No wonder the movie is titled “Camp Hell.” I understand the intent of putting Jesse Eisenberg front and center on the cover, the art of which suggests a camp-counselor slasher in the style of “Friday the 13th,” but “The Social Network” star has little more than a cameo, and the film is unfortunately more of […]
Rod Lott
Posted inArts & Culture
Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf
But I enjoyed the hell out of “Kingdom Hospital,” despite its missteps. Ditto for “Medium Raw.” In the film by writer/director/actor Andrew Cymek (whose previous effort, 2007’s “Dark Rising,” I did not enjoy), 15 girls have fallen pray to a killer the press have dubbed “The Wolf” for his signature move of leaving the sentence […]
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Blitz
“Blitz” has little need for humor — who does when you’ve got that winning Statham scowl? Lensed in London and based on a grit-noir novel by Irish crime writer Ken Bruen, “Blitz” casts Statham as Detective Sgt. Brant, whose temper has become a liability for the station in the form of bad publicity. This makes […]
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes
And that would be a bad thing, because “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” hoses off any stink Burton left behind. It’s one of the year’s nicest surprises. An origin story to the sci-fi franchise that began on the big screen in 1968, “Rise” draws upon story elements of 1972’s “Conquest of the Planet […]
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The Task / Scream of the Banshee
In “The Task,” half a dozen collegians are kidnapped (presumably) by clown-masked goons and taken to a field outside the abandoned Pennyville State Prison. Turns out, some months ago, they all auditioned for a reality TV show. This is that show, and all they have to do to garner $20,000 a piece is to spend […]
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Beautiful Darling
That she was … although she was born as James Slattery. More famous for being famous than for any discernible talent, she became a fixture of New York’s avant-garde scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, thanks to her association with artist Andy Warhol. He, of course, coined the famous “15 minutes of fame” […]
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Loco over local
The drill remains the same: The following pages include the winners nominated by you and chosen by you — not us. All we did in the process was tally votes. Tens of thousands ballots later (excluding the stuffed ballots that went straight into the recycling bin), the results are ready for you to celebrate or […]
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The Last Godfather
If this were a bid at crossover stardom à la Jackie Chan, he’s failed miserably. Heck, if this were intended to be a comedy, he’s failed miserably. The flimsy plot has Harvey Keitel — why, Harvey, why? — as a Mafia leader planning on retirement. While his many underlings want the job, he’s going to […]
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Zen: Vendetta / Cabal / Ratking
Too bad BBC canceled it less than a month after it aired earlier this year. The reason? “Too much crime,” which is a terrible excuse when the programming is par excellence. Zen — “It’s Venetian,” he says — is played by Rufus Sewell (TV’s “The Pillars of the Earth”); his love interest is the seemingly […]
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Supernatural: The Anime Series
The storyline remains the same: brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki, who reprises his role for the anime) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles, who voices only a few episodes) travel the country in their ’67 Chevy Impala, encountering monsters, spirits and other paranormal activity along the way. They ain’t ‘fraid of no ghosts. The actors and series […]