Review: ‘Turbo Kid’

“Turbo Kid” is one of those throwback movies, an homage to a certain style of movie, in this case the post apocalyptic films of the 1980s, and the 1980s in general, done with the fervor of a child’s imagination set loose with gallons of fake blood, a fever dream of a movie about a “Mad Max” style wasteland ruled by a one-eyed tyrant and his insane and blood thirsty right hand man, in which a young kid all on his own tries to survive one day at a time.

The Kid (Munro Chambers) spends his days scavenging through the post-apocalyptic wasteland of 1997 (oh yeah, this movie takes place explicitly in the future…of 1997) looking for stuff to trade in for potable water. And every now and then he gets his hands on a comic book of a guy called Turbo Rider, who dispatched justice viciously with some sort of wrist-mounted laser beam. He then meets a girl named Apple (Laurence Leboeuf) who at first seems insane and dangerous but they of course become friends because it’s the apocalypse, what ya gonna do, turn away a smiling face?Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Black Mass’

“Black Mass” is the story of James “Whitey” Bulger, a small time Irish mobster in South Boston who used an unlikely connection through the FBI to become the biggest crime lord in the whole city. But really this movie is about how crime can be perpetuated from either side of the law and sometimes these supposedly opposite factions team up and cause some real damage. And of course it is always a matter of time before one’s sins catch up to them, but when they do, is it already too late?

Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp) was just doing some small time stuff with his modestly sized crew when a friend from the old neighborhood got in touch with him. This friend was John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) and he just happened to be a special agent with the FBI, and having been assigned to Boston to stop the organized crime problem, he decides that he can enter into a mutually beneficial relationship with Whitey, convincing him to help find ways to ensnare Whitey’s Italian mafia rivals. Pretty much telling himself and his crew that the enemy of their enemy is their friend, this alliance starts some really bad stuff for everyone else around them.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 9/21/15 – ‘The Babadook’

From 2014, the Australian horror film “The Babadook” took the cinema world by storm, becoming immensely popular and getting released theatrically all around the world, before it hit the home video and streaming markets, enabling even more people to get freaked out by this tale of a single mom and her struggles with raising her difficult kid all by herself. Because if that wasn’t troubling enough for her, they are also suddenly being haunted and terrorized by an evil spirit that came to them through a weird and creepy looking pop up book. Good times.

#141 – The Etchidook

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In episode 141, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn are joined by Steve Etchie (www.twitter.com/etchie) from the recently ended show Answer Pants (www.twitter.com/Answer_Pants). Chris and Drew review Black Mass and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.

Also discussed in this episode:

Billy D reviews “Cooties.”

Dr. Drew gives his two cents on movie trailers giving away too much.

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is “The Babadook.”

The Crespodisco features two songs from the soundtrack for “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

Should Monster Squad get remade?

Blade Runner 2 is happening.

Pacific Rim 2 is not happening. But it still might.

Bonus Episode – Talking TV

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Talking TV with Cinema Crespodiso – TV Reviews

In this BONUS episode of TV reviews full of SPOILERS, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn take some time to talk about a TV shows. Specifically, they get into The Knick season 1, Sense8 season 1, Mr. Robot season 1, BoJack Horseman season 2, and season 1 of Daredevil And yes, there are many SPOILERS for each show so beware of SPOILERS!

SPOILERS!

Review: ‘Cop Car’

Of course movies with twisty plots and lots of surprises and out of left field decisions and choices can be very fun and exciting, almost all of us enjoy stories with lots of characters and little subplots that add up to a bigger story that seems like it took months and months to craft into something so ingenious. However it is equally delightful when a movie comes around that is simple in story and execution and still leaves us feeling exhilarated from what we saw, maybe even more, and “Cop Car” definitely fits this latter category, as it is a short, simple tale, yet one that is involving and so well done that is becomes very suspenseful as well as quite funny, so when it is all said and done it feels like a lot still happened.

“Cop Car” is the story of what happens when two young kids in Colorado steal a sheriff’s cruiser and take it for a joyride, and what that Sheriff (Kevin Bacon) does to get it back, as well as why he wants it back so bad (outside of it being his police cruiser and him being the sheriff and all that). And that really is it. We learn pretty early on that the two boys are runaways, though we don’t know what they are running away from or why, and we really don’t learn all that much about the Sheriff either. We are told just what we need to know, which is enough, and it works pretty damn well.

Netflix pick for 9/14/15 – ‘The Homesman’

“The Homesman” is a 2014 Western, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, starring Hillary Swank (among others), and it deals with the aspects of living in the Old West that a lot of other Westerns choose to ignore: the hardships, the loneliness, the desperate fight to survive against the elements, hostile people, illness, and just general bad luck, it was no picnic in the middle of America in the middle of the 1800s, yet people were out there and they had to survive. This particular movie is about how two people band together to help transport three mentally ill women across an unforgiving landscape so they can get some help. Simple yet effective.

From my original review of “The Homesman” from December 2014:

Tommy Lee Jones and Hillary Swank are both pretty fantastic in this movie, and the rest of the cast is filled with great, reliable actors like John Lithgow, James Spader, Meryl Streep, William Fichtner and Tim Blake Nelson, and some other roles are played by young, very promising actors like Jesse Plemons and Hailee Steinfeld, so there is no shortage of excellent acting. Tommy Lee Jones has a very simple and effective directorial style, no flashy moves or anything, just straightforward storytelling accompanied by excellent cinematography from Rodrigo Prieto. This is a well made movie in pretty much every way, it has some uncomfortable moments, some comedy, some tragedy, unexpected turns, and a poetic ending, and it all works pretty damn well.

Damn well is right. This is a strong movie, very simple but very effective, and I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it.

See for yourself right here on the Netflix Instant.

Continue Reading …

#140 – Kevin’s Bacon Moustache

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In episode 140, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn review Cop Car, Chris also reviews The Visit, and he recaps his experience of being a guest on DOUG LOVES MOVIES.

Also discussed in this episode:

Billy D reviews “Goodnight Mommy.”

Dr. Drew gives his two cents on Chris being on Doug Loves Movies.

The Netflix Instant Pick of the Week is The Homesman.Continue Reading …

Review: ‘The Visit’

From the writer/director of “The Village” and the producer of “Paranormal Activity” should tell you everything you need to know about M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Visit.” Sort of a “found footage” horror movie (elaboration on that qualification to come), here we have Mr. Shyamalan’s foray into this particular brand of low budget horror film making, working in a genre that has inherent low expectations both critically and commercially. Once known as the guy who might be “the next Spielberg,” now we’d just like to see if he can make something better than “The Gallows” or “As Above, So Below.”

In “The Visit,” teenager Becca (Oliva DeJonge) and her younger brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) are sent to spend a week with their grandparents at their remote farmhouse, and this particular visit is a little weird for them because they never met their grandparents before, as their mother (Kathryn Hahn) hasn’t spoken to them since before she had the kids. Meanwhile, Becca wants to be a filmmaker, so she brings two cameras and her lap top and makes a documentary out of the whole thing. And after they arrive at the farmhouse, they soon realize that not everything is at it seems with their Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), and for a week they are stuck documenting and trying to figure out if everything is okay or not.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 9/8/15 – ‘Bound’

The Wachowskis had to start somewhere. Before “Sense8” and “Cloud Atlas” and “The Matrix,” right after the Wachowskis got their start in the Hollywood machine via screenwriting, they managed to put together their $6 million directorial debut in 1996, and this bad ass little movie is called “Bound” and it is damn good.

With tons of style and made with the sophistication of people who have been directing for decades, “Bound” is a tight crime thriller about the girlfriend of a mob guy falling for the new lady next door and getting her new lover to agree to rip off this guy to the tune of $2 million in straight cash money. With a fine tuned plot and enough tension to make Alfred Hitchcock sit up and take notice, this is a fun, over-the-top violent and rather sexually progressive film (though should anyone expect anything less from the Wachowskis?). Starring Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon and Joe Pantoliano all doing awesome work, you are going to love this movie (if you don’t already).Continue Reading …

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