he has a chance meeting with in a supermarket. The attraction is instantaneous, and after an accident leaves Chris injured and in need of full-time care, Sky steps in to play nurse.

Wondering what happen to Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig after wrapping up their separately widely popular television series? I mean, what is there to do after playing a superhero and a king? Apparently, the answer is to star in a series about a local independent wrestling league, as the two bring us Heels. Amell and Ludwig play brothers, Jack and Ace Spade, sons of a local legendary wrestler (played by David James Elliot), carrying on their family business, the Duffy Wrestling League (DWL), of playing out scripted wrestling matches in a small town in Georgia. Amell plays the heel, or villain, while Ludwig acts as the face, or hero of the promotion. Despite their bond, the brothers find themselves at odds over the direction of the wrestling promotion, as they vie for national attention. Outside their ring, their lives are just as messy, as their personal relationships also face scrutiny by their very public personas. Rounding out the cast are Alison Luff as Jack’s wife, Staci, Mary McCormack as Willie Day, Jack’s business partner, Allen Maldonado as Rooster, a star performer for the DWL, and Chris Bauer, a former member of the DWL who went on to find national success.

This was a series that I was very excited to see, and it did not disappoint. Dare I say, this is the most realistic representation of what it must be like for an independent wrestling league. An aspect that I enjoyed was the portrayal of the difficulty of taking on all the tasks of trying to promote the business. In every episode, we watch Jack struggle to make his family legacy a success, usually neglecting other parts, particularly people, in his life as he does whatever it tasks to make a good show. This neglect is a key caveat to the story, and it is during these periods that we see the presence that Luff has, as her character challenges her husband. Prior to this series, I knew nothing of the actress, but she is clearly not a newcomer to the profession. With relative ease, she contends with Amell, often acting as the voice of reason for a stubborn Jack. That is not to say that she isn’t afraid to call him on his crap, which she does often. Most notably in the season finale (Double Turn), when she confronts her husband over her concerns that he beginning to become too much like the person that he pretends to be.

The hunted vs. the hunters. Now here is a premise that has seen its fair share of movies. Ever since Jean Claude Van Dame’s rendition in Hard Target, filmmakers have been coming up with new and sometimes cliches version of the idea of a man being hunted for sport. Personally, I’d rather just get my fix of this idea by reading Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. It’s just hard to imagine that there is any unique way left to come at this idea. Apex tries, but it falls short of the desired effect. In the case of this film, they bring in action veteran Bruce Willis to serve as the prey. Given his pedigree, you’d expect him to deliver one-liners while dispatching folks in creative manners. He delivers on the one-liners, but as far as the creative kills, he actually isn’t the person doing the most of the damage. In fact, Willis barely rates above a bystander in this film. I suppose it was ambitious to expect Willis to be duking it out like he did back in his Die Hard days; I mean, the man is in his mid-sixties now. However, if he wasn’t going to be the agent of chaos, why even bother putting him in the movie at all?

I suppose the answer to that question is obvious. When it comes to action films, Willis is quite possibly one of the world’s the biggest draws. His record speaks for itself. However, if I may be so bold, I must say that underutilization of him only serves to tarnish said record. For the amount of action, we got from him, they could have put anyone in that role without it doing any damage to the film’s quality. In fact, they have done better to use a less known talent in order to avoid the disappoint that I surely felt.

When it comes to Amityville Uprising, it felt like I spent the film’s entire runtime waiting for it to start. I mean, the film literally spent ninety percent of the time building towards the action, which basically took place at the very end of the film. There are sporadic events that occur earlier, but even those don’t start until halfway in. I expect for zombie movies to get the action rolling much sooner than that, but in the case of this film, the plot moves at the pace of a walker in the Walking Dead. That paired with the low production quality, nonexistent character development, and subpar acting makes for a less than enjoyable experience. Granted, I was not expecting box office quality from this production, but I at least hoped that there would be one or two tidbits for me to be able to point to and say that the experience had some good parts. Sadly, that wasn’t the case with this film.

A majority plays out in a police precinct in a small little town in New York. Basically, a nearby chemical explosion at a military facility as caused environmental chaos for the town of Amityville. Specifically, acid rain that kills anyone that comes into contact with it. However, that isn’t where it ends for them, as they are resurrected as horribly disfigured and crazed zombies. In concept, the premise sounds moderately interesting. Granted, zombies are far from a new idea, and it is very difficult to innovate, but in this case, I was at least somewhat interested prior to the film’s viewing. Here is where things fall apart. The film literally spent a majority of its time setting up the acid rain. For the first portion of the film, it was like the idea of the acid rain was an afterthought. Every now and then we’d get a brief scene showing the weather turning, but more time was spent following around the officers of the Amityville station. I’m all for making sure that characters are properly introduced and established so that the audience can become invested in the characters, but it was taken too far here. For nearly twenty minutes, we followed Sgt. Dash around as he delivered everyone’s lunch.

Twenty years ago, he left his hometown of Kiewarra, a farming town in Australia, under a black cloud. His girlfriend was found dead under suspicious circumstances, and all the evidence pointed to him. If it wasn’t for a friend willing to lie for him, he would have ended up in jail. When that same friend’s family is killed in a murder-suicide with all the evidence suggesting that said friend was responsible, he will return to investigate. However, time has not improved the community’s feelings about him, as the people have long memories. Eric Bana stars as  federal police detective Aaron Falk in The Dry, a film based on Jane Harper’s 2017 book of the same name. Having been a fan of Eric Bana for some years, I looked for this this opportunity to watch him play detective. While the story does drag at times, I will say that overall, the quality of the storytelling made the experience worthwhile. Rounding out the cast is Genevieve O'Reilly, a fixture in a Star Wars universe, having been involved in multiple Lucas projects to include Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One as well as her voice role as the character in Star Wars Rebel. While this is a bit off topic, it is worth mentioning that O’Reilly will also return to the Lucas’ universe to reprise her role as Mothma in the upcoming series Andor, set to premiere in 2022.

The story unfolds on two fronts, both featuring Bana’s character prominently. In the storyline set in the present, Falk returns to his hometown for the first time in twenty years following the death of his former best friend Luke, who is implicated in a gruesome murder of his wife and oldest child, sparing his newborn before allegedly taking his own life. Years earlier, Luke provided Falk with an alibi that while was widely disbelieved could not be discredited, following the death of their childhood friend. This decades-old favor is what Luke’s parents use to convince Falk to independently investigate in hopes of clearing Luke of the crime. Speaking of this alibi, the second storyline tells the events leading up to the death of Ellie, Falk’s girlfriend, who was found in the river, a suspected homicide victim. Following the death, Falk and his father received endless harassment from the townspeople, specifically Ellie’s father, who holds Falk responsible.