Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 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
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2018
Meet the most dysfunctional crime family since The Sopranos. Not quite at the same level either on-screen or in quality, but once again we're drawn toward another dangerous clan with criminal intent. I guess we could call them The Baritones. Actually, Animal Kingdom is an apt description for television's latest baddies. They've now wrapped up their second season of mayhem on TNT where the series was the network's top ratings winner. Now that second season is out from Warner Brothers, and it's another crazy ride, of that you can be certain. It's based, rather loosely by now, on an Aussie film starring Guy Pearce.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 10th, 2018
Clint Eastwood has been at the top of the game both as an actor and a director, often both at the same time. There's no question that he still has the skills. Unfortunately, 15:17 To Paris isn't a great example of his direction skills. Don't get me wrong. There is a nice intense film in here, but it only lasts for about 10 minutes and hungrily screams out for more of the same. Eastwood's problem is much the same that he had in Sully. He doesn't really have enough material for a truly great feature film, so he is forced to fill the screen time with something he hopes will entertain us long enough to stay with him for the good stuff. But as Clint said once as Dirty Harry: "A man's got to know his limitations."
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2018
RLJE Films releases Kill Order this week on DVD. The film combines martial arts with science fiction to create a unique world of the future. The film stars Chris Mark who has been a stunt performer on a few big Hollywood films. This time he joins his brother James Mark who both wrote and directed Kill Order. So what was that like? I had an opportunity to talk to Chris about the film and working with his brother. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Chris Mark
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2018
“Never forget.”
The sight of Charlie Sheen in an earnest 9/11-themed drama is, to say the least, surprising. The controversial, tiger-blooded star has obviously drawn his share of headlines in recent years for reasons that have nothing to do with his acting. So you may or may not have forgotten that Sheen was also one of the most famous 9/11 truthers. But the most surprising thing about the ill-conceived 9/11 is that Sheen — delivering his first dramatic performance in years — isn't even the most tacky thing about this film.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2018
Simon Baker is riding high these days. His hit series The Mentalist was the highest ranked new drama of the year when it first debuted. That accomplishment got the show paired with CSI in that enviable Thursday night time slot. I’m amazed when I hear folks tell me how the actor appeared to come out of nowhere. A few film roles and he’s Mr. Television. Well, count me in with the small group that isn’t so surprised and saw him coming as far away as 2001 with a sleeper CBS series called The Guardian.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2018
Duckman began life as an underground comic created by Everett Peck. It gathered to itself quite a cult following, and like all such things caught the attention of Hollywood. The USA Network took a chance on the quirky property and cast Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander to voice the crude character. And so Duckman’s wife was killed, and he was forced to rent his own house from his sister-in-law, who was left the estate by Duckman’s wife. His life pretty much sucked. Not only was he renting in his own house, but he was also living with his overbearing sister-in-law and his grandma, who basically just sat around and farted all day long. Duckman considered himself an ace private detective and ran an agency with his partner, Cornfed. Cornfed was voiced by Gregg Berger and was a Jack Webb Sgt. Friday clone.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2018
Ray Donovan (Schreiber) is a Boston native who moved his entire family including his two brothers out to L.A. There he built an empire by being very good at what he does. What he does is fix problems, particularly for big-name celebrities and the lawyers who coddle represent them. His father has spent 20 years in jail for a crime he might not have actually committed. But Ray hates his father enough to have set him up and sent him to jail. A pattern Ray has continued over four years of the show. Ray has a wife, Abby (Malcomson), whom he keeps at arm’s length of his dubious business dealings. He also has a son and daughter who are somewhat conflicted in their feelings for their father. You don't want to start here if you are just experiencing Ray Donovan for the first time. In fact, this year is one of the best in the show's 5-year run to date. You really want to get caught up so you can appreciate some emotional drama as Ray Donovan The Complete Fifth Season comes to DVD. You get all 12 episodes on four discs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2018
It might be hard for me to admit, but there are certain instances where having an ultra-high-definition transfer of even a modern film is not necessarily a better thing. The UHD 4K release of Cloverfield is one such instance. There is no question that the transfer is about as sharp and clean as anything I’ve seen on Blu to date. The problem is that it only helps to accent the stylistic flaws inherent in this kind of film. The most noticeable improvement is in the first third of the film. Of course, that part of Cloverfield is about as entertaining as watching paint dry. I still don’t care about these characters and their party ramblings any more now than I did before. The fleeting shots of the creature do look better, but you still better hit the pause button if you want a good look.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2018
"Once upon a time there was a great war that brought so much sadness to so many people. Hardly anyone could remember what happiness was like. But something happened that changed all that..."
“Winnie the Pooh doesn't know what to do …” begins a popular song written by Kenny Loggins, recorded first in 1970 by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with a more popular and enduring version by Loggins and Messina a year later. Hundreds of millions of children since the 1920's know who Winnie the Pooh is.
