Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 23rd, 2015
"Will you follow me, one last time?"
It's time to say goodbye to Middle Earth, at least from a cinematic perspective. The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies marks the last time we shall see Peter Jackson's version of Middle Earth. Sure, Ian McKellen has told us he wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of a return. I would. There is certainly enough work from Tolkien to support future adventures, but the rights to anything beyond these books belongs to the Tolkien estate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
