All posts by Alex Brannan

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Indie Films, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Entertainment (2015) Movie Review

The opening shots of Entertainment are largely static. The Comedian (Gregg Turkington, essentially playing in this film a fictionalized version of himself and his comedic alter-ego Neil Hamburger), stands in an airplane fuselage, looking down. He watches as a clown, Eddie the Opener (Tye Sheridan), prepares for a set at a prison.  He looks on dour-faced as the clown “wows” the crowd of prisoners by simply bouncing a ball and clapping his hands.

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The first spoken dialogue in the film comes from a tour operator who encourages The Comedian and others to “by all means, go ahead and wander.” Yet the film does the opposite. Continue reading Entertainment (2015) Movie Review →

Box Office Predictions

Weekend Box Office Predictions: 5/6 – 5/8

This weekend’s domestic box office is not very hard to predict in terms of the number one spot. Captain America: Civil War will undoubtedly take the premier slot in its opening weekend. The real question, then, is what films will remain in the top five, and how far will they drop off.

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The Jungle Book’s healthy box office run will keep it at number two. After that, it’s rather up in the air. With no new releases this weekend aside from Captain America, Keanu, Mother’s Day, and Huntsman: Winter’s War will Continue reading Weekend Box Office Predictions: 5/6 – 5/8 →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Indie Films, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Comedy (2012) Movie Review

Rick Alverson’s The Comedy is not a comedy. It is an anti-comedy. A satire of a self-destructive generation gazing on their own broken world. The film opens on a group of people, mostly slightly overweight men, drinking and dancing, spitting beer and stripping nude. This is a commonplace setting for this group of “friends.”

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The film stars Tim Heidecker of Tim and Eric fame. Comedy partner Eric Wareheim co-stars, and their presence in the film in one instance is Continue reading The Comedy (2012) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Indie Films, Like It, Short Films

Heir (2015) Short Film Review

A father (Robert Nolan) takes his son to spend a day with an old college friend (Bill Oberst Jr.), but the activities they engage in are far more insidious than simply “gone fishing.” The father, on top of the strange goings-on in his friend’s home, experiences a stigmata-like wound that oozes a sticky pus.

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The short quickly deviates from reality, surreal imagery and special effects work becoming Continue reading Heir (2015) Short Film Review →

Movie News

May 2016 Movie Release Preview

The Summer movie season is here. Big blockbusters. Under-the-radar gems. Surprise hits. It’s all on the horizon, starting with the weekend of May 6. Let’s take a look at what movies you should be looking out for in the month of May.

 

May 6:

Captain America: Civil War

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The next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Captain America: Civil War is the most anticipated Continue reading May 2016 Movie Release Preview →

Lists

5 Things to Know Before Seeing X-Men: Apocalypse

With the upcoming May release of X-Men: Apocalypse, the latest in the long-running superhero franchise of films, you might find yourself asking just what the f**k is going on with this cinematic universe. And you’re not the only one. Here are five things that might help you prepare for the film.

 

1. The X-Men Timeline is Messy, But That Makes Your Life Easier

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The X-Men film franchise is huge at this point: eight films spanning 16 years. One could be forgiven for forgetting what happened way back in that first trilogy of films, and the fact of the matter is Continue reading 5 Things to Know Before Seeing X-Men: Apocalypse →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Keanu (2016) Movie Review

After his girlfriend breaks up with him, Rell (Jordan Peele, also co-writer) comes across cute kitten Keanu, who proves to be the saving grace from his post-breakup blues.

Rell gets unnaturally attached to Keanu, to the point that when the cat is kidnapped (dare I say cat-napped?) by gangster outfit the 17th St. Blips, he and cousin Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key) must infiltrate the gang and literally save the cat.

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The lion’s share of comedy in Keanu derives from Continue reading Keanu (2016) Movie Review →

Box Office Predictions

2016 Summer Box Office Predictions

Last year, I took part in a game of Summer box office predictions. The end result was that I won a competition at Trivia Club with said predictions, which was a huge surprise because I didn’t even get the number one film correct. Thanks, Trivia Club!

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Long story short, I just don’t know when to get out. Below you will find my predictions for what 10 films will get the highest take at the domestic box office in Summer 2016, followed by a bit of explanation on my choices. But first, Continue reading 2016 Summer Box Office Predictions →

Box Office Predictions

Weekend Box Office Predictions: 4/29 – 5/1

The weekend of 4/29/2016 sees three new wide releases: Keanu, Mother’s Day, and Ratchet & Clank. The first is the big screen debut of Key & Peele stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as leads. The second is the next film in the Garry Marshall-verse. And the third is a video game adaptation. Let’s get into it.

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Mother’s Day has the widest release of the three (3,035 according to Box Office Mojo), but Marshall’s box office record is Continue reading Weekend Box Office Predictions: 4/29 – 5/1 →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Indie Films, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Green Room (2016) Movie Review

In Green Room, a group of young and conceited punk rockers travel to one last unscheduled gig after their tour bottoms out. The White Supremacist punk scene of the club proves to be more shady than it first appears. The mosh pit is slowed to a balletic chaos as they perform. The atmosphere of the audience is unforgiving. And the green room backstage is an environment of violent undoing.

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The film, like the music it portrays, is unrefined, but it is a purposefully stylized unrefined. The low key lighting and grimy aesthetic is what has become “torture porn chic.”

What writer-director Jeremy Saulnier, whose 2013 microbudget indie thriller Blue Ruin received critical success, does differently than torture porn is deliver a Continue reading Green Room (2016) Movie Review →