31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 7: Detention (2011)

Written by Stu Cooper

It's Day 7 of Monster Mania and today we take a look at the first independent film on the list. That film is a 2011 underground gem named "Detention". The film went through film festivals throughout 2011 and 2012 and hit home video in late 2012. I remember seeing the film when it was first released and I was absolutely astounded at how unique and fresh the film felt. So let's get into why that is.

"Detention" was released in 2011 and stars Shanley Caswell, Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook, Spencer Locke, and Aaron David Johnson, among many others. The film is about a series of murders that take place at a place called Grizzly Lake High School. The killer takes the form of a popular horror movie villain (in their universe) named Cinderhella. The film opens with the first victim being slayed. The film then begins following the high school kids dealing with the fallout of the murders. That's just one of the many plots strung throughout the film.

The film itself is a giant homage to the 1980's and 90's era of film. The cast consist of a group of kids, not too dissimilar from the group of kids in "The Breakfast Club". The main characters the film focuses on are Riley Jones (Caswell) the nerdy outcast girl, Clapton Davis (Hutcherson) as the cool hipster heart throb, Sander Sanderson (Johnson) as the nerdy guy who just wants to get laid, and Ione Foster (Locke) as the 90's obsessed beauty queen of the school. All of the characters seem to be trapped in the 90's right off the bat, which the film will explain through a series of time travel plot elements. That's right, this is a time travel movie. Not only is it a time travel movie, but it's a time travel horror comedy. You don't see that everyday. The characters use time travel and a series of detention periods in order to solve the mystery of the murders at Grizzly Lake.

Every character in the film has a story of their own, and each character's story seems to tie them to a grander scale of events. At first glance the film just seems like a series of hipster centric pop culture jokes, but you learn by the end of the film that all of it is part of a bigger story. Riley is the lead actress and her story revolves around her complicated love triangle with Clapton and Ione. She finds herself constantly fumbling her way through high school, often becoming the laughing stock of her classmates. She often finds herself confronted with bizarre situations and is the main target of the Cinderhella killer throughout the film. Clapton Davis is really the heart throb that every girl in the school wants to be with. He seems to be a parody of today's average hipster as he often boast about his underground taste in music and dresses in obnoxiously retro clothing. His girlfriend Ione is perhaps the most retro of them all. She dances to nothing but early 90's music and constantly makes pop culture references regarding things that happened in the early 90's. We find out later in the film that she is actually an old soul (literally) and there is a time paradox behind her existence. The other two characters that shine in the film are Principal Karl Verge (Cook) and Sander Sanderson (Johnson) who serve as comedy relief throughout the film, but end up having a bigger role in the long timeline that the film dives into.

The reasons why this film is so unique is because it plays with the audience. The film presents itself as a comedic satire of slasher films but then flips into a satire of all film in general. You have an absolutely nutty time travel storyline that results in some hilarious antics and story arcs. Added to that the style of the film is very similar to "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" where the characters seem to live in a hyper exaggerated world where people are capable of having powers, and breaking the fourth wall on a regular basis. This adds an extra layer of comedy and style to the film. If you can keep up with all that, you are bound to fall in love with this film. Also if you thought Family Guy had a lot of pop culture references, this movie is crammed with them. You get tributes to such classics as Road House, Dirty Dancing, Scream, Breakfast Club, Spider-man, Star Trek, Back to the Future, and several others.

Your brain will stay busy with this film, and it may be too much for some. If you're willing to open your mind and sit back, relax, and enjoy the chaos, you will dig it. It may take you multiple viewings to fully understand the plot, but it's so funny and so unique, you will find yourself wanting to re-watch it the second it's over. If you ever wondered what a horror film would be like in a Scott Pilgrim-esque universe, then this is the film for you. If you want a horror film that doesn't insult the viewers intelligence, you will appreciate this movie.

Overall I chose to discuss "Detention" because it is one of the most unique horror films I've ever seen. It combines elements of films like Scream, Cabin in The Woods, and The Breakfast club, and somehow makes it work. The cast works really well together and they seem to have no trouble keeping up with the fast beat of the film. Dane Cook even provides some quality laughs, which is rare these days. If you enjoy any of the things I've talked about it in this review, give it a shot. It's currently streaming on Netflix, and since it's a hard movie to track down, I would highly recommend watching it while it's still up. It's a fun horror flick, and it has a lot of heart.

Edge of Tomorrow Review

Written by Stu Cooper

Edge of Tomorrow was recently released into theaters. The film starred Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, and Bill Paxton. The story followed a reluctant soldier by the name of Bill Cage. Cage is forced into battle by a superior and begins to experience a time loop. Upon first glance the plot-line is very similar to films like Groundhog Day. You have a scrooge like setup where the character is an asshole, they experience a change of heart after seeing how sad life can be, and they change their ways. This film took that approach but added a lot of curve balls. A lot of death and a lot of humor, a combination that is hard to pull off.

Cage begins to experience the same day over and over again. To add a layer of darkness, that day happens to be the future equivalent to D-Day (World War II). Some might say this was done on purpose considering the film's release coincides with the anniversary of D-Day. As most people know, D-Day was an infamous day in history because of the amount of death and slaughter that took place. In “Edge of Tomorrow” this day comes when an alien race has begun to take over the world and the only thing stopping them from taking over Europe is an army of super soldiers. Cruise is assigned active duty against his will and serves with the other soldiers. At this point Cage is introduced to Drill Sergeant Ferrell, played by Bill Paxton. Paxton does great as the Sergeant and since the character is a proud Kentucky boy, Paxton really lays the accent on thick. It makes for some very funny scenes. Later Cage tries to explain his situation to Ferrell but it proves futile and that begins Cage's journey to alter his destiny.

The soldiers wear mechanical suits of armor that are actually quite sleek and cool looking. The suits boast all sorts of fire power ranging from machine guns to rocket launchers. It's like something out of the G.I. Joe cartoon. Unfortunately these weapons aren't enough to stop the incoming invaders, and Cage's platoon does not fair too well. Cage tries to find a solution to the war. On his journey he meets a soldier who has a legendary following, her name is Rita tho on the streets she earns the nickname Full Metal Bitch. Rita killed over 60 of the aliens in a previous battle, so she became a legend of sorts amongst the soldiers. Rita actually rocks a gigantic looking final fantasy sword.

The villains in the film are weird biomechanical aliens called Mimics. These creatures are hard to explain because they are basically mechanical blobs with scary faces. I was not into the creature design at all. It feels like one of those alien villains from the live action Transformers films. One interesting detail is that these creatures use time travel as a form of weaponry, which adds a different layer to their race. Unfortunately the race themselves aren't explored much in the film.

The final fantasy sword that Rita uses isn't the only thing in the film that feels influenced by video games. In fact, most of the film feels like a video game experience. There's the idea of re-spawning (dying and coming back), which is not something you can typically do in movies. Then you have the alien invasion, the giant gun battles, the bad-ass female with a giant sword...it's all very artistic and familiar to video game fans. I think that adds a special layer to this film. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the film and all the unique elements it had. I really enjoyed Cruise's previous sci-fi venture “Oblivion” but I would definitely say “Edge of Tomorrow” is superior. The only thing the film lacked was a memorable soundtrack and perhaps a strong villain presence. The song used in the trailer was far better than any of the drone like songs used in the film. The song in the credits is also quite random and gave me a bad “Men In Black 3” vibe.

Overall I would say I was quite impressed with “Edge of Tomorrow”. Cruise's acting was spot on and for once he wasn't the perfect soldier. Cruise's character in the film was flawed and humorous. Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton both added some enjoyment to the film and I liked the Starship Troopers vibe. If you like science fiction and you enjoy Tom Cruise's acting, this movie would be worth a watch. I might actually purchase this one on bluray. If you want to checkout the original story this film was based on, checkout the graphic novel “All You Need is Kill”. It's a bit different but equally interesting.

Men In Black III Review

Written by Stuart Cooper

Men in Black III (2012)

Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin

Well its summer blockbuster season and you know what that means…sequels! This summer features another Batman film, an Alien prequel, a Spider-man remake, and the latest installment in the Men in Black franchise. Today I will be discussing “Men in Black III”, a film I was surprised by and enjoyed quite a bit. Both Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith return for this sequel, and Josh Brolin plays a pivotal role in the film as Young K (Tommy Lee Jones). Many have a bad taste in their mouths regarding Men in Black after the very lackluster and terrible Men in Black II, but I assure you this one is much better. The story is more interesting and the acting is top notch. The film actually reminded me a bit of the short lived animated TV series that the WB created. It’s like the first film with more aliens and a weirder storyline.

In this installment of Men in Black we see the classic team of J and K (who has aged quite a bit since the original) embarking on a mission involving time travel. I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, but basically J (Will Smith) gets caught in the middle of a rivalry between K and an old nemesis of his by the name of Boris the Animal. Boris is played by the always awesome Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords. Clement seems to have no problems adjusting from a comedy band/show to feature films. I really loved him in Gentleman Bronco and Dinner for Schmucks. Boris the Animal is a criminal that was caught by K in the 60’s and has since been detained in a prison facility on the moon. That’s right, a prison…on the moon. That idea sounds pretty awesome to me. This prison seems to be reserved for the most dangerous criminals, and you will definitely see why Boris is such a threat as the film progresses. The film opens with Boris escaping the prison. Boris eventually makes his way back to earth and gets his hands on a time travel device. This is when the evil plot begins to take shape. Boris intends to go back in time and stop K from injuring and arresting him. He aims to kill K. Agent J soon finds out about this plan and it is up to him to stop it. This means that Agent J must go back in time and find Boris before he kills K. The story is immediately better than the last film and the fact that they don’t waste time on a romantic interest in this one certainly helps. Sorry Rosario Dawson but you kind of ruined the second film. So put your concerns to rest and enjoy the film because it is pretty much a comedy action thrill ride from the beginning.

When J travels back in time he must team up with a young K, played by Josh Brolin. Brolin does a superb job of mimicking Tommy Lee Jones and if you close your eyes and just listen to his voice, you would swear they were the same person. The two men together have the same comedy element that exists between Jones and Smith. One is the loud mouth goofy type, and the other is a stone cold robot of a man who finds little to smile about. The dynamic works perfectly and though I love Tommy Lee Jones, I was equally pleased with Brolin’s performance in the film. One aspect they play with is life in the 60’s. We see some racial humor with Will Smith that is pretty funny, though they play it safe and I seriously doubt little kids going to see this film would pick up on some of it. There is a funny moment when J goes back in time and immediately gets pulled over by the cops. My favorite part in the film is when J and K both meet up with Andy Warhol at one of his parties, and Warhol is played by the always hilarious Bill Hader. This scene has to be seen to be believed, truly funny stuff. Another character in the film that is an integral to the story is Griffin, an alien that can see multiple time dimensions at once. The character is played by up and coming actor Michael Stuhlberg who portrays Arnold Rothstein on Boardwalk Empire. I had no idea this guy had such a comical side and I ended up really enjoying his character. So the casting is definitely very pleasing. I think every character in the film offers up a unique style that adds to the universe that Men in Black takes place in.

The film maintains its comedic tone and you are treated to joke after joke from Smith’s character J. Some of the jokes are funny, some are not so funny. But what is important is that the film brings you that feel good chaotic alien action that was so good in the original. I wouldn’t say MIB III is as good as the original, but it is certainly a worthy sequel. If anything, go see this movie for Boris the Animal, possibly the coolest villain I’ve seen in years. The only things missing from this film were Rip Torn as Zed, and the classic “here come the men in black” song from the original that we all secretly love. My only complaints are that the final showdown is a little lackluster, and they could have done a bit more with J and K teaming up in the 60’s, but other than that it is quite an enjoyable addition to the franchise. I would suggest going to see this one in theaters if it’s still there, or wait for the Blu-ray. I didn’t waste my time on the 3-D version of the film, so I can’t speak for the 3-D effects. All you need to know is that it’s a better sequel then part 2 and that was good enough for me.

May the 4th be with You!

So instead of making the obligatory Star Wars related post, I simply leave you with this: