Theatrical Releases: The Apparition & Premium Rush

PREMIUM RUSH || August 24th, 2012

	THE APPARITION || Besides a good enough showing from actor Tom Felton and some eye-candy from the could-be talented Ashley Greene, “The Apparition” fails to become much bigger than itself, losing its unique content to an isolated and under-utilized presence. With more static shots of an everyday house and neighborhood (including tons of power-lines, for some unexplained reason) than anything else, this horror film holds very few scares and those that are present are complete rip-offs of films like “The Ring”, “The Grudge”, and “Paranormal Activity”.
	PREMIUM RUSH || “Premium Rush” builds its moments with precision, delivering a high-end bike messenger film with non-stop action sequences. Made stellar by its big name cast, notably Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the driver’s seat and Michael Shannon giving an outstanding bad-guy performance, the film is able to get past its off-kilter sense of style and recycled, chase scene after chase scene storyline, to deliver a worthwhile action flick.

	GENERAL EDUCATION || Under-the-radar comedies are usually either horrid or somewhat interesting. “General Education” has a tinge of the latter, with at least a fresh look and some potential comedic moments, presenting itself like the fellow school comedy “Accepted”. With his life set out in front of him by his father, Levi must attend summer school to graduate, all without letting his family know.	STREAM
	HERMANO || This may be a great film, but I will probably never know because the trailer is god-awful. “Hermano” has garnered several awards and was an official entry in the Foreign Language category for the Academy Awards. A tale of nature versus nurture, an infant baby is found in the street by a woman and her son, and the boys are raised together, becoming the best team at soccer. When time comes to move up to the professional league, the shady acts of one of the brothers threatens their chances and their relationship.	PASS
	HIT AND RUN || Dax Shepherd’s passion shows through in his pet project “Hit & Run”, in which he writes, directs, and acts, alongside his lovely wife, Kristen Bell. An almost perfect blend of comedy mixed with action, the humor is well-paced and laugh-out-loud while the car chase scenes are a sight to behold. Heading into the film with somewhat low expectations, I enjoyed almost every second of this film. Released by a major distributor (Open Road Films), Shepherd’s film has more of a look and feel of a heartfelt Indie.
	KEITH LEMON: THE FILM || Sick, dumb British humor is not my thing. Though there are a few moments in the trailer that are quite enjoyable, there is really no part of me that needs to see this film. Keith Lemon becomes a mogul when he introduces his new “Lemon phone”, continuing to play the idiot playboy millionaire.	PASS
	KON-TIKI || Not until the portion with the sharks, did I have any interest in seeing this “true story about legendary explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his epic crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947”. With some great looking graphics and a “Life of Pi” feel to it, I will probably be checking out this film.	STREAM
	LITTLE WHITE LIES || Jean Dujardin’s first film since “The Artist”, “Little White Lies” appears to be another winner. Depicting a close group of friends, each with separate and interesting relationships with one another, there appears to be enough drama in this film to keep the plot engrossing for its entire run-time. I believe it difficult to produce a compelling friend-drama, but if the trailer means anything about this film, I am completely behind this foreign language film, also starring the lovely and talented Marion Cotillard.	RENT
	A LONELY PLACE FOR DYING || “A Lonely Place for Dying” is an action thriller with not much going for it. With an interesting setting in an abandoned Mexican prison and James Cromwell with what looks like a very small role, the film just does not peak my interesting.	PASS
	MY SUCKY TEEN ROMANCE || Low budget and just plain horrible looking, this one’s basically what its title suggests, a teenage vampire love story… but with worse quality than a student film, with zero lighting and zero style.	PASS
	NEIGHBORING SOUNDS || Every once and awhile, there are foreign films released that I cannot help but become interested in. “Biutiful” was one of those films, not just because of big star Javier Bardem, but because there was an element of anything goes in the film. “The White Ribbon”, “Dogtooth”, and “Bullhead” are also perfect examples. And now “Neighboring Sounds” about a neighborhood that becomes paranoid when a security team is sent to watch over the residents after a string of petty crimes.	STREAM
	THE REVENANT || A horror-comedy about a man who returns as a zombie with all human functions except for the need to drink blood. He and his friend go on a spree of killing bad guys, after finding out what they are capable of. My biggest thought on the film is that David Anders needs more work. He was great in the television series “Heroes” and he is just a fantastic actor in general, so I will probably see this film just to support him.	STREAM
	SAMSARA || I’ve heard nothing but great things about this film and often enjoy sensory driven art films. “Samsara” is just that and the trailer must be seen to get any sense of what this film is.	STREAM
	SHUFFLE || Black and white science fiction thriller about a man who wakes up at a different age every morning, a gift given to him to solve a mysterious death. Very student film-ish, but with the best intentions.	PASS
	SLEEPWALK WITH ME || Fitting stand-up comedy into a film’s plot can destroy a film’s plot, but much like the success of “Funny People” which developed its characters through some of their stand-up, “Sleepwalk With Me” is almost a coming-of-age through stand-up film. Directed by and starring Mike Birbiglia and winner of the 2012 Audience Award at Sundance, this film looks darkly comedic and completely sound in its plot.	RENT
	SOMEWHERE BETWEEN || A documentary about Chinese adoption in America, with these girls who are raised American but look to meet their biological parents.	STREAM
	TEDDY BEAR || A subtle foreign film about a professional body builder looking for his place in the world.	PASS
	THUNDERSTRUCK || All right, this film doesn’t look entirely horrible. The poster makes it look like another version of “Freaky Friday”, but really “Thunderstruck” is about a kid that receives Kevin Durant’s basketball abilities by touching a ball at the same time as him, but in return, Durant is left with no abilities. My interest is peaked.	STREAM
	THE VICTIM || It’s take a lot for a hokey, low budget horror film to get me to see it. “The Victim” has absolutely nothing for me.	PASS
	WILD HORSE, WILD RIDE || The only documentary about horses that I have ever liked is “Buck” and that was more about the man than the horses. This is some sort of Mustang Makeover Challenge, and I will pass.	PASS

THEATER

• The Apparition
• Hit-And-Run
• Premium Rush

RENT

• Little White Lies
• Sleepwalk With Me

STREAM

• General Education
• Kon-Tiki
• Neighboring Sounds
• The Revenant
• Samsara
• Somewhere Between
• Thunderstruck

PASS

• Hermano
• Keith Lemon: The Film
• A Lonely Place to Die
• My Sucky Teen Romance
• Shuffle
• Teddy Bear
• The Victim
• Wild Horses, Wild Ride