Posts by Gino Sassani

Maybe the problem is that I just don't get British. I'd like to think I'm just as hip as the rest of you out there, but I'm just not so sure. I mean, I love Monty Python to death, but just could never get Benny Hill. I'm a huge Doctor Who fan from a long time ago, but some of the British science fiction movies and mini-series I've seen of late mostly just leave me scratching my head. It's like everyone in the world is in on this great funny joke and I'm the only one who doesn't get it. I hate feeling that way, but that's exactly what The Reeds left me feeling before it was all over.

A group of 6 friends are on holiday. They're driving some time away from home to enjoy a weekend on a rented boat together. When they get to the Marina, they find out that the boat they reserved is damaged, and there just aren't any others available to let. Well ... that's not exactly true. If the group is willing to drive to another location and pick up a boat left there, they can use it for the weekend. They quickly agree and get directions to the boat. They find the Corsair Star sitting in a marsh with a group of zombie-like stoic kids aboard. They chase them away and commence to start their cruise weekend. They decide to leave the open water and attempt to navigate a narrow passage through a vast plain of reeds. That's when the strange things start to happen. They spot the odd kids again and hotshot aggressive Chris (Mellor) jumps ship to give them a what for. They scatter, leaving a charred dog corpse behind them. Then they get snagged on a metal object that pierces the hull, not to mention Chris. It all goes downhill from there. The group begin to have odd visions, and more and more strange things keep occurring about them.

Going for a Hat Trick, our friends over at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment. have also given us 2 copies of Night At The Museum on DVD to give away. Now that's what I call good friends.
To enter to win a copy of this Museum Mayhem  just follow these two steps…

Contest is now closed. The Winners are Chistopher h & Barbara Long, Congratulation to all of our winners.

Not content with giving us 2 copies of Ice Age to give away here, our friends over at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment. have also given us 2 copies of Ice Age 2: The Meltdown on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this Prehistoric Comedy, just follow these two steps...

Contest is now closed. The Winners are Buddy Garrett and Lucy Schwartz, Congratulation to all of our winners.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment. has graciously given us 2 copies of Ice Age on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this Prehistoric Comedy, just follow these two steps...

Contest is now closed. The Winners are David Basile & Ellen Ring, Congratulation to all of our winners.

One might have to legitimately ask about the thinking behind this particular children- targeted release. I have to admit that I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of reviewing this film at this particular time. I have two issues that are just unavoidable here:

They both deal with the film's two central stars here. Bindi Irwin is the daughter of famed Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. You all remember Steve. He used to approach some of the most dangerous animals on the planet and quite casually tell us just how deadly they were while tempting them to tag him. We all suspected that Steve might one day get a little careless and get himself killed. The truth is that didn't exactly happen. It wasn't a particularly dangerous animal or any carelessness on Irwin's part that led to his rather unexpected death a few years ago. It was a usually harmless stingray that sent a barb through his heart in what can only be described as an unfortunate freak accident. Now, even before his death, the family had been preparing their very young daughter to follow in Daddy's rather unusual footsteps. Bindi's done several documentary films, including her own television show in the wake of her father's death. Here I can't help getting the feeling that the appearance is somewhat exploitive of the whole business. When I look at Bindi's mom in the extra features, I can't shake the feeling that she's cashing in here. I don't know these guys, so I'm not trying to claim that I know their hearts and minds. I can only report the feeling it leaves me with, and it's not a good one.

The mere mention of Hammer Studios brings to mind bloody terror to the legions of monster fans who grew up on a steady drive-in staple diet of the studio's iconic monster movies. The studio picked up where Universal left off in the 1950's and delivered a new run of the classic monsters we had been introduced to in black and white. Hammer brought these creatures to life in living ... or is that living dead … color. Dracula, Frankenstein, The Werewolf, and The Mummy were all resurrected for a new cycle of films from the British studio. The place earned its often-used nickname of The House Of Horror.

But Hammer wasn't always known as a horror factory. The company actually began in the 1930's, creating decidedly British versions of film noir. In the 1950's and 60's when the horror phase began, Hammer was also putting out other fare for a hungry public. These films often embraced some chilling elements but didn't rely on monsters for many of the scares. The films were often even crime dramas or supernatural in nature. These films often were the training grounds for some of their staple talent over the years. In this collection Sony has compiled some of these early evolving films from the House Of Horror.

We have 10 copies of I'm No Dummy on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this Hilarious and insightful romp, just follow these two steps...

Contest is now closed. The Winners are James Coyne, Kat Emerick, Bridget Combs, Ron Miller, Marc, Joseph Perozzi, Don, Clifford C Gardener, Tim Love, and Mark, Congratulation to all of our winners.

Our great friends over at First Look Studios has graciously given us 3 copies of Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this Nicolas Cage/Eva Mendes Thriller, just follow these two steps...

Contest is now closed. The Winners are Melissa Becker, Tonya, and Tricia Andrews, Congratulation to all of our winners.

"Boggis, and Bunce and Bean. One fat, one short, and one lean. These horrible crooks, so different in looks, were none the less equally mean."

Roald Dahl was one of the more eccentric writers to come upon the scene. While he often wrote for children, his work is most decidedly dark and often quite sinister. He's most known for such tales as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. His work has not been adapted to film as often as you might suspect given his popularity. The most famous was certainly Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, which was far brighter and more cheerful than the original work. It took Tim Burton and his trademark brand of darkness to create the story Dahl intended in a more recent film which used the correct title of the work. This is not the first stop motion film to be adapted from his stories. Quite a few years ago we were given James And The Giant Peach, which enjoyed little box office acclaim. Wes Anderson is obviously a Dahl fan and immersed himself in the author's world as he prepared his screenplay for Fantastic Mr. Fox. The effort shows in the way Anderson captures Dahl’s pointed wit and social sarcasm. I think that if you're looking for something Dahl himself might have created, this is your movie.

"The story of a man in a mountain climbing accident who cut his own friends off the rope to save himself. Convicted of second degree manslaughter, that's compelling stuff."