Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2015
"It means what it always means. Nobody tells you anything when you wanna know it. Only when they feel like telling it. And then only enough to make you crazy to know more."
When it comes to Pretty Little Liars, it seems making the fans crazy is what they do best. The fifth season of the show is out on DVD, and this is no place for beginners. If you don't know who Aria, Spencer, Emily, Hannah and Alison are, it's time for you to head back to the beginning and catch up. You can find our reviews from those seasons here. For the rest of you, let's talk Pretty Little Liars, shall we?
Posted in: Tribute by Gino Sassani on June 14th, 2015
"I don't want to sound gloomy, but at some point of your lives, every one of you will notice that you have in your life one person, one friend whom you love and care for very much. That person is so close to you that you are able to share some things only with him. For example, you can call that friend, and from the very first maniacal laugh or some other joke you will know who is at the other end of that line. We used to do that with him so often. And then when that person is gone, there will be nothing like that in your life ever again."
That was how Christopher Lee described his long-time friend and frequent co-star Peter Cushing when he died in 1994.
The two shared the screen dozens of times, most notably in the Hammer Studios cycle of horror films. The words can also describe the man himself. Hammer had picked up on the popular movie monster when the Universal cycle had pretty much run out its string. Following in the footsteps of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney (both Sr. and Jr.), Lee was part of a next generation of horror film icons. Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee would become the horror giants who would pick up where the Universal greats left off. It started with Curse Of Frankenstein, but it was Dracula for whom he will always be remembered. Not surprisingly, Lee never cared for the term “horror film”. He would borrow a French description often used by Boris Karloff and referred to these films as "the theatre of the fantastique"
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2015
"We need more teeth."
That's the problem with sequels, isn't it? There's always the belief that you have to go bigger and stronger than you did before. It's an ideal that is also reflected quite literally in the story of Jurassic World. You know what kills worse than dinosaurs? Expectations. It is those expectations that will turn what is a pretty solid action movie into a disappointment for so many. No doubt, Jurassic World is a fun and entertaining movie. But it's not Jurassic Park, and the truth is it never could be. If you go to this movie hoping to recapture what you felt the first time you heard the words "Welcome to Jurassic Park"
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2015
The premise here is 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. 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: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on June 10th, 2015
Our buddies over at Arc Entertainment have given us a few treats for our loyal readers. The Squeeze is out now on DVD. A young golf talent gets caught up with a ruthless gambler. All he wants to do is take care of his family and now it might cost him everything. It's a mix of a con film with the added interest of golf. Arc Entertainment has given us 3 copies to give away. Here's your chance to see how it ends on us.
To win a copy, just follow these simple instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 9th, 2015
"Some things stay the same. I mean the gamer is the game."
Stop me if you've heard this one before. A newspaper reporter and a cop go into a bar... It sounds like a setup for a pretty lame joke. It's actually the story of how one of the greatest television shows to ever air got started. It was the brainchild of two real-world players who hadn't yet seen their worlds portrayed accurately in television of film. They set out on a mission to change all of that. And, changing all of that is exactly what they did.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2015
Every science fiction fan knows who David Hewlett is. I've been a fan since his first appearance as Dr. Rodney McKay on the original Stargate SG-1. The character was such a memorable one that he became a regular when Stargate: Atlantis was launched. Hewlett is also responsible for the plague that kills off the humans in the new Planet Of The Apes series of films. Now he's gone behind the camera for Debug out this week on DVD. He wrote and directed the film which stars his old Atlantis buddy Jason Momoa, the future Aquaman. It was a special treat for me last week when I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes on the phone with him. We talked about McKay and the new film. Now you get to listen in on that conversation. Bang it here to listen to my chat with David Hewlett
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2015
Three-time widower Ben Cartwright (Greene) runs his famous Ponderosa Ranch with the aid of his three grown sons from three different mothers. There’s Little Joe (Landon), Adam (Roberts) and Hoss (Blocker). Set some time in the mid 1800’s, this long-running series followed the family’s many exploits. In the late 1950’s, westerns accounted for six of the top ten programs on TV. Only Gunsmoke had a longer run than Bonanza. From 1959 to 1973, Ben Cartwright and his boys rode across the small screen
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 2nd, 2015
Until recently DirecTV's Audience Network was a home for critically-acclaimed shows that somehow lost their feet on another network. It started with Friday Night Lights and more recently Damages. So DirecTV was no stranger to original series production. Now for the very first time the satellite carrier and network have developed their own television series. Rogue would be the first show on the network not to have played somewhere else first. The effort is a collaboration with eOne and Greenhouse Entertainment. From the first ten episodes of the first season, you can bet it's a pretty wild ride and a relatively strong start.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2015
"I have doubts about my sanity, the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, but this..."
No doubt about it. Major Crimes has managed to do what few shows before it have been able to pull off. Shows have survived the loss of their lead, but the remaining years were usually something lesser than it once was. That's not the case when The Closer lost its lead actress/character. The title was changed, and with just a few cast tweaks the series returned as Major Crimes, and I dare say it’s a much better show than its predecessor.
