Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 12th, 2013
"We always thought that alien life would come from the stars, but it came from deep beneath the Pacific."
The only thing we seem to love more than giant monster movies are movies about giant dudes going a few rounds with said giant monsters. It was huge television fare in the 1960's and 1970's. We had Ultraman, Space Giants, and Johnny Socko. All of them were Japanese imports that gave us daily or weekly monsters doing the old "Tokyo Stomp", and just when things appeared at their darkest, the giant hero would arrive and give us a show more akin to the weekend wrestling shows than anything else. We'd get choke-holds and body slams that would make the rubber suits jiggle as they fell. It was all in good fun and appears to have pretty much disappeared from the television and film landscape. That is, until Guillermo del Toro brings us one of the summer's eagerly awaited tentpole films: Pacific Rim.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 11th, 2013
It's time to say goodnight and goodbye to that lovable country lawyer Ben Matlock. Andy Griffith managed to bring a new style and even comfort to the lawyer show when he first walked into a television courtroom as Matlock. That was March of 1986. After 182 cases and a handful of television daughters, the show came to a close in May of 1995. We lost Andy a year ago almost to the day of when the final season of Matlock hits the shelves. It might not be the show he will forever be remembered for. But it does hold its own in the life of a special entertainer. Now you can complete that collection.
Matlock began life as a television movie from Dean Hargrove, who brought us Columbo. Hargrove would later work the same magic with Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder. In fact, the two shows could easily have been companion pieces. Both featured sit-com stars from the 1950’s and 60’s who had become somewhat iconic characters. Both would don the role of professionals. Both shows would subscribe to the “formula” mode of storytelling. Diary Of A Perfect Murder would set up the Matlock formula. It’s simple, really. Matlock was a lawyer in Atlanta. Some wronged defendant, usually charged with murder, would show up asking for Matlock’s help. Matlock and his team would investigate the crime with an eye toward, as OJ Simpson is fond of saying, finding the real killer. In the pilot the Matlock character was less Andy Taylor and a little more slick at first. I’m sure that while it was intended to show Matlock’s prowess as a high-priced attorney, somewhere along the line it became obvious that the show’s finest asset was Griffith himself and that southern charm he was already famous for. Whatever the reason, you can see the character soften significantly during the early episodes of the season. And that decision was a smart one, as Matlock would continue for nearly a decade.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2013
When one thinks of The Dick Van Dyke Show it's hard not to think of its star Dick Van Dyke. After all, it's his name on the opening credits, and he does play the lead character in this groundbreaking television comedy. There's little question that the show became a wonderful vehicle for his many comedic talents. But the genius behind the show wasn't really Dick Van Dyke at all. It was Carl Reiner (yes, Meathead's father) who is the true brains behind the show.
Reiner was a popular comedy writer in the early days of television. He made his name with Sid Caesar, writing for the very popular Your Show Of Shows. During that time he had been inundated with ideas for his own show. He wasn't happy with any of them and decided to write his own. The result was Head Of The Family. It starred Reiner as Rob Petrie, a television comedy writer living in the New York suburbs of New Rochelle. In a break from traditional sit-com style, he told his stories both at home and at the office. We got to see Rob with his fellow writers and with his wife and neighbors. If any of this sounds rather familiar...it should. It was a clever idea, but it stank up the ratings and was soon dropped.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 4th, 2013
"Life's A Long Song"
That has certainly been true for the iconic British invasion band, Jethro Tull. Their first album came out in 1968, and they made their maiden tour of The United States the next year as the opening act for Led Zeppelin. From that point on the band has experienced both ups and downs, to be sure. Still, they continue to play nearly 100 shows a year throughout the world. Jethro Tull: Around The World offers a peek at their traveling minstrel show over the span of 35 years from 1970 to 2005. It's a rare glimpse into the evolution and, indeed, the aging of a rock classic. One might say that it's about time.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2013
And then there was only one. More than a decade after CSI began to spin itself off to Miami and then New York, the last standing series is the original. And while even the franchise flagship has undergone cast and even style changes, it remains a ratings winner and appears to maintain an appeal the other shows never could quite capture. Not that we can call either of these spinoff adventures a failure. Both saw pretty much a decade, which is far longer than 90% of television shows ever see. Both had their own unique vision and niche that appealed to a broader group of fans. And while I never completely warmed up to the Miami version, I always rather liked the New York version, at times better than the original.
The reason could be found in the person of Gary Sinise. He's a strong actor, and he happen to have fallen into the perfect part. He became Mac Taylor for most of the fans, and it will be a lonelier television landscape without him.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on July 1st, 2013
Most of you know Ricky Schroder. He was the child actor from Silver Spoons in the 1980''s. In the 1990's grew up fast and took on NYPD Blue. All along the way he has redefined his image. Now he's a family man. The entire Schroder clan has recently put together the Hallmark film Our Wild Hearts. The film stars Ricky, two sons, and his daughter Cambria in her first staring role. He co-wrote the film with wife Andrea and directed the movie. I recently had the opportunity to chat with him about his family and the latest film. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Ricky Schroder
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2013
I got the chance recently to chat with Calvin Reeder. Reeder's a relative newcomer to the filmmaking game, and he certainly has developed his own storytelling style. The Rambler is his second feature-length film. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Calvin Reeder
Unfortunately, I must apologize for a series of beeps that interfere with the quality of the audio.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2013
"My ears hear what others cannot hear; small faraway things people cannot normally see are visible to me. These senses are the fruits of a lifetime of longing, longing to be rescued, to be completed. Just as the skirt needs the wind to billow, I'm not formed by things that are of myself alone. I wear my father's belt tied around my mother's blouse, and shoes which are from my uncle. This is me. Just as a flower does not choose its color, we are not responsible for what we have come to be. Only once you realize this do you become free, and to become adult is to become free."
If you are a fan of director Chan-wook Park, you are used to the kinds of bizarre images and somewhat enigmatic story elements that dominate the landscape of Stoker. While none of the images here reach quite into the territory of Oldboy, it's hard not to plug into the disturbed nature of the film's themes and story. I left the movie with more questions than answers and a little bit lost as to how exactly I was going to approach this review. I had not seen Oldboy at the time of the viewing or since. I did go out of my way to get some exposure to the film's famous imagery through clips and stills. Even still, I've never been more confused about a film than I am about Stoker.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 25th, 2013
"The body is the proof. It will tell you everything you need to know if you just have the patience to look."
Body Of Proof was a mid-season entry by the network two years ago; it debuted at the end of March and ran for only nine episodes that year. It was renewed, so it had the opportunity to develop into something better than what it was. After a full season last year, it was decided to retool the show considerably for the third year. It was all an obvious sign that the show with so much potential was having trouble drawing in enough viewers to keep it alive. The end has finally come, and those last episodes are now available on DVD.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2013
"Welcome to the wonderful world of magic."
They say that the hand is quicker than the eye. Through the art of misdirection and skillful manipulation we have been awed by magicians ever since Glog made Ooof's club disappear somewhere in Mesopotamia circa 20,000 BC. It's not all skill, really. The truth is we've always wanted to be fooled. We're begging for "magicians" to tamper with our sense of reality. I don't know how fast the hand happens to be, but today we're fooled at the speed of 24 frames per second (unless you happen to be Peter Jackson). The magic happens every time we walk into a movie theater or put a shiny disc into our magic machines. And what do we enjoy even more than being "tricked"? We love to laugh. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone has just the right amount of sleight of hand to pull it off.
