While it’s a personal priority to treat every film the same, sometimes there’s just no use in trashing an indie production seeing a minimal release. However, that’s not the case with The Abduction of Zack Butterfield as I feel I owe it to the industry and moviegoers alike to lay it on thick so that an atrocity such as this will never be dubbed a professional feature film ever again.
Zack Butterfield (TJ Plunkett) has everything going for him; he’s popular, good-looking and an all-star athlete. Unfortunately, it’s those good qualities that catch the eye of former Iraq mercenary turned kidnapper, April McKenna (Brett Helsham). After a brief stalking session, April snatches Zack up mid-run, forcing him into her truck, taking him to her secluded home.
No, she doesn’t lock her victim in a basement, rather a quaint bedroom designed just for him, which, minus the fingerprint scanning lock, is quite cozy. April isn’t your typical kidnapper looking for money; she’d much prefer love. Courtesy of her disillusioned romantic past, April adopted the mentality that “men suck” and thinks that by starting with one while he’s still young, she can shape him into the man of her dreams, hence Zack.
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The second the trailer hit, we knew The Hangover Part II was basically The Hangover, but in Thailand. While simply recycling a storyline is generally a cause for concern, that’s really the point of this film, otherwise we’d be getting some sort of odd spinoff or no sequel at all. The Hangover Part II could have failed on just about every cinematic front as long as the boys experienced a drug-induced night of debauchery followed by a hilarious attempt at recovery. Unfortunately, just like the memory of the wolf pack’s big night out in Thailand, funny jokes seemed to have simply slipped the filmmakers’ minds.
Tackling inherently emotional and real material on the big screen is nearly impossible. No matter how you approach it, there will always be someone to say the situation was misrepresented or sensationalized. While that is the case to a point with Beautiful Boy, the performances are so captivating, it’s possible to push that instinctive judgment aside.
Sure, there’s no harm in getting a laugh out of the classic tasteless poop and penis jokes once in a while, but ultimately, they’re thoughtless cheap shots. Spork on the other hand, is quite the opposite, a film that earns its giggles through very calculated efforts including a unique story, equally innovative and appropriate production techniques and, most importantly, a main character who’s incredibly odd, yet wildly endearing all at the same time. If Napoleon Dynamite’s Napoleon and Deb lived happily ever after and had a kid, that kid might be Spork.
At this point, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, must only make due on two things, Johnny Depp starring as Jack Sparrow and recreating the world of the pirates. Well, franchise fans won’t be disappointed as director Rob Marshall and his team delivered just that. On the other hand, anyone looking for the slightest bit more will leave unsatisfied for the series’ fourth film, On Stranger Tides, has absolutely nothing new to offer.
Yes, the summer movie season is revving up, but before you switch gears and put your brain on cruise control, there’s a little something on the more thoughtful side to check out. Forget the fact that it involves zero CGI, Skateland is simple, sheerly in terms of story. Some moments do drag, but overall, Skateland is a nice and leisurely walk in some modest characters’ shoes.
A Little Mockingjay Told Me: Welcome!
As a huge Kristen Wiig fan, I was very excited for Bridesmaids. And, as a huge fan of the idea of a female Hangover, I was very excited to see a group of crazy ladies get into all sorts of shenanigans gearing up for their best friend’s big day. Bridesmaids certainly made due on some of my expectations, but also attempted to show off a more dramatic side and while that effort wasn’t a complete failure, the parts I was looking forward to are just so exceptionally successful, it’s impossible that they not tarnish the more dramatic material.
As if it isn’t trying enough to make it in the acting world; even with success in the field having appeared on shows like Without a Trace, The Closer and Raising the Bar, Heath Freeman decided it was time to call the shots and go to work for himself. Along with the help of his brother, Brandon and Anthony Burns, Freeman went to work on a script called Skateland. However, Freeman’s work wasn’t complete once the script was locked and neither was his collaborators’. All three men assumed producing positions, Burns got behind the lens to direct and Freeman in front of it.
It’s easy to forget that actress Ashley Greene has a career beyond The Twilight Saga thanks to the enormity of that franchise. Well, not only does she have a few non-Twilight projects on the way, but way back when, before the first Twilight film even hit theaters, Greene was hard at work on another production, Anthony Burns’ Skateland.