Posts by Jeremy Butler

Well, would you look at that: the sidekicks from previous popular primetime series after each of their shows have ended, banded together to form their own television series. Though it is not uncommon for the supporting cast of a TV show to try to break out on their own either right before or right after their former show receives the axe, it is rare that said show makes it through its first season, let alone gets renewed for a second season; the exception being Men At Work (not to be confused with the film by the same name starring the Sheen family, with which it shares no relation as far as I can tell).

Leading the show is Danny Masterson (That 70’s Show) as Milo Foster, a guy down in the dumps after the recent breakup with his girlfriend of five years, Lisa (Amy Smart, Shameless). His best friends and coworkers Tyler (Michael Cassidy, THE O.C.), Neal (Adam Busch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Gibbs (James Lesure, Las Vegas) take it upon themselves to help him get over the breakup by any means necessary. Ladies’ Men Tyler and Gibbs subscribe to the philosophy that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. Neal, who has been shacking up with Amy (Meredith Hagner, Royal Pains), the boss’s daughter, for the last two years, believes that Milo needs to go at his own pace until he’s ready, a belief that is openly mocked by the others including Milo.

I remember the exact moment I learned about this film. I was at the movies; it was the first trailer on the film, and I immediately felt my intrigue build. The trailer didn’t give much away; at the time it felt like a disassembled puzzle joined together by multiple voiceovers, and then the question that tied it altogether was asked: “When was the last time you saw Bin Laden?” After that everything became clear, and I had my first inkling of how important this film was going to be. Once I learned that Kathryn Bigelow would be in the driver seat, I was certain of the film’s importance.

The film starts off with a solid opening, possibly the most fitting opening for the film: black screen and a 911 transmission from a woman trapped inside the World Trade Center on September 11^th shortly after the plane crashed into the building. Cut to 2003; we are introduced to Dan (Jason Clarke, Lawless), a veteran C.I.A. interrogator and Maya (Jessica Chastain, Lawless), a newly assigned rookie agent. At a C.I.A. black site (a C.I.A. controlled holding facility for the detainment of enemy combatants), the two interrogate a low-level Al-Qaeda operative for information that will ultimately help bring them closer to their primary target, Osama Bin Laden.

I believe a title change is in order for this movie. For starters, it’s generic and has no appeal; a title should grab you, entice you, and intrigue you. 24 Hour Love does none of that; I understand the title, supposedly time-lining and emphasizing how a single day can alter or destroy the love that exists between two individuals, but after watching the movie, the premise and the title appear to be contradictory. Better titles would have been Love Trials, Unconditional, or my favorite, Commitment. 

The film is broken up into multiple storylines; a few of them reference characters from other stories hinting at the happenings in each of the arcs are occurring simultaneously (that can also be determined by the film’s built-in sequence timeline) but they are otherwise unconnected from one another. The first story entitled “Eternal Love,” covers the topic of jealousy; a husband struggles with his feelings about the relationship between his wife and one of her coworkers. The second story, “Tough Love”, deals with a couple (Flex Alexander and  Tatyiana Ali) who mix business and with pleasure and all the repercussions that come along with it. “Crazy Love,” the most compelling story of the collective, deals with a woman (Lynn Whitfield) who had been taken advantage of by someone she trusted and her confronting him about it. The other storylines featured themes of unplanned pregnancy, financial strains, infidelity, as well as friend betrayal.

“Don’t let other cars distract you. Take control of your car. Focus on your own lane. 8000rpm, 2km/h. Give it all you got. Steer now. Thinking will only slow you down…If you lose your drive; you are worse off than a broken car.”

Of course none of that quote is spoken in a lick of English in the film. Thank goodness for subtitles; they allow us to enjoy a film despite not knowing the film’s original language, and Motorway is precisely that: an enjoyment. It doesn’t have the same exact flare of the Fast & Furious series (not including 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift), but it’s original unto itself.

How long does it take for an affair to cross over from casual fling to a full-blown commitment? Well according to Oscilloscope Laboratories, about 28 Hotel Rooms. Chris Messina and Marin Ireland pair up to tell an engaging tale of two strangers who begin a long-standing relationship that spans cities, states, and possibly countries; the locations are bit harder to determine given that whenever we see the pair, they are never outside of a hotel. Another interesting factoid is that throughout the entire runtime of the film, neither one of the lead character’s names are mentioned.

Messina plays a novelist on tour for his latest book, Ireland is an accountant flown out to audit one of her company’s branch offices. The two have a chance meeting. She’s married and he has a girlfriend. Despite this, the two engage in a one night stand with the belief that they will never see each other again afterwards (yeah, because that’s likely).

Never underestimate the power of the internet and the sociopathic tendency of college kids; the truest statement I can make about horror flick Smiley. Only college kids would hear a story about a would-be killer who could be summoned by repeating a certain phrase three times (I will not say the phrase simply due to that fact that I am a bit superstitious). Now, what if you knew that cost of summoning this murder was that the person you directed the phrase to would be killed; would you summon him? Well, I’m sure you already know the answer to the question.

Ashley is just striking out on her own: starting college, moving into her own place, and summoning a ruthless killer to murder a unwitting stranger (I’m getting ahead of myself, I’ll get to that). There’s an urban legend about a killer known as Smiley; it is said that if two people are web-chatting on the internet and one of them types the summoning phrase (still not going to say it) three times, Smiley will appear behind the other person and kill them. News of this legend spreads like wildfire. While at a party one night, Ashley witnesses the phenomenon firsthand as a group of partygoers intentionally summon the legendary killer. Brushing the entire thing off as a gag, Ashley tries to move on, but the suspicion that the legend could be true nags at her. Finally at the insistence of her roommate, she resolves to find out the truth for herself; bad idea.