Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on August 26th, 2014
Are you bored? Then Boredom may be the most important thing you ever watch. You should know, boredom kills. Many riots occur because people are bored. People jump off mountains with parachutes because they are bored. People engage in unprotected sex because they are bored. People even kill themselves because they are bored. I personally think there are worse things to be than bored, but maybe I'm wrong. After all, things are always rosier on the other side of the fence.
Former reporter Albert Nerenberg (Laughology, Stupidity) has a tongue-in-cheek attitude that is almost ready for Comedy Central's Daily Show. He interviews various “experts” to get to the truth about boredom. Some of it is actually useful information. One of the most notable things is that most people don't actively address boredom as a phenomenon, and when they do people take notice. For instance, Annie Britton, who is a professor of epidemiology at the University College London, caused an uproar when she suggested in print that people who suffer high levels of boredom are twice as likely to die. It was covered in all the major media outlets.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on August 26th, 2014
The outside of the DVD box says, ”Warning: The information you are about to see will result in hives.” It is true that the documentary Bee People is a very passionate polemic meant to get people excited about the idea of having their own backyard beehives. Bees are one of the most important parts of the ecological network, because they pollinate most of the foods and flowers across the planet, and bees are disappearing. It is actually a very alarming fact that bees are disappearing, because we don't know why, nor what the eventual outcome will be if they cease to exist.
The importance of the bees has been known for thousands of years, back to time of Plato and before. Greg McMahon is the Bee Guru in this film and the cheerleader for all of us to bring back the bee. He goes to schools to get young kids excited about the idea of their own hives. He goes to homes to rescue swarms that have taken residence where they are not wanted and gives them a new home. He's always excited and happy to preach to the uninitiated with the hope of a world where there is a backyard hive every two miles. Most of the movie is a fairly do-it-yourself type project by people fanatically interested in the importance of this project. It is similar to many types of programs you might see on Animal Planet in which a small segment of the population is given a close-up look.
Posted in: Tribute by J C on August 25th, 2014
“I wanted to show them something that wasn't an illusion. Something that was real, something that they could see and touch. An aim not devoid of merit.”
Those words were spoken by John Hammond, the man who (in)famously brought dinosaurs back to life in Jurassic Park. However, they also applied to the acclaimed actor/filmmaker who played him. Sir Richard Attenborough died Sunday, leaving behind an indelible mark on movie history thanks to his work in front of and behind the camera.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 25th, 2014
One of the miracles of modern technology is its ability to shrink the world down so you can practically (well, proverbially) hold it in the palm of your hand. The cheerily square Smithsonian Channel series Aerial America goes the other way. In fact, the best thing about the show is how it uses technology to fill every inch of your screen with some of the most famous — along with some of the more underappreciated — U.S. landmarks, employing a larger-than-life/bird’s-eye point of view most of us wouldn’t otherwise be able to enjoy.
Now, Smithsonian Channel and Inception Media Group have released another batch of episodes on Blu-ray.
A quick primer if you’ve never seen the show (as I hadn’t prior to reviewing the Southwest Collection): the series debuted in 2010, and each hour-long episode is devoted to a different U.S. state or region. Every one of those episodes is solely comprised of stunning, leisurely aerial shots of that respective state’s natural and man-made landmarks, along with a brisk history lesson courtesy of narrator Jim Conrad.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on August 22nd, 2014
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For marks the return of the iconic graphic novel since it first splashed across the big screen in 2005. Sin City set out to make the ultimate comic book adaption in which the audience would see the panels move directly from the page and onto the screen. For me Sin City was a celluloid masterpiece that blended the Noir stories beautifully with all the Hollywood tricks that were at Robert Rodriguez’s disposal. Frank Miller’s beautiful black and white imagery was more striking than I could have imagined, and it was the film that had me rooting for the big lug Marv (played by Mickey Rourke who seems to have been born for the role).
Nearly a decade later, Rodriguez and Miller have finally gotten back together to create the long-awaited followup and in the process take on my favorite graphic novel story, A Dame to Kill For. For those unaware about the graphic novel but who saw Sin City, some of the imagery may be confusing, since certain characters who died in the previous film have managed to re-emerge for this prequel/sequel. Though the story does tie together more tightly this time around with its characters, the sequel just isn’t as much fun this time around.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 22nd, 2014
The main thing I look for in a movie is “not the same old thing”. So many movies are retreads into comfortable viewing. If we've seen it a million times, we must like it, right? Why fix it if it isn't broke? Unfortunately, most movies are the same old thing because of laziness and apathy. Hollywood doesn't really welcome new ideas. Are You Here is not “the same old thing”. Some people might not like something new, but I do. I like to be challenged by characters that grow right before your eyes and become people you never expected they'd be. Are You Here is basically a romantic comedy, which makes it even more unusual for it to have such challenging characters.
Steve Dallas (Owen Wilson) seems like a loser when we first meet him, with maxed-out credit cards and multiple dates. It turns out he's not a loser, but we don't know that until we see him visit a real loser who lives in a dilapidated mobile home in the middle of nowhere. The loser is Ben Baker (Zach Galifianakis), who is his friend since childhood. They are comfortable, close and happy together as friends, indicating that they may not be that different. The difference is that Steve is so charming and good looking that nothing ever worries him, and everything comes easy. Ben worries about everything, and even though he nearly got his masters’ degree, he is severely dysfunctional. It should be noted that Steve is fairly shallow and Ben is extremely concerned about major issues, but it all evens out when they smoke pot together.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2014
"Welcome to the SyFy Channel."
OK, not really. Revolution aired on sister network NBC, both part of the Universal family. Usually the sibling resemblances are not very visible. Revolution, however has all the elements of a typical SyFy Channel series. These shows almost always start with strong source material or a crazy but clever idea. Most of the time the idea gets lost in bad acting, cheap computer-generated images and very low production values. None of those are a problem for Revolution. The acting is pretty solid. The effects are innovative and impressive (except for the really bad guys-on-fire images). The production values could stand against any series on the air. The creative team is overrun by talented people with proven track records. So how did Revolution go so far off the rails and end up in a pretty much deserved cancellation after just two years? Let me count the ways.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 21st, 2014
Horror doesn’t necessarily need to be about the supernatural or have an axe-wielding maniac to be terrifying. Jump scares and gore effects are also some nice devices directors rely on to scare their audiences. But for me, what really gets beneath my skin is the possibility of what I see projected up on the screen can become a reality in my day to day life. The Sacrament attempts to show how quickly faith and love can quickly be turned and used as a weapon that can lead to the demise of the fragile and the faithful.
Eden Parrish stands in as the substitute to commune that many remember as Jonestown in 1978. This may not be a direct remake of the events that took place in Guyana, but it’s impossible to ignore the many similarities. Just as there was a documentary crew that investigated Jonestown, a documentary crew comes to Eden Parish, only the crew is hoping to find Caroline (Amy Seimetz), the sister to photographer Patrick (Kentucker Audley). When Patrick arrives with the Vice magazine team led by Sam (AJ Bowen) and cameraman Jake (Joe Swanberg), the commune turns out to be nothing like they expected.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 20th, 2014
“The generational shift to an indoor existence has been strongly linked to a sharp decline in children’s well-being.”
That’s just a fancier, more eloquent version of the familiar lament that (these darn) “kids today just don’t play outside anymore!” It’s also the jumping-off point for Project Wild Thing, an inventive and engaging documentary that explores the apparent disconnect between today’s youth and the natural world they seem intent on ignoring.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 20th, 2014
Under the revamped Hammer production company, The Quiet Ones is the new release from the legendary UK company that was known throughout the 50-70’s for its Gothic horror. In this new resurgence of Hammer, no longer do we have Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee to look forward to gracing the screen, but what we do seem to be getting is a respect for what horror can be. Horror seems to have bottomed out as of late. Where horror seems to be delving into cheaper budgets and going the direction of found footage, which isn’t so much a bad thing, but as we all know the market is just saturated with this style of filmmaking. We can blame The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity films for the glut of copycats trying to cash in, but thankfully there are still filmmakers who have the ability to bring something new to the table. And that is just what The Quiet Ones does.
When we meet Professor Joseph Coupland (Jared Harris), he is lecturing a class at the University of Oxford about the supernatural. His theory that he presents to the class is that the notion of ghosts is mistaken for something that exists in our own subconscious. It’s this belief that Coupland has that prompts him to conduct an experiment where he plans to document that supernatural activity is nothing more than something that can be created with our minds and explained away by science. It’s Brian (Sam Claflin) who is hired on to document the experiment and is unfortunately dragged into something that is far worse than he could have imagined.
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