REVIEW: Saw IV [2007]

“Cherish your life” Besides a misstep with episode II, I have to admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed the Saw saga. From the get-go, I was intrigued by what these young upstarts, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, were bringing to the horror genre. While the original had its moments of bad acting and campiness—sorry Cary Elwes, I’m still a big fan—it was unique, uncompromising, and began a new genre of film coined torture porn. While the two gents decided against creating a series on their own, they did stay on…

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REVIEW: Lions for Lambs [2007]

“If” All I have heard about Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs, Tom Cruise’s first foray with his United Artists studio, is that it is boring, long, and anti-war to the fullest. Even with that going in, I couldn’t stop thinking how intriguing the second trailer was. I mean this has a killer cast and what is becoming a very capable screenwriter. Considering Matthew Michael Carnahan’s first script being pro-war, The Kingdom, and the screen time of this film being barely over 90 minutes, I needed to see if the detractors…

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Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Babel

Tonight saw the premiere of Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Babel series. What is being billed as a yearly event, (at least for 3 years at the moment), the series sees award-winning authors coming to Buffalo for a reading. The venue is Babeville’s Asbury Hall and I must saw it is a great choice. While I can’t speak for the balcony, I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house. Holding maybe a thousand people allows for even the back row to have prime visibility towards the stage. Some…

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REVIEW: Near Dark [1987]

“Normal folks, they don’t spit out bullets when you shoot ’em” Before cult classic Point Break and sci-fi winner Strange Days, Kathryn Bigelow had an 80’s vampire gem called Near Dark. Having heard a lot of good word of mouth on this one, and my love for Days, I needed to check it out. Vampire films have a tendency to become redundant, always following rules and never being creative. Seeing 30 Days of Night add a little something to the genre, it was interesting to see what Bigelow and co-writer…

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