Writer/director Tom Provost brings ghost story to the screen that is part Alfred Hitchcock, part Rod Sterling and, to some degree, Agatha Christie while delivering the creepy goods those names are known for. From the beginning, The Presence creates quite an impact with an almost over-powering score that builds throughout the opening credits. After that it gets quiet, a little too quiet. The story begins with a melancholy Shane West mulling around a stark wooden cottage looking a bit lost. Then it switches focus to Mira Sorvino who is heading to her family’s remote cottage to do some work for her undisclosed profession. Turns out they’re both going to be staying at the…
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DIFF Review…Red Dog
Every dog owner usually claims their pride and joy is the smartest or most loyal dog on the planet. But let me ask you this: Has your dog ever hitchhiked his way across the Australian Outback to find you? Neither has mine. The star of this film is the famous titular Australian that dog who did just that and a whole lot more. But, as the say in the film, “It’s not what he did, it’s who he was“. His name, as simple as the colored sand that stretches across that vast continent, is Red Dog. In the film this highly lovable canine brings a community together as the remote town in the Pilbara region transitions into a…
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DIFF Review…Salvation Boulevard
There’s quite an A-List ensemble cast in this indie film from IFC and you’ll find that the laughs to be had are about as big as the stars themselves. Salvation Boulevard is directed and written by George Ratliff and is based on Larry Beinhart’s book of the same name. In the film Pierce Brosnan plays Dan Day, Pastor of a mega-church who is planning to build an entire community for the followers of his mega-parish The Church of the Third Millennium. But after he accidentally shoots a highly regarded atheist author (Ed Harris) after their debate on religion, the plans for his mega-city could soon turn to dust. Salvation Boulevard is a clever satire…
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DIFF Review…Lucky
Ok, so the idea of “a serial killer winning the lottery” is bound to get plenty of curious (and morbidly curious) in the theater doors. But homicide really is small potatoes compared to marital troubles and incompatibility. Lucky is directed by Gil Cates Jr. and does quite a lot with this little indie script. He sets things up nicely with the simple but passable back story where we find Ben has always been in love with his next door neighbor. But Lucy has never thought of Ben as anything more than a friend. That is until he won the 36 Million dollar Iowa lottery. Soon Ben’s life is changed completely and he’s…
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DIFF Review…13 Assassins
Takashi Miike paints a samurai film for the ages with his gripping epic 13 Assassins. A gritty story about 13 Ronin tasked with killing the corrupt son of the Shogun, Miike sends a love letter to Akira Kurosawa that would make any filmmaker envious of such a compliment. Right off the bat Miike recounts this true story by establishing a villain set for the record books in the form of Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira. His careless and detestable actions are close to breaking the peace that has been held for many years. Called to stop him is Shinzaemon Shimada and he’s to assemble 12 other samurai to take down Naritsugu. It’s 13 against 200 but to a well…
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DIFF Review…The Greater Good
“How many deaths are enough to justify something as being a benefit?” That’s exactly what director/producer Kendall Nelson asks in her new documentary. Bringing three tragically affected families’ stories to light, The Greater Good tells how childhood vaccines (medication that is supposed to be good for these children) are nowhere as safe as they were led to believe. Headlining The Greater Good is 16 year old Gabi Swank. After seeing commercials for the drug Gardasil, she wanted to be protected against the possibility if cervical cancer. But all too soon did this “fast tracked” drug wreck her life and that of her family as well. Gardasil (like other market ready vaccines)…
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G-S-T Review…Sucker Punch
Sucker Punch has a whole lotta everything going on, and I do mean everything. To its credit, the gritty and gorgeous CG mess in front of your eyes should make everyone in the theater smile, even if they don’t really know why or what’s going on. This film has it all and Snyder’s style is there in spades. But it does lack a depth that made his previous film Watchmen so compelling. Granted Zack Snyder didn’t write the Watchmen graphic novel so the level of expectation can’t be that comparable in terms of story. But Sucker Punch tells a tale as odd/mixed as a child taking out his toys and playing with…
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G-S-T Review…Rango
After the success of the previous Pirates installments, Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp bring us another spectacular flick, this time in another equally believed dead genre. Rango is a gruff but gorgeous adventure replete with all the grandeur of the earlier Depp/Verbinski collaborations and delivers the fun we’ve come to expect from the pair. This time though their efforts yeild an epic tale that takes us on a great ride via a different medium. Enticing, creative and off the wall, this very funny tale gives a fresh yet vintage spin on the old and gritty spagetti westerns.
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G-S-T Review…The King’s Speech
I never thought of a film being able to exist as both a “period piece” and a “buddy flick”. The first is a very traditional type of film, the other a more modern kind of story. Well, The King’s Speech is definitely one that equally encompasses both types of stories. It’ is a very sly companionship film that, when the credits roll, you realize isn’t mainly about pre-WWII history or British nobility. Well it is, but mostly it’s about friendship. Friendship that, like most things in life, is rocky when forced. Yet after the bumps in the road are passed it builds to become a life long relationship. Beyond anything that on the…
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G-S-T Review…No Strings Attached
Rom-Coms; you either love ’em or hate ’em. It is brainless entertainment after all, but does it always have to be the case? No Stings Attached isn’t a total nose dive and there is a small amount of humor and an almost heartfelt message if you sift through enough of it. However it’s like trying to get full eating only meager little spoonfuls – it ends up being more exhausting than it is satisfying. But can’t we expect more? Don’t we deserve more? And from Ivan Reitman no less! I went in with an open mind but deep down I could just tell knew this was going to be pretty…