Like many others in Los Angeles, Josh is an unpaid intern desperately trying to make it. When his boss has him go pick up a highly valuable necklace, he figures he’ll save some time and picks it up early. While the necklace is in his possession, his housemates through a party that quickly turns to a home invasion. Co-written by Jamie Marshall and Matthew L. Schaffer with Marshall also directing, the film builds a home invasion/heist story with double crosses and not one clear cut innocent character.
Tag Archives: Drama
Little House on the Prairie: Legacy Movie Collection (DVD/Digital)
When I was a kid, “Little House on the Prairie” was one of my favorite shows and I saw it all the way through the end. It was the drama that always kept me interested and engrossed, as Michael Landon was a favorite of my household. For fans of the series, the “Legacy Movie Collection” comes to DVD with three movies that close the series and resolve the entire saga of the Ingalls once and for all. The famed TV show starring Michael Landon and Victor French, and loosely based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, followed the Ingall family as they dealt with the hardships of living in the late 1800’s America, and how they fared against various obstacles in their lives. The series was a compelling drama that ended in 1983, and gained another life among a new generation that followed the series when it went to syndication.
Cycle (2016)
Director Alexis Ramirez’s short film “Cycle” is a little rough around the edges, but I really enjoy what kind of idea is presented in such a short time. The concept of competition and the thirst for success in a career driving a person mad is a good one that’s been tackled many times. It is thankfully done pretty well here focusing on Heather, a young woman who is at home one afternoon seemingly practicing on choking someone to death.
Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901-1959 (2016)
After presenting various cuts of “The Godfather” trilogy over the years presented on television, HBO has decided to offer up their own version of Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” entitled “The Complete Epic.” Clocking in at a little over seven hours and presented in HD, the idea for “The Complete Epic” is that “The Godfather” and “The Godfather II” are spliced together telling the entire saga of the Corleones chronologically. They then injected a lot of deleted and or extended scenes for the purpose of exposition and further elaboration on plot points somewhat evaded and under explained in the aforementioned films. As well, what’s considered “The Complete Epic” does not include the often maligned “The Godfather III.”
The Iron Giant (1999): Signature Edition [Blu-Ray]
A few years ago, Warner Bros. announced plans to give “The Iron Giant” a new Blu-Ray release, and merely was content with stuffing the DVD port over to Blu. Director Brad Bird was not happy with the announcement and asked fans to demand so much better as “The Iron Giant” deserved a lot better than a mere DVD transfer. I was one of those fans that tweeted and asked Warner Bros. to give “The Iron Giant” much better treatment than a simple transfer. I’m happy a shortly after, Warner has allowed consumers the option of two special deluxe editions of “The Iron Giant,” and Brad Bird is able to give fans a bang up edition that is pretty much the ultimate realization of his masterpiece. Not only is director Bird able to deliver his film in High Definition, but he manages to add a few small scenes here and there to inject more nuance and character depth. These alterations work in favor of “The Iron Giant” adding a bit more dimension and length for folks that always hoped for an extended edition.
The Unraveling (2015) [FrightFest 2016]
As his fiancée is expecting his child, Michael struggles with his heroin addiction. As his habit threatens his growing family, he is kidnapped and taken to the woods. Written by Thomas Jakobsen and Justin S. Moore and directed by Jakobsen, the film takes the addiction head on then moves in surprising directions. The characters built are believable within the film’s established boundaries but also as humans. What happens to them is not something everyone will go through but their reactions make sense, their actions as well. One twist was a nit off feeling but once it’s passed, the film resumes being believable.
Enclosure (2016)
Fiona Dourif is one of the premiere actresses making waves in the horror genre, and she continues delivering powerhouse performances in one of the more creative and complex horror films director Patrick Rea has ever given fans. After her powerhouse performance in “Curse of Chucky,” Dourif stars in “Enclosure,” a film that’s teeming with tension, terror, and mystery and ends as a pretty original twist on the lost campers in the woods trope. I initially assumed “Enclosure” was another big foot or yeti horror tale, but director Patrick Rea strives for so much more, and delivers a film that’s so much more meaningful than a simple monster in the woods tale. “Enclosure” is very much a Patrick Rea film with his usual injection of tension, twists, and subtle humor, along with a premise that transforms in to a whole other beast mid-way.