The Hurricane Heist (2018)

First off, let me apologize for not seeing and reviewing this sooner. Second, there will be mild spoilers ahead. You are forewarned.

In a small town, a hurricane causes mayhem and destruction. A father and his two sons attempt to outrun it in the family’s tow truck. As they become stuck, the father puts his sons in a house for safety. Before he can unstuck his truck, the hurricane closes in, a skull shape comes out of it before the truck disappears and the house starts tumbling. Now if this doesn’t sell you on seeing the film, the rest of the story takes place in present day during a heist at a federal reserve happening under the cover of a massive hurricane stronger than the one in the opening. Good guys and bad guys face off under this epic hurricane.

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A Quiet Place (2018)

It’s surprising to see such a terrific horror debut from John Krasinski, a man who I’ve never been much of a fan of. “A Quiet Place” has just about converted me in to a fan, as he manages to deliver a very challenging genre film that relies a lot on the weight of the performances from the cast, rather than explosions, shocks, and cheap thrills. Krasinski’s horror film is poetic in its way and explores how sound means a lot in the medium of cinematic storytelling. Sound, music, it counts for almost everything and can either keep the audience baited for ninety minutes or lose them in the first five.

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Nerve (2016)

It’s surprising how good “Nerve” is because it’s main centerpiece involves risky stunts that I worried would become the crutch for the film’s narrative. Instead it becomes a crucial element in helping to explore the characters that we’re introduced to during the course of the film. Feeling like a technological twist on David Fincher’s “The Game,” and while it has nothing new to say about the internet (everyone has phones! Everyone is always watching someone!), it still comes out a winner when the credits close.

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Death Wish (2018)

“Death Wish” was a silly movie in its time and it’s a ridiculous concept now. The mere fact that Eli Roth and Joe Carnahan are behind this only serves the film’s premise that it’s an immature, sophomoric male fantasy about solving all of life’s problems with a gun. Bruce Willis’s character Paul Kersey is able to breeze in and out of night clubs and crowded ghettos with only a black hood and shoots down people like it’s a hobby. “Death Wish” then tries to make it very sexual, as Paul begins as this somewhat impotent, pacifistic gentleman whose manhood slowly advances as he embraces the gun.

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TV On DVD: The Wonder Years: Complete Series (DVD)

In fairly high demand since its release years ago, Time Life has begun to re-release the Complete series of “The Wonder Years,” the immensely popular nineties drama that introduced a decade to the sixties. One of the underdogs of the decade, “The Wonder Years” premiered with small fanfare, and ended up becoming one of the most celebrated primetime dramas ever made. I originally reviewed the Deluxe Locker Edition, and now I review the blue box set that features mostly the collection of the entire series on DVD. The series has been restored and featured uncut after almost twenty years out of print and without a proper release.

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