Tag: Isabel Lucas

REVIEW: The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One [2017]

Jared Mobarak

“Insanity is a very common affliction around these parts” Here’s the harsh truth: a low-budget sci-fi from Australia propped up by its secondary lead because the actor playing him is the most recognizable and thus “bankable” star involved is never a home run. Sorry Kellan Lutz, but it’s not. The result conjures the type of shoulder shrug many bestow upon straight-to-DVD fare without taking the time to realize it’s actually hitting select theaters the same day it moves from DirecTV exclusivity to major VOD platforms. And while I would often…

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REVIEW: Careful What You Wish For [2016]

Jared Mobarak

“This guy looks like he’d hit a child” The real mystery is how Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum‘s Careful What You Wish For got itself a theatrical release in the first place—no matter how limited. I’m not surprised Starz Digital is handling distribution, though, since it feels exactly like a late night pay cable ticket sanitized to an R-rating for lustful eroticism rather than actual chemistry, nudity, or plausibility. Sometimes thrillers of the “youthful stalker hits the sexual jackpot” variety can at least be entertaining in an ironic way, but that’s unfortunately…

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REVIEW: Knight of Cups [2016]

Jared Mobarak

“You’re still the love of my life. Should I tell you that?” The evolution of Terrence Malick is a fascinating one. From regular narrative structure to voiceover-driven epics to visual poems, his style has been stripped down to beautiful imagery and pithily obtuse dialogue sending us on journeys as much about ourselves as they are about the characters onscreen. Many believed his last film To the Wonder was a sign of decline—hours of improvised footage cobbled together during post-production into something wholly different than how it began—but I still held…

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REVIEW: Immortals [2011]

Jared Mobarak

“Witness hell!” With the most recent forays into mythology coming in the form of a boring Troy and misguided Clash of the Titans, seeing the name Tarsem Singh attached to Immortals brought a smile to my face. Originally titled Dawn of War and War of the Gods before settling on its current name, the director sought to deliver a bloody epic in the style of a Renaissance painting—the flowing light of the Gods’ capes and fluid motion of action a real treat. And if you’ve seen his previous work The…

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