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.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2018
"It's what I do."
What David Boreanaz does is create iconic television characters. He has had no trouble getting work over the years. He has had the ability to jump from one successful series to another and enjoy longevity in those roles. Unlike many actors who have had big television roles, he doesn't get at all pigeonholed or typecast. In Buffy The Vampire Slayer he originated the role of the vampire Angel, who spun off to his own series for several years.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2018
"You know me, always saving the day."
After the disappointment that was the recent Suicide Squad animated feature, Warner and DC needed to save the day with the release of The Death Of Superman, and that's exactly what they did. The Death Of Superman was a major milestone in the history of The Man Of Steel in the comics. It all started in December of 1992. DC announced they were killing off their most iconic hero and ending the Superman run of comics. Of course, that was only partially true. Once Supes was "killed off", the comic split into four new branches, as the vacuum created by his death needed to be filled both in the fictional universe as well as the commercial side of ours.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2018
The First World War long existed in the shadow of the second. When it was fought, the term World War was not yet in existence. Until after the Second World War, it was referred to mostly as The Great War. The footage from this war is far more rare. Most of us have seen little of it. Clips from the Second World War have been used over and over for countless documentaries. There are no longer any survivors left alive from that Great War. You won't find them interviewed on television, and you won't hear their stories told to the extent you've heard accounts of other conflicts. The results of that war do still live with us today, but how many of us truly understand any of it? Mill Creek brings us the 10-part documentary series from 2008 WWI: The War To End All Wars.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2018
"What would you do if the person you loved walked out the front door and never returned? What would you do if the next day you were pulled into a police station and interrogated quite aggressively, under suspicion of murder? And what would you do if your kids were taken away and put into foster care and you were accused of being a bad mother? What would you do?"
That's pretty much the premise for the Acorn release of the first season of Keeping Faith, or first series as the Brits like to say.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2018
"If anyone wants to clap, now is the time to do it."
If he were alive today, A.A. Milne would likely find a reason to smile these days. Perhaps he is. Winnie The Pooh has made quite a bit of a comeback in recent years. Last year we saw the impact the creation had on his son, the real Christopher Robin, in the sentimental Goodbye, Christopher Robin. This year Disney continues its recent trend of bringing many of its classical animated features back for live-action remakes using the wonderful world of computer-generated f/x and motion capture performances.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2018
Sports movies have been something of a cliché for years now. And it's not really a recent phenomenon. Everybody remembers Ronald Reagan appearing in Knute Rockne All American as the famous George Gipp. That was 1940, and Hollywood is still selling films that ask teams to "win one for The Gipper". That's exactly what you get in director Sean McNamara's The Miracle Season. Substitute high school volleyball for college football, and you likely already know the story before you even order your popcorn and soda. Of course, even with established Hollywood formula and a well-trodden story, things are never quite that simple.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2018
"30 years ago during the Cold War, there was an experiment... Something went wrong. They opened up a passage directly beneath us. When you go through this door, you come out the other side, you're in another world, identical to ours. Same experiment... When this door opened our paths began to branch off more and more over time."
That setup describes the premise behind the new original science fiction series on Starz, created by Justin Marks, a writer who most recently delivered the script for Disney's live-action Jungle Book film. This is his first attempt at building a series from the ground up, and it's absolutely a winner.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2018
"Every bridge, every building grows from an engineers imagination."
Dream Big: Engineering Our World is the second of Shout Factory's latest collection of IMAX films to be brought into the capable arms of the UHD/4K format. And while this film doesn't take us so much into the natural beauty of some picturesque place on our planet or deep into the darkness of space, it does deliver a rather grand look at some of the wonders of the man-made world. Both films were directed by Greg MacGillivray, which binds them together in a somewhat nice little bow.
