Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 7th, 2019
It may only be March, but I’m willing to bet The Standoff At Sparrow Creek will make the list of my top films of 2019. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is the next breakout film people will be talking about, because it’s just that damn good. Think about what Reservoir Dogs mashed up with Glengarry Glen Ross would be like if they were mashed together and the characters were all members of a militia; then you’ll somewhat have an idea of what The Standoff at Sparrow Creek has in store for you. We’ve all heard rumblings about militia groups, the kind that have their hidden bunkers that have stockpiles of weapons and ammunition that are ready to go into battle at a moment’s notice. At the same time we live in a world where it’s heavily frowned upon to want to own an automatic assault rifle, and those involved with these groups are often depicted as country bumpkins who are military washouts or just “gun nuts”. Well, writer/director Henry Dunham has decided to offer up a new look into this group and even dares to get into their heads and what motivates them. But Dunham isn’t trying to make any political statements, but instead he’s crafted a well drawn out thriller that explores each of these characters and gives them each motivation for their actions, keeping them human despite their actions at times.
What kicks off the film is a shooting at a police funeral, In a panic to find out who may be responsible, Gannon (James Badge Dale) has all the members of his group meet up at a lumber mill to sort things out. It’s at the mill where Gannon discovers that a gun and other materials are missing and that the person responsible for the shooting is one of the members of his group. Knowing the police are going to be out for blood, Gannon decides to interrogate the members of his group in hopes of finding the rogue killer and offering them up in order to preserve the safety of the militia.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 6th, 2019
"In the ring, you got rules. Outside, you got nothing. Life hits you with all these cheap shots. People like me, we live in the past. You got people that need you now. You got everything to lose; this guy has got nothing to lose."
For the last couple of decades the sport of boxing has lost much of its popularity, at least here in the United States. The big matches used to be events where neighbors and friends would gather and enjoy the spectacle together. It likely started when long-time fighting fan and announcer Howard Cosell distanced himself from the sport, and the collapse appeared finally complete around the time Mike Tyson added ear to his menu. It's devolved so far that I haven't known who the champ is for more than 10 years. Everyone used to know the champ. It didn't matter if you followed the sport. The names used to be household names. No longer. That doesn't appear to be as true with the boxing movie. Films like Rocky and Raging Bull helped to create an entire genre of the boxing movie, and it has survived the real thing. In 2015 Sylvester Stallone partnered with director Ryan Coogler to revitalize the aging Rocky franchise and focus the new films on the son of Rocky's friend and ring-rival Apollo Creed. Together with Michael B Jordan in the new titular role, the franchise saw new light, and Stallone would finally give the performance of his life. Coogler and Jordan went on to join the Marvel Universe and create one of the highest box office takes in history with The Black Panther. Now he's back as Adonis Creed without Coogler in the director's chair. This time Steven Caple Jr. directs from a story co-written by Stallone, who wrote the original Rocky back in 1976. I'm happy to say there's still some heart left in the old man and his franchise.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on February 22nd, 2019
"Three months ago, I was cutting grass on my front yard. The mailman shows up with a letter from the army. Now I'm here, and no idea where I'm going to end up."
Wow, another gut-wrenching action-packed war film that takes on an ominous shroud of terror. It’s perfect for war buffs and horror fans who just can’t seem to get enough. The film Overlord from J.J. Abrams, the producer of the Cloverfield series, takes off in five minutes of absolute madness; then turns its guns on the Nazis as a squad of paratroopers look to complete a battalion saving mission. I loved every minute of the fast-moving film, and it brought back memories of the recent Trench 11 (2017). If you like this one, check that one out for the fun of it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 24th, 2019
“You ready to stir some s--- up?”
In The Hate U Give, the fatal shooting of a young, unarmed black man by a police officer serves as the catalyst for a story about racial identity, police brutality, and much more. The film features some undeniably powerful performances and moments that, quite frankly, spoke to me on a personal level. The problem is that as the story’s level of outrage rises, the movie itself becomes more outrageous and harder to take seriously.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 3rd, 2019
“You kind of loud.”
It made all the sense in the world on paper. Pairing Tiffany Haddish (coming off her outrageously profane, scene-stealing breakout in Girls Trip) with Kevin Hart (one of the shrillest most successful comedians in the world) seemed like a match made in loudmouth heaven. Instead, it turns out that almost all the creativity that went into Night School — which actually has a pretty decent premise — was limited to envisioning its two stars on a poster.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 6th, 2018
As a fan of The Conjuring films, I keep hoping that these spinoff films will manage to step up and be on par with The Conjuring, but instead they just keep letting me down. But that doesn’t stop the hordes of fans from still seeing these films; after all, the pair of Annabelle films were box office hits, and The Nun had a nice theatrical run as well, earning over $110 million. The Nun is a bit of a departure, as it takes us back to 1952 and is set in Romania to deliver a gothic horror story that seems as though it’s a bit of a nod to the old Hammer films from the 1950’s on into the 1970’s. Does the film deserve its box office success? Well, thankfully I didn’t have to take a vow of silence, and I can tell you all about it.
The film wastes no time in setting the tone and delivering the terror as we see a pair of nuns walk through the bowels of an abbey in Romania as they open a big, scary door that has the inscription “God Ends Here”. Obviously whatever is beyond this door is bad, but why these nuns are so gung ho about opening this door and going inside isn’t explained (at least until much later on into the film). It’s no surprise that the result of opening this door causes bad things to occur, one of which is a nun killing herself as she sees The Nun coming towards her. This sparks an investigation by the Vatican to be led by Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 15th, 2018
Ever since Jaws splashed onto the screen back in 1975, Hollywood has been attempting to follow its success, and though some films have been valiant efforts, nothing seems to come close to the Spielberg classic. Sure effects have come a long way over the years, and through the Hollywood magic of special effects they can create a more realistic-looking shark, but to be fair many of the film’s more memorable moments don’t even have the shark on screen. When I first heard about The Meg, it was going to be in the hands of Eli Roth of Cabin Fever and Hostel fame. This seemed to be like a good pairing that would result in a blood-fest filled with shark carnage that would leave shark fans pleased, but eventually the studio decided to pass, and the project seemed almost dead in the water. I had known about the film’s struggles to get made for years but hadn’t known that it went back to the 90’s when the rights to the book by Steve Alten had been first purchased. When the studio signed Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure), it was clear they were aiming to produce a summer tent-pole film, and as my excitement grew, I caved and started reading The Meg series that Alten had published, and I was hooked. I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while. Could it possibly live up to my expectations? Well, it came close.
The film opens up with Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) as he is on a deep-sea rescue mission. While he and the few members of his crew are searching for survivors on a wrecked sub, there seems to be something in the water with them that is attacking the sub. All we know is that it is something massive, and it forces Taylor to have to make a quick decision that results in several casualties. It’s years later when a scientific research team is exploring the Mariana trench and is planning to dive deeper than ever before, past a layer that was believed to be frozen. It’s when the dive team passes beyond this cold layer that we see some beautiful effects as this underwater world we are getting to explore with the team is filled with numerous deep-sea dwellers, though it doesn’t take long before the team is attacked. Apparently Jonas is the only one available who can possibly save the deep-sea crew; as it just so happens one the crew members turns out to be Taylor’s ex-wife Lori (Jessica McNamee). This is also the point where it’s discovered Taylor’s claim that the prehistoric megalodon is haunting the deep sea turns out to be true. Why Taylor would make this jump in reasoning from what we saw in the opening scene is beyond me, but I’ve accepted this is a popcorn ride, not something we’re meant to dwell on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 11th, 2018
Ever since Do the Right Thing came out in 1989, Spike Lee has been a director that critics and fans have kept an eye on. Over the span of his career he’s done everything from music videos with Michael Jackson, to documentaries, to television shows, but mostly he’s made his claim to fame in film. His films have been all over the place as critical and box office successes. Inside Man to this day may be his biggest success financially, but of all his films it feels the least like a Spike Lee film. The man has a distinct visual style; most of his films take place in New York, but the typical thing you’ll find in his films is the “black culture” and the topic of race relations. With his latest film Blackkklansman, Lee ventures into some familiar territory, but for the first time in quite a while he delivers a movie with a strong message but also manages to be entertaining.
It’s the 1970’s when we meet Ron Stallworth (John David Washington). He’s in the middle of an interview to become the first black officer of the Colorado Springs police department. The interview is equally uncomfortable as it is amusing at the same time, and this kind of tone is what plays out over the course of the film. Let me say from the start this film doesn’t shy away from delivering racial slurs that are pretty much spoken from start to finish of this film. When Stallworth first gets hired, he’s stuck down in the records room, but it isn’t long before he is asked to help out on an undercover assignment that requires him to infiltrate a gathering where a prominent Black Panther member will be speaking. This is a scene that is handled really well by Lee as we watch Stallworth listen to the speech; it’s also here where Stallworth meets a potential love interest, Patrice (Laura Harrier) who happens to be a black activist leader.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 8th, 2018
“You’re not good...you’re super.”
For a while, it honestly felt like Disney/Pixar was messing with us. When The Incredibles swooped into theaters in 2004, it was simultaneously one of the best animated/action/superhero movies I’d ever seen. Plenty of people shared that opinion, so a sequel seemed like a no-brainer. That’s why it seemed like a cruel joke when we got not one but two forgettable Cars sequels before The Incredibles got a chance to suit up again. Guess what…the wait is officially over!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 8th, 2018
My first attempt at watching Mandy wasn’t a successful one. After fifteen minutes I was nodding off, so I stopped it and held off viewing it for another night. This isn’t a movie you want to throw on too late at night. The first half is definitely a slow burn, but once this film picks up steam, you are in for one crazy, psychedelic, violent experience that will leave an impression on you. It’s no surprise that Mandy has already developed a buzz through the internet and is well on its way to becoming a cult classic. Is the hype for this film real? Can Nicolas Cage still deliver a memorable performance as his career has seemed to have dissolved into constant direct-to-DVD content? Well, the short answer to both these questions is yes, but this film is not for everyone, and to a degree I may be on the fence on the first half of this film.
Red (Nicolas Cage) is living the simple life in the woods as a logger and living with his girlfriend, Mandy (Andrea Riseborough). Mandy is a bit of an artist and enjoys reading fantasy novels. One could assume her and Red’s fate could easily be the storyline of one of the books that she’s read; their story is the fodder of hellish nightmares. Our time with Red and Mandy is spent showing us how well they work together as a couple, but it’s done so in a way that is filled with flat and monotone performances, with a drone-filled score that gently lulls the audience to the brink of sleep or boredom. This all changes when we meet Jeremiah (Linus Roache) and his loyal cult. It’s a strange obsession at first sight for Jeremiah when he sees Mandy for the first time and demands that she be brought to him, and everything that follows is simply another step further down this insane rabbit-hole that director Panos Cosmatos has orchestrated for us.
