Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 28th, 2018
NCIS is about to enter into its 16th season in just a short time. That in itself is a remarkable accomplishment in the days of short attention spans and hundreds of shows to keep that attention. What is more remarkable is that it continues to be the number one drama in the world. What could a series possibly have left to say after 15 years? Apparently, the answer to that question is: a lot. One of the reasons the series has stayed so strong for so long is the cast. And while it has changed considerably over that time, new members are brought in who always seem to fit into that comfortable family that makes up the appeal of the series. This show has become like that ragged, threadbare shirt that you can't quite part with. Comfort is the key here, and it doesn't appear to be going away any time soon. CBS's release of NCIS: The Complete 15th Season allows you to get caught up just in time.
This season is yet another changing of the guard for the show. It is the last season for Duane Henry as Clayton Reeves, the MI6 agent who has been working with the team. I have to admit that he never quite grew on me, and I'm not all that sad to see him go. He was too much James Bond and not enough...well...comfort. The same can't be said for the departure of Pauley Perrette as Abby. She's been a very important character for the show and a lot of the team's emotional center. Paired with the fact that the actress left under terms that weren't so friendly, this is a big blow to the series. She has publically claimed that she felt unsafe on the set and made some accusations that were a bit shrouded in a phrase "multiple physical assaults" that leave a huge question mark. The speculation turned to Mark Harmon's dog being a potential menace on the set. Whatever the reason, it left a cloud and there had been a couple of years of feuding between her and Harmon. The lasting effect is that the characters don't share a stage when they say goodbye. We meet her replacement for a couple of episodes this year, and the upcoming season just won't be the same.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2018
Too often the word classic is overused and often misunderstood. When I hear or read a critic calling a new film a classic, my blood boils a bit. I often say that the only thing wrong with instant gratification is that it takes too damn long. It takes the endurance of time to define a classic. There must be some lasting effect on a culture. The 1973 Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman film Papillon fits that description, in my not-so-humble opinion. It's a film that had a strong impact upon me when I saw it so many years ago and is one of a dozen films I try to watch at least once a year or so. Because of those vivid images that remain with us so long, classics are bad choices for a remake unless there is truly something more that can be done with the material. Often it's a technical breakthrough that just wasn't possible when the film was first released. But even that rarely is reason enough. Today we can do photo-perfect images that sure beat the heck out of that constantly malfunctioning shark in Jaws, but still no shark film has ever come close to capturing the same impact. With Papillon the draw is that the second book written by Henri "Papillon" Cherriere is reported to have supplied additional material for the remake of Papillon. It wasn't enough.
The story is essentially the same. Cherriere (Hunnam) is charged with a murder he claims not to have committed and is sent to the infamous early 20th Century French prison in French Guiana where he experiences primitive conditions and inhuman treatment and from where he manages a daring and unprecedented escape. The additional material is quite scarce. This time we see how Cherriere was set up and arrested. That provides about 10 minutes of the film's opening act. The rest is a couple of minutes in the form of a coda where he returns to France as an old man to sell his story to a French publisher. The rest is pretty much all to be found in the original film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2018
"So dark. You sure you're not from the DC universe?”
I've said many times in these pages that expectations can kill. That might have been more true for Deadpool 2 than any other film I've seen since the re-launch of Star Wars. The first movie didn't push boundaries. It obliterated the boundaries and kept on going. Fans had certainly been ripe for a raunchy R-rated superhero film, and the box office for Deadpool certainly proved that out by bringing in nearly a half a billion bucks. For a superhero film that might seem like small change, but for what was essentially a comedy, it was awesome money and demanded a sequel before the first run was over at the multiplexes. The problem is that raunchy comedies, like superhero films, share the deadly expectation curse. Rarely does a comedy film sequel live up to those expectations, and if you're anybody but Marvel, it doesn't happen often in the superhero genre either. If all of this sounds like it's leading up to a death knell for Deadpool 2, you're right. It does sound that way. Fortunately for us Deadpool 2 manages to escape its fated demise and not only work as well as the first film; Deadpool 2 is better.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 23rd, 2018
"This is not just about Gotham. This is all about Bruce Wayne."
It really is about Gotham. And it's about Jim Gordon. It's also very much about Bruce Wayne. The third season ended with Bruce finally starting to embrace his vigilante role, but it was crude and very much only a shadow of the hero he will become. There's a reason why all of the episodes of this season are subtitled The Dark Knight. Bruce is becoming more and more like Batman. Bruce even confronts his future alter-ego in a vision state. He's being propelled to that future because of Gotham and because he's also being manipulated toward his destiny by none other than Ra's Al Ghul himself, played by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's awkward Doctor Alexander Siddig. He's taking center stage this season, and he knows Wayne's future and sees himself as the guiding force to make sure he gets there.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 23rd, 2018
For eight years Blue Bloods has been a staple on CBS, giving Tom Selleck a chance to completely redefine his television career. The once cocky and carefree Magnum P.I. now has established himself as the wise patriarch. It's a transition that a 1970's audience would never have bought. But now he's become a new kind of airwaves icon. The show has also managed to make it through eight years with very little change in the cast, and most of that coming from additions. This season is the first for the show to lose one of the major players and a rather beloved character on the show. Instead of making the season weaker, I think this might well be one of the strongest yet for the series.
Amy Carlson leaves the show, so the season begins with the Reagan family mourning the loss of her character, Linda. It turns into quite an emotional season for the cast. Of course, Danny (Wahlberg) is hit the hardest. Throughout the season he has to deal with a ton and anger over Linda's death. He also starts to question his life as a police detective. He starts to second guess his decisions and be a bit gun-shy about dangerous positions. He's dealing with having to be the single parent for his kids, both financially and for safety. He's going to need the help of his family, and that's what makes Blue Bloods the kind of show that it is. It's a cop show, but it is more a series about this family. There's always a lot of emotional stuff here, but this season goes above and beyond the call of duty.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 21st, 2018
"There's been a new development."
Actually there have been many. But first I have to credit Blindspot's creator Martin Gero with providing one of the more memorable moments on television with the opening minutes of the series in the first season. We see a police officer in Times Square approach a bag with a sign on it that asks the FBI be alerted. The cop approaches the bag a bit frightened it might be a bomb and blow up on him at any time. It could have been a nice iconic moment when he opens the bag to reveal a naked woman who is covered with tattoos. She is shivering as the camera pulls back to reveal the emptied Times Square.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 17th, 2018
"Some of you may know he history of The Section. Rumors of operatives going rogue, the Whitehall assassination. None of that matters now. What matters is that Section 20 stood for something. They were the soldiers who kept going when others fell, who saw the odds and didn't blink, who got the job done, even when it meant paying the ultimate price."
Two years ago I wrote a review for the fourth and final season of the Cinemax series Strike Back. Now here I am telling you about the fifth season. So what's up with that?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 17th, 2018
"We don't have time for square one."
If you are at all familiar with the NCIS franchise, you know that the show tends to follow a bit of a formula. Each spinoff has some unique style aspects, but the episodes tend to be relatively self-contained. That means you can start with Season 4 of NCIS: New Orleans and still be able to appreciate most of what's going on. You'll get to know and understand the characters pretty quickly. The franchise has leaned more toward continuous story arcs of late, and NCIS: New Orleans does that more than the others. So while you could certainly enjoy this release on its own, I still recommend you go back and catch up on the first three seasons just to get caught up and maximize your enjoyment. The good news is that we can help you with that. You don't have to wade through 10 years of Jag, 15 years of NCIS and 8 years of NCIS: L.A., although that might be one heck of a fun binge. Just catch up on the first three seasons of this show and you'll be ready to go. You can check out those reviews here.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 16th, 2018
"It is a remarkable saga. It's the story of how the American hunter made this country great. Hunting has been a part of the American experience right from the very beginning. Hunting has defined a large part of the American character. American hunting has forged a unique relationship between the nation's people and the land on which they live and share with its wilderness. Indeed, American hunters were the first conservationists."
I get it. Hunting isn't for everyone. Recently Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz drew an unexpected backlash when he posted pictures to his Twitter account of his dog celebrating her birthday among a pile of shot birds. He called the dog his best hunting buddy ever. And he was greatly criticized over the post. I guess he should have known better. I guess he should have known that there are people out there who would be offended. And we live in a day and age where people appear to believe they have a right to not be offended. If that sounds preachy, I guess it is. You see, I grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania where hunting was and still is a huge tradition. My father taught me gun and hunting safety before I was 10 years old. In Reading the first day of deer season is a school holiday. Yes, there are even locals there who abhor the practice and will tell you all about it while they munch on their Big Mac. But the truth is that there are more deer in Eastern Pennsylvania now than there were thousands of years ago. Turns out that hunting is actually good for the populations and makes the animals that remain healthier and stronger. And by the way, the company that cleared the land where your house was built killed more natural wildlife than any hunter could in a lifetime. If you're not into it, this isn't the show for you. Get yourselves some fries with that burger and watch something else. The rest of you just might enjoy this 6-part documentary on American hunting.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2018
"Thanos Is Coming..."
Whenever a filmmaker is doing a middle film in a trilogy, or merely a film that's intended to be a companion film in a series, they often talk about attempting to capture The Empire Strikes Back. For years it's been the standardbearer for anyone trying to end a blockbuster with a cliffhanger knowing it might be years before the ending is resolved for the audience. That's harder to do today than it was in the 1980's. I often say that the only thing wrong with instant gratification is that it simply takes too darn long. The Avengers: Infinity War is exactly that kind of film. It ends with huge elements left up in the air, but at least we'll only have to wait a year for its resolution. After watching how Anthony and Joe Russo have handled this nearly impossible task, I think the bar has now shifted. In Empire Strikes Back lexicon, let's just say the Russos just pulled out a huge chunk of carbonite, and future filmmakers will be using this as an example of how to pull of that herculean task in the future. The Avengers: Infinity War is finally here, and it pretty much lives up to all of my expectations. Now my expectations are going to need a bigger boat.
