Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 23rd, 2015
"Baby, if you've ever wondered, wondered whatever became of me. I'm living on the air in Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, WKRP. "
It almost sounds like a take on Harry Chapin's WOLD, and in many ways it is. The song was hot for a while on radio stations. It seems that DJ's couldn't resist songs about DJ's. Who saw that coming? Of course, the song is the opening theme to WKRP In Cincinnati. The show is back on DVD thanks to the folks at Shout Factory. If that's not big news, this absolutely is. It's back with most of the original music intact including the opening and closing themes. For fans of the show, it's the news we've been waiting for for decades now.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2015
There’s a new horror film out from Anchor Bay. It’s called Muck, and it’s actually the middle part of a trilogy. If you find that more than a little bit confusing, Upcomingdiscs is here to help you sort it all out. We’re going to be delivering a series of interviews with cast and crew to answer all of those burning questions. For our second interview we decided to go the big guy himself. No we're not talking about Mr. Carlson from WKRP. (That comes later). Of course, I'm talking about Steve Wolsh. He's the writer and director of the ambitious project. He took the time to talk to us twice last week. Trust me, you'll want to hear what he's got to say. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Steve Wolsh.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on March 20th, 2015
There's a new horror film out from Anchor Bay. It's called Muck, and it's actually the middle part of a trilogy. If you find that more than a little bit confusing, Upcomingdiscs is here to help you sort it all out. We're going to be delivering a series of interviews with cast and crew to answer all of those burning questions. My first talk was with Bryce Draper. He's a newcomer to feature films, and he's hip-deep in the Muck now. He's pretty enthusiastic about it all. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Bryce Draper.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on March 19th, 2015
Everybody is talking about the next James Bond movie. It seems we've been fascinated by the spy genre since the early 1960's. AMC has added a new wrinkle to the spy game with Turn: Washington's Spies. When we say Washington we're not talking about the city. We're talking General Washington, George Washington. It's a revolutionary show about a real-life spy ring from America's fight for independence. Joining the redcoats is Samuel Roukin. He plays the nasty Captain Simcoe. I had the chance to chat with Samuel and he had some very cool insights into the character and the show. He even reveals a secret about the original fate of Simcoe that you are going to want to hear. He also gives us a sneak peak at season 2. The first season is now out from Anchor Bay. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Samuel Roukin.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 19th, 2015
Anyone who has ever played an instrument or sung understands the therapeutic powers of music. In England they have been using that idea to help physically disadvantaged children with music at the Nordoff-RobbinsMusicCenter in London's KentishTown. The institute was founded by American composer Paul Nordoff and British teacher Clive Robbins. They have thousands of success stories. We're talking children who had closed themselves off from the world around them, many who had stopped speaking or communicating at all. The children come from all over the world. In the late 1980's the Center was looking at the need to expand their facilities. To build a state-of-the-art facility would take a lot of money, so they naturally turned to the professional musical artists whom they had honored yearly with their own Silver Clef Award. We're talking the likes of Elton John, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney, heavy hitters, to be sure. Every one of them who were available immediately agreed to put on a super-concert to raise money for the new facility. The event was so successful that a second beneficiary was added because of the funds the show made available. The BritSchool Of Performing Arts was the added charity. It all came together for 11 hours on June 30th 1990 at a place called Knebworth.
The concert was billed as The Best All British Rock Show Ever Staged, and it very well might have been. The crowd was a living sea of rock 'n' roll fans. But it wasn't really strictly a British affair. The crowd can be seen waving flags from many nations, the United States and Canada quite prominent. It was obvious that fans came from around the globe to see the historic gathering. It doesn't look like they were disappointed in the least.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 18th, 2015
"Space...The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before!"
I wish I could say that this new 2-DVD set of Star Trek episodes had gone where none had gone before. Instead it's merely a release of eight original series episodes on two DVDs. The only extras are a couple of very short Shatner interview clips on leadership, the captain's logs and his death scene in Generations. There's nothing new about any of this. Fortunately, the selection of episodes is a pretty solid one.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 16th, 2015
Most films start with a screenplay. Certainly the true genesis is usually an idea or concept, but the film starts to take shape around a screenplay. Never has that been more true then with 3 Holes And A Smoking Gun. In fact, you could say it has a killer script. I'm not actually talking about the one written by Scott Fivelson for the movie. And, when I say killer, I'm not being at all figurative. This is a script that people will literally kill for, hence the smoking gun in the title. That's not to say that Fivelson's work isn't pretty good here. It's quite clever, but it's not the dominating aspect of this particular movie. That comes later.
Bobby Blue Day (Wilder) is pretty much a washed-up Hollywood screenwriter who now teaches a class on film writing. It wouldn't exactly be fair to say he is a has-been, because that would imply that he had anything like a successful career at all. He's obviously more than a little bitter, and that hits home hard when one of his students hands in the best script he's ever read or heard of. It's perfect, and he conspires to get himself a piece of the action by taking advantage of inexperienced writer Jack (Khan). But Jack isn't falling for the act. He knows how good the script is, and he's been through more than a little hell to get it this far. The problem is that Bobby appears to know a big-time director who will see the script's genius and want to make the film. But is that contact worth half the money and a co-writing credit? As it turns out, it's all a negotiation, and the two engage in a rather dangerous dance for position. Along the way we discover that everything isn't always what it appears to be, and Bobby's not the only one who will do anything to get himself attached to the work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2015
"I'm Leonardo da Vinci. Revolutionary painter, artist and visionary, of the Republic of Florence."
The term “Renaissance man” is often used to describe a person who has a very wide range of interests in which they have become quite skilled. It's taken from the traits of the many artists, innovators and writers of the 15th century. And while the term might well apply to any number of such historical figures, there is none for whom it is more apt than Leonardo DaVinci.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2015
James Wilder gets to play a killer screenwriter in 3 Holes And A Smoking Gun. He's getting quite a bit of recognition for the performance. In addition to snagging the Independent Spirit Award at the upcoming Garden State Film Festival, he also won Best Actor Award at the Winter Film Awards. If you want to know why, you should check out the film. In the meantime, I had a chance to talk to James about it all. You can catch some of his insights before you watch the film. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with James Wilder.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2015
Hopefully, you've checked out my interview with Michael Seater from Bank$tas. We're not finished with that film yet. Jeremy's got the review coming up and our buddies over at Arc Entertainment figured you guys might have your own financial crises and want a chance to win a copy for yourself. I'm guessing they were right. So, they've given us 3 copies to give away right here.
To win a copy, just follow these simple instructions.
