Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010
Teddy Roosevelt has been somewhat of a dominant figure in my life these last few weeks. By coincidence, I have just finished reading an excellent collection of the man's letters in a volume entitled The Scarlet Letters Of Theodore Roosevelt. These kinds of books are wonderful opportunities to get to know an historical figure through his own words, often directed at close friends and family with whom he felt comfortable enough to refrain from censoring his words quite so much. Then there's the two Night At The Museum films which I recently watched and reviewed for these pages.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2010
Remakes are a fact of life. It might seem now more than ever that we are plagued with this reality, but it's been true for a very long time. It's not so new, as you might expect. Even the lauded Cecil B. Demille The Ten Commandments was a remake of his own silent 1923 film. They've existed almost as long as the movies themselves and will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. So, the question should be: Why should a particular film be remade? Often technology catches up with the content in a film. The ability to create on the screen something that was simply impossible originally is a legitimate reason to tackle an older film. Sometimes the movie is so powerful that it bears retelling for a new generation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 15th, 2010
Nearly 10 years before Ben Stiller spent his first Night At The Museum with that eclectic cast of characters, The Relic brought us a much different kind of night at a museum. What comes to life here is anything but playful. There's nothing amusing about this nightmare in a museum. Peter Hyams might be more famous for several other action science fiction films, but none of his works before or since The Relic could claim to be quite so atmospheric. Together with the truly genius invention of creature creator extraordinaire Stan Winston
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 15th, 2010
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello began their career completely by accident. Bud Abbott had tried his hand at doing the straight man bit with limited success. One night in 1931 he was working as a cashier for a vaudeville company when Lou Costello's partner came down with an illness. The performer needed a stand-in, and Bud Abbott filled in for the night. It was a temporary gig, to be sure. A temporary gig that happened to last 25 years. The two continued to work together on stage. While the team certainly reused a ton of the classic routines of the era, there was something unique and clever about the duo
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2010
"One … two… Freddy’s coming for you, three… four… better lock the door, five… six… grab your crucifix..."
Freddy might have been born in the mind of Wes Craven, but he grew and developed in the knife-wielding hands of Robert Englund. Granted, not all of these films are equal in quality, but the first was everything you could ask for in a horror/slasher film of the era. Freddy himself is by far the most colorful and animated of the slashers. His burned face, fedora, striped sweater, and knife-blade glove were all integral parts of the wise-cracking maniac.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2010
I’ve often spent a lot of time talking about how Pixar has dominated computer animation, at least as far as full-length features go. With few exceptions, there isn’t anything out there that even comes close. Most films rely on toilet humor and crude innuendo to get a few laughs. A lot of the kids and adults might suck that stuff up, but they can’t hold a candle to Pixar. There are, as I’ve mentioned, some quite notable exceptions. The Fox Blue Sky Studios has had enormous success with their Ice Age films, and when you take a look at the third and latest entry in that franchise, you’ll understand why.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2010
"Imagine a world of incredible color and beauty. Of crabs wearing jellyfish for hats. Of fish disguised as frogs, stones, and shag carpets. Of a kaleidoscope of underwater life. Now go explore it."
Jim Carrey narrates this IMAX experience that takes you deep under the ocean. The film focuses on five particular locations: New Britain and Milne Bay (both in New Guinea), South Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, and Indonesia. Because this was filmed with IMAX equipment and presented here in high definition, you can expect a pretty spectacular ride on this one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2010
The SyFy Channel has been making original films for quite a few years. Unfortunately, they've mostly been known for their quite bad computer-generated f/x and rather silly plots and stories. It says quite a lot to me that I'm such a huge horror/science fiction fan but have never found one of these original movies to be even remotely good. Instead, I've found myself wincing with each new ridiculous script and every unimaginable lame creature the series has presented. The Maneater Series has been as guilty as any of the themed series in their efforts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2010
If you're the kind of person who feels the need to understand, at least, what kind of film you're watching, then this movie must be avoided at all costs. It wasn't until the bonus features when I discovered that this was, in reality, intended as a dark comedy more than anything else. There were certainly signs in the movie that might have led me to that conclusion, not the least of which is a 2-minute Iguana Cam moment that had me questioning what might have found its way into my iced tea.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2010
"I make a living in the movies, but for the past 20 years I've also been a cop. And, along with some of the finest deputies on the force, I serve the people of Jackson Parish, Louisiana. My name is Steven Seagal. That's right, Steven Seagal, deputy sheriff."
We've all seen Steven Seagal kick the bad guys butts in the movies. Since 1988's Above The Law, Seagal has gained a reputation for playing a tough guy. What most people didn't know is that for just about as long he has been a fully commissioned police officer working a beat in Southern Louisiana
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