All genres of suspense, terror, and horror will be reviewed by Richard Gary. His address to send preview copies supplied upon request to rbf55@msn.com.
Showing posts with label Lost Empire Films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost Empire Films. Show all posts
It’s not often I get to review a
straight-out action film with no horror involved, so I was glad to get the opportunity
with this military crime drama focusing on drug dealing gangs, and specifically
the take-down of a drug lord from down South of the Border. Yes, this is a potential
Trump wet dream where the bad guy is from Meh-hee-ko (a bad hombre), and it’s the special forces of the United States that
is out to take him down.
Allison Gregory
Most action films of this type follow an almost
regimented formula (at least until the reveal),
and this one is no exception. After a prolog about a mission gone bad where the
good guys lose, we pick up the story two years later with a new Naval Covert
Ops Command Special Agent and “registered Republican,” Abbey Vaughn (the
square-jawed Allison Gregory, rocking a Frances McDormand-meets-Erin R. Ryan look),
who is brings retired Bourne-level super-agent Sam Harrigan (Jason Scarborough)
out of retirement. He’s grumpy, he’s drunk, he’s sequestered himself in some
far off locale in rural Texas, and he has a beard. Of course, he doesn’t want
to come back, but events get him to shave his head and he’s back on point to
take down the drug lord and his minions. This is a trope that has been overused
a bit much, but it gets you to the point of action. And, being an action film,
that’s the point, right?
Right off the bat, Vaughn shows herself to
be a bit of an amateur (she’s no Clarice Starling), such as entering a bad-guy
bar solo, without back-up. Whenever I see this done on a TV show, where the lone
cop/good guy runs into a situation where they should just wait until back-up
arrives, I think, “This character is an ass, and deserves to die.” But they
don’t. Vaughn seems to get roughed up or threatened somewhat regularly early on
(and it’s not hard to predict her family will be probably be put in danger at
some point...I write this 17 minutes into the film, so I don’t know for certain
yet). She’s gonna need big strong man Harrigan to rescue her, or at least be a
mentor. You can tell this was written by dudes (Cantu and Scarborough) right
off. I’m waiting for the mansplaining (it comes in at 50 minutes, FYI, but it’s
acknowledged and tempered in a somewhat positive light, or possibly even mocked).
Also, just because Harrigan is the star
(and co-writer), even though Vaughn’s name come first in the credits, it seems
pretty ridiculous that for most of the film he’s the only one who can take care
of himself. I mean, there is Vaughn and another (African-American male…from Brooklyn yet) agent (Shawn Brooks) who
cower under a table while Harrigan takes care of a bunch of knife and
gun-tottin’ thugs himself. This is a bit too Seagal / Van Damme / Rambo egocentric
without the star power to back it up, in my opinion. More on this later.
What I also fine disconcerting is the
weaponry and its use. Everyone has a gun, that’s no surprise, being law
enforcement vs. drug gang (never mind that it’s Texas), but nearly all the
firepower is hand guns, especially in the first two-thirds of the film. Drug
cartels and enforcers would most likely have high powered assault rifles that
fire multiple rounds per second, not bam…bam…bam. On top of that, nobody seems
to hit very much (people or, say speeding away cars), so there is very little
collateral damage, even from a couple of feet away. This is a bit of a
throwback to the Schwarzenegger days where he would stand in the middle of a
room with dozens of people firing at him, and he would kill with every shot
while none hit him. Here, even Harrigan’s (and Vaughn’s) guns tend to miss,
despite multiple rounds. And yet he tries to tell Vaughn how to shoot though
she’s supposedly a marksperson. The feminist side of me is getting grumpy.
Jason Scarborough
I was trying to figure out the political
stance of the film. While it’s quite heteronormative, at the same time there
are some swipes at conservative politicians, but also seems to fall in line
with the present administration’s attitudes about “bad” people coming from
Mexico and the belief that they bring crime with them (or the desire to do so).
Perhaps it’s my own prejudice that sees that, being suspicious as this is from
(and filmed in) San Antonio, Texas. I’m not sure, but I can easily see both
sides of the liberal/conservative spectrum either questioning some parts of
this, or agreeing with others.
One of the enforcers for the cartel is
played by WWE-wrestler Mike Dell, who is also known as Dr. Corbett. He handily
kills people with his bare hands. You know at some point, as this is the
paradigm they are following, he is going to cross fists with Harrigan. Even
before it happens, I’m going to guess that Harrigan starts by losing, and then
wins. Won’t say if it’s true or not, you’ll have to watch for yourself.
Towards the end of the film, Vaughn becomes
stronger after a personal loss, and ends up mostly being able to handle
herself. However, there is one other core character I would like to talk about at
this point, a cyber babe named Jazz (Ione Europa Rousseau) who is sort of a
more punk version of the Abby Sciuto character from NCIS. At first they have her playing the doofy Joe Pesci role from Lethal Weapon 2 (etc.), even giving her
the “Do I get a badge/gun?” lines, but she is my favorite here, and proves that
she can kick frickin’ ass. I want to see a film of just the background story of
her character. Jazz is arguably by far the most interesting and nuanced one
here. Other standouts are Jason Lee Boyson as capo Guapo; his being a stand-up
comic certainly helps with his line delivery, and James C. Leary as Benedict (who
was a semi-regular on the later-seasons of Buffy
the Vampire Slayer under tons of make-up).
Generally, the acting is decent, and when
actually connecting, the kills look pretty good. Most of the hand fights are
pretty good (the villains are usually MMA fighters in their non-film lives),
especially Mills, who comes across as quiet and intense, stealing the camera’s
view whenever he’s onscreen.
One of the things I appreciate is that
while a lot of the film’s story is formulaic, the expected double crosses actually
worked really well (that they happen,
not who they are), and even though I
wondered about it at some point, it still managed to take me a bit by surprise because
I was expecting it to be one of two people, and it was neither.
Other than three enjoyable trailers from LWF, the only extra is a full-length commentary
with Cantu, Scarborough, and Gregory that while not brilliant, is chock full of
information about the creation of the story, certain scenes, and fun anecdotes.
It’s the bad jokes and the occasional talking-over that puts a slight damper on
it. Still, I would recommend the listen if you enjoy the film.
Despite it all, this is actually a decent
watch for this genre, either in spite of or because
of it being formulaic. The story may have holes, but the basic premise works
due to it following so close to the rules. Hell, it actually makes more sense
than most of anything with Seagal or Van Damme, which are just ego pieces. This
can’t rely on that, so it needs to be a bit stronger, and it is that. For a
straight-out action film, the skin is more important than the bones, meaning
that the action/what you see, trumps out the basic story/structure. This fits
the menu quite well for a nice fast paced, fast food film.
Directed by Lance
McDaniel Lost Empire
Films Oklahoma City
University Productions (OCU) 88 minutes, 2009 / 2012 / 2013 www.lostempirefilms.com www.MVDvisual.com
The DVD cover states: From the Director
of Children of the Corn. I’m not sure
that’s something that would necessarily draw me in, having seen that film. And
yet, throughout this film’s credits, I see no mentioning of any director of the
permutations of CotC associated with
this film. But anyway…
I am going to take a stab here (pun
intended) and make an assumption with no ego on whether I am right or wrong:
this film is made by Oklahoma City University Productions, nearly all of it
shot on the campus of Oklahoma City University, and some cast members were
attending the Oklahoma City University at the time, so my guess is that this is
a student project, possibly for a degree. Hey, that’s the way the likes of Coppola
and Scorsese started. But then again, OCU is no NYU.
There are some fine moments here, such
as when the protagonist’s actions mirror almost exactly that of the first
victim (I’m not giving away anything really). There are also a few clever shots
here and there. All in all, though, this felt very much like a Lifetime Movie
of the Week with bloodlust.
It
actually took me about 10 minutes after the opening credits to narrow the field
of possible suspects down to two or three, and I had it nailed within half an
hour. Now, mind you, I watch a bit of mystery shows on TV and usually get it
pretty quick. While there are some imaginative bits throughout, story-wise this
is a pretty standard thriller with about as much blood as there is in an
average CSI, but less gore than that program.
During the prologue, which takes place in
the ‘90s (aka 15 years before the rest of the film), a coed named Heather is brutally
stabbed to death on the steps of her dorm after being manhandled by a couple of
jerk jocks, She’s white and her boyfriend is not, so naturally he gets the
blame, but is let off for lack of evidence. Again, this is the opening scene,
so I’m not giving anything salient away. Flash forward to the present (or
approximately 2008), and we are joined in a university class that specializes
in unsolved crimes (do I need to say what school?). Our central characters,
Amanda and her boyfriend Nick, manage to get the cold case of, well, Heather,
surprise-surprise. From there things get tricky and dangerous, with a decent
body count in the long run.
Most of the acting in this film is about
high school level. The line readings are either too flat or overly
effervescent. Well, in most cases, such as with Josh Shideler, who plays Nick.
True, his character is totally unlikeable as a pretty-boy hothead jock, but it’s
more the stilted way he reads the dialog that is troublesome for me. And,
again, this could be totally wrong, and I apologize if that is so, he really
sets off my gaydar.
Jane Bunting
A shining light, however, is Jane Bunting, who
plays Amanda. I want to say to her, however, “who does your hair? Find someone
else!” Jane has a very cute pouty lip and a mousey/nerdy appeal, but more
importantly, she comes across as someone who can actually act, thankfully. There
are lots of moments where she could have just gone off the scale, but she
reigns it in at the right ticks, and is just the appropriate shade of
expressive at high drama situations (e.g., the mandatory chase-and-hide).
What
I found kind of interesting, and I’m not sure if it’s my overly-sensitive
filter, but there is a certain level of misogyny (the jealous ex-girlfriend,
for example) and racist undercurrent, such as stereotypical patterns (“Yo,
girl!” and eye-rolling). Now, to be fair, some of the strongest characters are
African-American, and there is even an interracial element, but within that
framework there are still a few “oy” moments.
There are other questions I have that
need explaining (why doesn’t she take off the wig, for example…see, I’m being
vague not to give up too much), and the occasional chase clichés are definitely
present. Despite all of this – and I know it’s a lot – this wasn’t a bad film, and it kept me interested
throughout, even though I said “Really?” more than once. Again, it is Lifetime
meets CSI, and I’m not sorry I saw
it. It was entertaining on some levels, and that makes a nice evening.
