Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 1st, 2014
It’s easy to envision the elevator pitch for Devil’s Due. You only need five words: “Rosemary’s Baby meets Paranormal Activity.” The upside is obvious. The idea of a demonic pregnancy has terrified and unsettled expectant mothers since Ira Levin published Rosemary’s Baby in 1967 and Roman Polanski adapted it for the big screen the following year. Meanwhile, the Paranormal Activity films made low-budget/found-footage domestic horror hugely profitable. The downside? You’re probably not topping Rosemary’s Baby, and horror audiences seem to be suffering from an acute case of found-footage fatigue.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 1st, 2014
In 1998 following the release of Roland Emmerich’s version of Godzilla, the story would continue following some of the characters that we met in the film as well as a host of other characters and monsters. With a 40-episode run coming out to about 14 hours of television, the DVD release of the series comes out at just the right time for those who need a temporary fix before seeing their favorite big green lizard splash across the big screen once again.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 29th, 2014
Martial arts films are just about as done to death as the slasher film. Just about every angle and direction that you can take with these films has been explored by now. When it comes to the martial arts genre, seeing a student or son avenge their father or master is just about the motivation in most of these films, but audiences accept this because what we are sitting down for is the action. Seriously, how many people remember the plots of the old Jackie Chan or Jet Li films? But go back even further to the core classics like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin or Five Deadly Venoms; these films are all rooted in the spirit of revenge.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 29th, 2014
There have been complaints that there are not enough films that have decent lead roles for women. There are those that say that Hollywood does not make enough movies for women. Then when they do, critics tend to dismiss them as “Lifetime” movies (a term that is dismissive because of the cable channel that churns out generic movies for women). It seems far easier to accept excessive violence or male-oriented films with sexual content. If a movie tries to legitimately capture real situations from a woman's point of view, it can be patronizingly categorized as pap and schmaltz.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 28th, 2014
It’s movies like Big Bad Wolves that keep me excited about cinema. After all, who would guess that Israel would produce this savagely dark fairy tale revenge film that is also one of the darkest comedies I’ve seen in some time with a visual aesthetic you’d expect from a Coen brothers film, but the violence and humor you’d expect from a film by Tarantino. My first time viewing this film was via On Demand a few months ago; more and more I feel the cable companies are onto something by acquiring these little films and releasing them pay-per-view so that those not in New York and Los Angeles can experience these films before having to wait months longer for their DVD or Blu-ray release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 24th, 2014
“I used to be thin when I was 6.”
Jim Gaffigan has long been fixated on food. Need proof? The comedian’s 2013 memoir is called “Dad Is Fat”, and his most famous routine is about Hot Pockets. So it wasn’t exactly a shocker to find that Gaffigan spends most of Obsessed — his fourth Comedy Central stand-up special — talking about his dietary likes and dislikes. (Hint: kale is not on his list of favorites.) This is astoundingly straightforward and inoffensive material that nonetheless had me consistently laughing out loud.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 23rd, 2014
With all the zombie media out there have you ever thought what you would do if you found yourself in the middle of the zombie apocalypse? It’s fun to discuss your plans for survival and clever weapons you may devise to battle the hordes of the undead. But what would you do if a loved one was infected and became one of the undead? Would you be able to simply put them down so easily? Or would you tend to them with the hope that somehow they could return and not be the flesh-eating monstrosity they’ve come to be?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 21st, 2014
“Have you done anything noteworthy or mentionable?”
It’s the sort of question that can easily apply to either your workday or your life as a whole. It’s also the question actor/producer/director Ben Stiller chose as the basis of his inspirational adaptation of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The original short story by James Thurber is less than five pages long, so a filmmaker has the option of going to any number of fascinating places in bringing Thurber’s tale to the big screen. Stiller, in essence, decided to take the scenic route.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on April 21st, 2014
“Bad things happen in the woods, especially to pretty girls like you.”
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a smallish group of friends head to a remote location for what they think will be a sex-and-booze-fueled romp. Instead, they find themselves getting picked off by a mysterious killer. If you’ve ever seen a slasher movie, you’re painfully familiar with this scenario. Thankfully, it seems like the people who made the low-budget Death Do Us Part are also well-acquainted with the way this sort of movie is supposed to work. And they’ve decided to have some fun with it.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 18th, 2014
Who doesn’t have a soft spot in their heart, if not their DVD collection, for the denizens of Mayberry? They've been with many of us our entire lives. For most of America, The Andy Griffith Show has become the template for any small rural town. The characters stand as prerequisite citizens in any said town. The town drunk, the local barber, the motherly little old lady, and the corner mechanic all look like Otis, Floyd, Aunt Bee, and Goober to most of us now. Griffith himself brought fine qualities to his role of Sheriff Andy Taylor, but this isn't the Mayberry we're talking about.
