Posts by Jeremy Butler

This was one of the best documentaries that I have seen in a long time. Very engaging, and it covers subject matter that everyone already has an opinion on: infidelity. Of course you can tell from the appropriately coined title that it focuses on the idea of individuals in a committed relationship who seek additional gratification outside their relationship. This documentary does a good job of addressing all expects of this topic including how media outlets such as poplar television series and reality portray the stigma. Broken down into multiple sections, we are even treated to hearing from celebrities as well as the public about their opinions of having or being a side piece. It was a truly illuminating experience.

One the key aspects I enjoyed about this documentary was that when illustrating the role extramarital affairs play in our everyday television watching, they point out a prime of example of a side piece in one of the most watched television series of this generation: Scandal. For those not in the know (though I doubt there are many not in the know) Scandal is a popular series starring Kerry Washington who, and I hope I’m not spoiling this for anyone, is the mistress of the President of the United States. This is the best example of this story topic possible; honestly, I’m a little stunned at the fact that I didn’t register this until they pointed it out. Scandal is an example of this stigma of knowing that the person you’re with is committed to another, and instead of doing the right thing and dumping this person, you engage in an affair, and the crazy thing about the show is we tune in every week to cheer for the person who is essentially a mistress. Now before I receive a ton of negative comments about this, let me be clear, this is not an indictment at all, simply a statement of fact, and the documentary does cover both sides of the issue.

Now this was an interesting one for me. Usually when I watch a movie I like to look for uniqueness, what sets it apart from the thousands of films (I’m pretty sure that’s accurate) I have seen in my lifetime. In the case of As Night Comes, I didn’t particularly find it unique, but there was something that I just liked about it. Given the choice, there are aspects I would change to provide a more engaging experience; however, as is, the story is still worth a watch. Well, to start off, I kind of got the wrong impression of the film; I was expecting a fantasy drama, possibly a film about vampires. Not the film’s fault, so I accept the blame on that score; however, if you watch it, I’m pretty sure you would likely get the same vibe I did. What led me to that impression was the antagonist Ricky; he is not a very big guy, but he is treated in a fashion that displays that he is feared by quite a few. The reason for that is explained a bit later, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I was not fond of the way the film opened; we are just dropped right in the middle of a conflict between Ricky and a secondary character (who serves no real purpose; the film would have likely been the same without him). It would have been helpful to start off with a different scenario, somewhere I could identify the characters and their overall roles in the story, because it is difficult to do that from this opening. At this point, it is not even possible to truly determine that Ricky is the antagonist; I mean, yes, it is clear from the secondary character that Ricky and his friends’ presence is not welcome, but the only real conclusion you can draw from that is that this group are outsiders. Possibly a less confrontational opening would have made things slightly easier.

To talk about the acting aspect, the actor chosen wouldn’t have been my first choice. It’s not that he did a bad job; he had a slight presence to him; however, his look just didn’t fit the character he was portraying, especially during the opening. I did warm to the character as the film progressed, and I began to see his talent, especially during the climax of the film between Ricky and Sean. To touch on the character of Sean, the actor does an adequate job of illustrating how misguided his character is and being torn between his affiliation with the group that essentially saved him and his mother (if you want to know how, you’re going to have to watch the movie, I’m afraid) and the call of fitting into the social hierarchy that is high school. When it comes to the acting, these are the only two characters worth mentioning, as everyone else is clearly secondary and truth be told one-dimensional. The dynamic between Sean and Ricky is the best part of the acting aspect; Sean attempts to act as the group’s moral conscience during their escapades of petty crime and vandalism; however, he is very timid and lacks the assertive personality needed to be effective in that position. Later on we learn the reason for his personality, but for now you’ll just have to take my word for it.

I’m going to go on record and say that it is highly likely that I do not fit into the target audience for this film. OK, now that we got that out of the way, I feel perfectly comfortable stating that I don’t believe that even the target audience will really enjoy American Bad Boy. I just knew that when Magic Mike was released that we broke the dam; now everywhere I turn there is a movie about male strippers. Now, I’m not a prude, but when it comes to this movie, it is nothing more than a shiny penny; the target audience is expected to be dazzled by the muscular bodies rather than the story itself or lack thereof.

OK, we start with a decent guy, down on this luck. He aspires to earn a record deal with his music and share his voice with the world. Problem is he is indebted to a shady club owner (Katt Williams) who makes him dance at his club to pay off his obscene debt.OK, let’s take a moment right here. A guy working at strip club dreaming of something better, does that sound vaguely familiar to anyone? Oh, come on, I haven’t even seen the movie and it sounds familiar. Pressing on, not only is this guy leading a double life, in his everyday life he is the son of a pastor who, if he discovered what his son did with his nights, would likely bring down a bit of fire and brimstone himself.

“Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?”

There are some television series that just have a catchy theme song; COPS is one of those shows. I don’t know what it is, but every time I hear mention of the show, I automatically hear the theme song in my head. I know I can’t be alone in that category; come on, show of hands, how many people hear the theme song in their head or feel compelled to sing it out loud at the mere mention of the show? Yes, yes, I am aware I can’t see any of you; just a bit of fun. So my latest title, COPS Wildest Chases by definition is supposed to deliver the wildest, craziest, most insane chases of one the longest running reality television series in history. On that score, I must admit my disappointment, as the chases that I witnessed in no way lived up to that hype.

So going in I was anticipating a bunch of wild car chases on freeways and interstates culminating in carnage from vehicle wipeouts; what I got was mainly foot chases that in truth didn’t last long. I am aware of the dangerous precedent set by assuming; however, when something is titled Wildest Chases, it should be safe to assume that you can expect at the very least a couple of death-defying stunts, right? I suppose on the one hand this can allow certain people to sleep well at night, because these chases illustrate how good law enforcement is at catching their perpetrators, or how unskillful your usual  perpetrators are at getting away (either should provide some level of comfort).

This movie is not on my rewatch list for a number of reasons; however, it all stems from one central reason: the delivery. On the surface, I buy the premise for this movie; a girl attracts an evil spirit and starts to feel like she losing her mind. Her parents don’t believe her, her siblings don’t either, or her friends. The film even provided backstory hint alluding to the reason why the parents are overprotective due to a previous stalker situation that the family still hasn’t gotten over. Nicely done on that score; however, a lot of the allure is lost simply because of the way the information is provided.

At first blush, I took this to be a suspense-themed film; trouble is the story does a poor job at building suspense. First thing I would have change is the score; to truly build suspense you need an eerie score that sets the mood for the audience. Now, I understand that money is a factor, but you have to pay for quality to achieve your goal.

How do you create world peace? Well, according to Bordering on Bad Behavior, you take representatives from three countries and lock them in a room together for six hours with unlimited booze and marijuana. I recognize half of you who see this as a ridiculous idea; however, I know that there are plenty of you who have likely considered this as an option (maybe not the booze and weed part, but the isolation for sure). Well, if you want to know if the idea has any real traction as an option, this movie is your opportunity to see, because despite being crude and possibly offensive in some areas, it speaks some real truth.

So here’s how it starts: Bob (Tom Sizemore) is a member of a United States Army unit posted at a top secret communication outpost in Israel. After years of service, he is disillusioned by the experience, although he does maintain his strong patriotism and love for country. Now a mere 24 hours away from completing his assignment and returning to his unit, he simply plans to kick back and get drunk. Enter Ari, a newly assigned member of the Israeli Special Forces now working at the communication outpost. From the very second they meet, the two are instantly antagonistic to one another. For Ari, Bob represents all the traits he despises about the opposing country; laziness, involving himself in the matters that don’t concern them, and arrogance. For Bob, Ari has a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.

I will be the first to admit that I never watched a horse race prior this film. Just never interested me; however, it did not take long to see that 50 to 1 is more of a story about unwavering friendship; friendship between two men who had a chance encounter years before becoming a team and a friendship between a trainer and a horse that everyone has all but given up on. As cheesy as that may sound in theory, it was actually a very warm concept, and the production team manages to unfold the story in a way that makes it easy to watch.

Ten years ago, Chip Woolley (Skeet Ulrich) saved Mark Allen (Christian Kane) during a barroom altercation. Despite not knowing each other, Woolley made a spur of the minute decision to aid Allen in the fight. After the fight, the two bond briefly over their shared life in the horse race circuit before departing with Allen proclaiming that he owed Woolley one.