Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 8th, 2013
Between Jason Bateman (Office Space and Horrible Bosses) and Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids and Mike and Molly), whose career seems to be most on fire right now? The idea of these two pairing would at first glance appear to be comic gold. Instead the result is a road trip film that had me asking if it were over yet. When we first meet Sandy Patterson (Bateman), he’s just your average businessman trying to support his family. With a new baby on the way, more money is just what he could use, and when he discovers the only people getting bonuses are his superiors, this rubs him the wrong way, and rightfully so.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2013
"All this has happened before and will all happen again. But this time it happened in London. It happened on a quiet street in Bloomsbury. That corner house is the house of the Darling family, and Peter Pan chose this particular house because these were people who believed in him..."
In 1953 with a little help from some Walt Disney magic, generations of children, and adults, of course, would learn to believe in the boy who never grew up
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2013
I had a nice little chat with Paul Andrew Williams. It was our most long-distance interview yet. He was in Jolly Ole' England and was nice enough to stay up late to talk to me about his latest film Cherry Tree Lane. We've got a review forthcoming. This is a most interesting and quite intimate look at a home invasion. Bang it here to listen in on our chat Paul Andrew Williams
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 1st, 2013
It's hard to imagine that Sylvester Stallone and Walter Hill never crossed paths for an action movie in the early days of their careers. Both have established themselves as staples in the action movie genre, and they dominated the 1970's and 1980's. It seems like a dream come true that the actor and director have finally joined forces. Unfortunately, some dreams are actually nightmares, and if Bullet To The Head is any indication, the two stars would have been better off had they remained unaligned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 28th, 2013
Here’s the thing. Fans of the franchise should be pleased with the latest entry. The series has been a solid October tradition for some time now. When you consider the low cost of creating one of these films with the proven box office numbers, this was all really a no-brainer, to say the least. You’re going to get more of what you are expecting, and the film throws in enough new angles and tricks to keep the idea as fresh as possible. However, there is a flip-side to all of this. I don’t think it’s very likely that you can enjoy this film quite so fully if you have not seen any of the previous films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2013
We've seen action films like Taken enough times that we've become a little immune to the formula. But then again, Liam Neeson wasn't your typical action figure, and so the movie was able to take audiences by surprise. It's not that Neeson hadn't already established himself as a fine actor. He just didn't fit the mold we are so used to seeing. Things have changed in the couple of years since Taken had its box office run. Neeson has now done more action films, and he's started to look more the part.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2013
Anyone who reads these pages on a regular basis knows that I'm a huge fan of the Oppo line of 3D players. All of the reviews you read that are written by me have been viewed on an Oppo player. They have been our official Blu-ray machines for a few years now. I also want to reiterate that Oppo does not pay me to say that or to publish reviews of their products. They are not advertisers here, and we've never gotten a single dime from them. But if you're as serious about your audio and video quality as I am, and you wouldn't be here if you weren't, you owe it to yourself to check out the latest in Oppo players.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2013
Last week I got a chance to chat with Lindsey Shaw. She's just celebrated her return to Pretty Little Liars as the fan-favorite Paige. She's also staring in a nice little thriller out from Anchor Bay. The film is Love Me and you can listen in to what she had to say to me about her career and the film. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Lindsey Shaw
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on January 18th, 2013
"You don't want to take the silver, you take the lead".
He always told us he'd be back. After spending some years in the real world in the California governor's mansion, Arnold Schwarzenegger is indeed back...back in the reel world where he belongs. And if The Last Stand is any indication, it appears Arnie hasn't missed a beat. In fact, he's showing a bit of maturity in his acting that I honestly never would have believed possible back in the early days. Here Arnie's more Dirty Harry than Terminator. Throw in a little modern Spaghetti Western and more than a little help from Korean director Jee-woon Kim and you have a pretty tasty treat.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2013
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character who has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial.
