Out in Theaters: THE GALLOWS

July 8, 2015 by Drew Powell Posted in Grades, Out in Theaters, Reviews Tagged Cassidy Spilker, Chris Lofing, Found Footage, Out in Theaters, Pfeifer Brown, Reese Mishler, Reviews, The Gallows, Travis Cluff Leave a comment

The horror film genre is so full of dumb teenagers making bad decisions one could all but populate a second planet (or country) with their low-grade stock. However The Gallows — yet another entry into the extensive found footage feature collection– may contain the dumbest teens of any horror movie. They’re massively dumb, completely unlikable and thin as tracing paper. They may as well be wearing big, bright neon signs that read: “Here I am! Kill me now!” Although, the movie itself—written and directed by Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing—isn’t much smarter. Read More

Documentary Dossier: AMY

July 8, 2015 by Jill Landon Posted in Documentaries, Out in Theaters Tagged Amy, Amy Winehouse, Asif Kapadia, Documentary, Out in Theaters, Reviews Leave a comment

Early on in the documentary Amy, Nick Shymansky, friend and one-time manager of the titular soul singer, reflects upon a time before her fame when she was very nearly forced into rehab. There’s a sorrowful, what if tone to his recollection, as he imagines that just maybe if she had been treated for alcoholism before fame took hold of her life, things could have been different. Read More

TRUE DETECTIVE Season 2 Episode 3 Review “Maybe Tomorrow”

July 6, 2015 by Eric Brown Posted in TV Reviews Tagged Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, True Detective Season 2, TV Recaps, Vince Vaughn 3 Comments

The Conway Twitty impersonator lip syncing “The Rose” deified by the David Lynchian purple blue nebula, may superficially seem like a cheap dressed up redneck mind-fuck, Lone-Star laced with LSD, as season two intentionally commits a slow suicide into the oblivious junkyard of one-hit wonders; not to mention the trippy and densely codified dialog between Velcoro (Colin Farrell) and his father. But it challenges the audience to lift its eyelids and contemplate a different and deeper sphere of influence. The ditty “The Rose” defines love as a flower, which grows with courage into spring with little sunlight through the bleak winter or, in other words, an endless trial–the song is about change. Read More

Out in Theaters: THE SUICIDE THEORY

July 6, 2015 by Brittany Cullen Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Dru Brown, Leon Cane, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Steve Mouzakis, The Suicide Theory Leave a comment

A well-written and excellently executed script can buoy an isolated cliché. As The Suicide Theory embodies neither of these traits, it hits an iceberg early on with multiple turns of the phrase “Do you believe in fate?” and manages to sink rather rapidly. Read More

Out in Theaters: TERMINATOR: GENISYS

June 30, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alan Taylor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, emilia clarke, Jai Courney, Jason Clarke, JK Simmons, Laeta Kalogridis, Out in Theaters, Patrick Lussier, Reviews, Terminator: Genisys 5 Comments

Terminator: Genisys, or How to Waste 170 Million Dollars, is a righteously obsolete sequel; a feckless manure cache more dedicated to nostalgia as computer animated gimmick, patchy, gravity-ignorant FX and slinky-esque “gotcha!” twists than little things like plot, internal consistency and character development. To call Terminator: Not a Word a failure would be to acknowledge that it even tried to succeed in the first place. And let’s be honest here, Terminator 5 tried not. Read More

Out in Theaters: MAGIC MIKE XXL

June 29, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Amber Heard, Channing Tatum, Gregory Jacobs, Jada Smith, Joe Manganiello, Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Steven Soderbergh 1 Comment

In 2012, Steven Soderbergh accomplished the impossible by making audiences – made up of various chromosome compositions – fall in love with a ragtag scrap of male strippers. Magic Mike not only dominated the box office – netting north of 113 million dollars domestically on a 7 million dollar production budget – but won the hearts and minds of critics, who rewarded the film with a 80% Rotten Tomato score. All signs pointed swiftly towards the birth of a new franchise centered around denuding men with real world issues. Women (and some men) rejoiced; ’twas raining men. Read More

TRUE DETECTIVE Season 2 Episode 2 Review “Night Finds You”

June 29, 2015 by Eric Brown Posted in TV Reviews Tagged Colin Farrell, Collin Farell, Rachel McAdams, Reviews, Taylor Kitsch, True Detective Season 2, TV Recaps, Vince Vaughn 5 Comments

The town of DaVinci looks like it’s day, but it’s really night–in other words, it was born in the darkness as it tries for the light. The first scene’s cold tint hangs over like the pallor of a corpse–literally, as Semyon’s (Vince Vaughn) introspection match cuts to Caspere’s melted eyes. Semyon’s abuse story isn’t just significant as a character piece, it’s the unfolding of what’s to come. Read More

Out in Theaters: TED 2

June 26, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Amanda Seyfried, Jessica Barth, Mark Wahlberg, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ted 2, Worst Movies of 2015

Prepare for weed jokes, hairy sight gags, unbridled misogyny, celebrity cameos, unchecked homophobia, Goose Island product placement, wiener jokes, sperm jokes, boob jokes, period jokes, Bud Lite product placement, lame-brained pop culture references, more weed jokes, mean-spirited black people jokes, more Goose Island product placement, slut shaming, nerd lampooning, Boston jokes, ASU jokes, and a near gleeful amount of hate because Ted 2, the somehow anticipated sequel to 2011’s near awful foul-mouthed CG teddy bear buddy comedy, is finally here. It is also, without a doubt, the worst film of the year. Read More

Out in Theaters: CREEP

June 26, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Creep, Mark Duplass, Out in Theaters, Patrick Brice, Reviews 3 Comments

Mark Duplass has had quite a run in the fledgling stages of his career. From small roles in the likes of Oscar baity films, such as Zero Dark Thirty and, le sigh, Parkland, to larger roles in unsung indie hits Humpday and Safety Not Guaranteed, and simply as the reliably affable straight man, Pete, on The League, it’s easy to admit that Duplass has got range. He dips his toes in the pools of all different genres and mediums, working as an accomplished dramatic actor and solid comedian to boot. It’s then such a surprise that perhaps the greatest work he’s done is in a found little footage horror movie called Creep. Read More

Documentary Dossier: FRESH DRESSED

June 25, 2015 by Brittany Cullen Posted in Documentaries, Out in Theaters Tagged Dapper Dan, Fresh Dressed, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sacha Jenkins Leave a comment

Sacha Jenkins’ directorial debut examines fashion in hip hop as a means of freedom of individual expression and aspiration, as well as a mechanism of mass social control. It gives some insight into why a song that incessantly chants “Versace” for four minutes can clock over 12 million views on Vevo, when really (to quote Dr. Kanye West) “you not affording Versace”. None of us are. Read More