Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 1st, 2016
The 100-year anniversary of the Jack the Ripper murders is quickly approaching, and a copycat serial killer is looking to make his mark in Los Angeles. With only one murder left, the LAPD is in a rush to prevent this madman from completing his across-the-pond murder masterpiece, and the prostitutes of LA are shaking in their heels and miniskirts. It’s a great way to start off a film, and I’ll admit I was hooked early on with this film, but if you were hoping for a true modern tale of Jack the Ripper, I’m sorry to say you’ll feel more than a little hoodwinked by this film.
John Wesford (James Spader) is a young doctor who is struggling to make a difference with his patients while working in a low income area. He’s the humanitarian type, seeing all his patients as equals as he deals with the homeless, the elderly, and prostitutes. It’s the type of hospital where he can cut his teeth while honing his skills and make a name for himself. Everything is looking up for him until he manages to get himself killed by a man who may or may not be the modern Jack the Ripper.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2016
"Stealing from the Pope is suicide."
We're not talking about that pope. We're talking about Robert DeNiro in his latest direct-to-video feature film Heist. It's true that DeNiro hasn't exactly been picky lately with his parts. He commands a big paycheck, often for just showing up on the credits. It's common among actors particularly those like DeNiro who have made quite a name for themselves and find themselves in the back nine of their career. You have to at least give him a little more credit than most. He's the kind of actor who always puts in the effort for a project no matter how big or small the film or part happens to be. You could say that gangster parts like Pope come naturally, and he doesn't really have to act. If you believe that, you've just glossed over the actor's best talent. He always makes it look easy. More than giving his best, DeNiro is an actor that appears to bring the best out of everyone else, as well. Most of the cast and crew refer to him as Mr. DeNiro in the bonus material here. That's the kind of respect he's earned from his peers. If he wants to have a little fun on a direct-to-video film from time to time while padding the bank account, I say what's the harm. Keep doing them and I'll keep assigning Robert DeNiro movies to myself every time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 30th, 2016
Shout Factory is churning out the 1980's horror films to provide us with a steady diet of schlock-o-rama. Through their Scream Factory series we've been getting many double-header collections along with the occasional horror film that stands alone, if not standing out. The films are the kind of thing you gather a bunch of friends together and have yourself a marathon of films that make you laugh as much as make you scream. The latest in this series is the 1987 Zombie High. Of course, the film doesn't have a single zombie, at least not in the classic Romero style, and it appears to take place at a college instead of a high school. But let's not let plot points get in the way of a good title. In fact, Zombie High is remembered more for how it was made than for the final product.
The filmmakers literally invaded the campus of USC in L.A. In what many describe as a pretty cool con, they were able to convince the school's staff and students that a major film was being shot there, and the crew was given a ton of cooperation from the school. USC has the oldest film school in the nation, and you might understand why everyone would be eager to help out a big film that wanted to use its locations and resources. Those resources included everything from camera equipment to providing the labor both behind and in front of the camera. The movie was made for very little money, because so much of the cost was picked up by USC in their attempt to "cooperate". Zombie High just might be the only completely stolen film to be released to any kind of a wide audience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 27th, 2016
“Being a woman's hard work.”
Femininity — the quality and essence of being a woman — is at the forefront of The New Girlfriend, a gender-bending and genre-bending offering from French director Francois Ozon. The film is a curious mix of farce, rom-com hijinks, frank sexuality, and serious drama about loss. The formula isn't always cohesive, but it makes for an intriguing twist on the old “boy meets girl” story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2016
I have to admit that I'm not much of a Keanu Reeves fan. However, I'm a huge fan of Keanu Reeves movies. Let's face it, Keanu can be quite wooden with as much screen presence as a test pattern. OK, I'm showing my age with that line. But one thing he knows how to do well is pick great films to star in. From The Matrix and the recent very hit John Wick to the underrated The Devil's Advocate, Reeves can sure pick 'em. The worse case scenario here would be Keanu in an uninteresting movie. Well...Knock Knock. Who's there? An uninteresting Keanu Reeves film.
Knock Knock finds Reeves playing Evan Weber. He's an architect with a pretty much idyllic life. His wife is a renowned artist, and he has two great kids. But Evan is feeling a bit neglected on Father's Day. His wife has just gotten a shipment of catalogues from her recent exhibit, and she's not exactly paying him a lot of attention right now. To make things worse, wife and kids are off to spend Father's Day weekend at the beach, while Evan has to remain home to finish a project.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 21st, 2016
Have you ever stumbled across someone’s diary? At first glance it may look innocent enough, but for the person with dreams, fears and confessions, it is that friend and confidant that will listen to its author as they bare their soul and not be faced with judgement. In The Diary of a Teenage Girl, not only do we get a peek into the secret life of Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley), but we are taken on a journey of experiencing first love and sex through the eyes of a 15 year-old girl. It’s sweet, it’s tragic, but where this film’s strength comes at its audience the strongest is with its honesty, which for some may be a bit too sobering of a reminder of what life is like as a teenager.
“I had sex today…”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 21st, 2016
Here comes another in the long line of movies featuring a WWE superstar. Boy, I tell you, the floodgates open after The Rock (although now he goes by Dwayne Johnson) proved it was possible to move from wrestling stardom to silver screen stardom. That said, none them have really made the leap successfully since him; however, that is not from a lack of trying. This time around, Randy "The Viper" Orton looks to try his luck in the sequel to a WWE sponsored film in The Condemned 2.
After a botched operation to capture the leader of a gambling ring that ended in tragedy, bounty hunter Will Tanner (Orton) walks away from the bail enforcement life. Having his entire world rocked, Will resigns himself to a quiet life; however, just because he is done with his past doesn't necessarily mean that his past is done with him. He suddenly finds himself fighting for his life in a deadly game brought forth by an old enemy. To make matters worse, not only is he forced to do battle, he is forced to do battle against his very own team, the same men who accompanied him for years, men who he was willing to put his life in their hands in the past. Now he must stay one step of ahead of the men who know him best, all the while trying to make his way to the man behind the curtain.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2016
"Did you ever have a dream but didn't know where it started?"
Some dreams did indeed start with the box office flop Nomads. It was the first starring role in a feature film for future James Bond Pierce Brosnan. It was also the first film directed by John McTiernan and his only screenwriting credit to date. Both would go on to have quite flourishing careers, and I suspect neither spends much time looking back at Nomads, and with good enough reason. And those careers did not take long. For McTiernan his next three films would be, in order: Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt For Red October. The film also sports a score by legendary Bill Conti, the man who started his feature film career with Rocky and ended up with a Best Music Oscar for The Right Stuff. Conti teamed up with Ted Nugent, and they improvised most of the Nomads score with Nugent making coffee runs packing his trademark extra protection. With a dream team like this you might expect Nomads to be a pretty solid film. You'd be wrong.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 19th, 2016
The Intern tackles a pretty important issue. Age gaps are the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge. The issue is confusing to address, because a lot of people don’t even know what age group they belong to or don’t care. But the differences are very real, and they cause enormous alienation and division. Baby Boomers and Millennials are two examples which are represented here by Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, who has a daughter starting the first grade, so another age group is represented. To be clearer, Baby Boomers are born between 1946 to 1964, Generation X 1965 to 1980, Generation Y/Millennial 1981 to 2000 and Generation Z/Boomlets after 2001.They are all categorized as having their own issues and identifying traits. You noticed I didn’t mention anyone over 70, and that’s because they don’t matter. In fact, Baby Boomers don’t matter. I don’t agree with that at all, but that is the tendency and thrust of modern culture. This is a complicated matter, so I’ll have to leave it there and move on to discussing this movie. The movie addresses this issue.
Jules (Hathaway) started an internet company that markets clothes, and after 18 months, it has become fantastically successful. Ben (De Niro) is a 70-year-old retired widower who wants to keep busy. He gets a job as an intern for Jules. His work ethic, competence, and experience become indispensable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2016
Everest is an existential film. It could be one of the most beautiful travelogues you've ever seen, but it is far more than that. Its beauty and majesty are perfectly enhanced by 3D, but the true significance has to do with the mysteries of the soul. What drives men to do things that they have no business doing? What makes them climb a mountain whose summit is at the height that 747 jets fly? The old answer that is always used is, “Because it's there”. Obviously, the reasons run much deeper. There is a void in many people that they can only fill by doing the impossible. They look for accomplishments and knowledge that will hopefully give life meaning. Everest is the true story based on the book by Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air. Krakauer also wrote Into The Wild, which became the 2007 film of the same name about a lone young man who hiked endlessly through the wilderness until he died of starvation. In both cases, these journeys for elusive truths became deadly and tragic.
The film has a expansive cast worthy of such an epic tale, including Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw, Nightcrawler), Sam Worthington ( Avatar, Terminator Salvation, Clash of the Titans), Josh Brolin ( Men in Black 3, Sin City 2), Jason Clarke (Terminator Genisys, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), John Hawkes ( he Sessions, Winter's Bone), Michael Kelly, Martin Henderson, Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, Robin Wright, and Tom Goodman-Hill (Mr. Selfridge, Humans). The director, Baltasar Kormakur, has changed his style considerably to suit the material. His last film with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlburg, 2 Guns, was a Michael Bay-type, over-the-top action extravaganza. 2 Guns was ridiculous. Everest is a pristine visual masterpiece. He shows the events that occurred on the great mountain in 1996 with a documentary-like rigor as well as totally capturing the grandeur of the location. But the ultimate question remains. Why?
