Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 16th, 2021
A whodunnit with teeth … that is a most apt description, and for me, that made the film all the more entertaining. I mean, who doesn’t love a good whodunit? And when that whodunit comes with a supernatural twist … even better. In the case of Werewolves Within, that supernatural twist in kind of on the nose. One of the characters actually gives a great explanation regarding the existence of werewolves being more likely than a particular type of person. I wish I could use the exact phrasing, but I fear that would ruin the whodunit element of the film for you. Sam Richardson leads the cast in this quirky yet intriguing comedy horror. Richardson is someone who has been showing up more and more on my radar in recent years. Each time he does, he feels a bit typecast in the role of a socially awkward individual
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 16th, 2021
Be honest; who hears the theme music when anyone even mentions The Addams Family? I know I do, and then I have to resist the urge to do the finger snaps. Just in time for the release of the animated version comes the double release of The Addams Family and its sequel, The Addams Family: Family Values, featuring Raul Julia and Angelica Huston as Gomez and Morticia Gomez, and let’s not forget Christopher Lloyd and Christina Ricci as Fester and Wednesday Gomez respectively. Based on the wildly popular cartoons that appeared in the New Yorker that went on to find success as television series, the The Addamses are a satirical inversion of the ideal 20th-century American family.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on November 25th, 2021
Good story, unique characters, and original music. I’d say that Disney delivers on its 60th animated movie. In recent years, Disney has taken us all over the map as they introduced characters (formerly known as Disney princesses) from all different walks of life. From a Norwegian-inspired kingdom (Arendelle) to the Polynesian island (Motunui), this time taking us to the mountains of Colombia. That has always been something that I appreciated about Disney’s film: their wide-reaching landscape. It’s like the cinematic version of Epcot. Another thing I’m grateful about this film is the fact that I was about to make it a family affair, as my wife and daughter joined me for this experience. It’s been a while since we’ve had a film where we could seek the Nalyce stamp of approval, and now we finally have a candidate. Bottom line up front: it did get her stamp of approval, as well as mine.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 25th, 2021
When we got aboard the Snowpiercer, it would seem like a new world order was going to be happening. Well, that still holds true for Season 2, but not quite the way we were initially imagining. Did you see what I did there, “got aboard,” because it’s a train. OK, OK; that’s my one joke. Last we saw Daveed Diggs’ Layton, he’d finally managed to seize control of the train carrying the last of humanity following an apocalyptic freezing of the planet. His reign is extremely short-lived, however, as he is almost immediately threatened by the return of Mr. Wilford (Sean Bean) and Melanie’s thought-dead daughter, Alexandra (Rowan Blanchard). I can tell you that after this cliffhanger of a season last season, I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation for the next season. And this season doesn’t disappoint, as the power struggle for the train is continued with a new adversaries, as old adversaries become new allies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 25th, 2021
This was actually the first movie I ever saw on a date. Nearly twenty years ago. The most interesting thing being that I can tell all sorts of things about that experience, but for the life of me, I can’t tell you a thing about the movie. Prior to re-watching it, that is, and having done so, I now understand why it faded from memory, because it isn’t a movie that really makes a lasting impression. This is surprising given that the film is credited as the first photorealistic computer animated film, as well the most expensive video-game inspired film up until 2010. The thing is, it’s a film that if you ask me, never really should have been. The story is not compelling, and it does not accurately depict the source material by which it was inspired. They share the same name, but none of the characters or the plot of the film originated from the video game franchise. Talk about a bait and switch.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on November 20th, 2021
“Venus Williams is going to be the number 1 tennis player in the world. Absolutely. But you are going to be greatest of all time.”
He was a man with a plan. A 78-page plan, if you want to be exact. We’ve heard the story of Venus and Serena Williams, two sisters from Compton who went on to become two of the greatest tennis stars in the world. Now we will learn the story of the man behind the two tennis legends. Their father, Richard Williams, or as the title says, King Richard. But who could we trust to properly represent the story, and more importantly, who could embody the man? A man who is rapidly becoming a legend in his own domain. In fact, his name and legacy were recently solidified on a soundstage at the Tyler Perry Studio in Atlanta: Will Smith. Now, Will Smith is not a character to be disregarded.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 20th, 2021
I will say this for DC animated movies, they sure do pack a lot of story in their limited runtime. This film is only an hour, and somehow it felt like two and half hours of storytelling were comfortably fitted into that time. I know stories that don’t accomplish half as much with double the time. That is an accomplishment in itself. This re-release brings back the 2011 animated film based on the four-issue story arc of the same name. It’s a bit of a origin story, encompassing Batman’s first year operating as the Dark Knight at the height of corruption in Gotham. It is also a bit of a origin story for Batman’s nemesis turned ally, James Gordon, who wages his own war against the corruption in the police department. I remember watching this a few years ago, and it didn’t really hold my attention. However, on this outing, I was thoroughly engaged and entranced by the story. That just goes to show you that first impressions can change.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 20th, 2021
When it comes to dystopian-type films, it is very difficult to break ground. In the span of cinematic history, we have seemed some good ones (Mad Max, Snowpiercer), and we seen some bad ones (Chaos Walking, Battlefield Earth). Unfortunately, I would have to rate The Colony (a.k.a. Tides) in the latter group rather than the former. Simply put, there just wasn’t anything about the film that resonated with me. Many of the plot themes felt recycled and predictable. The story follows an astronaut returning to Earth to determine whether it is habitable following years of climate change, pandemics, and war that have decimated the planet. Upon arrival, she immediately finds herself captured by those left behind on the planet. So apparently the planet was not that inhabitable to begin with. Around this time the film started to give me The 100 vibes
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 9th, 2021
"You're going on a journey. A journey through memory. Your destination? A place and time you've been before. To reach it, all you have to do is follow my voice."
So, an interesting factoid that I learned about the film’s director Lisa Joy: she is the sister-in-law of director Christopher Nolan. This doesn’t really add anything to the review, just an interesting fact that I thought I’d share. Then again, I do remember thinking when the film first opened up that it felt very shades-of-Nolan. Not to say that Nolan had any influence over the film, but just the idea of a movie based off a construct is very much in his wheelhouse. Memory is the construct that is explored in this film, and I must admit that the addictive nature with which the film portrays this construct did have some appeal;
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 5th, 2021
Well, this is an interesting plot twist. From antagonist to protagonist. When we last saw Gulf War veteran Norman Nordstrom, he was recovering in the hospital from a gunshot wound, having just spent the previous night protecting his home against intruders. Before you start painting him with a hero brush, it's worth mentioning that Norman isn’t exactly squeaky clean, given that he was holding a woman hostage after artificially inseminating her to provide with a child to replace the one that said woman accidently killed. It’s also worth mentioning that he also attempted to impregnate one of the home invaders following the inadvertent death of the woman carrying his child. The first Don’t Breathe was an interesting and unique horror thriller film that premiered at South by Southwest festival back in 2016 before going on to become a theatrical commercial success.
