Posted in No Huddle by Jonathan Foster on January 22nd, 2013
What do you get when two different kinds of horror movies collide? One answer is The Millennium Bug, which combines your typical monster/alien thrill ride with the increasingly popular “Help! I’ve been abducted by crazed rednecks!” brand of horror movie nightmare. It’s better if you think of this film as Alien meets Wrong Turn.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 17th, 2013
Do you realize how much you’re affected by advertising? Branded attempts to answer this question while showing us where our world is headed if the trend continues. Mishka Galkin (Ed Stoppard, The Pianist) is Russia’s advertising whiz kid. When Mishka meets Abby (Leelee Sobieski, 88 Minutes, The Wicker Man), they immediately become friends, despite the fact that she is the niece of Bob Gibbons (Jeffrey Tambor, TVs Arrested Development, the Hellboy movies), Mishka’s boss.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 13th, 2013
What do you do when you have to choose between the law and what is morally right? Lieutenant Danny Sefton (Seth Gabel, TV’s Dirty Sexy Money and Fringe) faces that very problem in Allegiance. Having lost the respect of the men in his command by transferring to a recruiting position right before they are to deploy to Iraq, Sefton faces a crisis of conscience when one of those men — Specialist Chris Reyes (Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, Like Mike, Roll Bounce) — has his non-deployment waiver revoked.
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Posted in No Huddle by Jonathan Foster on January 10th, 2013
If you watched any comedic movie in the late ’90s, you’ve seen Harland Williams. A funny guy who always played the dummy (see Half Baked and Down Periscope), his career never took off the way similar stand-up comics like Jim Carrey and Norm MacDonald did. In this special, Harland performs his trademark wry and goofy comedy in a new, innovative way: the comedian does his routine outside and with no audience.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 3rd, 2013
In the financial world, the term “arbitrage” refers to the possibility of risk-free profit at zero cost. This seems to be the goal for Robert Miller (Richard Gere), a hedge fund manager desperate to sell his business and retire. The reason for his desperation is that his business is completely broke due to a bad investment. This goal has completely consumed Robert, and it affects everything he does. Robert treats his employees like slaves, is nervous around his family, and regards his mistress as little more than a plaything. One night after the sale suffers yet another setback, he convinces his mistress to come with him to his country cabin.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 3rd, 2013
The Hippocratic Oath all doctors take is simple: “First, do no harm.” Dr. Martin Blake (Orlando Bloom) throws that ideal out the window when a young woman named Diane Nixon (Riley Keough) comes under his care. After getting treated like a nobody by his fellow doctors and disrespected by nurses he feels are beneath him, Diane is the first person who appreciates what Martin does and makes him feel special. As he treats her, Martin becomes obsessed with Diane, going so far as to alter her medication to keep her sick. As Martin’s obsession grows, his actions become more and more drastic.
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Posted in No Huddle by Jonathan Foster on December 24th, 2012
“My name is Marty Kaan, and I’m a management consultant. Every week, my team and I go somewhere and talk people into thinking they really, really need us.”
With that kind of opener, I was fully expecting House of Lies to be a darker, edgier, less ethical Leverage. The sort of show where the main character is a loveable rogue whose failings are excusable because he’s just so gosh-darn charming. That notion was quickly dispelled, however, the minute the pilot opens with Marty (Don Cheadle) waking up in bed with a woman and freaking out about it.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on December 3rd, 2012
Jimi Hendrix. Carlos Santana. Jimmy Paige. Eddie Van Halen. Slash. These are arguably some of the greatest guitar gods to ever rock the stage. Yet somehow this pantheon feels incomplete. I humbly submit Peter Frampton’s name for inclusion with these mighty warriors of rock. In 1976, the singer released his most successful album — Frampton Comes Alive! — and, according to this Blu-ray’s box, “the best-selling live album in the world.” In 2011-2012, Frampton went on tour in celebration of its 35th anniversary.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on December 3rd, 2012
In 1975, Gerald Ford was President of the United States, Wheel of Fortune made its debut, disco was groovy, and Patti Smith burst onto the music scene with her debut album, Horses. She would go on to become known as the “Godmother of Punk” and greatly influence the New Wave genre of music. I admit, before watching this concert, I had only heard one of Smith’s songs — her #1 single, “Because the Night” — so I was curious to hear more of her material. The fact that my aunt says she still owns an LP of Horses she bought as a teenager intrigued me more.
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