Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 27th, 2013
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 26th, 2013
"Somebody somewhere knows something. And somebody's going to talk."
At the age of 76 many might consider The Company You Keep as a kind of swansong for Hollywood's original pretty boy, Robert Redford. It has all of the earmarks of a grand finale. Redford plays the star role and directs the film as well. It plays out like a message film with the grace of not overplaying its hand. And so, while the film brings up the activists morality of Vietnam-era America, it never becomes preachy or too obvious. In almost every sense of the word this is about as picture-perfect a goodbye as Redford might have asked for.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 24th, 2013
"This series presents information based, in part, in theory and conjecture. The producers’ purpose is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily the only ones to the mysteries we will examine."
Everybody loves a mystery. I'm not talking about a murder mystery found in a book or movie. I'm talking about the mysteries of life. We're surrounded by them. Do aliens exist? Have they visited us now or in our ancient past? Can plants communicate? Are some sharks immortal? Is there life after death? How about before birth? Is there really a Fountain of Youth? Do our pets have ESP? There are as many questions as there are stars in the sky. If you're rather fond of these questions, and who isn't? (Oops, that was another question.) In Search Of... is just the vintage television show for you. Thanks to the folks at Visual Entertainment you just got your chance. So ask away.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 24th, 2013
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 17th, 2013
The computer-animated feature film has reached the point where you don't have to be one of the big boys to play. While Pixar and to a lesser extent Dreamworks have dominated this feature form pretty much since its inception, there have already been a handful of independent films that have managed to leave their mark on the landscape. Now the foreign market is getting into the act as well. A Monster In Paris, or Un Monstre a' Paris, is the result of that evolution.
The story is a rather weak one, to be sure. It's 1910, and there is a creature running around the streets of Paris. It is the result of a flea's exposure to a scientist's formula to make things grow. Like all of the good monster films of the Universal era, this monster is terribly misunderstood and doesn't want to hurt anyone. He is attracted to a theatre where Lucille (Paradis) is the featured singer and performer. The flea makes himself known to her, and instead of acting in fear, Lucille embraces the flea's musical talents. Together they take the stage by storm.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2013
"If you ride like lightning you're gonna crash like thunder".
The best film that you may not get an opportunity to see this year is The Place Beyond The Pines. The film has already scored great buzz at a few film festivals and is about to see a very limited theatrical release. It's one of those films that absolutely deserves better, but somehow as you watch it you realize that this limited environment is a perfect match for the movie. This is not because the film isn't good enough for wide release. It is. It's because the movie is a rather intimate experience that just doesn't seem like it belongs at your noisy cineplex where it must compete with the barrage of explosions and terrifyingly loud musical score. There's a place for everything, and perhaps The Place Beyond The Pines has found its place beyond the pines and away from the hustle of the big box office world.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2013
“You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back — and I’ll give you the guts.”
More than any sport, baseball is all about numbers. Unfortunately, some of those numbers — like 73 (home runs in a single season) and 500 (career homers) — mean a little less in light of the steroid era. Others, like 56 (Joe DiMaggio’s legendary hitting streak), seem destined to live on forever. The most significant number on that shortlist might be 42, worn by Jackie Robinson when he broke Major League Baseball’s color line on April 15, 1947. 42 — the film, not the number — is significant for a somewhat surprising reason. The movie succeeds as rousing, crowd-pleasing entertainment by functioning less as a straight-up biopic and more as the story of how Robinson became, arguably, the country’s first African-American crossover star.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 11th, 2013
"Lucky Bastard was a pornographic website that invited fans to have sex with porn stars. The following footage is believed to be the last video shot for the site."
You know exactly what that kind of an intro means. You should. The found footage genre has been around even long before it was turned into a modern trend by The Blair Witch Project. Since that time the genre has appeared in both large and small budget films. The shaky footage usually covers a variety of sins by the filmmakers. Rarely does the genre have anything clever or new to dispense. That's not exactly true with Lucky Bastards.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2013
David McCallum has been a vital part of two outstanding television shows in his illustrious career. The Scottish-born actor played the Russian/British secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The series capitalized on the whole James Bond fad that was sweeping television both in England and in the United States in the 1960's. The series lasted five years and over 100 episodes. In recent years McCallum has added a 10-year run as pathologist Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on the number one scripted show on television: the original NCIS. In between he's appeared on countless other shows both in England and the States. He appeared in a landmark Outer Limits episode and as a guest on countless films and shows over his 60 year acting career. He even found time to star in less successful shows. One of these was The Invisible Man.
The series was short-lived. It didn't even last a season. It lasted only 13 episodes, but the show still has many fans with fond memories of the series. McCallum played scientist Dr. Daniel Westin. He and his wife Dr. Kate Westin (Fee) worked for the government-sponsored Klae Corporation. He decided to use himself as a guinea pig for an experiment in invisibility. It worked with only one slight problem: there was no way to return him to normal. So, he had a Derma-plex mask and gloves painted over his skin to create a removable surface when he wanted to become invisible. Of course, the clothes would provide the rest. Klae agreed to fund his research for a cure provided that he and his wife performed "favors" from time to time. These involved missions where his special talent proved useful. They worked under the direction of Walter Carlson (Stevens). They were a bit naive about the spy business, and that inexperience often found them in life-threatening situations which Dan would narrowly escape with his invisibility.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on April 9th, 2013
Our friends over at MPI want to help kick-off baseball season with a look at that ever-elusive pitch: The Knuckleball. Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg give you an "inside baseball" look at the infamous pitch. It's called Knuckleball! and we have three copies for our Upcomingdisc readers.
To win just follow these instructions.
