October Positivity: Break Every Chain (dir by Tim Searfoss)

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2021 film, Break Every Chain, tells the story of a cop with a problem.

Struggling with the memories of his own troubled childhood and also with the responsibilities of having a family of his own, Jonathan Hickory (Ignacyo Matynia) throws himself into his work as a member of the police force. He’s considered to be a good cop, one who is given important assignment and who can be trusted not to abuse his authority. At one point, when it appears that a drunk man is pointing a rifle at him, Jonathan is smart to realize that opening fire on the man is not the way to deal with him. Jonathan, in many ways, seems like a throwback to the days before the American police force became the militarized behemoth that it is today.

Jonathan is promoted to riding a motorcycle and it must be said that the motorcycle that he receives is pretty badass. Jonathan investigates accidents. He gives speeches about the important of not driving drunk. To the world, he’s the ideal cop. But, secretly, Jonathan is falling apart. Haunted by the things that he’s seen as a member of law enforcement, Jonathan has turned to drinking and has been neglecting his family. Soon, Jonathan is full-blown alcoholic and it’s only a matter of time before his drinking catches up to him.

Break Every Chain is a pretty simple film but it’s effective. Matynia gives a good performance as Jonathan and the film doesn’t try to force some sort of cure-all solution on the audience. Jonathan does get help for his problems and he does turn to his church for support. And, yes, it’s not all surprising when it turns out that Jonathan’s pastor is played by Dean Cain. However, the film itself is not particularly preachy, at least not by the standards of most faith-based films. It suggests that, for Jonathan, devoting himself to religion gives him another way to deal with life that doesn’t involve getting drunk and neglecting his family. The movie isn’t incorrect about that. Regardless of whether one agrees with Jonathan’s religious beliefs or not, he is correct to believe that the human mind needs something else to obsess on beyond its addictions.

I should admit that films about addiction, especially alcoholism, always tend to effect me more than other social problem films. My family tree has its share of drinkers, some of whom could handle their alcohol better than other. I know firsthand the trauma that can come from seeing a family member struggle with their addictions. One reason why I don’t drink is because I know that I have certain compulsive tendencies. I tend to channel those tendencies into watching and writing about movies and, of course, making lists. The way some people are about having that glass of wine before bed, that’s the way I am about making sure that my To-Do List for the following day has been written out and it’s ready to go. Some people are addicted to drugs. Some people are addicted to booze. I’m addicted to making out lengthy To-Do Lists. That said, there’s no greater feeling than crossing something off of your To Do List. For instance, I just crossed reviewing this film off of my list and now, I’m feeling great!

The Eric Roberts Collection: Top Gunner (dir by Daniel Lusko)

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this 2020 film from The Asylum, Eric Roberts stars as Col. Herring.

Herring is in charge of an Air Force training base that sits off the coast of Baja California. He’s tough and he’s no-nonsense but he also truly loves the pilots that are training under his guidance. Sparrow (Carol Anne Watts), Cowboy (Ignacyo Matynia), and Spielman (Julian Cavett) might just be recent graduates from the Academy who have never actually served in combat but Herring is convinced that they can be amongst the best of the best. As he puts it, they can be …. Top Gunner!

They get a chance to prove themselves when an advanced airplane carrying a U.S. black ops group makes an emergency landing at the base. As Lassen (Reavis Dorsey) explains it, he and his people have just stolen a chemical weapon from the Russians and now, the Russians are desperate to get it back. The weapon is continually referred to as being the CRISPR. The word “CRISPR” is used about a hundred times over the course of this movie. “We have to get the CRISPR!” various characters say. The problem is that CRISPR sounds more like a name for a hamburger grill than a dangerous chemical weapon. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to use the CRISPR to prepare dinner? The CRISPR grills up the best burgers!

With the Russians heading towards the base, it falls on the untested pilots to take to the air and fight them off. At first, no one has much confidence in the pilots. Even the pilots themselves aren’t sure that they can defeat the Russians. But you know who never loses faith? Colonel Herring. The Colonel may be a stern taskmaster but he believes in his pilots!

As you’ve probably already guessed, Top Gunner was meant to be a mockbuster of Top Gun: Maverick. However, because the release of Top Gun: Maverick was continually delayed by the COVID lockdowns, Top Gunner was actually released on video a full two years before Maverick made it into theaters. That makes it all the more interesting that Top Gunner is all about preventing an enemy nation from using a chemical weapon that, we’re told, could cause a pandemic if released upon humanity. In a world where COVID didn’t (allegedly) escape from that lab and cause the world to come to a halt, Top Gunner‘s story would probably be described as being implausible. However, in our current pandemic culture, it’s tempting to look at the pilots in a film like Top Gunner and say, “Where were you when we needed you?”

As you’ve probably already guessed, the budget of Top Gunner was nowhere close to the budget for Top Gun or Top Gun: Maverick. As opposed to those two films, one never gets the feeling that the pilots in Top Gunner are actually flying their planes or risking their lives to get the shot. The film’s plot also never makes a whole lot of sense. But the action moves quickly and, as always, Eric Roberts is fun to watch. His hair is perhaps a bit too long for an Air Force colonel and there are a few times when he seems to be struggling to hide his amusement at some of his dialogue. But, for the most part, Roberts delivers his lines with the proper amount of authority. At last count, Eric Roberts has over 700 credits to his name. Top Gunner is certainly not the best film that Roberts has ever appeared in but it’s not the worst either. Mostly, it’s a film just makes you happy that, no matter what else happens, Eric Roberts endures.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

Lifetime Film Review: My Nightmare Landlord (dir by Dylan Vox)

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, put yourself in Lydia’s situation.

Lydia (played by Caroline Harris) is a student at the local college and she’s doing her best to write the paper that will basically determine the rest of her life. However, she keeps getting distracted. For one thing, she just broke up with her boyfriend and now both she and her cat are practically homeless. While it’s true that she does have a job at the library, it’s doubtful that the head librarian would be willing to allow her to sleep down in periodicals. It’s just not done.

However, one rainy day, Lydia happens to stumble into an apartment building. The first thing that she sees is apartment manager Drew (Ignacyo Matynia), shirtless and doing manly building work. Things are looking up already! Drew also explains that he just happens to have an empty apartment. It seems that the last tenant left suddenly and all of her furniture is still in the apartment! Lydia can not only move in but she also won’t have to buy a new couch!

Sounds great, right?

Well, it gets even better. First off, this apartment is HUGE! Seriously, I was really proud of the first apartment that I ever got when I was in college. I mean, I had chairs in the living room and everything! But my little apartment was nothing compared to the apartment in this movie! Secondly, Drew is like really hot and nice and he and Lydia have instant chemistry.

Of course, there are some problems. First off, Lydia is terrified of the dark, to the extent that she has panic attacks if the lights dim, which is something that happens with disturbing regularity inside of the otherwise perfect apartment. Secondly, Drew is possessive and crazy and murderous. I mean, you probably already guessed that second part. After all, the film is called My Nightmare Landlord and it’s a Lifetime film. One of the rules of Lifetime is that any guy who appears to be too good to be true is ultimately going to end up committing two murders before tying you to a chair and talking about how the two of you belong together. That’s just the way way things work and that’s pretty much what happens here.

But you know what? That apartment is seriously nice. In fact, I would say that it’s such a great apartment that it might be worth the risk of having a nightmare landlord. (Technically, of course, Drew is just the apartment manager. But My Nightmare Apartment Manager does have quite the same ring to it.) Of course, Drew does take things a bit too far when he starts letting himself into the apartment at all hours of the night. That’s definitely not a good thing. I would probably change the locks after I moved in. Still, it’s a really nice place….

Anyway, this isn’t the first Lifetime film about a crazed apartment manger and it probably won’t be the last. As I’ve said in many other reviews, the familiarity of these films is a huge part of their appeal. I will say that Caroline Harris is a likable protagonist and she does a good job capturing Lydia’s fear of the dark and making it feel real. And Ignacyo Matynia is both dangerously handsome and believably charming as the apartment manager from Hell. I enjoyed the film almost as much as I loved the apartment.