Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 8th, 2017
"It killed 102 people, brutally mauling its human prey. Its victims are all women and children. The worst attack by an unknown beast in history, and the basis for the legend of the werewolf. Two investigators set out to solve the mystery. Applying modern day forensics, they hunt to uncover the real wolfman."
With the Universal remake of one of its classic monsters, you can expect to see a lot of related material come out of the woodwork to capitalize on the buzz. Unfortunately, the remake of The Wolf Man pretty much tanked, plagued more by too many internal problems than the full moon. Still, the legends and stories are out there, and it might be fun to check some of this stuff out. There's likely to be a few interesting tales out there to entertain us and help us to overcome the sting of unmet expectations.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2017
Dead West comes out on DVD from RLJ Entertainment on Tuesday the 7th. The film follows a serial killer who makes his way across the country leaving dead blonde women in his wake. Jeffrey Arrington plays Tony. Tony's sister is the first victim of the Lady Killer. He sets out to inflict some frontier justice of his own. I had the chance to talk with him about the movie last week. He has some interesting insights into the character and the film. Now you can check out what he had to say. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Jeffrey Arrington.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2017
Who or what is God? Does he perform miracles here on Earth? What happens to us when we die? Is there true evil on this earth? How was the universe created? How will it all end? These are the kinds of questions for which there are no concrete answers to be found in the world around us. These are the subjects that require us to turn to our faith or belief systems. The answers might be found in our culture. You might even have had experiences that have brought you closer to the answers. This is meaning-of-life stuff, and the answer might just be 42.
Morgan Freeman joins an elite few actors who have played God in a movie. In Evan Almighty and Bruce Almighty, Freeman was the personification of God. That makes him a rather natural choice to explore the real questions surrounding faith and belief. Freeman is also one of those people who make you feel at ease. He has a naturally soothing voice and a level of wisdom in his presence that allows him to fit the bill here rather nicely as he travels the globe to get to the heart of these important mysteries.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 5th, 2017
Robert De Niro is arguably one of the most talented actors living today. There's little doubt that he'll long be remembered as a legendary force in motion picture history. But there has long been a downside to the iconic actor. He hasn't had a good starring role in over a decade. It looks too often as if he's been more interested in chasing a likely unneeded paycheck than adding to his already established legacy. For every Godfather Part 2 or Deer Hunter, there's a Dirty Grandpa or Fockers sequel. For each Good Fellas or Raging Bull, there's a Stone. And since the turn of the millennium, De Niro has gravitated more and more to comedy. While I actually liked the Analyze films, I have found myself cringing most of the time. De Niro has always had a stare that can look right through you, but he has the worst forced laugh in Hollywood. So I was more than a little cautious when I went to see The Comedian.
De Niro stars as Jackie Burke, a washed-up "insult" comedian. By insult comedian we're not talking Don Rickles variety here. We're talking more like Andrew Dice Clay. By insult we're talking F-bombing one's way through a performance. He's playing dives or wherever he can score a few bucks. He's most known for a vintage television series called Eddie's Home where he played a police officer with a Jackie-Gleason-like trademark line that he's too often asked to perform both on stage and in the street. When one of his gigs is crashed by an internet video blogger, violence ensues and Jackie spends six months in jail and then has to do 100 hours of community service. That's where he meets Harmony, played by Leslie Mann. They have a bit of a flirtatious relationship and she invites him on a "date" to meet her domineering father, played by Harvey Keitel, who happens to be an "Eddie" fan, and meeting Jackie is a birthday present of sorts. All the while Jackie's manager, played by Sopranos star Edie Falco, tries to get his career going again. A few viral videos of Jackie give him the chance to get back on top. As his career climbs, Harmony is bullied into moving back to Florida to work for her father's resort. Of course, dad also doesn't want her involved with Jackie. When she stops answering his calls or texts, Jackie decides to confront her, with surprising results.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2017
“When you wish upon a star. Makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do… Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.”
The song has become a standard. Every kid knows it. Walt Disney Studios has made it their theme song. You hear it each time you load up a Disney disc. If you have been fortunate enough to have visited Walt Disney World, you’ve heard it the entire day long. We know the song, but did you know where it originated from? It was back in 1940 and the release of Walt Disney’s, in fact, the world’s, second ever feature-length animated film: Pinocchio. Now Disney brings us this timeless classic on high definition and Blu-ray. What a marvel this release is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2017
American football has been making the news of late, and not just in the sports pages. For the last couple of years there has been an increasing concern for players’ safety. From our former president declaring he wouldn't let his fictional son play the game to the hard-hitting Will Smith film Concussion, football has taken some heat over its violent nature. Players are retiring early, and the subject of life after football becomes more of a social question than ever before. That's where HBO's Ballers comes in. It's a half-hour look at the NFL from the player perspective, both current and retired. It's intended as a light bit of dramedy, and it certainly is that. Even so, the series doesn't hide from some of the brutal realities of the sport, from the trappings of fame and fortune to the realities of its eventual end.
Meet Spencer Strasmore, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Spencer was a star defensive player for the Miami Dolphins. In his retirement years he has joined a financial advisor firm, teaming up with buddy Joe, played by Rob Corddry. Together they are charged with getting their NFL buddies to sign up with the firm. What Spencer ends up being is a fixer to his former friends and clients, mostly trying to help them get out of their own way. This season he is plagued by a hip injury that should be replaced. Of course, he's having trouble dealing with a hip replacement at 41. The guys also have a new pain in the rear in Andy Garcia's Andre Allen, who owns the largest agency in Miami. When Spencer and Joe decide to poach one of his clients, it turns into a war that the guys can't win.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by Gino Sassani on January 24th, 2017
Howdy, Partners. Johnny's a bit out to sea at the moment. Actually, he's taking a cruise with Katie on that long-overdue honeymoon. I sure hope Tom Hanks isn't driving the boat. Guess you'll find out next week. For now, you're stuck with me for this week's release/review round-up.
Lionsgate is down for David Bowie's cult classic The Man Who Fell To Earth in a collector's edition Blu-ray. Baby will fill us in on A Dog's Purpose in this week's theatrical releases. National Geographic and Fox will scare up Sea Monsters on DVD. Maybe I should have passed that one on to John. It's a slow week but there's tons of stuff on the horizon.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2017
"I know what you're thinking: How the heck does a 52-year old milkshake machine salesman build a fast food empire with over 1600
restaurants and an annual income over $700 million? One word:" The Founder.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 17th, 2017
The premise here was always dirt simple. They've taken the buddy cop idea and found a way to work in the forensics science fad and deliver a procedural with a few twists. The show is based on a series of mystery novels by Tess Gerritsen, who introduced us to Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles in 2001. Tess makes a cameo appearance in this, the show's final season. The season is shorter than the usual 18 shows. There are 13, and in all of them you can feel the weight of the characters and their situations counting down until the final episode of the series. You'll be able to see where that's going pretty much from the beginning. After seven years, you can look forward to a tearful goodbye as the show exits on its own terms.
Angie Harmon plays Detective Rizzoli. She's wanted to be a cop all of her life and is living the dream, working with a special unit out of Boston PD. Her best friend in life happens to be Dr. Maura Isles, who is the Chief Medical Examiner for the unit and is played by Sasha Alexander. These are the kind of friends who finish each other's sentences and share a lot of history together. That's not to say they are at all alike.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2017
The young Ultra High Definition Blu-ray market has pretty much been a limited competition between a couple of players. Upcomingdiscs obtained an early version of the Samsung player in order to get UHD 4K reviews to our readers. The player allowed me to do that but had so many limitations that those reviews certainly suffered. The most obvious was an inability to provide codec bitrates. All of that changes now that Oppo has entered the UHD market. Oppo is no stranger to 4K. Previous models that we've reviewed here already provided rather sweet 4K upconvert options to early adopters of 4K televisions. We received our unit during the holidays, and I have been putting it through some serious paces. Needless to say this will be our go-to unit going forward. However long you think the UHD market has been out there, it truly begins with the release of the Oppo UDP-203.
Again, you get the most impressive packaging in the business. That may not seem so important to some, but I like the comfort of knowing that there was little chance my unit was damaged during the shipping process. Instead of cheap styrofoam, the unit is protected by pressure-formed solid foam. Forget that silly tissue plastic that usually covers a unit in the box. This baby comes nestled inside a canvas bag. Of course, it’s also a great advertising idea. You’ll have the handy bag to tote stuff around later. Your unit isn't going to be scratched in transport, that's for certain. The accessories come in a solid hard shell box. Inside you get: a remote + batteries and a solid HDMI cable. What does this really tell me? It tells me the company just doesn't cut corners.
