Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2015
If you happen to be a BMX cinema fan you already know who Bill Allen is. He played Clu, the hero in the classic BMX film Rad. It's been a long time since there's been a BMX film out there. Now there's Heroes Of The Dirt and Bill Allen is there. He plays the father of BMX rider Phineas Cooper. While Bill doesn't ride in this film the experience has inspired him to get back out there on a bike. I had a chance to talk with Bill about his role in both films. We talked about the BMX film genre quite a bit. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Bill Allen. Heroes Of The Dirt will be out this Christmas on home video.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2015
"Listen, my friend. This is going to be very hard to comprehend, but none of what you are seeing is real."
Of course it's not real. It's not really that hard to comprehend at all. This is an animated show, after all. And the figures look like cut-out pieces of construction paper. Of course, we're talking about South Park. What is hard to comprehend, however, is that we're talking about the 18th season of South Park. Few television shows last this long, and only The Simpsons has been around longer when it comes to scripted animated shows running today. That's rare air, indeed.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2015
Anchor Bay has a new science fiction film out this week. It's called The Anomaly and it stars everyone's favorite vampire Ian Somerhalder. It also stars Dr. Who and Star Trek veteran Noel Clarke. Clarke also directed and co-wrote the film about a man who lives life in just under 10 minute segments before everything gets reset. He has to solve a life and death problem before he runs out of time completely. I got to spend over 10 minutes with Clarke and we talked about Dr. Who, Star Trek and his latest film The Anomaly. He managed to last more than 10 minutes and you'll want to hear what he said. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Noel Clarke. He might have even let slip some interesting news about The Vampire Diaries.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2015
Remember when you were a kid and one of your friends would come over and ask if you could come out and play? You would head for the door with a grin from ear to ear, because you knew you were about to have a blast. You might not have had any idea what it was you were going to do. Often you made it up as you went along. It didn't matter. You just knew fun times were on the other side of your front door. That's exactly how I felt going to catch The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It was as if Joss Whedon had come to my house and asked me to come out and play. And it wasn't just Joss. He brought a whole bunch of his cool friends, and they brought a ton of really cool toys. From that point it didn't matter so much to me what was going to happen exactly. Phasers were set to good times, and I knew I was going to have fun. Age Of Ultron did it to me just like the many Marvel films before it. I didn't want it to end. I often joke that the only thing wrong with instant gratification is that it takes too long. Now I have to wait another year before most of these characters will assemble once again in Captain America: Civil War.
The film opens with the action already flying. This time there's no time spent "getting the band back together". The Avengers are in a snowy forest where they are attacking a Hydra base. It is here that they first encounter two new enhanced humans (it is verboten to use the term mutant because of Marvel's deal with Fox). Wanda (Olsen) and Pietro (Taylor-Johnson) Maximoff are working for Hydra because they blame Tony Stark (Downey, Jr.) for the death of their parents and the destruction of their village. Pietro has super speed and is known in the comics world as Quicksilver. Wanda has crazy psychic and telekinetic powers and is known as The Scarlet Witch. She gets into Tony's head and brings him a horrible vision of a tragic future.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 4th, 2015
"Life's short and then you die. And then... then you have make some decisions. You can skulk around, lamenting all that you've lost, trying to keep yourself numb and isolated. Or you can embrace who you are."
For years I've been hearing about how "hot" vampires were on television and in the movies. It all appeared to start with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it actually goes back a lot longer ago. Zombies, on the other hand were the sole property of feature films, usually extreme low-budget affairs. AMC's The Walking Dead has changed all of that. Suddenly zombies are very hot and populating one of the highest rated shows on television. Add a spin-off, and the domination continues. It wasn't going to take long for someone else to join the field. Enter iZombie, and we're off and running.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2015
Those fiends over at RLJ Entertainment decided to really let us have it. And now you're going to get it. You've heard of Christmas in July? Well they're giving us June in October. One lucky winner is going to get a copy of the new horror film June on DVD. She may have the face of an Angel, but it's hiding a demon deep inside. Be careful what you wish for. This one's going to give you nightmares. If you think you're up for it...well... don't say we didn't warn you.
To win a copy, just follow these simple instructions.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2015
Our good buddies over at Anchor Bay have been taking care of our readers for years. They always seem to have just the right title for any occasion. We knew they weren't going to let a 31 Nights Of Terror season slip past them. They've given us a copy of Lost After Dark on Blu-ray. If you thought the 80's slasher film was dead...think again. This one will take you back to those bloody memories of days gone by.
To win a copy, just follow these simple instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2015
"My name is Ichabod Crane. In 1781 I died on the battlefield, but I was saved by a mysterious spell cast upon me by my wife Katrina. Now I've been reawakened 250 years later in a land I no longer recognize. And fate has led me to Miss Abigail Mills., a young police lieutenant. Investigating baffling mysteries, our real mission is in danger, and the apocalypse may be upon us, our destinies entwined."
Fans of the tale The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow will recall that Ichabod came to encounter the headless horseman in one of the first American horror tales ever written. Irving was a contemporary of our founding fathers, including another Washington who happened to play a big part in a little skirmish with the Brits that came to be known as the American Revolution here and the Great Colonial Rebellion over there. Thanks to the new series Sleepy Hollow, we discover that the British weren't the only ones we were fighting. It's a story of independence we hadn't heard before. It's a fresh take on an old idea that dates back to Kolchak: The Night Stalker. The second season is out on Blu-ray now, and I recommend you check it out. Just don't mix it up with that American history text. We history teachers frown on that kind of thing, you know.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 29th, 2015
"To understand what I'm about to tell you, you need to do something first. You need to believe in the impossible. Can you do that? Good. Because all of us, we have forgotten what miracles look like. Maybe because they haven't made much of an appearance lately. Our lives have become ordinary. But there is someone out there who is truly extraordinary."
It's become so much easier to believe in the impossible in recent years. The guys over at Marvel have created an amazing theatrical universe where we escape into the comic book world of heroes at least a couple times a week. DC hasn't managed to wow us in our theater seats so much recently. What they have been able to do is deliver hours of wonderful escapism television every week. That's where the DC miracles are happening, first on Arrow and now Gotham and... The Flash. This is the decade when comic book pages truly come to life before our very eyes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2015
"My name is Oliver Queen; after five years in hell, I have come home with only one goal, to save my city. Now others have joined my crusade. To them, I'm Oliver Queen. To the rest of Starling City, I'm someone else. I am something else."
That someone, that something more ...that something else is the DC Comics character Green Arrow. Not to be confused with the same-colored Hornet or Lantern. In season 2 Oliver Queen finally shed the name and reputation of the Hood or Vigilante. He vowed not to kill, and he no longer has the list to guide him. His job now is to go after any bad guys in Starling City. In season 3 that job will get a lot harder to do while still keeping his vow. You can say that things get a lot more personal and that season 3 of The Arrow is all about family. And, you can bet that not everyone is getting out alive. Those who remain will be forever changed. That much is certain.
