Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 22nd, 2013
Unless it’s the Zucker brothers or Mel Brooks, I wouldn’t ever consider myself a fan of parodies. But every once in a while, one will come along that can squeeze a few chuckles out of me. The found footage and reality genre has saturated the market, and it was only a matter of time before a filmmaker decided to lampoon the genre. Ghost Team One takes on the genre, and instead of taking the easy route and simply spoofing what’s already been done, the film makers actually made the effort to mold a decent story and film it in the style the Paranormal Activity films have made popular, only Ghost Team One does so with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek.
Roommates, Sergio (Carlos Santos) and Brad (J.R. Villarreal) decide to start documenting everything that is going on in their apartment after Sergio believes he had an encounter with a ghost. Armed with Gopro and other digital cameras, the two embark on trying to acquire proof on camera. Sergio does what he can to try and take this seriously, while Brad continues to derail the experiment with his oversexed antics that consist mostly of him violating the camera or those around him on camera. But once the two meet Fernanda (Fernanda Romero), a true believer in the supernatural, the guys buckle down to try to impress her.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 19th, 2013
“Think of it as a hall pass, a permission slip to just let go of your fear and embrace the world…”
These are the words of advice a reiki master, played by Allison Janney (The West Wing) says to her patient, Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) as she is handing her a bag filled with MDNA. Touchy Feely is definitely an offbeat comedy from writer/director Lynn Shelton who may be best known for her indie hit Humpday. At first glance the film may come across to some as some New Age, hippy, nonsense journey about self-discovery, and to a point you’d be right, but really, the themes of self-discovery are universal with everyone, and it’s in these types of films I feel everyone can at least attain a nugget of introspective wisdom after watching.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 21st, 2013
It was inevitable. Spongebob Squarepants gets its own Christmas Special. Usually television shows take the lazy route and inject their own characters into a familiar Christmas story and make a parody or adaptation (how many times have we seen Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol redone?). Thankfully this special offers a unique tale of the malevolent Plankton creating a special fruitcake that turns any eater into a totally jerk. Will Spongebob's demeanour make him immune? Of course...but what of the rest of Bikini Bottom?
This episode/special takes up a full half hour time slot, which separates it from many of the other Spongebob stories that range closer to 10 or 15 minutes in length. That is not its most notable characteristic though. This episode adopts the Rankin/Bass style stop-motion of animation that has become synonymous with Christmas specials. Though the movements are far smoother and more frantic than the classics it is honouring, the animation is well coordinated and looks very nice.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 20th, 2013
The line between hilarious raunchy comedy and over-the-top raunchy comedy is very fine, and We’re the Millers tends to dance on both sides of it. In time such action will be revealed to be both a blessing and a curse, I suspect. With the young crowd, I believe the film will fall right into place with such movies as Horrible Bosses (a comedy which coincidently starred Aniston and Sudeikis) and to be more recent, This is the End. With more mature audiences, the raunchiness may prove to be slightly more than they were expecting to see. With me, I find myself on the side of the young.
David (Jason Sudeikis) is a small town pot dealer in Denver, an occupation he has held since college without moving forward or backward. Hesitant to admit it, he has grown stagnant with the life he’s leading and wants more out of life. Those desires are put on hold after he is robbed, with both his stash and all of his cash including the money intended for his supplier Brad (Ed Helms, The Hangover). Deep in debt with no prospect of paying it back, Brad offers David one opportunity to erase his debt: smuggle a smidge and a half (inside joke, have to see the movie to understand) of marijuana from Mexico across the border back to Denver.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 15th, 2013
On paper, the premise of Prince Avalanche sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry. The film follows a pair of squabbling workers whose job it is to paint yellow lines in the middle of a country road in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire. They're basically the only two characters in the movie, and the story never moves away from their desolate surroundings. Although his film is occasionally self-indulgent (by design, I suspect), director David Gordon Green finds the strange beauty in that desolate landscape. He's also armed with stars who bring this meandering character study to life.
Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch star as Alvin and Lance. Alvin (Rudd) revels in the isolation of his work and appreciates the benefits of outdoor physical labor. Meanwhile, Lance (Hirsch) is the lazy, immature, inexplicably charming brother of Alvin's girlfriend. Alvin hired Lance to work with him on the road project as a favor to Lance's sister (who we never see) and as a way to whip some masculinity into the younger man. The pair experience some emotional ups and downs, and it turns out they both have plenty they can learn from one another.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 6th, 2013
“You think you had a bad day? This guy lost a billion dollars.”
Clear History is ostensibly about hot-shot marketing exec Nathan Flomm, who misses out on a billion-dollar payday after a petty disagreement. But really, this HBO Films original comedy is basically a 100-minute, all-star episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with prettier scenery. As such, it's another opportunity for writer/star Larry David to profanely and incredulously sound off on a fresh set of social landmines, including insincere apologies and birthday e-card etiquette.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 30th, 2013
It’s hard to believe that once if you said the word Google, there is a good chance no one would have known what you were blabbering about. Now the internet search database is the largest search engine on the web and is a dominating company that is given the same reverence Steve Jobs and Apple receive. Because of Google, the days of hitting the books to find information and the Dewey decimal system are all but things of the past. But technology and growth are a part of life.
Billy (Vince Vaughn, who also co-wrote the film) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are forty-something grinders who pound the pavement selling watches to their high-class clients. Unfortunately for them, their boss, played by John Goodman,,has decided to call it quits with the watch business and retire. With few skills and no other options, Nick takes a job at his sister’s boyfriend’s mattress shop, while Billy struggles to find where to go next. This struggle is something most audiences will be able to relate to in the present job market as the film uses the current job market to delve into the opportunity for second chances and wrestling with regret.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 29th, 2013
The world of Bounty Killer is a barren wasteland that has been decimated by the unchecked greed of nefarious corporations. In other words, I can’t believe this movie is only set 20 years in the future! I’m not the kind of guy who uses exclamation points very often, so the fact that I threw one at the end of the previous sentence wasn’t an accident. This silly, stylish, thoroughly enjoyable revenge fantasy/satiric action flick is basically one giant exclamation point in movie form.
“The bounty killers compete for body count, fame, and a fat stack of cash.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 23rd, 2013
Hollywood (rightfully) gets a lot of flack these days for being creatively bankrupt. But you can’t throw a rock down Broadway without hitting the marquee for a musical that’s based on an existing film. It’s not exactly a new phenomenon — and it doesn’t always work — but some of the most successful and beloved musicals feature stories you already know and fell in love with on the big screen. The trend seems to have really picked up at the turn of the century, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. So adapting a massive hit like Shrek for the stage must’ve been a no-brainer.
Then again, Shrek wasn’t your typical cartoon musical. The most notable "musical number" involved Smashmouth’s cover of “I’m a Believer” — remember when “Smashmouth” was a thing? — and the film, based on William Steig’s book, actually took some not-so-thinly-veiled shots at the Disney machine. Although I’ve enjoyed the various Shrek films on their superficially lighthearted terms, I’ve always had an irrational grudge against the first one after it beat out the infinitely-superior-in-every-way Monsters Inc. for the Best Animated Feature Oscar more than a decade ago. However, I’m a semiprofessional, so I put aside my bias when I sat down to review Shrek: The Musical, now out on Blu-ray.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 12th, 2013
Jenna Hamiton (played by Ashley Rickards) is looking to make a great impression in high school but things get off to a dreadful start. After breaking her arm in a bathroom accident (sounds less gross than it is), rumors spread throughout her new school that she attempted to commit suicide. She has plenty of attention but not the sort she wanted. Now her quest is to take the misunderstanding and turn into an opportunity to shine. Cris-attunity! (as Simpsons fans would say).
This shows sets itself up to resemble a teenage Sex and the City, with the main character's narration coming from her writing. Jenna has a blog whose name was “Invisible Girl” until she took an optimistic turn and renamed it “That Girl Daily” (by Season 2 she reveals her true name in the blog's name and continues to post with total exposure). This is the thesis for the show and the method in which it tries to be relatable. Teenagers do not want to be invisible, but they don't want to be an embarrassment either. Jenna is this statement in a nutshell. She lost her virginity at summer camp, but the boy she lost it to ignores her until she takes a stand (or a stage, more accurately) and owns her own awkwardness. From that point on she hurdles over and around the odd machinations of her friends, family and oddball guidance councillor.
