Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on May 21st, 2014
“You just never know who’s gonna be at the door.”
A virginal babysitter with bad cell phone reception is terrorized by a masked killer in Mischief Night. You don’t have to be a gorehound to know this is basically the plot of every slasher movie ever made. So it’s natural for viewers to expect some sort of swerve to differentiate this horror flick from all those that came before it. With the flawed, micro-budgeted Mischief Night, that swerve comes courtesy of the film’s intriguing assertion that a “boogeyman” can come from anywhere.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on May 20th, 2014
American Jesus is an intelligent film. It does not judge. It is balanced in its approach to some basic questions. It shows many sides to a very large and ill-defined subject. It attempts to understand in a comprehensive way Christianity in America. Right from the beginning it uncovers unique splinter churches that are part of why America approaches religion differently than other countries
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on May 20th, 2014
Shelter Island is not a movie about the place but about two people who made a connection. Jimmy Olinkiewicz found Harold Olson one day, and a unique friendship was born. Jimmy is a very basic hardworking guy with a Long Island accent who does anything and everything, and he sees some potential in Harold. Harold is obsessed with painting and will frequently listen to one song hundreds of times for 48 hours straight until he finishes a painting. Jimmy seems like a very normal, average guy, and Harold does not seem very normal.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 20th, 2014
The line between romance and stalking is much blurrier at the movies. Behavior that routinely leads to restraining orders or arrests in real life tends to elicit “awws” from moviegoers and earns the romantic hero a kiss in the end. The Right Kind of Wrong is one of the more egregious examples I can remember, which is a shame because the Canadian romantic comedy has a likable lead and dares to give its characters multiple dimensions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2014
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character who has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial. While we may not remember the novels, we all remember the man in the persona of Raymond Burr.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 19th, 2014
When it comes to revenge, Hollywood has exploited the theme in just about every conceivable way. It’s a genre that has been done so much that it’s hard to find a fresh hook to bring the audiences in, much less create a story that will motivate the audience to root for this blood thirsty protagonist. Getting the audience on your side as your hero hunts down individuals for retribution is asking a lot, but still there is always going to be an audience that will fill theater seats.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 19th, 2014
“If we act like we belong, they'll think we belong.”
You never know who could be watching when you post something online. Sophia Grace Brownlee is a perfect example of how to become a “star” in this decade. In 2011, the 8-year-old Brit starred in a video of herself singing Nicki Minaj's “Super Bass” alongside her silent, hype man cousin Rosie McClelland. The clip went viral and caught the eye of Ellen DeGeneres, who has repeatedly featured the diminutive duo on her daytime talk show over the last few years. I suppose it was only a matter of time before Sophia Grace and Rosie jumped to the big screen; well, the straight-to-DVD screen anyway.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 18th, 2014
The World War 2 genre has been done to death by Hollywood, but The Monuments Men gives us a fresh look at the war and delves into a story that is a breath of fresh air to the genre. Despite all my history classes that delved into the atrocities of World War 2, it was never discussed about what happened to the great landmarks that were spread throughout Europe and encountered the cold hand of war. Granted, when measured against the staggering amount of lives lost throughout the war, the thought of a sculpture being destroyed or a Picasso painting being incinerated simply seems petty by comparison.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2014
"This is the story of a man who won by choosing love over fame, fortune and countless adventures..."
Danny McBride managed in inhabit the role of Kenny Powers to such an extent I do appear to have trouble keeping them separate. Now the countless adventures continue for McBride who is going to have to get us all to see him in a new light as he leaves troubled Powers behind and moves on to other things. For fans it's a bittersweet goodbye to Eastbound & Down. The final episodes have aired and now they are available on this 2-disc Blu-ray swansong.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on May 15th, 2014
Bodybuilders present a series of fascinating contradictions. They objectively embody the ideal physical form, but there are also people who can’t even stand looking at them. They’re in tip-top shape, but instead of running, jumping or hitting each other, their competitions involve…posing. Pumping Iron, the 1977 documentary that turned Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno into stars, was the first film to shine a light on the world of bodybuilding. Generation Iron stylishly and thoughtfully explores how the sport — and its participants — have grown immensely in the ensuing decades despite remaining a somewhat peculiar part of popular culture.
