VIDEO: “Barely Legal Pawn”

“Cable money, though” A partial ad for Audi—in the way that Jerry Seinfeld‘s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is for Acura (product placement)—and full viral promotion for the 2014 Primetime Emmys, former award-winners Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have some fun spoofing “Pawn Stars”. “Barely Legal Pawn” is a comedic treat for all involved with the “Breaking Bad” co-stars going full white trash and the “Veep” star straight man. Complete with a few barbs volleyed at each other as far as acting diffculity in their respective programs—and at…

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REVIEW: Cam2Cam [2014]

“r u alone?” This year’s most tonally out-of-place ending goes to Cam2Cam. A horror/thriller pitting the murderer of a young American in Bangkok against the victim’s sister for either vengeance or a smart getaway somehow finds itself culminating in a weirdly romantic vibe of lost loves sending gifts via post to remember the lovely time they had in Thailand. It’s the biggest left turn since The Truth About Charlie‘s mediocre by the numbers remake shifting to memorable WTF whimsy for its final five minutes. Cabin Fever comes to mind too.…

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REVIEW: Overboard [1987]

“I’m not bored. I’m quite happy. Everyone wants to be me.” It’s really kind of crazy that a movie like Overboard could have ever come to fruition. Just look at the premise: a white trash carpenter kidnaps a wealthy debutante with amnesia to seek revenge by making her his housewife for her not paying him what she owed on a job. There are no repercussions, it’s all considered a horrible ‘trick’, and true love is formed out of one of the most clichéd and absurd opposites attract couplings ever conceived…

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INTERVIEW: Allison Ewing, Victoria Kuper & Emily Stewart, worker/owners at Breadhive

Don’t feel too bad if you’ve never heard of Breadhive Worker Cooperative Bakery as they’ve only been around since April of this year. It does mean you’ve missed their cover story in Buffalo Spree magazine, their profiles in The Buffalo News and Block Club, as well as blog entries on Buffalo Rising and Buffalo Eats, though. So maybe you should feel bad—I know I did after only discovering the collective last month. Thankfully BuffaloVibe is here to ensure you’re given a second chance to get to know the entrepreneurial women behind…

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REVIEW: Big Trouble in Little China [1986]

“What does that mean: ‘China is here’?” Box office returns aside, John Carpenter made the correct choice deciding to helm supernatural comedy adventure Big Trouble in Little China rather than supernatural comedy adventure The Golden Child back in the mid-80s. While both had similar twenty-five million dollar budgets, it’s hard to believe watching today that the former made back only eleven as the latter rose to almost eighty. This is what happens when your star is a bankable commodity like Eddie Murphy as opposed to an up-and-comer in Kurt Russell.…

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REVIEW: Metro Manila [2013]

“Sometimes the only thing left to hold onto is the blade of a knife” The impetus for Sean Ellis‘ Metro Manila could have simply been an intriguing anecdote to tell people upon returning to England from a trip visiting a friend in the Philippines and for most it would have. Unable to shake the disquieting scene witnessed, however, the writer/director begun crafting a story that gave two nameless armored truck drivers engaged in an argument a history. Enlisting the help of Frank E. Flowers, he used the incident between them…

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REVIEW: If I Stay [2014]

“True love’s a bitch” I am not a proponent of stories that hinge the possibility of undying live between teenagers on an unspeakable tragedy. This was my biggest issue with the overwrought sequels to Twilight and their brazen desire to show how star-crossed lovers would commit suicide before ever imagining a world outside the other’s arms. Cry all you want about how Romeo and Juliet did the same: Twilight is not Shakespeare. To that point, neither is Gayle Forman. Yes it’s a tough world and we all dream about a…

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REVIEW: The Golden Child [1986]

“Hey Bird – Did you just see a little Hare-Krishna midget in the tree, floatin’?… Or is it me?” Only in the 80s could a film like The Golden Child be born. And that goes for the comedy it became and the supernatural drama screenwriter Dennis Feldman originally wrote it as with Mel Gibson in the lead and John Carpenter at the helm. Just look at the premise: a young Tibetan child with the power to heal the dead and save our world is kidnapped by a demon, inexplicably brought…

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REVIEW: First Night [2014]

“You should just call the cops” Writer/director Philippe Bourret‘s short film First Night takes a very scary look at society’s implicit trust in our police force roaming the streets with loaded weapons and a slice of carte blanche if only they chose to wield it. Just look at the stereotypical recruit: a former jock with aggression issues who signs up for an outlet either straight from school or back from deployment overseas. This is a blanket generalization, but one necessary to explain how some cops may be motivated by more…

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REVIEW: Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan [2006]

“This is definitely the wrong way to do this” Had I watched writer/director Mike Flanagan‘s short Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan when it was released in 2006, I might have found myself reacting much differently. Being eight years later and a world post Sinister and The Conjuring success, however, I can’t help feeling underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very well made for its shoestring two-grand budget and does possess a few nicely orchestrated effects via carefully blocked shots and specific jump cuts through time. I…

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REVIEW: I Origins [2014]

“You’re not going to regret this in the morning are you?” Faith is a powerful, impossible thing. By definition it’s something we cannot know with certainty. However, just as those of scientific minds demean believers of God for taking the easy road towards fairy tale, one could say similar sentiments about them for refusing to accept that which they haven’t seen for themselves. After all, isn’t it harder to allow yourself to know without knowing? To hold something in your heart that you have no basis for other than a…

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