Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2014
It happens all the time. It's just as common on large-budget films as it is on the small films. Someone comes up with a great hook. It's a clever idea with all of the potential to be very good. It might even start off that way. Too many times the road traveled is a road to nowhere, and potential was lost somewhere along the path. That's exactly the issue with Open Grave. The opening sequence is one of those scenes that really sticks with you. A guy wakes up in a huge pit filled with dead and rotting human beings. He has no memory of who he is or how he got into this mess. It's a terrifying thought. It's a visceral nightmare that can touch those hidden fears in even the most stoic among us. What a promising start. Soon our character is given a rope and helped out of the pit. It's all downhill from here. It's bad... really bad... when your film peaks at two minutes in.
We eventually find out the guy who woke up in the mass grave is Jonah, and he's played quite well by Sharlto Copley. With not much dialog to work from (he is among dead people, after all) he manages to do a perfect job of portraying the emotions we would expect from this terrifying situation. When he's rescued from the pit, he's led to a house where there are several characters suffering from the same limited amnesia. They maintain knowledge and skills from their lives. ID cards even provide them with their names. The rest is the proverbial blank slate. There are some clues, however. A date circled on a calendar portends some ominous event. There is also an Asian girl, played by Josie Ho, who knows what's going on. Unfortunately, she can't speak and doesn't understand English.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2014
"There are over 120,000 juveniles incarcerated in detection centers across the United States. Upon release 75% will either return to prison or die in the street. What follows is based on the true story of Camp Kilpatrick and the people there who tried to make a difference."
The Rock -- sorry, Dwayne Johnson, sure has come a long way from his melodramatic days as a WWE superstar. His first major film role, as the Scorpion King in 2001's The Mummy Returns was more about his physical presence than any acting ability. Two years later, he proved he could handle action comedy with The Rundown. Now, with Gridiron Giants, Johnson has added the drama notch to his genre belt.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 22nd, 2014
- “Are you some kind of big deal?”
- “Yeah, I’ve been around.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 21st, 2014
"Maybe it was all inevitable. An unavoidable collision between mankind and technology."
Just about any project that Christopher Nolan has any attachment to is going to get my attention. And from the first glimpses of the film in the early teasers, Transcendence always felt like a film Nolan would seem right at home making. Instead, taking the helm for the first time as director is Wally Pfister. Though this may be his first time in the director’s chair, Pfister is no stranger to working on pictures of large scale; after all, he’s been Nolan’s director of photography since Memento back in 2000. So how does Pfister do with his first at bat? Well, it could be a lot worse…
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 21st, 2014
Pacino and Depp in a mob drama about an undercover fed and his unknowing Mafioso mentor? Fuggedaboudit. Donnie Brasco is based on the true story of F.B.I. agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp, Blow), who spent six successful years undercover in the New York Mafia, as one Donnie Brasco. The film opens with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino, Heat), an aging made man, connecting with Donnie about a diamond ring. Donnie’s cover is he’s in the jewelry “business”, and Lefty wants to unload a ring some guy …gave him as payment for a debt. When Donnie insists the ring’s a fake, Lefty goes back to see the guy, bringing Donnie along. The guy still claims it’s the real deal, but Donnie asks for a minute to “talk to him.” Permission from Lefty granted, Donnie smacks the guy around, threatens murder and makes the guy give up the keys to his Porsche.
So starts a tight relationship, between made guy Lefty and Donnie, his connected underling and chosen pupil. Lefty, a killer with 26 hits under his belt, eventually vouches for Donnie to his bosses – a big move, because it means he’s responsible for Donnie. If something goes wrong – like Donnie turning out to be a cop – the mob veteran will die with his protégé. With Lefty standing up for him, Donnie is allowed into the fold of a mafia crew led by Sonny Black (Michael Madsen, Kill Bill), a violent, ambitious leader.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 20th, 2014
"Let me know when the governor gets here."
Well, he's in the house, and I'm going to get a lot of razzing for this review of Last Action Hero. The person who thought I should see a shrink for looking forward to the next Saw film is going to be calling for my outright commitment to an institution dedicated to covering walls with nice padding so we won't hurt ourselves. I know this film is generally considered "bad" by critics and moviegoers alike. It swept the Razzies in 1993 and has since been only the kind of film 10-year-olds would really like to see. Me, I've always simply loved this film. From the first time I saw it at the box office, I was hooked. It was one of the first new laserdiscs I bought back in the day, and I watched the heck out of that disc. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love this movie.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 20th, 2014
"Tales of monstrous, man-eating anacondas have been recounted for centuries by tribespeople of the Amazon Basin, some of whom are said to worship these giant snakes. Anacondas are among the most ferocious and enormous creatures on Earth."
Today Anaconda would have most certainly been made as a "found-footage" film. All of the makings of one of these trending movies are there. We have a documentary crew in an isolated area, and most of them get killed. Fortunately, the trend wasn't so big in 1997, and so Anaconda got to be the film that it turned out to be. Now Mill Creek is offering a budget-priced release of the film in high definition on Blu-ray. Is it worth even that price? Read on...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 19th, 2014
Here comes Volume four of this clip commentary comedy show (CCC could catch on as a sub-genre title couldn't it?). This time we get two seasons worth of episodes; the “Collas” and “Exposed Arms” entitled seasons, as it were. Very little is different as far as format or new segments are concerned since the last time I wrote about this show.
YouTube had all but killed off the idea of mailing silly home videos to the likes of America’s Funniest Home Videos. These days, people prefer to stream dozens of videos on their computers and save themselves from the watered down jokes of Bob Saget or current host Tom Bergeron. Tosh.O takes a similar format of displaying such silly videos, but focuses on things that have gone “viral” online. Like AFHV, Tosh.O adds their own commentary and sketches to the presentation but in a much more crass, cable-savvy manner.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 17th, 2014
“Who cares about a bunch of birds?”
Well, judging by the fact that the original Rio grossed $484 million worldwide, it seems more than a few people were invested. The avian adventure from Blue Sky Studios may not have soared as high as Disney/Pixar or DreamWorks Animation’s best efforts — or even Blue Sky’s own Ice Age juggernaut — but it proved to be a dazzling, lucrative diversion in the spring of 2011. This charming sequel, which arrived almost three years to the day later and grossed a near-identical $487 million worldwide, retains the disposable, toe-tapping charm of its predecessor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2014
There is nothing wrong with your monitor. Jonathan Glazer controls all that you see and hear. That tiny speck of light you see is just the beginning. The beginning of an experience you will not soon forget. The light appears distant...cold... foreboding. It's coming closer to us, or we are coming closer to it. The distant star grows while you are assaulted with some of the most bizarre sounds you have ever heard. It's somewhat uncomfortable. You squirm in your seat. The light grows; its alien forms finally settles into an unexpected familiar form. Still, it's all rather unsettling. Jonathan Glazer controls more than all you see and hear. For the next two hours he controls your sanity... your very humanity.
Your introduction to Under The Skin explains little. There are some general ideas you'll begin to assemble. You'll figure out rather quickly that Scarlett Johansson is an alien. The characters you'll encounter have no names. Many of them will not speak. After the first sensory experience, the film fools you into believing you're back on solid ground. Scarlett Johansson drives about the streets of Scotland talking to strange men. She asks directions and inquires about any family or friends they might have. It doesn't take us long to understand that she's hunting, attempting to separate a single prey from the pack. Before she snares her first victim, we know exactly what she's doing, even if we never understand completely why.
