Gino Sassani

Gino Sassani is a member of the Southeastern Film Critic's Association (SEFCA) and The Critics Association of Central Florida (CACF) where he is a member of the governing board. He is a film and television critic based in Tampa, Florida. He's also the Senior Editor here at Upcomingdiscs. Gino started reviewing films in the early 1990's as a segment of his local television show Focus. He's an award-winning recording artist for Omega Records. Gino is currently working on his 8th album Merchants & Mercenaries. Gino took over Upcomingdiscs Dec 1, 2008. He works out of a home theater he calls The Reel World. Favorite films: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Body Snatcher (Val Lewton film with Karloff and Lugosi, not the pod people film), Unforgiven, Gladiator, The Lion King, Jaws, Son Of Frankenstein, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, and Monsters, Inc.

Posts by Gino Sassani

The Last Man

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2003

I wouldn’t say The Last Man was the worst film I ever saw, but that’s only because I did see Battlefield Earth and Event Horizon. If there’s a category below B film this is a great example. The whole film has the feel of community theatre at its worst. Dan Montgomery delivers such a bad performance that it would be funny if it didn’t hurt so much to watch. The story rambles on for 93 minutes that will feel more like 3 hours.

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Pursued

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2003

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Highlander Season One

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2003

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Harder They Fall, The

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2003

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Magic Christian, The

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2003

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State of Grace

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 18th, 2003

You almost expect to see Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci at any time during State Of Grace. The influence of Martin Scorsese is everywhere, from the tight shots on character interactions to the slight angles during the more violent scenes. Even the clever use of source music more often than Ennio Morricone’s subtle score is reminiscent of Goodfellas. The prize of this feature is the cast. Ed Harris, Sean Penn, and Gary Oldman add much needed tension and realism to a mediocre and predictable script. Stereotypes and clichés abound. The interwoven elements of violence and pageantry in the film’s climax conjure the ghost of Fannuci from The Godfather Part II.

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Emperor’s New Clothes, The

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2003

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Bad Influence

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2003

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Bad Influence, while not a bad film, is certainly not a good one either. Try as I might I could not bring myself to really care about any of the characters. The film tries to portray Rob Lowe’s influence on James Spader as, well … bad. It’s not like he was a great guy to begin with. There is an incredible irony within the film when Lowe gets Spader out of a marriage he is dreading by slipping the family a copy of the groom-to-be having sex with another woman. Lowe, of course, had a real life video tape episode and Spader dealt with the same thing in Sex, Lies, and Video Tape. Mostly it plays out like an R-rated made-for-TV film.