Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2024
The films of the 1960's and 1970's began an era of what have been called exploitation films. There are many examples of films that pushed the R to X boundaries and have been referred to as Sexploitation films. Today we might call them soft porn, and examples of those early films includes Daughter Of The Sun (1963) and The Twilight Girls (1961). There were also films that took advantage of a certain aspect of black culture in the 70's and made to appeal to the young, "hip" blacks of the decade but also became quite popular with the mainstream audiences. Films from that genre include iconic movies like the Shaft and Dolemite franchises. There's another of these kinds of films that hasn't gotten quite the attention and aren't as well remembered. That group of films from mainly the 60's were called Hicksploitation. These films provided heavy stereotyping like the Blacksploitation films did, but of the ways of the south. Common themes were incest and child brides, moonshining, and inbred hillbillies. While television picked up on the fad and made these stereotypes more charming and lovable with shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, the depictions in these films flaunted the Hayes Code and other censor attempts because of the setting. It sounds crazy, but it was acceptable to have these taboos presented in rural South locations that could not be gotten away with in any "civilized" Northern location. Now Film Masters has discovered two of these films and restored them for our personal libraries.
"She's cheated. Tried to steal my money. That's what I get for a wife."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 25th, 2024
"Somebody went to a lot of trouble here, and I want to find out, lawsuit or no lawsuit. I'm not the one who's supposed to be caught with his pants down."
The word "classic" gets thrown around a lot. Everybody has their own list. I get that. Whenever someone starts listing films from the last year or so, I just smile and take it with a grain of salt. Because I know they don't know what they're talking about. I don't know how many years it takes to be a classic. Is it 10 ... 20 … or even 30 years? Well, how about 50 for a nice round number? The film has certainly stood the test of time. That's one of those things you can't say about a film under a decade or two old.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2024
"For most of human civilization, we believed that we were Earth's most dominant species. We believed that life could only exist on the surface of the planet. Well, after a certain point of view, you have to wonder what else we were wrong about. In the beginning, Hollow Earth lived in harmony with the surface world. The Titans were the guardians of nature, and the Great Apes became the protectors of humanity. But a great evil threatened the peace. A powerful and ruthless ape desperate to conquer the surface world led his tribe into war against the one they call the Monster Who Ate a Star. The war with the Apes nearly destroyed Godzilla. But after a great battle, he imprisoned the apes in a fiery realm of Hollow Earth. Their false king remains obsessed with reaching the surface. The Iwi call him the Skar King."
That in a nutshell is the plot of the latest Monsterverse film from Legacy and Warner Brothers. It's called Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, and we're told the X is silent. And here I thought it was some kind of a multiplier.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2024
"I, Bass Reeves, do solemnly swear that I will execute all lawful precepts directed to the Marshall of The United States for the Western District of Arkansas without malice or partiality, perform the duties of Deputy Marshall and take only my lawful fees. So help me God."
He was the inspiration for the Lone Ranger. Bass Reeves is one of the biggest icons of the old west and perhaps one of the least remembered. He served for 35 years and managed to bring in over 4000 wanted men for their day in court and likely the noose. It's a huge story, and the filmmakers of Lawmen: Bass Reeves have taken on the enormous task with just 8 episodes of this limited series with no follow-up planned or on the books. Were they able to meet such a challenge? That's going to require some explanation. The series was based on the first two of a series of books written by Sidney Thompson, who serves as a consultant on the series.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2024
"Seems like a nice day for a swim."
Walt Disney Studios has struggled of late. It's been a while since they've had much of a hit, and that includes their Marvel and Pixar components. In the years just before the pandemic the studio was outperforming anyone in the industry. One Disney executive once said that actually printing money would be less profitable than the billions the studio was raking in. But something changed around the pandemic, and it had little to do with a virus. The studio started to flex its muscles in the political arena, and those elements started to dominate the on-screen product. It doesn't really matter if one agrees with them or not. I think it's tricky when a part of the entertainment industry starts to get too involved with a particular social ideology. Just ask the Dixie Chicks. The who? That's my point. It's cost the studio a considerable sum and an over 50% plunge in their stock value over three years or so. Why would you alienate half of the prospective audience? Forget politics. It's just not good business. So this was the backdrop in which I attended our screening of Young Woman Of The Sea. If ever there was a film that looked to really pile on, that sure sounded like the title to me. To my surprise, the film appears to avoid all of that and ends up being the best Disney film I've seen in a few years.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 28th, 2024
My favorite food has always been lasagna. All those special noodles, layers of cheese and ricotta, beef, sausage, sauce, and more cheese into an absolutely perfect dish. Furthermore, if you let the dish sit overnight in the refrigerator, it was somehow even better than the day before. Unfortunately, lack of true gluten-free options for lasagna noodles (Barilla makes one, but they are hard to find) and nobody to really make it for beside myself (my wife and son are lactose intolerant) have created a situation where I haven't had a true lasagna in years. But perhaps with today's film review of Garfield, I can find the inspiration to recreate my favorite dish. Let's take a look at the movie.
For a lot of cat owners, I'm sure their realized horror is their feline learning how to use a cell phone. Apparently Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) has this down pat, as he uses it to order Mamma Leoni's via drone delivery. Meanwhile, Odie (voiced by Gregg Berger) barks for a treat, which he quickly receives. In a few moments, a drone arrives with a pizza for Garfield. Several seconds later, the pizza is eaten as if Garfield was a paper shredder. That should tide him over until breakfast.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2024
"A Haunting is a lonely thing. No one else can see what you see. Even the people you love would call you crazy."
We all have our fears, and that's a good thing for the folks in the movie-making business. Fright sells, and we all like to be afraid ... at least a little bit. From rollercoasters to movies, fear is a business, and going by box office receipts and streaming numbers, business has been good. The nice thing about movies that deal with fears is that they make excellent independent film fodder, because it's something everyone relates to, and you can do it on a pretty modest budget. But the writing has to be good, and the performances must be compelling, particularly when you don't have the cash to dazzle them with computer-generated delight. You might not get that box office jackpot, but with streaming and home video, a good movie does indeed have an afterlife. Writers/directors Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton have just that with the Lightyear Entertainment release of their 2015 horror film We Go On. It's a barebones release that just might be worth a spin after all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2024
"Consider what you are about to do."
I first read Frank Herbert's initial Dune book back in the mid 1970's. I was introduced to one of the most complicated and extraordinary universes of literature I have still ever encountered. It's a masterpiece followed by several more books over the years that have more completely brought this world to life. The material's cinematic journey has been somewhat less captivating and quite a disappointment. The 1984 David Lynch film was a train wreck and quite possibly one of the greatest film failures in history. Since then a lot has changed. Today computer-generated images have progressed to the point that with enough money and artistic expertise a filmmaker can depict anything the mind can conceive. Images have become photorealistic, and the worlds of Herbert's Dune universe can finally be brought to the silver screen with almost no limitations. But is that enough? In 2021 Denis Villeneuve gave us the first film in an expected trilogy. Would he be able to capture literature lightning in a bottle in the same way Peter Jackson brought to life the Middle Earth worlds of Tolkien? It was a bit of a strange time. The world was hit with a pandemic that brought our lives to a standstill, and people were finally looking to be coaxed back into the multiplexes ... and they came. Dune delivered an exciting new experience, but it wasn't quite up to par in my book. The film was far too involved in exposition. The characters talked a lot more than they did ... anything. So I was a bit unimpressed even in the face of the technological marvel that the film certainly was. Now it's Part Two, and the chances of the trilogy getting a conclusion depends heavily on what happens here. So what does happen here?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 14th, 2024
"The thing that haunts me are all the guys that I couldn't save."
I have to admit I was a little skeptical that Clint Eastwood followed up his directing stint on Jersey Boys as quickly as he did to shoot American Sniper. The former was far from one of his better efforts, and he looked increasingly out of his element by the time it was said and done. He jumped into his preparation for American Sniper almost immediately, and the results could have been ... underwhelming. Instead Eastwood hit his target with the kind of profound impact I don't think I've seen from him since Unforgiven. Unforgiven won a Best Picture award, and deservedly so. American Sniper was nominated, although Eastwood himself was snubbed in the director category. It didn't win, of course, but this is one that most certainly deserves your attention.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2024
"People scare better when they're dyin.'"
Mention the name Sergio Leone and you immediately think of Clint Eastwood and their Man With No Name trilogy. The truth is that Leone was the master of the spaghetti western and largely responsible for making Clint what he is today. When the Italian director decided to try his hand at Hollywood, he was welcomed with open arms, except they weren't interested in anything but an American copy of a spaghetti western. Leone had something else in mind. He had a "been there, done that" attitude about the westerns and wanted to do an epic called Once Upon A Time In America. But Hollywood was hearing none of that. So they compromised. If Leone delivered a stylistic western, the studio would spring for the epic he wanted to make. The result of that parlay turned out to be Once Upon A Time In The West.
