Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 6th, 2019
"In the ring, you got rules. Outside, you got nothing. Life hits you with all these cheap shots. People like me, we live in the past. You got people that need you now. You got everything to lose; this guy has got nothing to lose."
For the last couple of decades the sport of boxing has lost much of its popularity, at least here in the United States. The big matches used to be events where neighbors and friends would gather and enjoy the spectacle together. It likely started when long-time fighting fan and announcer Howard Cosell distanced himself from the sport, and the collapse appeared finally complete around the time Mike Tyson added ear to his menu. It's devolved so far that I haven't known who the champ is for more than 10 years.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 27th, 2019
At first glance, Mary Queen of Scots has all the makings of a film you’d expect to be nominated for numerous awards; after all, it’s a period drama that showcases some remarkable performances from Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie. Unfortunately this retelling of the story between Queen Elizabeth (Robbie) and Queen Mary (Ronan) is bogged down with its politics and the struggles these women have being leaders while their differing religions present a conflict preventing them from ever working together. Let me just jump into this and attempt to sort this film out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on February 22nd, 2019
"Three months ago, I was cutting grass on my front yard. The mailman shows up with a letter from the army. Now I'm here, and no idea where I'm going to end up."
Wow, another gut-wrenching action-packed war film that takes on an ominous shroud of terror. It’s perfect for war buffs and horror fans who just can’t seem to get enough. The film Overlord from J.J. Abrams, the producer of the Cloverfield series, takes off in five minutes of absolute madness; then turns its guns on the Nazis as a squad of paratroopers look to complete a battalion saving mission. I loved every minute of the fast-moving film, and it brought back memories of the recent Trench 11 (2017). If you like this one, check that one out for the fun of it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 20th, 2019
When I first heard that Bradley Cooper would be making his directing debut with A Star is Born, honestly, I kind of groaned. It’s not because I didn’t believe he’d have the chops; after all, he’s worked with many successful directors over the span of his career. I groaned because I believed the world didn’t need yet another remake of the film. This will be the fourth incarnation of the film, and while many can debate on which version is their favorite, the film was pretty much a relic I felt should have stayed in the past. I mention this and want to also put it out there that even after some of the trailers I had caught for the film, my excitement level was pretty low going into this. Well, this turned out to be the sleeper hit of the year for me. Sure, many could have told me this would be a hit, and because of the cast I wouldn’t dispute it, but when I walked out of the auditorium I felt like I had experienced something special (even if it had been made three times before).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2019
Steve McQueen has established himself as a rather talented director. 12 Years A Slave was one of the better films of 2013 and one of the few times I happened to agree with the Oscars’ choice for Best Picture. When he tackled the heist format, I expected something unique, and I wasn't at all disappointed. McQueen managed to put a clever spin on a tired genre and provide us with a superior and inspired cast. It wasn't all completely his idea, of course. The film is based on a Canadian miniseries that goes back to the 1980's. That doesn't mean he hasn't found a way to imprint the material with his own style and bold choices. There's a lot to love about Widows, but I have pretty low expectations for this film at the box office. More on that later. Let's get down to it, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2019
"They have assembled here from the four corners of the earth. Fifty-five warships, among them the newest and most sophisticated ever produced. The United States is here. Great Britain, India, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany. Twenty-six nations together; each will introduce the latest in naval technology in their arsenals."
And this is actually the true subject and focus of the latest IMAX/4K release from Shout Factory. If you came strictly to spend 45 minutes on an aircraft carrier, you went away a little disappointed. But now that you can have it at home to watch in UHD whenever the mood strikes you, there's less to be disappointed in here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2019
"Is this the real life or is this just fantasy?"
I think even Queen's biggest fans might have trouble distinguishing between the two in the Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. And that's absolutely OK. If you look at the film's trailers, the movie looks less like a bio-film and more like a celebration, and that's exactly the kind of experience you're going to have from beginning to end. I'm sure that a lot of film and Queen fans shared more than a little skepticism over the project. I know that I certainly did. But all of that magically disappeared when the first trailer hit the internet and we all watched in amazement as actor Rami Malek appears to be channeling the manic spirit of Queen front man Freddie Mercury down to the smallest detail.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2019
Bigger is not always better, and more is not always better. If the holiday season release of Dr. Seuss's The Grinch is a testament to anything, it is that those two ideas are absolutely true. The Grinch has everything that the 1966 How The Grinch Stole Christmas could never have hoped to have had. The film delivers on some of the best computer-generated animation that Hollywood studio money can buy. It had a $75-million budget. It will get a wide release with millions of more dollars put into a global marketing campaign. And it will make a ton of money. After all, the Grinch is the modern age Scrooge from Dickens' classic story. These are the kind of stories that are timeless and popular. Still, there's one thing this film doesn't have over the 1966 television short, and that is that its heart is two sizes too small.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 24th, 2019
“You ready to stir some s--- up?”
In The Hate U Give, the fatal shooting of a young, unarmed black man by a police officer serves as the catalyst for a story about racial identity, police brutality, and much more. The film features some undeniably powerful performances and moments that, quite frankly, spoke to me on a personal level. The problem is that as the story’s level of outrage rises, the movie itself becomes more outrageous and harder to take seriously.
Although the fatal shooting is the movie’s inciting event, The Hate U Give is actually the story of Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), a teenager torn between her home life in the poor, predominantly black Garden Heights neighborhood and her tony, predominantly white prep school. Her father Maverick (Russell Hornsby) is a former gang member who encourages Starr and her brothers to wear their blackness as a badge of honor while imploring them to be exceedingly careful during any interaction with police officers. So when Starr and her childhood friend Khalil (Algee Smith) get pulled over for a minor offense, she knows exactly what to do. Unfortunately, she can’t convince the brasher Khalil to follow suit, which leads to his tragic death.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2019
"That's one small step for (a) man. One giant leap for mankind."
July 20th, 1969. If you were alive and even somewhat old enough to be aware of your surroundings, you likely still remember that date. There are many such dates in history; unfortunately so many of them revolve around tragic events like 9-ll or the attack on Pearl Harbor. But on that night I was eight years old, and I know exactly where I was. I was watching Walter Cronkite on television as he brought us the first landing on the surface of the moon. Today that's a bittersweet memory. For an 8-year-old boy it was a promise that has remained unfulfilled. If you had told that 8-year-old who just saw humans walking on the moon that 50 years later we would have gone no further, he would have been dumbfounded. If you told him that not only would we go no further but that we would stop going to the moon in just a few short years, he would have been devastated. I can only imagine what that first man on the moon thought about it all so many years later.
