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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2018
In September there is going to be a new film in The Predator franchise called The Predator. It's directed by Shane Black, who actually starred in the 1987 original film and soon after went on to develop the Lethal Weapon series and make a bit of a name for himself in the buddy-cop genre. It's no surprise that Fox wants to capitalize on the release by giving us UHD/4K releases for the other three films in the franchise. Let's try to forget those Alien vs. Predator disasters and focus on the three films of this particular franchise.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2018
"My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in hell, I returned home with only one goal: to save my city. Today I fight that war on two fronts. By day, I lead Star City as its mayor. But by night, I am someone else. I am something else. I am the Green Arrow..."
Who the heck is this Green Arrow of whom you speak? If that's your first question, you need to go back a couple of grades and catch up with the rest of us. The comics are good place to begin, but the television universe is its own place and not tied so tightly to the DC comic book universe.
