Enragés (Rabid Dogs) (2015)

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A group of four bank robbers run into trouble while attempting to escape.  Their simple plan of robbing a bank and getting away goes terribly awry when one of them is killed and the others take hostages.  They eventually get on their way to possible freedom with a father and daughter as well as a woman; however, the road to this freedom is littered with obstacles and violence. Enragés is a new adaptation of the short story “Man and Boy” by Michael J. Carroll which was previously adapted by Mario and Lamberto Bava in 1974.  Here the screenplay is written by Yannick Dahan, first time writer and director Eric Hannezo, and actor (yet not in this film) Benjamin Rataud.

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Point Break (2015) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

pointbreak2015Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 action film “Point Break” was never really anything resembling a masterpiece, but one thing you could never call it was boring. It’s garnered something of a cult following over the years, for a reason. It’s a silly, goofy, and fun bromance where Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze bring their A game in one of the most sexless male romance action films of all time. It’s a camp classic despite its major failings. “Point Break” 2015 takes the 1991 original and saps out all of the fun and inherent camp, transforming it in to a tedious, overlong action thriller without a lick of humor about itself. Even “Fast and the Furious,” which copied “Point Break” shamelessly, had a sense of humor about itself and embraced its silly trappings and ridiculous plot line. Coming ten years too late, “Point Break” comes along after about fifteen retreads, and doesn’t really do anything except inspire the viewer to check out the original action film.

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“Marvel’s Daredevil” Season Two Review, Top 5 Moments of the Season

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I for one loved the introduction of “Daredevil” to the small screen universe. Much like Spider-Man, his is a character that works much better in episodic form rather than feature film format where every narrative has to be compressed. I loved what Marvl brought to the table with the first season, so it’s surprising to say that season two is not only better, but a huge improvement every way shape and form. Season two is, dare I say, amazing. The suit is better, the choreography is better, the performances are better, the writing is killer, and the characters have evolved from the last time we saw them. The entire battle with Wilson Fisk in season one felt a tad stretched out for the sake of a season. This time around the show provides Matt Murdock with two central plots and three sub-plots. At thirteen episodes, the show never feels padded, nor does a single episode feel like filler.

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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

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If you’re like me, you enjoyed “Cloverfield” a great deal and were shocked to see its spiritual sequel sneak up on America one day in February of 2016. It’s definitely a spiritual sequel in every way in the same idea that “Halloween III” was a spiritual sequel to “Halloween.” Director Dan Trachtenberg supplies a steady stream of surprises without ever really making audiences feel cheated. “10 Cloverfield Lane” is a masterful dramatic thriller that asks the big questions about survival. Its biggest themes about the setting feels like something out of a random survival website to arouse conversations. If something was going down in the real world, would you go outside and brave whatever was waiting for you, or would you live in a bunker with all the supplies and luxuries, but have to be under the watchful eye of a very unhinged individual who may or may not be lying to you? What hell is more managable?

CONTINUE ON FOR SPOILERS

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The Corpse of Anna Fritz (El Cadaver de Anna Fritz) (2016)

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(Mild Spoilers)

Ivan and Javi stop by Pau’s work at the hospital morgue on their way to a party.  Pau lets them in on a secret: actress Anna Fritz is lying in his morgue, dead.  The trio decides to go see her; to see how she looks as Pay says she doesn’t even look dead.  Once in the morgue, Ivan decides to touch her and from there gets it in his mind that a bit of necrophilia won’t hurt anyone.  However, he soon finds out that is not the case.

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Love’s Innocence Lost (2016)

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If I have one complaint about “Love’s Innocence Lost” is that I could have used at least five more minutes to catch up with the dilemma ocurring in Mike Clarke’s drama. There isn’t so much explanation as to what happened between characters Aaron and Dina, only that there were children involved, and the crime involved something where trust was severely destroyed. I wouldn’t have minded a lot more extrapolation with Paul McGowan’s script in to what was happening and even more hinting as to what went down that could prompt such a conflict of emotions between Aaron and Dina, in the end.

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Disturbing Behavior (1998) [Blu-Ray]

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I’d be hard pressed to call “Disturbing Behavior” a stellar horror film, but as an artifact of the late nineties teen horror boom, it’s a worthwhile effort by an “X-Files” creative mind. “Disturbing Behavior” fosters a fascinatingly looney tone that works in favor of the premise, even when it strives for inadvertent camp. James Marsden plays Steve, a newcomer to Cradle Bay who has just move in with his family and little sister. Steve is instantly accepted in to the reject crowd of the school, as led unofficially by Nick Stahl’s character Gavin. Despite the strange rift between cliques in the local high school, Steve writes off the separation as simple pack mentality, but is told by Gavin that the popular crowd also known as “Blue Ribbons” are actually more sinister than they seem.

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