Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2016
There have been nine Jesse Stone movies starring Tom Selleck. They come from a series of books written by Robert B. Parker. Parker is also famous for the Spencer For Hire series, which was a television show starring Robert Urich from 1985 to 1988. Parker also created a popular Sunny Randall series that was originally meant as a vehicle for Helen Hunt. Many modern writers such as Harlan Coben, Robert Crais and Dennis Lehane credit Parker for revitalizing and reinventing the detective genre. It has been a tried and true genre for over a hundred years. It is a beloved formula. The Hallmark Channel has been behind this series of movies with Selleck, who has had a career resurgence with the CBS series Blue Bloods.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 24th, 2016
I Believe In Unicorns is a small independent movie that few people will see. It’s the kind of film experience people don’t see much of because the culture is saturated with pre-packaged product. That’s probably a bad thing. The film is by writer/director Leah Meyerhoff, and one of the stars is her mother, Toni. Leah doesn’t have much of a resume aside from a number of shorts, one of which is included on the DVD. Twitch is an early inspiration for the feature film. In both versions, Toni plays a wheelchair-bound woman cared for by her teenage daughter. This is clearly a very personal project for Leah and Toni, who is afflicted with MS.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2016
Broad City is about two 20-something ladies who don’t give a whoop whoop. They care so little that they don’t know they don’t care. On top of that, there is a motley collection of odd oddballs. That’s a problem, because these people have nothing but problems. Not that any of them care. And these ladies are like dudes so much that they say “dude” to each other. Our two ladies (I say ladies because I don’t want to say girls or women or other less complimentary appellations) are named Ilana Wexler and Abbi Abrams, played by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. Glazer and Jacobson are creators, co-writers, and performers, and their involvement goes back to a web series they created before it was picked up by Comedy Central.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 19th, 2016
The Intern tackles a pretty important issue. Age gaps are the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge. The issue is confusing to address, because a lot of people don’t even know what age group they belong to or don’t care. But the differences are very real, and they cause enormous alienation and division. Baby Boomers and Millennials are two examples which are represented here by Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, who has a daughter starting the first grade, so another age group is represented. To be clearer, Baby Boomers are born between 1946 to 1964, Generation X 1965 to 1980, Generation Y/Millennial 1981 to 2000 and Generation Z/Boomlets after 2001.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2016
Everest is an existential film. It could be one of the most beautiful travelogues you've ever seen, but it is far more than that. Its beauty and majesty are perfectly enhanced by 3D, but the true significance has to do with the mysteries of the soul. What drives men to do things that they have no business doing? What makes them climb a mountain whose summit is at the height that 747 jets fly? The old answer that is always used is, “Because it's there”. Obviously, the reasons run much deeper. There is a void in many people that they can only fill by doing the impossible. They look for accomplishments and knowledge that will hopefully give life meaning
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 10th, 2016
Popular opinion and so-called critical opinion often seem to careen off cliffs like lemmings in increasingly unpredictable ways guided by whims and subtle shifts in the proverbial winds. I find myself shocked by things praised and things condemned. Sometimes I feel like a little boy who sees a naked emperor while everyone else is shrieking how much they love the new elegant ensemble. In this case, I'm seeing a lovely presentation while there are many who are whining. Part of the problem is that Season 2 of True Detective is considerably distinct from Season 1.
Posted in: The Reel World by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2016
America was once a primitive expanse where only very small groups of hardy hopefuls ever tried to venture across. It was a vast and endless wilderness that was mostly a mystery. This was the land of roving Indian tribes and undiscovered species of animals. This was a land of all kinds of danger. Life was one long hunt and endless battle against every kind of predator and natural enemy. There are so many remarkable moments in The Revenant that I will start with the bear attack. It is an unbelievably harrowing event that cannot be described in words that will in any way convey what you see on the screen. That one sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2016
“Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” Romans 5:20
The quote above imparts a spiritual message which I will get back to. First, I want to talk about one of the stars of this movie, David Oyelowo (pronounced “oh-yeh-lo-wo”). Oyelowo is best known for playing Martin Luther King in the film Selma. Oyelowo had previously racked up an impressive number of supporting roles in high-profile films like Jack Reacher, Interstellar, The Butler, The Paperboy, Lincoln, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Help, A Raisin in the Sun, and A Most Violent Year. In a short amount of time he has demonstrated that he is one of the most skilled actors working today.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 7th, 2016
I previously reviewed season 4 of The Nanny, and now it’s time to review season 5. If you are interested in the overview on everything about The Nanny and season 4 in particular, then you will have to go back and look for that review. This all about season 5, which I might suggest is the climax of the 6-season series, for whatever that’s worth. The relationship between Fran Fine and Maxwell Sheffield had been on a slow burn for four seasons, but the time was coming for a reckoning. Will Fran’s persistence and patience pay off? I don’t want to make this too dramatic, since The Nanny is probably one of the silliest sitcoms ever made, and that’s taking into consideration that there are hundreds and hundreds of silly sitcoms.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2015
Does anyone remember Full House? Of course you do. It was recently given a kind of reboot which is supposed to debut on Netflix in 2016. That’s pretty good for a show that debuted in 1987. It ended in 1995 with 192 episodes. That is a very successful run, and it launched the Olson twins as mega-moguls. The twins apparently no longer act, so they will not be in the reboot. I hear they are very, very rich ($300,000,000?). I also hear that Ashley might have Lyme disease, which is a long term ordeal and difficult to overcome. Apparently The Unauthorized Full House came about because Lifetime had success with The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story. I will say that I expected juicy dirt about the various cast members.
