Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on October 18th, 2013
“A successful breakout depends on three things: Layout, Routine, and Outside Help.”
You know, there was a time when the public could only dream of an Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone team-up. Now thanks to a little film called The Expendables, when it comes to the realm of action star team-ups, anything is possible. Case in point: Escape Plan. When this film was first announced, I figure it would be devoid of any real substance and just another attempt to capitalize on the success of Expendables (the first one; the second is not that great) but the film surprisingly holds up on its own without having to cling to anything else.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 17th, 2013
My knowledge of Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal bands can be counted on one hand with a couple fingers to spare. So as you can probably imagine, when this discs found its way to me, my enthusiasm or my confidence in it was not high. So when I say that Black Label Society: Unblackened was not what I expected, it is not an indictment; quite the opposite, in fact. The concert started right as I hit play, I expected to see the band come out, pick up their instruments, and possibly do a little introduction (that came towards the end of the concert) but that was not the case. As soon the banner drops, the group launched into the first song of their set, Losing Your Mind; no muss, no fuss. The song had a catchy and enticing chorus, but other than that, it did not resonate with me, possibly due to the fact that I had trouble understanding what vocalist Zakk Wylde was saying. I don’t attribute this inability to him but rather my ears adjusting to this new experience.
Needless to say, I did not take an immediate liking to the group and their brand of music, but by the third song of the set, Sold My Soul, I had been brought into the fold. There was palpable passion behind the vocals of that song, making it one of the most relatable songs of the set in my opinion. From then on, I was a member of the crowd; if I knew the words I would have been singing along.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 15th, 2013
Me and my big mouth; as you may have guessed it wasn’t destiny that brought me and the first season of Teen Mom together. Reality television is not one of my favorite programs. So by now I imagine that it is pretty obvious that I went into this program with high reservations. But as it turns out, even I wasn’t about to keep them up the entire time. Deciding to think of it as a long-running documentary, I see the importance of a show like this in regards to raising awareness among teenagers considering becoming sexually active, and after watching I am grateful that a show like this exists.
Picking up where its lead-in show, 16 and Pregnant, left off, Teen Mom continues to tell the tale of Amber, Catelynn, Farrah, and Maci now that their kids Leah, Carly, Sophia, and Bentley respectively are now out of their wombs and in their arms; highlighting the struggles that each one must now undertake as they attempt to find balance and incorporate some semblance of their old lives with their new circumstance:
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 10th, 2013
“He apparently had a rough childhood.”
Isn’t that always the excuse? Well, in this film it seems like everyone had a rough childhood, everyone from the killer to his would-be victim to the cop chasing him. Based on the Brian Harper novel of the same name, Shiver is horror film with some intrigue. From the moment that I picked the film up and took a look at the cover, the film had my attention, and it didn’t disappoint; the end was bit much and a little generic, but overall the film lived up to its hype.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 6th, 2013
You know, it’s odd, I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu while watching V/H/S 2. Just kidding, and that feeling is probably due to the fact that I wrote the review for the original V/H/S. In my original review I spoke about the history of the found-footage technique; this time around I think I will address the fine line that must be walked to make a successful sequel. See, the trouble with sequels is that they tend to stray too far away from what attracted people to the original. The key is to maintain enough of original that attracted the first audience, all the while also providing enough difference to bring in a new crowd. Challenging, isn’t it?
Divided into five separate tales this time (there were six in total in the first one), the style was remarkably similar to the first one, which works in its favor; consistency is an important aspect when it comes to doing a sequel. This time around, the film features a whole new crop of directors and only two returnees, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett. The movie does an excellent job of maintaining the format; however, the individuals are little weaker than in the original, investing more time into the gore than in the development of each story. Either there is no buildup whatsoever and the audience is thrown immediately into the thick of things, or there is too much buildup to the point the overall story suffers; there is not really any middle ground.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on October 4th, 2013
"This is your job. You want a safer job, go work at the post office. You want a clear conscience, go start a charity. But if you want your own island and your boss says you gotta go out there and take a beating, you go out there, take it and come back to work and say, 'do you need me to do it again?'"
This may just be me, but any job that requires me to happily take a beating simply isn’t for me, and no matter how much money is on the line. A movie about a bright kid from a broken family, down on his luck getting taken in by a charismatic wheeling-dealing/sociopathic businessman, and before long finding himself in over his head, sound familiar? I’m sure it does, but what I have come to learn in recent years is just because it has been done does not mean that it still can’t be entertaining.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 3rd, 2013
“What makes a song beautiful is not always the quality of the voice but the distance that voice has had to travel.”
Well said, Mrs. Redgrave, well said. I should broach this subject early; I am not a fan of musicals or musically-themed films. That said, Unfinished Song is much more than a musical; it is a tale of an emotionally crippled man who has only formed one meaningful connection and about what you do when you lose that connection: do you lie down and die, or do you find a median to that will allow you to form new connections? As stated above, it is about distance rather than quality; however, in my opinion Unfinished Song accomplishes both.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on September 29th, 2013
“There are only a few things I really care about in life: My body, my pad, my ride, my family, my church, my boys, my girls, and my porn.”
I have to say, I didn’t see that last one coming the first time I saw the trailer. Another thing I didn’t see coming when I first heard about the film, that it was the feature film directorial debut for actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Quite the illustrious career Gordon-Levitt has had; I knew he had been around the block as far as acting goes, but I had no idea of his list of accomplishments until after I consulted IMDB; the man has over sixty acting credits to his name and has been part of some of the biggest and innovative films in recent years. So it would seem that the only viable question about him taking on the responsibility of the director’s chair is, why didn’t he do it sooner? I suppose the correct answer to that question would be he was waiting for the perfect script to make his debut. Well you know the old adage, if you want something done….
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 25th, 2013
I am not a huge fan of documentaries, but I am coming around. Something about their format always reminded me of the educational films I would have to watch in school, and considering I spent most of my time trying to escape school, I suppose I was never willing to give proper documentaries the attention that they deserve. However I am much older (and mildly wiser) now, and I was able to give Dark Girls my full and undivided attention, and it proved to be worth every second of it.
Colorism: Prejudice or discrimination based on the relative lightness or darkness of the skin; generally a phenomenon occurring within one’s own ethnic group.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 18th, 2013
“You must leave this house before it’s too late. Leave now; I won’t be able to help you later.”
First of all, call me superstitious or paranoid, but when someone gives you that kind of warning about a place, it’s probably best to heed that warning. After watching The Haunting of Helena I am seriously reconsidering whether or not I’m going to let my kids believe in the Tooth Fairy. I’m not one who scares easily, but the tense atmosphere around this story makes for a truly haunting film (no pun intended).
