Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on July 6th, 2014
by Normandy D. Piccolo
In 2011, four men, Larry Black (big cat expert), Ben Black (cinematographer/Larry’s brother), Budi (a local) and Adi (a government tracker) ventured into the jungles of West Java, Indonesia in the hopes of finding and filming a documentary about the endangered Javan leopard. Unfortunately they crossed paths with something deadlier, and it was all caught on film. The Jungle, a documentary/found footage film, was written/directed/produced by Andrew Traucki.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 3rd, 2014
"We have some interesting times ahead of us."
This is really the tale of two cities; no, not those cities. But like the Dickens character, we are dealing with two different countries, and while neither is going through a revolution, they are two very real and disparate places indeed. Juarez is in Mexico (the state they named those annoying little yip-yip dogs after). Here there is poverty and crime on levels that would make most Americans shudder. There is corruption that runs through every aspect of government.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 3rd, 2014
After the number of horror films I’ve seen, the prospect of going on a road trip and taking a back road seems like just about the worst idea anyone could ever have. Whether it’s in the mountains where you have to fear backwoods cannibals (Wrong Turn) or it’s the open desert highway and fearing maniacs in semi-trucks (Joy Ride), really, is anywhere safe to travel? Even the quaint little roadside motel is a place to fear, and I don’t mean the bedbugs either.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 3rd, 2014
“He's old! How he gonna relate to me?!”
For a good portion of his latest stand-up special, Sinbad playfully berates a 15-year-old audience member named Cory. It's mostly standard-issue, old man, “back in my day” ribbing. But the most incisive observation comes when Sinbad points out that Cory would probably much rather be in the audience for a Kevin Hart show. The feeling that Sinbad is no longer the hot comic of the moment — and hasn't been for a while — informs much of this inoffensive, baby boomer-friendly set.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 30th, 2014
Jim was a Chicago cop who had a disagreement with his boss. That little disagreement was his boss shooting him in the butt for sleeping with his wife. Jim Longworth (Passmore) made out okay. He got a huge settlement and a fresh start in a warm climate. Oh, and you and I got ourselves another one of those smart-aleck detective shows. Not a bad deal, when all is said and done. Much of this used to be covered in an opening credit monologue which has since disappeared. I guess they figure you should know all of this already.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 30th, 2014
"Lucky Bastard was a pornographic website that invited fans to have sex with porn stars. The following footage is believed to be the last video shot for the site."
You know exactly what that kind of an intro means. You should. The found-footage genre has been around even long before it was turned into a modern trend by The Blair Witch Project. Since that time the genre has appeared in both large- and small-budget films. The shaky footage usually covers a variety of sins by the filmmakers. Rarely does the genre have anything clever or new to dispense. That's not exactly true with Lucky Bastards.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 30th, 2014
It's a sad state of affairs. The road that Blood Ties has taken to get to this Blu-ray release is far more interesting than the film itself. It all starts with a French film Les liens du sang that was itself a reflection on the American cop drams genre. One of the original French screenwriters collaborated to bring the idea full circle to become an American cop drama. The film made the film festival circuit with mixed reviews and results. For some reason Director Guilaume Canet decided to go back to the editing room and remove nearly a half hour of the original film's running time.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 30th, 2014
What happens when you splice together the killer-couple kicks of Bonnie and Clyde and Natural Born Killers with the ritualistic depravity of torture porn offerings like Hostel and Saw? I'm not really sure who — if anyone — was looking for an answer to that particular question, but that didn't stop Scavenger Killers from going to extreme lengths to provide one. Unfortunately, this low-budget slasher flick/wannabe satire is entirely too clumsy and non-committal in its tone to pull it off.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 29th, 2014
When I read on IMDB that this was meant to be a horror comedy, I have to admit I breathed a sigh of relief. After watching Ghost of Goodnight Lane I just simply was left wondering if the laughs were intended or if this was a film that just was delivered so poorly that you just couldn’t help but laugh at it. Having seen now that the film was intended for laughs, I’m still not so sure it’s helps the film any. Though it has a solid story and a decent cast, the execution just falls flat.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 27th, 2014
“I like the fact that there's no desk. I like the fact that he's not wearing a suit and tie. And I like the fact that there's not some over-hyped studio audience being prompted to laugh at topical jokes that we're all gonna forget about in the next few days.”
For its second season, IFC's Comedy Bang! Bang! got bigger and bolder in the way it manically skewered decades of talk show and pop culture conventions. Not surprisingly, the show also got even weirder.
