Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 30th, 2014
Aw, another tale of biochemical-induced zombies on the verge of causing an apocalypse; it’s good to see that the film industry’s recycle mill is still in working order. This time around the focus is seventy years after the battle of Stalingrad. (Well, at least the focus isn’t on Nazis this time; I guess we can consider that a small victory.) An outbreak of a nerve gas contagion has resulted in the creation of mutated men best characterized as zombies. By now you can probably assess that going into this film, my expectation for the success of the film were not that high, and now that the credits have rolled, I can say nothing has changed.
During World War II, Stalin, much like Hitler, was obsessed with the idea of creating a superior soldier. He believed that the way to achieve this goal was through the process of biochemistry. He authorized experiments to create a nerve gas. This gas had unexpected side effects; the soldiers exposed to the gas became mutated, their minds distorted; they became volatile unstoppable killing machines that went after anything and everyone. During the battle of Stalingrad, the nerve gas went missing and was believed destroyed.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on January 16th, 2014
“You’re not just an analyst anymore. You’re operational now.”
Witness the birth of-- actually make that rebirth of --one of the most popular action heroes in literature. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has been a character of many jobs and many faces over the years. Baldwin, Ford, and Affleck have all stepped into the role of the man who has been a soldier, analyst, an operative, and a president. Now Chris Pine looks to fill the shoes left behind by some of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters and try his hand at a retelling of the legendary character which also stars Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley, along with Kenneth Branagh who doubles as the film’s director. There are two clear differences between Pine’s circumstance and the others who have played Ryan: the story has been modernized to fit today’s setting, and Pine’s story is the only one not to be based off a popular Clancy novel.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 16th, 2014
It’s been an immeasurable amount of time since I’ve come across a standup comedy routine that I have enjoyed wholeheartedly. I mean the type of comedy that makes you laugh so hard that the muscles of your stomach begin to ache due to the constant laughter. There are few comedians that have elicited that type of response from me, years since I’ve felt the sensation. Despite the lapse of time I remain optimistic, continuing to remain hopeful that the feeling will return with a new comedian. So it was with that attitude that I endured Kathleen Madigan: Again. Let’s just say that my wait for that sensation to return, continues.
Kathleen Madigan is by no means a new comedian; though before this disc crossed my desk I had never heard the name, I was aware of that fact from the very beginning. There was a set rhythm to her routine that can only come from experience. Despite her experience, her set still left me hungry. She clearly has perfected her craft, and the audience, which I suspect was filled with loyal fans of hers that have been watching her for years, appeared to enjoy her spiel; I was not among those who laughed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 13th, 2014
“Getting what you want comes with a price.”
Much has changed in the world of Being Human this season. However, let’s recap for a moment just to make sure everyone is on the same page. Sally (Meaghan Rath), after shredding her own spirit to get to limbo so she can rescue Scottie and Nick, has bitten off more than she can chew as she finds herself stranded in limbo with the very people she sent to limbo. Aidan (Sam Witwer), after losing his lover Suren and his failed attempt to assassinate her murderer, the vampire matriarch known as “Mother”, is buried alive for his transgression. As for Josh (Sam Huntington), after deciding to kill his maker Ray before the full moon in order to free him and Nora (Kristen Hager) from the curse inflicted on the both of them, finds himself in a standoff that includes Ray, Nora, and himself.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on January 10th, 2014
“There is a storm inside of us. I’ve heard many team guys speak of this. A burning. A river. A drive. An unrelenting desire to push yourself harder and further than anyone could think possible.”
To understand the significance of this movie, I feel that it is important to give a little background about the true events that this movie covers. Now there is no doubt in mind that every American has heard something or other about 19 brave souls lost and the one survivor. (Of course I am ashamed to admit that the first time I heard anything about this was with the announcement of Lt. Murphy being award the Medal of Honor, sometime after the event of things). During 2005, the United States Navy took part in covert mission codenamed Operation Red Wings. Red Wings was a mission to travel behind enemy lines into Kunar Province and eliminate a Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah. A four-man team was chosen to carry out this mission: Lt. Michael Murphy, SO2 Marcus Luttrell, SO2 Curtis Axelson, and SO2 Danny Dietz. Of the original four men sent to carry out this mission, Luttrell was the only one to return; this is the story of what happened.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 10th, 2014
“Put it this way-- Mikey was the best officer I ever knew; An iron-souled warrior of colossal and almost unbelievable courage in the face of the enemy.”
That is a direct quote from the novel Lone Survivor and redelivered from the lips of the former president of the United States of America, George Bush. Lt. Michael P. Murphy: that is a name that has been heard more and more with the passing weeks. Surely by now we all have a moderate idea (though I hope it is more than moderate) of the man behind the name. If not, allow me the privilege of enlightening you a bit. Lt. Murphy was the leader of the four man Seal team that took part in Operation Red Wings; he is most notable for sacrificing himself to protect his men of which there was only one survivor, Marcus Luttrell, author of the book Lone Survivor; a book which has recently become a blockbuster movie.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 1st, 2014
“Insanity, it’s a disease that spreads through the mind. Generating twisted and deranged thoughts inside the human brain, making us do awful horrendous acts, much farther beyond the normal sphere of the imagination.”
A collection of ghost stories set in a sanitarium suitable for a Halloween horror screening told in a Tales from the Crypt style. Terrence Stamp acts as narrator for three tales of people driven mad and committing horrific acts. Stamp is the head doctor at sanitarium and introduces us to three guests of his facility, informing us of how they came to become guests. The scream factor on the tales isn’t that high, and the atmosphere for each of the stories is a bit on the tense side, but as a whole the collection has value. John Glover, Lacey Chabert, and Lou Diamond Phillips star in each of the tales, but it actually Terrence Stamp’s intro that sets the stage for each story.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 30th, 2013
It’s always difficult to watch a stand-up from a guy you know nothing about. No matter how hard you try, you will always have preconceived notions about the guy based solely on what he chooses to title his stand-up. I’ve said it once and I will say it again, titles play a big part in whether or not a person is going to take a chance on something they know nothing about. It is what makes the first impression of a perspective audience, and it is the deciding factor on whether a person picks up and buys or picks up and puts back on the DVD rack. With a title like My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Mike Birbiglia gave himself a nice advantage; however this stand-up is a good example of how looks can be deceiving.
Not a very captivating stand-up, if I’m being honest; Birbiglia does project this image of being a regular joe, your basic everyman. In fact for the first part of his set, I spent my time racking my brain to trying to recall where else I have seen him. However despite my original belief that I recognized the comedian, after an extensive check of his IMDB filmography I can say with confidence that I had never encountered him before this disc. That said, this is not a stand-up that stayed with me even as I watched. The topics are relatable, with Birbiglia tackling a subject that anyone could easily relate to, love. The trouble is in the delivery; there is no attention-grabber. This is simply a biography about a man who appeared to have no luck when it came to dating.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 9th, 2013
“WARNING: The following program contains scenes of graphic stupidity among four friends who compete to embarrass each other…”
Pranking…the bedrock of any friendship; I don’t know about you, but I don’t really consider myself friends with anyone until one of us pulls a prank on the other one. Don’t misunderstand, I in no way condone harmful pranks (unless they’re funny, just joking) but there is absolutely nothing wrong with a little good-natured ribbing between close friends. After all, if your friends can’t embarrass you, who can?
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on November 22nd, 2013
What would you do if you found out that you fathered 533 kids? Better yet, how would you handle that news on top of the news that the children you fathered are petitioning the courts to have your identity revealed? Well, that is the dilemma that Vince Vaughn is faced with in his new comedy Delivery Man. As you can figure out from the funny premise, this is a comedy, but it is not just hapless jokes without any real substance; Delivery Man actually has another side to it, a side that tugs on the heartstrings a bit.
A remake of the French-Canadian film “Starbuck,” (it is also worth mentioning that both films, original and remake share the same creator, Ken Scott) Delivery Man tells the story of David Wozniak, a truck driver for his family’s butcher shop who has big plans for his life that never quite pan out. Perhaps that is too kind a way of putting it. A better way would be to say that David has been a bit of a disappointment to his girlfriend Emily (Cobie Smulders, How I Met Your Mother) who has just informed him that she’s pregnant, his father who would most likely fire him if he wasn’t related to him, and to the family business. Not only that, he owes an immense amount of money to some unsavory characters with a penchant for drowning people who don’t pay their debts.
