Aftershock (2012)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no character deaths, major reveals, or big twists**

During a vacation in Santiago, Chile, an American tourist nicknamed Gringo (Eli Roth) enthusiastically explores the wild night clubs and a famous winery. As a popular and wealthy local, Pollo (Nicolas Martinez) leads the tour with Ariel (Ariel Levy), Pollo’s life-long friend and Gringo’s new friend. One night, the group meets Kylie (Lorenza Izzo), her sister Monica (Andrea Osvart), and Irina (Natasha Yarovenko). Over the next few days, Pollo and Ariel lead an extensive tour for everyone in the group.

One night, Pollo, Gringo, Ariel, Monica, Kylie, and Irina visit a popular underground night club. A heated argument between Kylie and Monica reaches a boiling point, but a devastating earthquake disrupts everything. The group survives the ugly stampede, and after a rough journey through the ruins of the club, everyone reaches the surface to discover the maddening chaos.

On the surface, the group searches for safety, help, and medical care for a dismembered Ariel with some assistance from a firefighter. Fighting through a mess of ruthless savagery in a life-or-death survival mission is an unavoidable priority, and a looming tsunami forces the group to seek covered shelter before it’s too late.

Eli Roth delivers one of the better performances, as this nerdy square, who’s having a lot of trouble picking up women as a single father. Martinez is a believable womanizer, Izzo is a decent problem child with a bratty attitude, and Yarovenko is just there as Irina. Story wise, you know Irina’s a single mother with a son, but that’s about it, and her character doesn’t have too much depth.

Monica and Ariel are the two party poopers in the group. Monica is the controlling and overbearing bigger sister, and Ariel is a wimpy whiner, who’s obsessed with his ex-girlfriend. No complaints about the quality of performances from Osvart and Levy, but Monica and Ariel are the two most annoying characters in Aftershock.

Selena Gomez has a little cameo here. She plays this young woman in a club, and Gringo tries to put the moves on her, but Gomez’s character crushes his hopes with the “I have a boyfriend” line. But don’t get your hopes up for Gomez, because if you blink, you might miss her brief appearance.

If you’re looking for an intelligent social study on the dark side of human nature during a tragedy, then you should find another movie, because Aftershock isn’t for you. Sure, as a viewer, you can see violent and deplorable behavior, but any social commentary is non-existent here. Instead, Aftershock fits in with a crowded bunch. Gore fiends will get a kick out of the nasty stuff here, but for everyone else, Aftershock doesn’t bring anything new to the table, and you might have a “Meh. I’ve seen this before” feeling after certain scenes.

Depending on your tastes, Aftershock is more than capable of holding your attention. I barely noticed the brisk one hour and thirty minutes runtime. Taking a little break to check the time never crossed my mind, because Aftershock’s vicious insanity is like a flaming car wreck surrounded by a pack of hungry hyenas, it’s impossible to look away.

Aftershock is an extreme and chaotic disaster/horror film, filled with bloody carnage and intense brutality, a good surprising twist at the end, and the jaw-dropping cliffhanger is genuinely shocking. And don’t expect any cheery moments from Aftershock, because you won’t see any happy endings here. Also, to give you a fair warning, Aftershock is not for the weak at heart. Aftershock features graphic gore, tons of blood, sadistic violence, and rape, so if you’re the squeamish type, you should avoid this one.

Rating: 6/10

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As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Aftershock (2012)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

During a vacation in Santiago, Chile, an American tourist nicknamed Gringo (Eli Roth) enthusiastically explores the wild night clubs and a famous winery. As a popular and wealthy local, Pollo (Nicolas Martinez) leads the tour with Ariel (Ariel Levy), Pollo’s life-long friend and Gringo’s new friend. One night, the group meets Kylie (Lorenza Izzo), her sister Monica (Andrea Osvart), and Irina (Natasha Yarovenko). Over the next few days, Pollo and Ariel lead an extensive tour for everyone in the group.

One night, Pollo, Gringo, Ariel, Monica, Kylie, and Irina visit a popular underground night club. A heated argument between Kylie and Monica reaches a boiling point, but a devastating earthquake disrupts everything. The group survives the ugly stampede, and after a rough journey through the ruins of the club, everyone reaches the surface to discover the maddening chaos.

On the surface, the group searches for safety, help, and medical care for a dismembered Ariel with some assistance from a firefighter. Fighting through a mess of ruthless savagery in a life-or-death survival mission is an unavoidable priority, and a looming tsunami forces the group to seek covered shelter before it’s too late.

Eli Roth delivers one of the better performances, as this nerdy square, who’s having a lot of trouble picking up women as a single father. Martinez is a believable womanizer, Izzo is a decent problem child with a bratty attitude, and Yarovenko is just there as Irina. Story wise, you know Irina’s a single mother with a son, but that’s about it, and her character doesn’t have too much depth.

Monica and Ariel are the two party poopers in the group. Monica is the controlling and overbearing bigger sister, and Ariel is a wimpy whiner, who’s obsessed with his ex-girlfriend. No complaints about the quality of performances from Osvart and Levy, but Monica and Ariel are the two most annoying characters in Aftershock.

Selena Gomez has a little cameo here. She plays this young woman in a club, and Gringo tries to put the moves on her, but Gomez’s character crushes his hopes with the “I have a boyfriend” line. But don’t get your hopes up for Gomez, because if you blink, you might miss her brief appearance.

There’s a nice twist involving the firefighter at the end. Kylie falls off a ladder that’s connected to a series of underground tunnels. Long story short, the remaining survivors (Kylie, Monica, the firefighter) in the group seek refuge in the tunnels, because they’re trying to outrun a local gang motivated by vengeance (Pollo murdered the leader’s brother to save Irina).

Anyway, a big hunk of metal is stuck in one of Kylie’s legs. The firefighter removes the metal, but Kylie uses a flashlight to reveal the firefighter’s tattoos. Here, it’s revealed the firefighter is an escaped prisoner, who disguised himself as a firefighter to avoid any suspicions. The prisoner murders Kylie, and when Monica discovers her sister’s corpse, she’s forced to fight off the prisoner for survival. Eventually, Monica gains the upper hand, and she returns the favor by murdering the prisoner with an axe.

But it’s not over yet! After a cave-in, Monica awakes the next morning to see sunlight. Monica runs outside to a beach, and after a lot of tears and laughs, she collapses on the sand. Everything is quiet and calm…until Monica spots a giant tsunami wave in front of her. Monica runs away from the tsunami, and the credits start rolling to end the movie.

Wow. Truly shocking stuff for a few reasons. For starters, the firefighter/prisoner twist really caught me off guard. He infiltrated the group as this quiet and seemingly innocent helper, but Aftershock drops the hammer at the end by revealing him as one of the bad guys. Monica and the tsunami cliffhanger? I couldn’t believe it. There’s a strong sense of relief, when Monica takes a few seconds to relax on the beach. Death, carnage, brutality. Monica was going to be “The One,” who survived, but Aftershock pulls the rug out from underneath you with the tsunami.

If you’re looking for an intelligent social study on the dark side of human nature during a tragedy, then you should find another movie, because Aftershock isn’t for you. Sure, as a viewer, you can see violent and deplorable behavior, but any social commentary is non-existent here. Instead, Aftershock fits in with a crowded bunch. Gore fiends will get a kick out of the nasty stuff here, but for everyone else, Aftershock doesn’t bring anything new to the table, and you might have a “Meh. I’ve seen this before” feeling after certain scenes.

Depending on your tastes, Aftershock is more than capable of holding your attention. I barely noticed the brisk one hour and thirty minutes runtime. Taking a little break to check the time never crossed my mind, because Aftershock’s vicious insanity is like a flaming car wreck surrounded by a pack of hungry hyenas, it’s impossible to look away.

Aftershock is an extreme and chaotic disaster/horror film, filled with bloody carnage and intense brutality, a good surprising twist at the end, and the jaw-dropping cliffhanger is genuinely shocking. And don’t expect any cheery moments from Aftershock, because you won’t see any happy endings here. Also, to give you a fair warning, Aftershock is not for the weak at heart. Aftershock features graphic gore, tons of blood, sadistic violence, and rape, so if you’re the squeamish type, you should avoid this one.

Rating: 6/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Getaway (2013)

**SOME slight and minor spoilers, but no plot twists or reveals are included in this review**

During the Christmas season, an ex race-car driver named Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) is forced into a series of missions to save his kidnapped wife, Leanne (Rebecca Budig). Following the orders of a mysterious voice, Brent steals a Shelby Mustang Super Snake equipped with surveillance cameras out of a parking garage, but Brent runs into some trouble, when a teenage girl threatens him at gunpoint.

The Kid (Selena Gomez) wants the car, but The Voice commands Brent to take the girl as a hostage and an assistant for his planned missions. If Brent is caught by the police, or if he doesn’t succeed in his missions, The Voice promises to kill his wife. Time is running out as Brent races through the city with the uncooperative Kid, but who is The Voice, and why is he determined to torture Brent?

I’m always indifferent to Ethan Hawke. I don’t think he’s a horrible actor or anything like that, but I’ve never seen one truly great performance from him. As usual, Hawke portrays a conflicted man, who’s torn between doing the right thing to save his loved ones, or doing something unethical to make lots of money and/or save his family  (think Training Day, and more recently Sinister). Brent mentions how he fell on hard times after an accident on the race track, and how he had to turn to a life of crime to put some money in his pocket and provide a living for himself and his wife. Hawke is believable here, but his performance isn’t good enough to elevate the quality of this film.

Selena Gomez? She seems like a real nice and humble person in real life to the point, where I almost feel bad saying something negative about her. But she’s not believable in her role, at all. The Kid (they never mention her real name) is supposed to be this tough, rebellious, and savvy tech expert, and there’s a scene where Gomez flips off a garbage truck driver, that almost crashed into the Mustang. Yeah, I’m sorry, but Gomez’s look is far too innocent and cute to pull off such a character. Gomez looks like the type of person, who enjoys blueberry muffins and all things pink, not someone who uses foul language, and holds a gun to your head.

By now you should know Getaway is being panned by the critics, and it’s a box office flop. Well, Getaway is a generic action/thriller for the most part, and Getaway is by far one of the most preposterous films I’ve seen this year. I love how every time Brent and The Kid run into some trouble while trying to outrun the cops, Brent conveniently finds an open alleyway, a spot to hide the car, and a flight of stairs to drive down into parks and open fields. I know the Mustang is supposed to be an armored car, but come on now. I can’t count the number of times other cars crash into the Mustang, the Mustang runs into some blockade, or other cars run the Mustang off the road, and SOMEHOW Brent just keeps driving along, as he escapes the cop’s numerous attempts to catch him. And towards the end, Brent is able to drive through a huge traffic jam, when damn near every street in the city is blocked off.

You’ll see plenty of complaints out there about the hectic editing and quick cuts during Brent’s high speed chases through the city. Well, I can sort of understand the logic behind that. You see, The Voice had his people attach cameras to the Mustang, so you’re not only seeing Brent and The Kid’s point of view from the Mustang, you’re seeing The Voice’s POVs also, as he watches everything on different cameras. I’ll admit, watching the chases from the POV of the cameras can be nauseating at times, but overall, I thought it was a unique technique to see everything from The Voice’s eyes.

Getaway is LOADED with problems, but I’ll give the writers some credit for a few surprising twists surrounding Gomez’s character and The Voice. They don’t show The Voice’s face until the end, so until the finale, they tease you with sporadic shots of his mouth and eyes. I mean, you should know, who he is. It’s not that hard to figure out if you pay attention to the trailers and TV spots, and the man behind The Voice is someone, who’s been around for a while. But my praise for the twists surrounding The Voice aren’t towards concealing his identity. It’s for the genuinely shocking bait-and-switch trick they pull at the end.

Hard rating, because I’d be lying to you, if I said I didn’t laugh my ass off throughout this film. The chase scenes are repetitive. Brent somehow finds an open alleyway or a flight of stairs, and as Brent swerves around the cops, their cars crash into something else, causing an endless barrage of cop cars doing 360 flips in the air. Still, I really don’t think Getaway is as bad as people are making it out to be. I had some fun with this one as a guilty pleasure, but I couldn’t live with myself if I went with a positive score.

Rating: 4/10

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Spring Breakers (2013)

**This review contains spoilers**

As spring break approaches, four teenage friends prepare to take a break from the college life with a trip to Florida. Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Cotty (Rachel Korine), Faith (Selena Gomez), and Brit (Ashley Benson) have plans to wreak havoc in Florida, but things change, when Faith doesn’t have enough money to help cover the expenses. Candy, Brit, and Cotty decide to rob a restaurant, but Faith is a good, churchgoing person, so she doesn’t help with the robbery.

After picking up the cash, Candy, Brit, Cotty, and Faith finally make it to Florida. But after the cops raid a party filled with marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol, the friends are arrested and sent to jail. Two trusted twin associates give their boss the green light, so a local rapper named Alien (James Franco) posts the bail to free the girls. Alien (or “Al”) invites the girls into his world of crime, but Faith can’t adjust to the “gangster” lifestyle. And things become more complicated, when Al engages in a deadly feud with his former mentor turned rival, Archie (Gucci Mane).

Vanessa Hudgens and James Franco deliver the best performances here. Franco was just hilarious as Al, and you could tell he had a lot of fun with the character. Hudgens is the best gleeful and cocky bad girl (“get on yo’ muthafuckin knees!”) in the bunch, and Benson would be a good number two choice. Gomez was the ideal choice for the sweet and innocent teen, who wanted to do the right thing, and she really nailed the Faith character. I was tempted to put Gomez over Franco and Hudgens, but Gomez kind of disappears after Faith makes the decision to go back home. Gucci Mane is……well Gucci Mane. Just listen to his shitty music, and BAM! That’s his “character” in Spring Breakers.

And Jeff Jarrett has a cameo in this film. He plays the overzealous priest at Faith’s church, and it was an incredible mark out moment for me. Then again, I was probably the only person in the entire theater (not an exaggeration), who could identify Jarrett. I was in a theater with a lot of teenagers, so yeah.

If you’re not familiar (truth be told, I didn’t even know, who the guy was until someone else brought me up to speed about a month ago) with Harmony Korine’s work, and are easily offended , then you should stay away from Spring Breakers. I haven’t seen all of his films yet, but I’ve seen enough to know that Korine doesn’t sugar-coat, or hold anything back. You’ll see a lot, and I do mean A LOT of nudity in this film, sporadic sex scenes, drug use (smoking weed, snorting cocaine, etc.), and Korine spares no expense for explicit and vulgar dialogue.

Korine gives you an uncensored look at the chaotic and hardcore world of partying during spring break, and at the same time, Korine blends in his own form of raw social commentary. Candy, Cotty, and Brit represent the pack of today’s teens, who are influenced by the hip-hop culture. They want to be “hard” and rebellious, and break away from their mundane suburban lifestyles. But as the story develops, Faith and Cotty realize their mistakes. Faith and Cotty bit off more than they could chew so to speak, and they hopped on the first bus home, so they could go back to school.

And one question continued to pop in my mind throughout the movie: HOW IN THE FUCK DID THEY MANAGE AN R RATING FOR THIS???? Personally, I’ve seen worse, but Spring Breakers borders on NC-17 territory most of the time, and I’m pretty sure they’ll release the DVD/Blu-Ray as unrated or something along the lines of an “extreme edition.”

Spring Breakers is another of those “hate it or love it” films. I honestly can’t imagine too many people having a middle ground with this film, but I loved Spring Breakers. Plenty of laughs, bloody violence, and Korine’s hypnotic style behind the camera is simply mesmerizing (especially during the big shootout at the end). The rock solid cast pulls everything together, and Spring Breakers features my third favorite James Franco performance (#1 127 Hours, #2 Spider-Man 2).   

Final Rating: 8/10