Posts by Jeremy Butler

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.