Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 13th, 2013
"Me and my boy here, we're gonna put a whuppin' on ya!"
In case you haven't been paying attention, 2013 is turning out to be the year of the returning action stars. The Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed up with Korean action director Jee-woon Kim to deliver a very entertaining ride in The Last Stand. Sly Stallone teamed up with action icon Walter Hill to bring us the not-so-entertaining Bullet To The Head. Of course, perhaps the most eagerly awaited return was Bruce Willis back in the role that made him an action star in the first place. This is less Willis's return and more a potential swansong for cowboy cop John McLane. It's the fifth entry in the Die Hard franchise and the first sequel written originally as a Die Hard film and not something adapted to the character. With the disappointing Live Free Or Die Hard still fresh in my memory, all bets were off when I entered the cinema for a sneak peak of A Good Day To Die Hard.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2013
You can't make this stuff up. OK, maybe you can. When Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen decided to embark on their directorial debut, they must have spent many hours huddled together to come up with the perfect concept. When they finally reached that perfect pitch they threw it in the trash can and decided to have fun instead. The whole idea is based on a short film by Jason Stone called Jay And Seth vs. The Apocalypse. With a title like that, you probably already know more than you need to know to figure out this movie.
It starts when Jay Baruchel comes to L.A. to visit his buddy Seth Rogen. Seth has been trying to help his old friend fit in with his new Hollywood friends. Jay doesn't really like the Hollywood guys and resists any chance to hang out with them. Of course, Seth also has a week of weed and video games planned, which is more Jay's speed. Seth does get Jay to agree to come with him to James Franco's housewarming party. That goes pretty much the way Jay expected. He gets some "fake" nice talk from the assembled celebs and is basically abandoned by Seth. The night's going pretty much according to plan...well...except for the nasty Apocalypse that just happens to strike while Jay's making a store run. The Earth is opening up and fire is raining down on the world. Some folks are being beamed up in bright blue shafts of light. So he heads back to Franco's where no one believes him. But if you can't bring this collection of funny guys to the Apocalypse, the Apocalypse comes to the funny guys. A huge hole opens up on the lawn and most of the party guests get sucked into the ground.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2013
"You're capable of more than you know."
Walt Disney was always fascinated with the world of Oz. After his Snow White experiment proved that fantasy films were economically possible, he was planning to journey to Oz next. Unfortunately, he was a victim of his own success. It was the very box office magic that Snow White brought in that inspired MGM to purchase the rights to The Wizard Of Oz and create their iconic film. Because of that turn of events, the rights were not available for Walt and his magic studio.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2013
"Two can keep a secret as long as one of them is dead."
And there are a lot of secrets to be found on the ABC Family show Pretty Little Liars. It seems that Alison (Pieterse) was murdered in the small Pennsylvania town of Rosewood. She was the "queen bee" of a small clique of girls. She was fond of manipulating those around her, and it seems her head games have finally caught up with her. That leaves her four close friends behind to get on with their lives. That's going to be hard now. Allison's body has finally been discovered, the missing-person investigation is now a homicide investigation, and the four little busy bees are at the heart of the storm. Then there's the anonymous "A" who has begun to send them messages that indicates she/he knows many of their most closely guarded secrets. "A" torments them with her/his intimate knowledge not only of the past but what the girls are up to even now. It's obvious that "A" is close and keeping tabs on the girls. Alison may be dead, but it's "A" who is manipulating them now.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on June 9th, 2013
20th Century Fox wants you to spend Father's Day with Dad watching a movie or two. If you're looking to bring your experience with Pop into high definition, they have just the titles for you. These classics have been re-mastered and offered in high definition just in time for Father's Day on June 16th.
The Verdict (1982)
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 7th, 2013
"What is reality?"
Television has been around for about 75 years now. In that time we've seen just about every kind of show you might like. Fads and trends come and go along with stars and characters. Crime dramas have been among the most popular throughout those 75 years, and there have been so many "cop/detective" shows that we've also seen just about every kind of crime and investigation possible. With few exceptions there isn't much that can surprise us in the cop procedural drama.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on June 5th, 2013
Summertime is here and we're all going to have a bit too much to eat with all of those cookouts. Flatiron Film Company has the answer to help get you into that bathing suit or out on the dance floor. They're giving us Dance Academy Season 1 (both volume 1&2). Dance along with these young stars as they try to reach their dreams. To win these two DVD's just follow these instructions.
Contest is now closed Winner is Melissa Snyder
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2013
Official Upcomingdiscs Autopsy Report:
There's a case to be made that it isn't exactly fair to review a television series that was axed after only 8 episodes. Fans of that kind of a show are already up and arms and just waiting to thrash you for, as they see it, putting another nail in the coffin while they're still looking for extraordinary measures to revive the corpse. It doesn't matter how long it's been dead or how slim the chances are for revival. If it's your show you just aren't ready to give up, and you certainly don't need a word jockey like me throwing dirt on the grave. When it comes to Red Widow, however, I think I've seen enough to make the official pronouncement of death.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2013
"'I've been given me the toughest job I've ever had in my life, but also the most rewarding. What can be more important to the war effort than preserving the fighting strength of our troops? We must maximize the odds of every soldier that passes through our portal... His country is counting on him. His country is counting on us."
The first thing you have to understand about Vietnam was that it was unlike any war the country had ever participated in. Up until this time, the United States had not failed in conflict. The Vietnam War was also the very first war to show up in living color each night on our television screens. War correspondents had a new weapon in their arsenal, and it was called the television camera. The nightly news was dominated by these gruesome pictures of death and destruction. As the body count mounted, so did opposition to the war. By the time the war finally did end for Americans, over 60,000 Americans had been killed in action. Approval for the war fell to less than 20%. The war dominated our pop culture. Music, in particular, reflected the frustration of the times. The war even led to the voting age being dropped to 18 so that a soldier could have the right to vote. The war brought on the modern Veteran's Administration to deal with the thousands of wounded when they returned home and throughout their lives. The impact of the war was huge, and it took a show like China Beach to humanize one of the most divisive events in American history.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2013
"You're so unprepared for this..."
If you're a fan of the 1985 comedy staring Michael J. Fox, that statement is particularly appropriate. We all remember the cute high school romp where Michael J. Fox discovers that his family has been hiding a long dark secret. They are werewolves. Now, the young teen finds himself having to deal with the usual growing pains of adolescence on top of dealing with the family curse. Before long he's a basketball star and the most popular kid in school. A fun time was had by all. The film spawned a sequel with Jason Bateman and an animated series on television. It was all a hoot.
