Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 24th, 2024
"All right, kids. This is the part where you get to do the things the grownups don't wanna do anymore. Door to door on foot. Knock-knock, 'have you seen this man?' Just like in the movies. Partners have already been assigned so no one will get hurt feelings. Suspect likes to visit a certain kind of neighborhood. He's a middle-aged Caucasian male and not likely to go quietly, so let's always assume he's armed. We'll go alert and careful. That's all."
But that's really just the beginning. Writer/director Osgood Perkins has created one of those serial killer films that is bound to draw comparisons with some of the best of those films and most certainly Silence Of The Lambs. Let me just get that out of the way fast. This is a pretty solid film that deserves some attention, and is absolutely worth a look. It isn't anywhere as good as Silence Of The Lambs, and that appears to bother some folks. I'm not one who thinks if you can't make a classic that stands up to the best ever, you shouldn't be making movies. It's not as good, and I'm very OK about that. Longlegs has its moments, to be sure.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 24th, 2024
"I just love children's imaginations. What I don't like is when they get so violent."
Blumhouse is one of those horror factories that have changed the way horror films are created, seen, and marketed. There have been some powerful horror films to come out of those doors. When I think of Meg3n, the first couple of Paranormal Activity films, and even the Purge franchise, I see clever and innovative films. But the production house can be a bit feast-or-famine, and there have been a number of famine films on the bill. Among the famine list of films you'll find Truth Or Dare and the crazy horror/hybrid take on the old Fantasy Island series. What do both of those films have in common? They were directed by Jeff Wadlow. So imagine, pun intended, my surprise when the latest collaboration between Wadlow and Blumhouse, Imaginary, turns out to be yet another disappointment. For Blumhouse there are more hits than there are flops. For Jeff Wadlow? He's 0-3.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2024
"Let me tell you a story. A story of a great king."
Let me begin by admitting that the original 1994 classic animation feature film The Lion King has remained my all-time favorite animated film. It wasn't just the Elton John/Tim Rice songs, but that didn't hurt. I've been an Elton John fan as far back as I can remember. There was just something special, something timeless, in that film. Since that time I regard it as the very last breath of the Walt Disney Studios classic animation. It started the studio's last string of hits, and it was the end of an era. So that film has become somewhat bittersweet for me. The animated sequels were low-budget made-for-video quality, and the more recent "live action" version did not impress me with anything more than the technology it displayed. The heart has been gone for a long time. With the release of Mufasa, Walt Disney is attempting to pull on the heartstrings of people like me who love the original. Sometimes they pulled it off. Sometimes they did not. The film has its moments, and it certainly has its flaws. With all of that said, I expect it will generate pretty good box office numbers, and while its legacy won't last half as long as that of the 1994 film, it's good family entertainment, which has been missing from Walt Disney Studios for nearly a decade. Maybe the studio has learned something of late. If that's true, I welcome what is yet to come, and Mufasa is a pretty solid start.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2024
"You know, we've got a lot to be thankful for. And looking around this table, I gotta say I couldn't be more proud or grateful."
It's the end of a tour of duty for the cast and crew of Blue Bloods. On Friday, December 13th, the show aired its last episode. It's time to say goodbye to the Reagans ... maybe not forever, but for now. After 14 years and 293 episodes, the show comes to an end. It wasn't because ratings had dropped. They most certainly have not. The show was actually still growing after 14 years. It wasn't because the actors wanted out. Not a single cast member wanted out. More on my thoughts later. For now Paramount is releasing Blue Bloods: The Final Season on DVD so you can complete your collection.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 7th, 2024
"Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It has been 40 years since my last confession. I had a drinking problem, and that became a drug problem, and I ruined my life ... There's this thing that has come up. It's a job, and it's coming to me off the back of someone else's tragedy. But maybe work will be good for me, you know? Give me a sense of purpose. Make me stronger. Maybe make my daughter proud of me."
It's the confession of a desperate man, and that's the center of The Exorcism. This year there's a new Gladiator film out, but Russell Crowe isn't going to be fighting again in the arenas of ancient Rome any time soon. Instead he has been spending some time lately doing battle with Satan himself and some of his minions. The Exorcism was actually his first tour of duty in the genre. That film actually wrapped in 2019 but took nearly five years to make it to the box office, were it came and went with little more than a whimper. Later Crowe also starred in The Pope's Exorcist, where he played the top exorcism man in the Vatican. The crazy thing is that film came first, so to most people it looked like The Exorcism was just a cheap redo. That doesn't mean, of course, that this isn't a kind of redo. It is, and no one is really hiding the fact. You'll understand in a minute.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2024
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. For Black Friday we turn our attention to Warner Brothers, who are giving us some nice choices on UHD Blu-ray just in time for the holidays.
First up we have two classic films and a second season of House Of The Dragon that are coming UHD for the first time.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 27th, 2024
"Don't hate the player. Hate the game."
When it comes to The Killer's Game, there's a lot to hate and just not enough to love. I happen to like Dave Bautista. He has the physical skills to play incredibly intimidating roles, and he actually has a good bit of comedic timing. The Guardians Of The Galaxy films gave him the perfect place to put all of that on display. He's an entertaining part of an ensemble cast, and he more than pulls his weight in a crowd. He's been showing up in some very important films of late, but up until this point none of these roles required him to step out of the comfortable settings where he can pretty much be him and it works on multiple levels. So we already had a pretty good idea where Dave Bautista's strengths were to be found. It had to happen sooner or later. It's obvious the wrestler-turned-actor has been having a good time in this actor's game, and it was only a matter of time before he might want to see just how far his chops could take him. Could he take on the weight of being a leading man? He chose a pretty safe film, anchored in those things we already knew he could do, with an expanded role that put him at the top of the call sheet for the first time in his career. The evidence has been presented, and the defense has rested its case. The jury is going to be the audience of The Killer's Game, and I think it's safe to say the verdict is in. You might call it a hung jury, but that was because some of decided to take the easy way out and end the misery there. I stuck with it. No suicidal thoughts going through this juror. But I find the defendant Dave Bautista guilty on all counts. Taking on a leading man role is absolutely criminal, and if you have the patience to read on, I'm going to give you my reasons. Just understand this guilt is beyond and reasonable ... forget that. This verdict is beyond a shadow of a doubt. Dave Bautista has been found condemned to going back to making the kinds of films he is good at. Call it community service.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2024
"What we do in life echoes in eternity."
What Ridley Scott does often echoes quite nicely at the box office. In 2000 Ridley Scott released Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe as the Roman Legion turned gladiator that ended in a fight to return Rome to the Senate and its citizens. Maximus fought gallantly and fell just short of his goal. But the story that the film wove was truly a masterpiece and stands as one of my top 10 films of all time, up there with Unforgiven and the first two Godfather films. I've often said in these pages that expectations kill, and I was well prepared for that to be the result when I sat down to the press screening for Gladiator II. Scott himself calls this the best film he's ever made. That's a big boast coming from the guy who brought us Alien, Blade Runner, and, of course, the original Gladiator. I disagree. While I found Gladiator II to be an impressive film from every perspective, it didn't quite make me feel the way I did when I left the theater for the first time after seeing Gladiator. But take heart. It's a damn good movie, and it's a can't-miss for any true film fans out there in the arena. The question is pretty simple. Are we not entertained? The answer is, "oh yeah".
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2024
"Not everybody can become United States Marines. We want the best and we settled for nothing but the best, because there is nothing prouder, nothing finer, nothing standing as straight as a United States Marine. Now they got the Air Force, they got the Navy, they got the Army, they got the Coast Guard - and if you want to join them, go ahead. They got plenty of room. But if you want a challenge, if you want to try something difficult, try to achieve the impossible - try 13 weeks of hell at Parris Island, South Carolina, and find out if you got what it takes, find out if you really are a man, then the Marines might be what you are looking for. Tarawa ... Iwo Jima ... Belleau Wood ... the frozen Chosin Reservoir. First to fight, we have never lost a war. We have always come when our country has called."
Born On The Fourth Of July has been both a controversial film as well as one of Tom Cruise's first breakout roles. Over time the film has become appreciated more as feelings on the Vietnam War have pretty much come full circle in the American political mind. Now it can be viewed for the remarkable performance Tom Cruise delivers and the rather stark reality check Ron Kovic's autobiography provided in 1976 to a nation that might not have been ready to hear it. Times have changed, and I think they're well reflected in Oliver Stone's film Born On The Fourth Of July, which Shout Factory has now made available in 4K for the first time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 21st, 2024
"You know the Butcher? That freakin' nutjob that goes around just chopping people up? Well, the feds or whatever heard that he's gonna be here today, so they set up a trap for him. This whole concert? It's a trap. They're watching all the exits, checking everyone that leaves. There's no way to get out of here. It's kinda dope, right?"
The idea is actually based on a true story, with a lot of differences. In 1985 the FBI managed to round up over 100 high-profile criminals with a ruse that involved tickets to an NFL game. There have been plenty of other scams where promises of prizes have attracted otherwise cautious wanted people. I was at a promo for some home improvement club store, and while there, a couple of folks were nervous that it was a sting because they had outstanding warrants. It wasn't, but these things can and do indeed happen. The way it's done here leaves one to stretch credibility a bit more than I'm usually willing to go.
