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J C

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Revenge: The Complete Second Season

Posted in No Huddle by J C on August 20th, 2013

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The first season of Revenge was soapy perfection. I’m not saying it belonged alongside the great, ambitious television series of our time. But in terms of sheer entertainment value and ridiculously delicious (or is it deliciously ridiculous?) gotta-see-what-happens-next-week drama, the debut season of Revenge was as good as it gets. Unfortunately, season 2 is, by comparison, a disappointing slog. By the time the smoke from the explosive two-part finale cleared, Revenge had lost its creator/showrunner and become the latest poster child for the sophomore slump on TV. (NBC’s Heroes was more than happy to pass that baton.)
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Cavalcade (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on August 19th, 2013

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All Best Picture winners are not created equal. Some of them achieve cinematic immortality, while others are viewed as outright travesties. Then there’s the group of Oscar winners who have arguably suffered a fate worse than the derision and mockery of movie fanatics: the forgotten Best Picture winners. Cavalcade — described in this Blu-ray’s commentary as “not a particularly well-remembered Academy Award winner” — certainly falls in that category.
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Jobs

Posted in The Reel World by J C on August 16th, 2013

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“We don’t stop innovating.”

In Jobs, the iconic entrepreneur/inventor says these words during one of his many — and I mean MANY — inspirational speeches. It’s meant to be a “capture the imagination” moment for both his assembled techie troops and for those of us in the audience. Unfortunately, these sorts of platitudes come early and way too often in this biopic. More importantly, the film never really bothers to back them up.
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The Hot Flashes

Posted in No Huddle by J C on August 14th, 2013

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“Men around here’ll write you off after 40, so I know they’ll bet against us. All we have to do is bet on ourselves to win.”

The conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that meaty roles for women quickly dry up when actresses reach a certain age. So director Susan Seidelman (She-Devil, Desperately Seeking Susan) and the stars of The Hot Flashes — a well-meaning, by-the-numbers sports comedy — deserve credit for at least trying to take their cinematic destinies into their own hands.
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Girls: The Complete Second Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on August 13th, 2013

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“Well, when you love someone you don’t have to be nice all the time.”

In this current age of message boards and morning-after recaps, the pressure is on to make your voice the loudest if you want to be heard in the wilderness of the Internet. For snarky TV critics, that often means declaring something is either the “Best ____ Ever” or the “Worst ____ Ever”, with little room for anything in-between. But even within these sharply-divided times, I believe HBO’s Girls — which is brilliant just as often as it is maddening — stands out as the most polarizing show on TV.
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Kumail Nanjiani: Beta Male

Posted in No Huddle by J C on August 5th, 2013

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The fact that Kumail Nanjiani decided to call his first Comedy Central special Beta Male immediately gives you a sense of his self-deprecating style. Fortunately, the ability to laugh at himself is merely one of many comedic gifts this on-the-rise comic possesses. This consistently funny, frequently hilarious hour-long set — filmed in Austin’s Moody Theater — touches on a wide range of topics, including his Muslim upbringing, cats disguised as pizza delivery men, and outdated rollercoasters.
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Bus Stop (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 31st, 2013

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For most modern moviegoers, Marilyn Monroe is probably more “famous for being famous” than she is for her cinematic body of work. (Of course, she’s also infinitely better known for an entirely different “body of work.”) That’s not totally fair because Monroe has at least one bona fide classic (Some Like It Hot) and a handful of indisputably indelible images among her movie credits. Those of you interested in exploring her filmography are in luck: Fox has just released two titles from her mid-1950s superstar peak on Blu-ray, including her turn as an ambitious showgirl in Bus Stop.
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Niagara (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 30th, 2013

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For most modern moviegoers, Marilyn Monroe is probably more “famous for being famous” than she is for her cinematic body of work. (Of course, she’s also infinitely better known for an entirely different “body of work.”) That’s not totally fair because Monroe has at least one bona fide classic (Some Like It Hot) and a handful of indisputably indelible images among her movie credits. Those of you interested in exploring her filmography are in luck: Fox has just released two titles from her mid-1950s superstar peak on Blu-ray, including her femme fatale turn in Niagara.
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Love Me Tender (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 29th, 2013

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Elvis Presley was easily one of the most impactful pop culture icons of the 20th century during his life, and that status has barely waned in the decades after his death. (Or “alleged death”, given the number of Elvis sightings each year.) Presley obviously made his most lasting mark in the world of rock and roll music (and fashion), but he also had a surprisingly fruitful film career. Though none of his movies turned out to be cinematic masterpieces and no one was confusing him with Marlon Brando, The King brought his charismatic presence to more than 30 movies between 1956 and 1969. He was 21 when he made his film debut in Love Me Tender.
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The Demented (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 25th, 2013

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I don’t care if it makes me sound like an awful human being, but I wanted The Demented to be much nastier than it actually was. The packaging for this straight-to-Blu-ray offering trumpets the fact that it’s “from a co-producer of A Nightmare on Elm Street” and producer Steven Monroe, who directed the I Spit on Your Grave remake. Since I’m not delusional, I didn’t expect this film to be nearly as good as a horror classic like Elm Street. But I also didn’t think it was unreasonable to expect the competent thrills of the Spit remake. Instead, the filmmakers have given us a sub-SyFy gloss on 28 Days Later… and dozens of other (infinitely superior) horror movies.
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Twixt (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 23rd, 2013

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The 1970s famously produced many of the most daring, diverse and groundbreaking classics in movie history. All-time greats like Scorsese, Spielberg, Polanski, Altman and Lucas either broke out or did some of their most exciting work during the decade. But, even among these titans, Francis Ford Coppola separated himself from the pack. Four films — The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now — four undisputed classics. Batting 1.000 during the greatest moviemaking decade of all time earns you a ton of slack. In Coppola’s case, it has gotten him enough slack to make up for the fact that nothing he’s done in subsequent years can touch his ‘70s output.
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Damages: The Complete Fifth and Final Season

Posted in No Huddle by J C on July 16th, 2013

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“You want to end this once and for all? Now’s your f—ing chance.”

And with those words, spoken during the closing minutes of the fifth and final season premiere of Damages, Patty Hewes sets the stage for her ultimate showdown with protégé/frenemy/surrogate daughter Ellen Parsons. (As you can see, Patty also takes advantage of the fact that the show — which began its life on FX — migrated to DirecTV for its final two seasons, allowing her to drop that F-bomb.)
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42 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 15th, 2013

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“You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back — and I’ll give you the guts.”

More than any sport, baseball is all about numbers. Unfortunately, some of those numbers — like 73 (home runs in a single season) and 500 (career homers) — mean a little less in light of the steroid era. Others, like 56 (Joe DiMaggio’s legendary hitting streak), seem destined to live on forever. The most significant number on that shortlist might be 42, worn by Jackie Robinson when he broke major league baseball’s color line on April 15, 1947. 42 — the film, not the number — is significant for a somewhat surprising reason
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Blood and Sand (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 15th, 2013

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Cruel blood sport or culturally-significant art form? That’s been the centuries-long debate surrounding the practice of bullfighting. Personally, almost everything I know about bullfighting comes from Ernest Hemingway stories and Looney Tunes. So Blood and Sand — a grand, cynical bullfighting drama/Technicolor spectacle from 1941 making its Blu-ray debut — was an eye-opening experience in more ways than one.
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Portlandia – Season Three

Posted in No Huddle by J C on July 10th, 2013

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Oregon may have been the 33rd state to join our union — and Portland may be its most populous city — but Portlandia is a (dog-dressing, raw milk-drinking, Seattle-hating) state of mind. And after three seasons of lovingly mocking upper middle class indulgence along with the denizens of the Pacific Northwest, Portlandia — created by stars Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and director Jonathan Krisel — feels more like a fully-realized destination than ever.
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How the West Was Won: The Complete First Season

Posted in No Huddle by J C on July 8th, 2013

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“The 1860s was a decade in which one of the most terrible civil wars in history was to begin and end. But far from the bloody fields of Gettysburg and Shiloh, changes — which were to alter forever the face of the American West — had already begun.”

And that pioneering spirit continued to capture the American public’s imagination 100 years later. The Western was the big boy on the block during the 1950s and ‘60s on both television — peaking in 1959, which saw 26 such shows air in prime time — and in the movies. How the West Was Won — starring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck, among others — is one of the more enduring titles from that era.
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Unforgettable: The First Season

Posted in No Huddle by J C on July 3rd, 2013

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“Only a few people in the world have the ability to remember everything. I’m one of them. If I miss something the first time, it’s okay; I can go back and look again. My life…is unforgettable.”

You’ve got to admire the courage of the person who decided to call this show Unforgettable. He or she had to know they’d be leaving themselves open to easy pot-shots from viewers and snarky critics like me if the drama series failed to make a lasting impression. And, for a while, it looked like this Unforgettable: The First Season DVD set might wind up being Unforgettable: The Only Season.
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6 Souls (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 1st, 2013

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The medical community seems to be split on whether or not dissociative identity disorder — previously known as multiple personality disorder — actually exists. Well, I’m here to offer a definitive answer because I’ve just seen the dreaded disease in action after watching 6 Souls. The film can’t decide whether it wants to be trashy, watchable horror movie that regularly tries to jump-scare you out of your seat or a somewhat serious meditation on the science vs. faith debate.
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Saving Lincoln

Posted in No Huddle by J C on June 27th, 2013

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We’re almost 150 years removed from the death of Abraham Lincoln, yet interest in the first major assassination in American history appears to be at an all-time high. Daniel Day Lewis just won a well-deserved Oscar for his astounding portrayal of our 16th president, and this month has already seen the home video release of the fascinating Killing Lincoln. Pictures From the Fringe enters the fray with the paradoxically-titled Saving Lincoln, a unique, well-meaning presentation of his presidency and a sketchy portrait of the not-so-well-known relationship between Lincoln and personal bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon.
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23:59

Posted in No Huddle by J C on June 24th, 2013

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“Midnight is the most evil part of the night. If someone dies at 23:59 hours, his soul will not rest in peace and will return to the mortal world.”

Every culture has its own set of ghost stories. They’re usually passed around very late at night by a group of very impressionable young people. That’s precisely where 23:59 — an atmospheric and thoroughly effective Malaysian/Singaporean horror flick — picks up, with a group of army recruits on an island training camp sitting around telling spooky tales. The only thing missing was the campfire.
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Paul McCartney and Wings: Rockshow (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on June 20th, 2013

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Any discussion of the greatest living rock stars has to have Paul McCartney at or near the top of the list. Obviously, “greatest” is a totally subjective descriptor, but even if you’re more of a Stones person you can’t argue with McCartney’s staggering success. He has sold more records than anyone else, wrote the most covered song of all time (“Yesterday”) and owns a handful of other Guinness World Records. The recipe for his singular greatness is a mixture of artistic brilliance, versatility and longevity. It’s what has allowed him to remain relevant more than 40 years after the dissolution of the best-selling band of all time. And a key part of that staying power was Wings.
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The Dragon Pearl

Posted in No Huddle by J C on June 18th, 2013

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The pint-size heroes of The Dragon Pearl battle greedy thieves and come face to face with a centuries-old dragon, but their biggest challenge may be overcoming a pair of skeptical/clueless parents. It’s a familiar plot device in kid-centric adventures, yet it’s one I’m becoming more sensitive to as I get older. For example, I was absolutely sure at an early age that the bumbling Wet Bandits were the bad guys in Home Alone; however, as I’ve grown older and not-necessarily wiser, I realize the real villains are the nincompoops who left little Kevin McCallister behind in the first place. To be fair, the parents in this film are being asked to swallow a much more fantastical story.
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The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on June 17th, 2013

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Earlier this year, Warm Bodies become a solid box office hit by giving its zombie hero a heart. The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse seeks to carve its own uniquely bloody path by saddling its undead protagonist with a soul. It’s a clever way to go considering there’s not much new territory to cover in zombie fiction 45 years after George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead shambled into pop culture immortality. I just wish this provocative promise had yielded a better movie.
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In Old Arizona (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on June 13th, 2013

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For a significant part of the last century, the Western was the dominant form of entertainment, ruling the Hollywood roost on both the big and small screen. Some of moviedom’s most iconic sounds — galloping horses, trusty six shooters, Ennio Morricone’s best work, “In this world, there’s two kinds of people: those with loaded guns and those who dig” — have come from the genre. And it all started In Old Arizona.
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The Newsroom: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on June 12th, 2013

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“In the old days, we did the news well. You know how? We just decided to.”

Sounds simple enough, so what’s keeping everyone from doing the news well? Well, other than a country that feels more politically polarized than ever and a population that mostly seems interested in cherry picking the “facts” they’d rather hear, I can’t think of a single thing. In fact, HBO’s The Newsroom pointedly compares the idea of putting on a quality news broadcast that educates the electorate and earns great ratings to Don Quixote embarking on one of his foolish quests.
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