Hi, Bryan Here….

‘Crooked Arrows’ might be the first feature length narrative film on the fastest-growing sport, Lacrosse.  ‘Crooked Arrows’ was inspirational and an underdog story at heart.  Now I know we have seen our fair share of underdog films, such as; ‘Rocky’, ‘Underdogs’, and ‘Remember the Titans’, but  where ‘Crooked Arrows’ differs is that it shows a sport not only from its physical aspect, but also its spiritual, artistic, and historic background.  While there is an overabundance of cheesy heart-felt moments in this film, ‘Crooked Arrows’ has enough character and inspiration to rise above recent sports films.

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Hi, Bryan Here….

Sacha Baron Cohen returns to the big screen with another instant iconic character — Aladeen, ‘The Dictator’, and every religion, culture, and nationality is fair game for Cohen’s politically incorrect humor.  Cohen’s over-the-top offensive humor is not for everyone, but if you like tongue-in-cheek humor that plays off of every stereotypes and prejudice imaginable, you’ll be laughing hysterically as Cohen keeps crossing the line and reveling in his inappropriate jokes.  Cohen hit a home run with ‘The Dictator’, and I can easily say that this film is funnier than his Ali G, Borat, and Bruno characters combined.

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Hi, Bryan Here….

I’ve been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe for as long as I can remember, and I have always loved watching films about his life, tales, and poems.  I was particularly excited when I heard that James McTeigue was going to direct ‘The Raven’, a murder-mystery that posits a fictional explanation for Poe’s mysterious death.   Unfortunately, while the main idea for the story is original and had the potential to be one of the better murder-mysteries made, ‘The Raven’ was just a series of unexciting plot twists that made me quote, ‘Nevermore’.

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Hi, Bryan Here….

Zal Batmanglij’s ‘Sound of My Voice’ put a complete spell on me after only the first few minutes of watching.  This is Batmanglij’s first feature film and is supposed to be the first of a planned trilogy.  If this is what we can expect from Batmanglij and Brit Marling, then count me as a fan-for-life.  Not in a long time has a film captivated me, leaving me wanting more so badly.  ‘Sound of My Voice’ will definitely leave you sitting on the edge of your seat and wanting more!

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Hi, Bryan Here…

The Dukes of Hazzard, The Addams Family, and the A-Team are all television shows that have become feature films over the past several years. The latest television show to be remade on the big screen is the 60′s television series, Dark Shadows. With its dark humor, strange characters, and gothic set pieces, how could off-beat director Tim Burton resist?  Unfortunately, Dark Shadows proves yet again that even though you have an expansive budget, amazing set pieces, and good actors, you don’t necessarily get a quality film.  Dark Shadows fails to humanize any of the characters besides Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), and although it started off as a fun quirky film, it never improved or advanced after the first ten minutes.

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Hi, Bryan Here….

Morgan Spurlock hits a home run with his new documentary, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.  Spurlock’s previous documentaries are: Super-Size Me, Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and the FX series 30 Days.  In all of these documentaries, Spurlock conducts different social experiments, always putting himself in front of the camera as the guinea pig.  With Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, he is not seen on camera but rather follows several different people as they attend the one, the only, San Diego Comic-Con.

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Hi, Bryan Here….

By the end of Alejandro Brugués’ foreign film Juan of the Dead, you’ll be chanting the film’s title over and over.  For the past ten years or so, the zombie genre has become a household brand and form of entertainment.  Each director of a new zombie film tries to find novel ways to portray the flesh-eating undead.  There are the comedic horror zombies of Shaun of the Dead and the scary-as-hell, running zombies in the recent Dawn of the Dead.  I’ve even seen African zombies,  stripper zombies, and nazi zombies.  With Juan of the Dead, we get a black- humor zombie film with a caricatured backdrop of modern-day political Cuba.

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Hi, Bryan Here…

Tchoupitoulas (pronounced CHOP-it-TOO-luhs) is simply brilliant storytelling.  It’s something I have not seen done before, and it came across vibrantly original and engaging.  Brothers Bill and Turner Ross directed the documentary Tchoupitoulas, which is the name of a street in New Orleans, Louisiana.  This documentary has no real narrative or message, but rather an observance of the eccentricities and wildness of life in New Orleans. The film also won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature at the Dallas International Film Festival this year.

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Hi, Bryan Here….

Richard Linklater’s film, Bernie, was inspired by an article in Texas Monthly Magazine by Skip Hollandsworth titled ‘Midnight in the Garden of East Texas’.  The article was an editorial about a murder committed in the small East Texas town of Carthage, Texas.  Hollandsworth’s editorial argued that the entire town supported the killer, rather than the victim.  Regardless of the fact that the killer confessed, the evidence proved his guilt, and a court sentenced him to life in prison, the entire town still believes he is innocent.  This real-life story translated into a hilarious dark comedy.

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Hi, Bryan Here….

Joss Whedon’s Avengers is what every comic book geek and action film fanatic has dreamed of since they were a little kid.  Not only was it one of the most epic films ever shot on film, but Whedon used his wit and unique story telling to weave these iconic characters into a team that destroys evil.  You see, it’s not all about the people who form a team and save our planet.  It’s about a group of people from different times and different worlds, who necessarily don’t belong together, but realize that by teaming up, they form something bigger than themselves.  And notice that I don’t use the term superhero.  None of the Avengers refer to themselves or think of themselves as heroes, with the exception of Captain America, who really is the only hero in the story.

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