Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 24th, 2014
There's certainly an interesting movie to be made about cultural assimilation and the ensuing racial conflicts within the black community. Those topics have been explored in everything from a classic, brilliantly profane Chris Rock routine to the just-premiered ABC sitcom Black-ish. They're also ostensibly tackled in Rise Up Black Man, a total mess of a micro-budget drama that tries to do way too much and accomplishes little beyond leaving viewers scratching their heads.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 22nd, 2014
Sibling filmmakers Howard J. and Jonathan Ford seem to be huge believers in the “Location, location, location” real estate adage. The duo — collectively known as The Ford Brothers — previously made The Dead, which was billed as “the first zombie road movie set against the spectacular scenery of Africa.” I actually wasn't a fan of that flick, but saw enough technical skill and enough potential in the concept to make me curious about a follow-up. With The Dead 2: India, the Ford Brothers have once again transplanted old-fashioned zombie thrills to an exotic, under-explored location. Only this time, they brought a story and more engaging performers along for the trip.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 11th, 2014
Some of the most iconic stand-up comics of all time have famously wrestled with personal demons while simultaneously mining them for material on stage. Few have done so more successfully — and for a longer period of time — than Richard Lewis. His neurotic, self-flagellating act earned Lewis his “Prince of Pain” nickname, but his longevity is just as impressive. The fact is a lot of great comics don't last as long as Lewis because they lose that battle with their demons too soon. So it's great to see that, at age 67, Lewis finally gets his due with a DVD set that covers some of his most seminal work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 9th, 2014
“Drag racing is for fast cars. Road racing...that's for fast drivers.”
I imagine that distinction — along with one character scolding another for pulling a “Vin Diesel stunt” — is meant to set this straight-to-DVD racing drama apart from the Fast & Furious franchise. That separation is an interesting choice for a couple of reasons. On one hand, I assume it's been easier to finance any car-centric flick ever since a certain high-octane film series proved there's an audience for the genre. Then again, the increasingly staggering success of the Fast movies seems to be directly proportional to how ludicrous they've become.
Posted in: Tribute by J C on September 5th, 2014
“I’ve gone up, I’ve gone down. I’ve been bankrupt, I’ve been broke. But you do it — and you do it because we love it more than anything else. You want a real job, honey? There are a million things you can do, but what we do is not a job. What we do is a calling; we make people happy.”
Joan Rivers never took herself very seriously, as evidenced by the fact that seemed to have a never-ending reservoir of jokes about her own advanced age and propensity for plastic surgery. But the trailblazing entertainer — who died Thursday after going into cardiac arrest during a throat procedure late last month — was always serious about her comedy. The above quote is from a 2011 episode of Louie, and it helps explain why the tireless comic never stopped working up until her death at age 81. For Rivers, comedy was never a job; it was simply what she was meant to do.
Rivers’ most recent high-profile gig was as the host/star of E’s Fashion Police, which debuted in 2010. (This is the part where I pretend I only watched the show because of my girlfriend, but it was actually an ideal vehicle for Rivers’ brand of humor.) Rather than starring alongside celebrities, Rivers was best known for standing on stage — or on a red carpet — and lobbing caustic barbs at them. That being said, Rivers made several memorable screen appearances — and an absorbing, revelatory documentary — during her monumental career. Click below for a quick survey of her work on the UpcomingDiscs archives.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 5th, 2014
There are movies that can be described as slow burns, and then there's Night Moves. Director Kelly Reichardt frames much of her 112-minute thriller in a way that invites you to pay an inordinate amount of attention to the lush greenery, winding trails, and tranquil water the film's three protagonists go to dangerous lengths to preserve. The extended, quiet sequences and exceedingly simple plot also encourage viewers to fill in spaces in the story that seem to have been intentionally left blank. This deliberate approach will undoubtedly infuriate and bore some people, but I personally found it absorbing enough to recommend as an unconventionally tense drama.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 4th, 2014
The list of bad videogame movie adaptations is as ridiculously long as the titular weapon in this animated offering. In fact, the film that has best captured the spirit of gaming wasn't even based on an actual videogame. The bottom line is it's hard to translate the highly-interactive thrills of videogames into a satisfying, relatively passive moviegoing experience. So maybe the answer lies in targeting inherently cinematic games like Heavenly Sword.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 3rd, 2014
“It’s kind of a corny, romantic comedy-type story.”
Even those of us who actually enjoy a good romantic comedy have rolled our eyes or groaned about some overused cliche in the genre. Well David Wain and Michael Showalter — who last teamed up to satirize summer camp movies in 2001's Wet Hot American Summer — have gathered many of their famous, funny friends to make They Came Together, an alternately hilarious and uneven spoof that lovingly skewers rom-com tropes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 1st, 2014
Oregon may have been the 33rd state to join our union — and Portland may be its most populous city — but Portlandia is a (beet-eating, Bigot Parade-hosting, 3D printer-buying) state of mind. And four seasons into lovingly mocking upper middle class indulgence along with the denizens of the Pacific Northwest, the show — created by stars Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and director Jonathan Krisel — continues to feel more like a fully-realized destination than ever.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 28th, 2014
“You have just seen an authentic disclosure of conditions which unfortunately exist in some of our high schools today. The job of policemen will not be finished until this insidious menace to the schools of our country is exposed and destroyed.”
“Authentic” is probably a stretch, but High School Confidential! is certainly fascinating for a variety of reasons. Every generation has an alleged scourge that invades high schools and threatens to rip apart the very fabric of society. (Cue masterpiece eye roll.) In 1958, that menace went by the name “Mary Jane.”
