Posts by Jeremy Butler

I have a new opinion, newly formed, that Tyler Labine is underrated, because it goes without question that his performance was the crown jewel of Mountain Men, a story about two estranged brothers who find themselves without a vehicle, trapped in the winter wilderness, and must trek their way back to civilization. This movie features some of the quips and brotherly banter that I’ve seen all year. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that the two look nothing alike, I would be inclined to be believe that they were actually related.

You think your home life is screwed up? I can almost promise you that the Gallagher family has you beat in spades. If not, perhaps watching them will help you feel better about your situation. Fiona, Lip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, Liam, and of course Frank are back with Season Six of Shameless, and it’s like they never left. That is the good thing about the series; it always feels like you can pick up right where you left off despite the several-month hiatus. This year is filled plenty of the same antics you are used to seeing by one of my favorite dysfunctional families, including illegal marriages, teenage pregnancy, and criminal mischief. After indulging in Season Six, the only thing you can say is in the words of Steve Howey, “F$8#ing Gallaghers.”

Charlie “Charlie Mac” McIntyre (Terrence “Terrence J” Jenkins) is a modern lothario (not much call for that world nowadays) with a seamless ability to remain romantically unattached to the many women that he meets and sleeps with. Now before you begin to hate him, let me clarify that he is not callous, and he does have scruples. He does not date anyone that shares a connection to any of his circle of friends in order to preserve their friendship. Despite him respecting that relationship, his friends wish for him to reform his ways and settle down, something he has no intention of ever doing. Believing his actions are emotionally unhealthy, his two best friends Rick and Victor (Donald Faison and Robert Christopher) take it upon themselves to propose a bet: he must commit to one person until Victor‘s wedding, in order to prove that a prolonged period of time with one woman will not fundamentally change his perspective on relationships.  Charlie accepts.

I fear our acceptance of A Haunted House has opened a door that we may never be able to close, as it would cause the disaster that is Meet the Blacks to be born. Parody films have the potential to be extraordinarily funny or incredibly bad. Can you guess what side of the scale this film falls on? Whether it be through overacting or jokes that attempted to play on every stereotype known to man, Meet the Blacks never really manages to get off the ground and make me laugh, which is equally disappointing given the sheer talent pool of comedians in the film: Mike Epps, Charlie Murphy, DeRay Davis, Lavell Crawford, Michael Blackson, Lil Duval, Paul Mooney, and the list goes on. As I said, this was a clear waste of talent.

For a film called Joseph and Mary, the titular characters are little more than a footnote in the overall film in my opinion. Jesus has an even smaller role, which is a notable first for film when it comes to films that reference the character. I give it points for it focusing on less notable people rather than the big three. However, that said, execution of the project was a failure to launch due to predictable storyline and lackluster performances.

“I’m too young and too pretty to die in the f*&$ing woods.”

Those sound like famous last words if I ever heard them. The Levenger Tapes is without a doubt one of the more intriguing thriller films that I have seen this season, featuring not only a found-footage technique but a subplot involving the authorities investigating a kidnapping case simultaneously. The thing that ties it all the together, the discovered footage, is the only tangible link to solving the other crime.

I laughed more than I expected to. That best summarizes my experience with Casual Encounters, a modern day depiction of what the dating world has essentially become these days. Trust me, I have witnessed it firsthand, and the days of positive connection are nearly gone. Tragic but true; however, there remains hope that people can find true love in some of the most low-tech ways, which is another good addition to the B movie.