Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 7th, 2013
"I like people to go away from a Queen show feeling fully entertained, having had a good time. I think Queen songs are pure escapism, like going to see a good film - after that, they go away and say that was great, and go back to all their problems" - Freddie Mercury
I had that very pleasure back in the late 1970's when I attended a Queen concert at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. It was one heck of a show. Freddie was flamboyant as always. They were also quite good. I still remember an acoustic set they did in the middle. Take away the "plugs" and you really find out what kind of musicians you're dealing with. Apparently, pretty good ones.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 6th, 2013
“You think you had a bad day? This guy lost a billion dollars.”
Clear History is ostensibly about hot-shot marketing exec Nathan Flomm, who misses out on a billion-dollar payday after a petty disagreement. But really, this HBO Films original comedy is basically a 100-minute, all-star episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with prettier scenery. As such, it's another opportunity for writer/star Larry David to profanely and incredulously sound off on a fresh set of social landmines, including insincere apologies and birthday e-card etiquette.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 6th, 2013
Ike Evans (Morgan) owns the most swank hotel in Miami. It's the Miramar Playa. He bought the land at a song from his deceased wife's family, and he's turned it into a luxury city where the likes of Frank Sinatra call home. He's determined to make it without caving to the influence of his minority partner, who happens to go by the name of The Butcher. He's Ben Diamond (Huston), and he wants the hotel to become a kingdom of gambling and other profitable vices. Sure, Ike allows a little prostitution and backroom bookie action, but he wants to keep the hotel pretty much legit. That's hard with a bank nut that runs $65,000 a month.
He has a young wife, Vera (Kurylenko) who was once the sensational Vera Cruz, a Cuban Tropicana dancer. He has two sons. Danny (Cooke) is studying law and doesn't want any part of the hotel business. He's being recruited by the DA's office in order to get a man inside. They don't really want Ike. They want Ben Diamond, and if they have to squeeze Ike to get to him, then that's what you might call collateral damage. Danny's in love with Mercedes (Garcia-Lorido), who is a maid at the hotel and daughter to Ike's hotel manager Victor (Vazquez). Victor's wife was killed in the Castro takeover of Cuba, and Ike's trying to get her ashes out. Stevie (Strait) is Ike's youngest son. Stevie tends bar in the hotel's famous Atlantis Bar (remember that Miami bar in Analyze This)? He does want the life of his father. He's also a bit of a womanizer. But he's fallen in love with Lily Diamond (Marais), who also loves him. They have a rather torrid affair. The only trouble is that Lily is The Butcher's wife, and he is the jealous type.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2013
When Vikings Season 1 first arrived, I have to admit I was pretty excited. I was particularly eager to see footage from their very first game. Fran Tarkenton came off the bench, and the Vikings went on to become the first expansion team ever to win their very first game. OK, as Baby, our Shepherd/Chow mix dog film reviewer would say: I made that last part up. You'd have to have been living under a pretty isolated rock to have missed all of the buzz over The History Channel's epic new drama series Vikings.
This is quite a step up for the History Channel folks. They've certainly produced a great number of historical dramatizations and documentaries, but nothing they've ever done before compares with this series. We used to review a ton of their stuff here for years, so you know I've liked a lot of the things they've done. But Vikings puts them in a totally new stratosphere. This is historical drama that you've only seen before in the likes of Rome or The Tudors. Of course, there's a very good reason for that. Michael Hirst created the series and is the creative force behind it. He served the same positions on The Tudors. That puts expectations here very high, and the show has met or exceeded them all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 30th, 2013
It’s hard to believe that once if you said the word Google, there is a good chance no one would have known what you were blabbering about. Now the internet search database is the largest search engine on the web and is a dominating company that is given the same reverence Steve Jobs and Apple receive. Because of Google, the days of hitting the books to find information and the Dewey decimal system are all but things of the past. But technology and growth are a part of life.
Billy (Vince Vaughn, who also co-wrote the film) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are forty-something grinders who pound the pavement selling watches to their high-class clients. Unfortunately for them, their boss, played by John Goodman,,has decided to call it quits with the watch business and retire. With few skills and no other options, Nick takes a job at his sister’s boyfriend’s mattress shop, while Billy struggles to find where to go next. This struggle is something most audiences will be able to relate to in the present job market as the film uses the current job market to delve into the opportunity for second chances and wrestling with regret.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 29th, 2013
The world of Bounty Killer is a barren wasteland that has been decimated by the unchecked greed of nefarious corporations. In other words, I can’t believe this movie is only set 20 years in the future! I’m not the kind of guy who uses exclamation points very often, so the fact that I threw one at the end of the previous sentence wasn’t an accident. This silly, stylish, thoroughly enjoyable revenge fantasy/satiric action flick is basically one giant exclamation point in movie form.
“The bounty killers compete for body count, fame, and a fat stack of cash.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2013
The boys are back, and I only have one question. What the heck took so long? I have a lot of respect for Pixar and the groundbreaking films they've created over the last couple of decades, but I have to question someone's marketing good sense when they get a sequel to Cars out before anyone bothered to look towards what is arguably the studio’s best creation to date. For me it's all about Monsters, Inc. I hadn't fallen so hard for an animated film since The Lion King, and so I was thrilled when I got the invitation to graduate early from Monsters University.
Who are "the boys", you might ask. If you're serious, then you might actually be reading the wrong piece. For the rest of you, "the boys" are Mike Wazowski (Crystal) and James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (Goodman). And it's been a dozen years since we last saw them in Monsters, Inc. A sequel to that film might be a bit problematic. We learn that laughs provide far more power than screams, and we leave the power structure of Monsteropolis on its head. Pixar's imaginative team took the best route available to them and decided to go the prequel pathway, and we get to see Mike and Sully as college students. Both have their sights on becoming master scarers. For Sulley, it's in the blood. He comes from a long line of successful scarers, and he's not really taking the college scene very seriously. For Sulley it's about fun. Mike, on the other hand, has stars in his eyes and works harder than anyone else on campus. But he might have to come to grips with the fact that he just might not have what it takes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 29th, 2013
Every once in a while a film comes along that looks like it could be interesting, but you don’t really expect to like it all that much. It’s simply meant to be filler, something to kill time until something better comes along, but somehow you get drawn in and become so engrossed in the story that you forget everything else. That is the most apt description of my experience with The Way, Way Back, a socially awkward dramedy with a ton of heart featuring Steve Carrell, Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Liam James, and many more.
Duncan (Liam James, The Killing) is an introverted, slightly awkward fourteen-year-old. After his parents’ divorce, his mother Pam (Toni Collette, United States of Tara) starts dating Trent (Steve Carrell, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone), a single father who masks his disdain for Duncan with thinly veiled accusations and comments. For the summer, Duncan is dragged along with the couple and Trent’s daughter Steph (who treats him like a pariah) to Trent’s family beach house.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 26th, 2013
Welcome kids to another 31 Nights of Terror spectacular. This time, the legendary (in his own mind) Michael Durr has descended from the rafters to bring you another cult classic blu-ray presentation. This time we explore 1982 Wes Craven adaption of Swamp Thing. Shout Factory has produced an excellent blu-ray for us to watch. As with most of the Scream Factory work that Shout does, this should be quite the treat. Let us continue and go forth with one wicked green monster.
Not Long Ago in the Unexplored Reaches of an Unmapped Swamp, the Creative Genius of One Man Collided with an Other's Evil Dream and a Monster was Born. Too Powerful to be Destroyed, Too Intelligent to be Captured. This Being Still Pursues its Single Dream.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 25th, 2013
Nicolas Winding Refn is a director who may not be a household name but is easily one of the most unique directors working at this time. With films like Pusher, Bronson, and Valhalla Rising, he has managed to make a name for himself for doing artistic films filled with beautiful visuals as well as intense violence. It was the film Drive, though, that most people know him for. I was already a fan of Refn going into Drive, and for me it is one of the best films I’ve seen in the past decade, where the film is a rare piece of perfection that broods with atmosphere and simply captivates me from the opening frame to the closing credits. I know the film has its viewers who find it dull; it’s a film that doesn’t attempt to please anyone but simply tells a brilliant tale of love and violence for those looking for more than a brainless romp.
I mention all this because from the moment I first saw the trailer for Only God Forgives, it wasn’t just a film I wanted to see; it was a film that I HAD to see. The trailer teased more of the same that I loved about Drive, and the images in the promotional materials of Ryan Gosling beaten to a pulp struck a nerve. But then it had its premiere at Cannes, and the reaction surprised me; people actually seemed to be hating this new film. This didn’t make any sense to me, but it caused me to rein in my expectations, and I believe that is what saved my experience with viewing this film. This film is nothing like Drive, but feels much closer to Valhalla Rising, not just for its lack of dialog but for its tone and its spiritual nature.
