Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on May 14th, 2018
Few television shows have had as much influence on the pop culture as did Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. The brainchild of George Schlatter the series has left behind a rich legacy. Even if you’ve never seen an episode of Laugh-In, you’ve heard the catch-phrases, or you’ve watched another show that was directly influenced by it. Now you don't have to live the show through memories. Our great pals over at Time-Life have given us a copy of Laugh-In The Complete fourth Season on DVD to giveaway. This is your chance to own some classic moments in television history.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 14th, 2018
"Tell me a story."
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the comic book character of Black Panther in 1966 for an issue of The Fantastic Four. He became the first black superhero in the comic world. He starred in Marvel's Jungle Action title before getting his own comic. The character was popular, but through an unfortunate set of circumstances he was at times thought to be related to the militant group of the same name that popped up that same year. For a short time he went by the name Black Leopard, but the original name rose above the unintended connection and continued to enjoy on and off success over the decades. Black Panther was introduced to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) with Captain America: Civil War. He's finally getting his own film, and with the release of Black Panther, the MCU is developing and evolving in new and interesting ways. It's all leading to the May release of the third Avengers film and eventually into an entirely new MCU. That's a lot to ask of a single film. Is Black Panther up to the task?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2018
"Someday we might look back on this and decide that saving Private Ryan was the one decent thing we were able to pull out of this whole godawful, shitty mess."
There are movies that only come along once a decade, sometimes only once a generation. There have certainly been tons of films made about World War II, and some of them have been among those special kinds of films. But there's something different about Saving Private Ryan, and I've yet to encounter someone who hasn't been touched in some way by viewing the movie. I have been fortunate enough in my life to have lived without experiencing the horrors of war firsthand. For my generation, the idea of war has a certain meaning that has been colored perhaps too much by movies and television. But when you watch Saving Private Ryan, you will experience the closest most of us will ever experience to what it's like to be at war. There's a reason these World War II soldiers have been called The Greatest Generation. No where is that more clear than it is here. Now Paramount has made that experience even more visceral, if that was ever really possible. In 4K, Saving Private Ryan comes full circle in its 20 years and immerses us even more into the sights and sounds of the last world war. If you have the DVD or the Blu-ray, you don't have any idea what I'm talking about. Pick up the UHD Blu-ray, and you will understand.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2018
"Goodtime Charlie's got the blues."
Every once and again a film comes along that you can't quite find the right label to describe. It doesn't want to fit in any particular genre or category. Andrew Haigh appears to be the kind of director who thrives on that kind of a film. He received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for 45 Years, and while I don't expect there will be any Oscar notice for Lean On Pete, it's the kind of film that deserves more attention than it's likely to get, including at the box office. When I first saw Lean On Pete at a press screening, it was anticipated to open earlier and wider than what has actually come to pass. In an already crowded early summer blockbuster season, I can understand the trepidation that your local Cineplex might have taking up screens for such a small marvel when there are literally larger Marvels eating up box office dollars. My hope is that the film will find an audience even among the blockbuster crowd. After all, as good as dessert tastes, there are some yummy nutritious items to be found in the cinematic ala carte of the spring/summer season. Lean On Pete is just such a film and worth the time to make what will be an extra effort to see it. If you’re in Tampa, you should check it out at the newly renovated Tampa Theatre, where you can revel in a one-of-a-kind, nearly-100-year-old theater experience and take in a warm film that serves as a wonderful balance to the action most of us are anticipating over the next few months. Bon appetit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2018
"We just shoot you. Less paperwork."
Most of us like a good heist film. It's fun to watch clever crooks work out complicated plans and then execute them. It's not hard to root for the crooks if they're likable enough characters. With me I almost have a kind of reluctant respect for criminals who are able to outsmart sophisticated systems. There's something about the perfect crime that fascinates a film lover like me. Logan Lucky was one of the better heist films I've seen in years, and I was ready to spend an hour and a half being impressed by ingenious crooked plan that runs like clockwork once again. What I ended up with was a horribly overlong 2 hours and 20 minutes. And the only thing that was running like clockwork was my impatience to get to the end. Logan Lucky was clever and a lot of fun. Den Of Thieves? Let's just say I was not amused.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 26th, 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 standard-bearer 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.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2018
When you watch a Western film, there are a certain number of elements that you subconsciously tick off in you head as the film plays out. There's the obvious traps of horses, six-guns, cowboy hats, saloons, and lawmen and outlaws. Gone Are the Days does a thorough job of checking each of those boxes as it goes along. But it tries to do some of the other things that make a Western worth watching above the crowded genre. Gone Are The Days fills the screen with some talented actors who deliver wonderfully nuanced characters. It would almost appear that you just couldn't ask any more from a relatively low-budget Western movie. The key word there is ... almost. The movie has all of the elements and strong performances, but somewhere along the way the film spends too much time telling a story it forgot to pack in the saddlebags. The result is an easy-to-watch film that you'll likely never pull off your video shelf again.
As the film begins we are introduced to elder bank robber Taylon, played by an elder Lance Henriksen. His doctor believes he's on his deathbed and leaves to get more medicine and a priest. But Taylon climbs out of that bed with nothing but the sheer will to keep going. If he doesn't, we have a rather short Western movie on our hands. Instead we get what soon feels like an overlong Western on our patience. Taylon begins to attempt the routine activities of a late 19th century life. As a montage this would have been an effective start to the film; however, director Mark Landre Gould wants us to feel the frustration and pain that Taylon feels, and the best way to do that is force us to linger on these sad attempts to do anything from going to the little cowboy's room to getting water from a well using an old broken pail. Gould should have realized he had an awesome actor in Henriksen, who is actually delivering the goods with his own body language, and he does it more efficiently, and more importantly, he delivers it faster. Fifteen minutes screen time and patent Taylon tries our patience.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2018
Brad Anderson is a television actor who has puttered around that industry going back to David Simon's Homicide: Life On The Streets and The Wire. This is pretty much his first feature film opportunity in the director's chair, and Beirut certainly shows that he has a lot of talent... as a television director. No question the chops are there, but the framing and pacing of Beirut suffers from a kind of small thinking that fails to keep one's attention for very long. He hasn't learned how to take advantage of large set pieces and exotic locations to expand the experience for his audience. Some will believe I'm talking about action or the kind of cheap thrills that sell tickets, but that's not exactly my point. There's enough action here, and the thoughtful script by writer Tony Gilroy is actually clever and engaging. It's even a little old-school, and I like that kind of thing. But Brad Anderson just doesn't know exactly what to do with it, and it suffers at his inexperienced hands.
It's 1972 Mason Skiles (Hamm) is a skilled diplomat stationed in Beirut where he must juggle the concerns of the warring PLO and Israel along with his obligations to America and the restless population. It's a job he does well, and he's managed to balance the necessary agendas with some success. He's celebrating with a party at his home when gunmen crash the party and kill his wife. They also kidnap a local boy whom he was trying to help, who ends up being the sibling to the terrorist who orchestrated the attack. The loss sends Skiles into a downward spiral of alcohol and depression.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2018
When David Ayer's Suicide Squad film was released a couple of years ago, the reviews were certainly mixed. One of the biggest complaints from the diehard fans was that Warner opted for a PG-13 version of the film, which took away much of the edge of the material. One only need look at the success of Deadpool to understand that there is a place for a comic film that pushes envelopes and doesn't shy away from an R rating. It almost appears that the new Warner/DC animated feature film Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay would attempt to make up for that decision. This may very well be an animated "cartoon" film, but it's a hard-edged R-rated experience that doesn't shy away from brutality, blood, and violence. But if you're thinking that maybe this is the film the live-action movie should have been, you are in for a disappointment of the epic kind.
The film begins with a bloodbath before the title credits even roll. A squad of Tobias Whale (Fennoy), Count Vertigo (Pirri), Punch (Devall) and Quinn lookalike Jewlee (Nathanson) are betrayed on a mission and graphically slaughtered. What was their mission, and what were they after? Amanda Waller (Williams) quickly puts together an A-team of criminals to follow up. In this film the team is made up of Deadshot, voiced by a badly-cast Christian Slater, Harley Quinn, voiced by Tara Strong, who has the unenviable job of following Margot Robbie's performance, Flash rouge Captain Boomerang, voiced by Spartacus himself, Liam McIntyre, Killer Frost, voiced by Kristin Bauer van Straten, Copperhead, mostly slithered by Gideon Emery, and Bronze Tiger, voiced by Billy Brown. They are sent after an object sought by a few bad guys, most notably the not-so-immortal Vandal Savage, voiced by Jim Pirri. The object is where the film wastes its violent mayhem. The object of such desire is literally a "Get Out Of Hell Free" Card. Yeah, that's what I said. It's a card that says "Get Out Of Hell Free" on its surface. The idea is that anyone who dies in possession of said card gets to bypass the eternal flames and head directly to the Pearly Gates. It can only be used once, and in the film's final crimson massacre, a few characters attempt to meet their end with the card.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 11th, 2018
"Hey, it's Hannah... get a snack. Settle in because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. But if you're listening to this tape, you're one of the reasons why."
13 Reasons Why started out as a novel in 2007. It didn't catch the world on fire and went largely unread until something appeared to cause the novel to pick up steam in 2011. It hit the New York Times Best Seller list and started to become a teen phenomenon around middle and high school campuses throughout the nation. If Harry Potter didn't provide enough proof that kids were still reading and doing it for their own enjoyment, this novel should do the job. There are no wizards or superheroes or distant alien worlds to explore here. The work is a very straightforward drama about some of the topics that real-world teens deal with everyday. Nothing is really taboo here; from cyberbullying to rape, it's all covered. It's even possible this particular work has saved a few lives over the years. Now Netflix has taken on the book and its serious themes in a new original series bearing the same title. Suicide is the second cause of death among teenagers these days, and this teen drama doesn't shy away from the circumstances that might lead a young teen with their entire life ahead of them to a tragic and irrevocable decision.
