Produced in part by Brett Ratner and ostensibly a remake of a same-named piece of Troma trash from 1980, Mother’s Day is one of the better thrillers I’ve seen in recent memory, anchored by an honest-to-God great performance by Rebecca De Mornay as the mad matriarch of the title, as good as her celebrated comeback […]
saw
Posted inArts & Culture
Die
Awaking in adjoining glass cages are those unlucky half-dozen strangers: a police detective (Elias Koteas, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas), a compulsive gambler, a doctor, a nurse, a young prostitute and her billionaire client. Jacob takes turns bringing them out in pairs; one is strapped to a chair, the other presented with a […]
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Vlog
Yet another faux found-footage flick, “Vlog” chronicles the events in the weeks leading up to the 2008 murder of the cute, busty and sexually promiscuous webcam addict and vlogger Brooke Marks (played by Brooke Marks; my quick research reveals she’s a real-life, NSFW web model who, it should be noted, is very much alive). Roughly […]
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Scream 4
In the decade that has passed since the previous entry, the landscape has changed greatly for horror films. Gone are the sly, self-aware semi-parodies that the original “Scream” birthed; in vogue is the so-called “torture porn” of the “Saw” series. In its opening scenes, “Scream 4” uses this to its advantage, poking fun at the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Scream 4
In the decade that has passed since the previous entry, the landscape has changed greatly for horror films. Gone are the sly, self-aware semi-parodies that the original “Scream” birthed; in vogue is the so-called “torture porn” of the “Saw” series. In its opening scenes, “Scream 4” uses this to its advantage, poking fun at the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Stan Lee’s Superhumans: Season One
Stan Lee hasn’t dreamed up anything of value recently: “Stripperella,” “Condor,” “Mosaic,” anyone? (Don’t get me started on “The Governator,” which reeks of desperate failure.) Irony: Along comes the History Channel series “Stan Lee’s Superhumans,” which is reasonably entertaining, but Lee hardly has anything to do with it. Its real host is Daniel Browning Smith, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Insidious
What little optimist left in me thinks it could have been worse; at least our son wasn’t sent into a coma by a malevolent demon he encountered in the attic. That’s the situation facing the Lambert family in “Insidious,” opening Friday. From the creative talents behind the “Saw” and “Paranormal Activity” franchises, this welcome twist […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Scar 3D
Admittedly unconventional per Hollywood terms, she’s like the thinking man’s Jamie Lee Curtis. Same goes for “Scar 3D,” a 2007 indie just now hitting Blu-ray and DVD from Phase 4 Films. Is it great? No. But for those drawn to such plasma-plastered efforts, it’s good enough. Not even really front-and-center until the second half, Bettis […]
Posted inNews
What a tool
Oh, it’s a chain saw? Never mind. According to a KFOR-TV report, a man in Chickasha got caught trying to steal an Echo brand chain saw from Ross Seed Company by stuffing it down his britches. (No word if the chain was attached.) Anthony Darren Black, 21, is who police allege to be the pilferer […]
Posted inArts & Culture
I Spit on Your Grave (1978/2010)
Being 9 at the time, I was so freaked out, I vowed never to watch the rape-revenge film they so viciously, venomously attacked. Never did I give “Spit” a try, nor did I want to, until its Blu-ray debut, released simultaneously with its 2010 remake of the same name, when curiosity finally got the best […]