Jeremy Butler

This may well be the first film that I’ve seen where the police were actively aiding someone seeking revenge for the death of a loved one. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a foreign concept; however, in my experience police participation is usually comes about towards the conclusion of the story. In the case of Zero Tolerance, an officer signs on to help from the very beginning knowing full well how things are going to end. The fresh perspective on the situation was enjoyable; however, it did not fully compensate for how the story unraveled. Peter, a twenty-year veteran police officer is called to the scene of a homicide, a woman found naked and bound in a body of water.
Read More

Dumb it Down turned out to be a bit of an indictment on the state of present hip-hop affairs. A group of experts was brought together, both past and present industry professionals who gave their opinion on how the art form has transformed from a way for a person to express their thoughts to apparently the new tactic in advertising.  As a fan of the genre, there is no denying that the music has changed from what it was originally. Admittedly, I find myself gravitating more towards songs with an actual message behind them rather than the club bangers (as they have come to be called). However, I have my doubts about the way this documentary is going to go over.
Read More

Uncanny is definitely an apt title for this science fiction film: a story that deals with possibly the most realistic artificial intelligence entity ever created, in the realm of this film’s universe that is. The impact of this film will likely be dampened due to the release of a recent realistic science fiction drama that will not be named. In the beginning, the film did not fully capture my attention as I had an idea of how things were going to play out. That said, what I imagine could not have been further from the reality. It is rare that a film catches me off guard, and it is also a pleasant surprise when it does. So in that regard, my hat is off to this film.
Read More

How much can you accomplish in less than ten minutes? In the case of Noel Clarke, you can prevent a global domination plot. OK, to be fair to the rest of civilization, it wasn’t just one ten-minute period, but a series of ten-minute periods. All things being equal, still extremely impressive, no? Noel Clarke is Ryan Dunn, a former soldier who finds that his consciousness is taken over by another, and he only regains control during a system reboot, as it were. In these brief moments of control, he learns of the plot that his operator (as it were) is putting into motion and does what he can to prevent it. However, this brings us back to the original question: how much can one really accomplish in a ten-minute period?
Read More

A scary premise, but overall this quickly becomes a story about one family overcoming obstacles to find one another again. Heartwarming, granted; however, not very fear-inspiring. Earthfall features a global incident, which ultimately could mean the end of days. A meteor storm strikes the Earth, knocking it off its axis. Terrifying, right? Good foundation, but based on what I observed, clearly not the focal point of the story, which says to me that this story clearly did not have its priorities right.
Read More

Secrets abound in this horror more akin to The Omen rather than Carrie as I had originally suspected. I tell you, that life lesson about not judging a book by its cover still rings true. On the horror scale it does not really have that bone-chilling effect, but it holds its own, and the young talent does make an impression. Kennedy Brice plays the titular character, a little girl with an active imagination, or at least that’s what the grown-ups tell themselves as strange incidents keep happening around her.
Read More

“What an interesting girl.”

Four against one, hardly fair odds. Then again, that is how this group prefers it. Little do they know that their latest prey is much more than she appears. Abigail Breslin is every predator’s nightmare in this action thriller about a group of boys who like to lure unwitting girls into the woods to hunt for sport. This film had style, a bit of noir, making it difficult to the determine the time period it is meant to be portraying, but all the same, this was one of my favorites of movies I’ve reviewed this year.
Read More

Fair warning, this comedy is much shorter than I was originally led to believe. The cover of this disc gives the deceitful impression that you audience will be treated to at least three performances and one host; however, as it turns out you must read the fine print, as this disc is merely Part 1. I am usually an advocate of the saying leave the people wanting more; however, that saying only applies when you have sufficiently hooked the audience, which this stand-up special fails to do, making the possibility of engaging in Part 2 very unlikely.
Read More

Closer to the Moon has quite an intriguing premise behind it. Six people pull off a daylight bank car robbery in the highlight of the socialist era, which we all recognize as a time when crime was believed to be a capitalist byproduct. Mark Strong and Vera Farmiga headline the cast as two members of the convicted six who are scheduled for the crime; however, before they stand before the firing squad, they are ordered to star in a real-life film adaptation of their crime to serve as an educational video.
Read More

Two strangers lost at sea. What to do? What to do? Well, in the case of The Surface, the thing to do is be suspicious of one another and stay on opposite ends of the boat. Or at least that is how we begin. As expected when there is nothing to do at sea and you are trapped, the only recourse is communication and to question the choices that brought you to this particular situation. Trust me, there is plenty of reflection in this tale of two strangers thrown together by circumstance and forced to work together to overcome physical obstacles as well as a few emotional ones.
Read More

Good Kill is a term used by drone operators to signify whether ordinance have successfully hit the intended target however the term takes on some much more meaning. Ethan Hawke portrays a former jet pilot now transitioning into a position as a drone operator. Day in and day out, he surveillances areas from thousands of miles away periodically eliminating targets that would look to destroy American lives. However when his section is loaned out to the Central Intelligence Agency, the clear cut targets become less clear cut and both his personal and professional life begin to suffer as he struggles with the morality of what he does.
Read More

Not really sure the title matches the film, but then perhaps there is a hidden significance that I’m not getting. Well, here is a real gritty tale about addiction told within the context of a love story. Animals follows a young couple that appears to be so deeply in love that they are willing to do anything for one another. In fact the only thing that seems to have the capacity to tear them apart is their shared drug addiction. This film really emphasizes the ideal that couples must have a shared interest. Sorry, that was my attempt at humor.
Read More

What is the world coming to when the President is forced to rely on a preteen kid as his only means of protection? Or at least that is what I’d be wondering if I was Samuel L. Jackson in Big Game. In fact, if I was him, I’d probably fire my entire staff after this adventure. Crash-landed in Finland, the President finds himself alone and being hunted with his only ally being a young kid who is undertaking a traditional rite of passage. I have to say, despite the high stakes, the movie managed to keep things somewhat lighthearted, thereby allowing it to appeal to larger audience. Movie watchers are about to see SLJ in a completely different role as the President instead of his usual action-packed roles.
Read More

“Life is a collection of moments. The idea is to have as many good ones as you can.”

Anton Yelchin’s reaction to the discovery of the existence of an actual block of time carved out for illicit affairs is probably one of the most comical moments of the film. To further explain, Yelchin’s character has a chance meeting with a beautiful older woman and after a few more scheduled meetings discovers that she is in fact married. The funny thing is the nonchalant way in which she reacts to the revelation, commenting that she told him that she was only available during the hours of 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Read More

So do depravity and nobility go hand in hand? Well, that is how it seems to be in the Royals, the EW channel’s faux depiction of the English ruling family. The show does not gain any points for characters, as many of them are cliché archetypes: the unsure heir to the throne, the drug-addicted socialite daughter, the self-absorbed and media-obsessed mother, the depraved and jealous brother of the king, and the noble albeit naïve king. As I say none of these character types are new; but their depiction in this series did manage to pique my interest as well as push the boundaries of what is permitted on network cable.
Read More

“You have the skills of a cop, and the constitution of a cold-blooded killer. What better combination can there be.”

There are clearly no heroes in this revenge tale, making it kind of hard to decide who to root for. If anything, it is bad versus slightly less bad. Dean Cain stars as Mason Danvers, a once-honest cop who gets himself locked up on to seek revenge against the criminal who murdered his wife. Revenge, now there is a subject that never gets old; however, in the case of Vendetta it is likely it will get old very fast. I had high hopes, as the premise had my interest, but the overall presentation was a lot less cerebral than I had hoped, coming off more cause-and-effect rather than cat-and-mouse.
Read More