Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 12th, 2012
Of the standup comedians that are working the circuits and bringing new material to the stage with every tour, my favorite guy without too much hesitation is Jim Gaffigan. His deadpan delivery of observational humor hits me just right. Whether he’s making comments about Hot Pockets, bacon, or just being lazy, he manages to pull humor from some of the most mundane things and make it relate to his entire audience.
For those unfamiliar with Gaffigan you may have seen him on such TV shows like That 70’s Show as well as the TBS series My Boys. Now if you’re still scratching your head trying to figure out where else you may have seen him, he’s also done some work on the big screen as well. He had a role in 13 Going on 30, 17 Again, Going the Distance, Away We Go, and many other roles. If even still you’re shaking your head, its okay, because for those that are new to the comedic styling of Jim Gaffigan, Mr. Universe is a nice introduction for a first time viewer.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2012
The considerable talents of Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass are probably best known for their Christmas classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's been an annual holiday classic since the 1960's. There have been quite a few other television classics over the years. But the team did not restrict themselves to just doing television specials. Not at all. With the enormous success of Rudolph they looked toward the feature film business. At that time Disney pretty much had a monopoly on the animated feature, and Rankin & Bass decided to give the Mouse House a run for their money.
The first of these films was the now-forgotten Willy Bean & His Magic Machine. The film was actually begun during the Rudolph production and featured pretty much the same talent both in front of and behind the camera. While it's a forgotten film today, it led to distribution deal and a couple of other relatively unknown releases. The deal culminated in the release of Mad Monster Party. While it tanked at the box office, the property found new life in syndicated television and would show up as an annual Halloween staple for many years. The film actually played better in its trimmed television condition. The truth is that much of the film was padded to make it more of a feature film. It was there on television that horror fans fell in love with the little film that could.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2012
To the point, Criminal Minds is very compelling television. Ever since The Silence Of The Lambs and perhaps long before, we have been fascinated by serial killers and the profilers who try to get inside their heads. To see evidence of the continuing trend, one needs only look toward the success of films like Zodiac and shows like Dexter. Of course, serial killers are not the only prey this FBI team pursues, but they are certainly the marquee item on the agenda. To be sure, there are equally disturbing subjects such as arsonists, bombers, kidnappers, and rapists to give the show a touch of variety, but let’s face it, it’s the killers that keep us tuned so attentively to Criminal Minds.
Let’s not take anything away from the show’s true force here. This is an excellent cast being fed brilliant scripts playing to an awesome crew. Everything just clicks on this series, and it only got better in the second year. I am truly impressed with how much these characters are fleshed out and how much we learn about them without the need of office romance. No precious show time is squandered on excessive personal life stories. We’re given just enough to bring the characters alive beyond their team dynamic, which is quite strong. Each character is constructed through the subtle nuances the actors infuse their performance with. From the moment you watch your first episode, you will find this team believable enough to care about them and their work. Surprisingly, the show often gets muddled in a ton of exposition, but somehow it’s carried off by the cast so that you never find yourself going numb with clinical information overload. Granted, the material itself is attention-worthy, but these guys pull it off no matter how interesting the information might be. Add to the stellar portrayals a writing team second to none in the industry. The support teams do everything they need to make sure these talents are never wasted.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 5th, 2012
“Ride into this world all alone. God takes your soul. You're on your own.
The crow flies straight, a perfect line on the devil's back until you die.
Gotta look this life in the eye”.
If you've already read previous reviews, skip ahead to find out what's new this season. When these guys send a message, they don’t use Western Union. Not only will they blow up your warehouse, but they’ll catch one of your guys and plant a stick of dynamite in his butt cheeks to set off the explosion. That’s the world of the motorcycle club, the Sons Of Anarchy. In the wake of The Shield, FX stays true to form with the latest from that show’s alumni Kurt Sutter. Sons Of Anarchy has a familiar tone and quality to it for fans of that now-gone cop drama. There’s a lot of handheld camera stuff, and you have very similar themes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 5th, 2012
"There is a town in Maine, where every storybook character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds, victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth, and only one can break her spell."
ABC has had a very important asset going for it for years. It's one that the network has seldom taken any advantage of. That asset is its parent company. You see, ABC is part of the Walt Disney family. With the rich history of stories the studio has in its arsenal going back to the 1920's, it was only a matter of time before some clever people decided to find a way to use that rich history in a television series. That time has arrived and the result is Once Upon A Time. It's the most clever and original series to hit the tube in a long time.
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2012
Master storytellers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (executive producers of Lost and writers of TRON: Legacy) invite audiences to experience an intriguing twist to the classic fairytales of Snow White, Pinocchio, Red Riding Hood and many more in their thrilling new fantasy series Once Upon A Time. Packed with enchanting icons from the world’s most beloved stories, the show stars a host of talented actors including Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle.
We chat to actress Jennifer Morrison – who plays Emma Swan in the show – to find out more…
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2012
With the first season of Once Upon A Time about to be released on Blu-ray and DVD, we catch up with acclaimed actress Ginnifer Goodwin to discover more about the fantasy show. What does Ginnifer think of the two characters she plays? Why does she think the series has become so popular? And what secrets can she uncover about the first season? Read on for the answers…
Congratulations on a hugely successful first season, Ginnifer. Why do you think Once Upon A Time has had such an impact on audiences around the world?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2012
Anyone who has watched enough of the SyFy original movies has a pretty good idea of what they're getting. The network has made a bit of a name for itself with low-budget to no-budget monster movies. Most of the creatures are mutant and large and appear like they escaped from a bad 1950's drive-in theater. The computer generated stuff usually looks like a kid drew it up on their pocket computer, and the cast is going to be made up of unknowns with a few known names to give the whole thing some street cred. The movies are usually good for a few laughs; some of them might even be intentional. It's all usually harmless fun. But, after watching Jersey Shore Shark Attack I believe that Steven Spielberg must be rolling over in his grave. He's still alive, you say? Wait until he catches this movie on his Tivo. In fact, if he's got it on his Netflix queue, I'm taking Steve in the next dead pool that comes out. Unfairly harsh? A bit too critical? See for yourself, I dare you. I double dog dare you.
The movie is a combination of Jaws meets Jersey Shore meets The Sopranos. And in case you didn't get it yourself, the cast includes Jersey Shore's Vinny Guadagnino in a cameo as a television reporter and The Sopranos’ own Paulie "Walnuts" Tony Sirico in what is basically an extended cameo as a beach club owner.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2012
George Romero created the modern zombie movie in 1968 with his low-budget masterpiece The Night Of The Living Dead. While we can debate the direction the genre has gone in the last 40 years, it's hard to argue that Romero defined the rules of the game with that first film and the series that followed. And while zombies have been populating the comic scene since the early days of Creepy and Eerie, it took the likes of Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore to give us a compelling interpretation of the Romero zombie in the form of a comic book series. That vision is the foundation for the first effort to populate a television series with zombies as the ongoing antagonists. It took American Movie Classics to have the vision to allow this creative team to dream big and put it all on our television screens on a weekly basis.
The first thing you should know about The Walking Dead is that it's unlike any television series you have ever seen before. The images here are intense, and the crew has been given a blank check to create this vision without the burden of censors looking over their shoulders. There are plenty of blood-and-gore effects that rival any of the Hollywood zombie films you've seen in the last few years. The makeup effects are handled by the very capable hands of KNB and supervised personally by Greg Nicotero (the N from KNB). KNB isn't treating this like a television production, and while I personally get tired of the cliché about making a movie each week, this one lives up to the hype. They aren't doing anything different here than they would do for a big-budget film. The zombies look incredible, and the effects are completely first-rate.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2012
Inspectors 81 are back on the tough streets of San Francisco for a fourth season of gritty police work. Remember, these are the same streets Dirty Harry worked during the same decade. There are some memorable moments in this next half season release of “Streets”. In case you don’t know the show, here’s a rundown. Detective “Iron” Mike Stone (Karl Malden) is a seasoned veteran of the San Francisco Police Department. He’s an old-fashioned, no-nonsense detective whose life has taken some bitter turns of late. Much to his aggravation, he gets partnered with Keller (Michael Douglas), a green detective who hasn’t lost his belief that he can make a difference. Together they just might be able to teach each other something. Before long the two develop a teacher/mentor relationship that works well enough to solve the cases and get the bad guys.
If you weren’t around in the 1970’s, you might be surprised to find out that film superstar Michael Douglas was once in a television cop show. It was this influential crime drama that allowed Douglas to show off the acting chops that would earn him a spot in the Hollywood elite for decades to come. It didn’t hurt any that he was able to team up with Karl Malden, an undervalued talent in his own right. The two of them bring the show to life. The series was run by Quinn Martin, himself no stranger to groundbreaking television. Martin was the same talent who created the crime drama with The Untouchables. His uncanny ability to come up with a clever premise was responsible for such milestones in television history as The Invaders and The Fugitive. Later he would continue to shape the look of television with shows like Tales Of The Unexpected, The FBI, and Most Wanted. He was the Steven Bochco of his time. Long before NYPD Blue, Martin was able to make San Francisco, the city itself, an iatrical character for Malden and Douglas to interact with. The show had tremendous style, even if the cases were purely formula. Certainly you won’t find anything in these plots you haven’t seen a hundred times before. What you will find is a unique presentation that somehow makes even the most mundane story appear quite compelling. If you enjoy the Bochco and Wolf dramas or fall in with such classics as Starsky and Hutch or Miami Vice, you owe a tremendous debt to Martin for setting the table for all of those fantastic meals that would follow.
