Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 30th, 2010
It's hard to believe it, but Toy Story was the very first computer generated animated feature film. CG graphics had already appeared as parts of films starting with the "Genesis proposition video" from Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. It was a rather fitting movie for this Hollywood and technological first to occur. The piece was rather short and not as breathtaking as we've come to expect today, but, it did herald the beginning of a new era in filmmaking, to be sure. What better place for such an historical technological breakthrough than in Star Trek?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 28th, 2010
Around Thanksgiving of last year, I started to see trailers of a particular movie that quite literally made me laugh out loud. The reason behind it is because I knew with the title of the movie and the obvious plot, there was no way I was not going to review it when it came to dvd & blu-ray. I have a reputation for certain movies, I guess you could say. That movie was Ninja Assassin. Several months later, I am reviewing it for a mass audience. Funny how that works.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 25th, 2010
If you are a regular reader here, you know I'm not much for the romantic comedy department. I tried to pass this one off on the rest of the staff but couldn't find a taker. We finally got a woman to review this stuff, but not even she was enthused enough about this title to take it on. This experience is pretty typical when it comes to Did You Hear About The Morgans. With a $58 million budget and a $30 million gross at the box office, it would seem that a lot of folks took a pass on the movie. In less than 4 weeks it dropped from nearly 3000 screens across the fruited plain to just about 500.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 19th, 2010
It seems like yesterday, but about a year ago; my cat of 14 years had died. Her name was Burns. She had survived through my college years and the worst period in my life during my 20’s. Sarah had come into my life at that point and I guess my cat finally realized she could let go. Burns was always a loyal companion and there to bring me up when I needed it. I never had a better pet than her, and I probably never will. Hachi, A Dog’s Tale is another story about a faithful animal, adapted from a Japanese true story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 18th, 2010
It's back to the 1950's with its telltale alien invasion science fiction matinees. There's Doo Wop coming out of the radio. The cars have tail fins and plenty of color and chrome. That's right. This is 1950's Americana. Well ... almost. You see, the alien invaders are humaniacs. They turn the helpless population into mind-controlled zombies, and they eat brains for breakfast. Those sure are the classic cars, all right. But they're rounded, and instead of wheels they ride on a cushion of air. And then there's the "people". They're green. They have tentacles for hair. And they have only 4 fingers and toes on each hand or foot. Can anyone say, "Give me a high four"?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 16th, 2010
If any studio out there knows princesses, it has to be Disney. Uncle Walt has brought us so many memorably magical moments in the realms of fairy godmothers and the rags to riches tradition. A list of such Disney characters would serve as a rather complete roll call of such familiar animated ladies: Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and now you can add yet another name to the growing list. The studio that invented the animated fairy tale returns to its hand-drawn animation roots with The Princess And The Frog.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2010
So, this guy goes to see three rabbis....
No, that's not the start of some insensitive anti-Semitic joke. It's the rather offbeat idea behind the latest film by the Coen brothers. Of course, off the wall is business as usual for Ethan and Joel Coen. Fans of the brothers' work already know to expect the unexpected. You're likely not looking for the same kind of logical coherence that you might otherwise demand in your movies. The films often share a modern allegory to some classic fable or tale.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2010
Madea's been everywhere. She's even been to jail. But I Can Do Bad All By Myself is not actually a Madea film, per se. She has a cameo, of sorts, but this film is based on a series of stage acts that Perry has collected under the single title of the film. So much of this movie has been out there on stage. I'm not really a fan of Perry's Madea character and the collection of films she/he's been involved in. I had a friend once who used to get them for another friend of his, and he used to joke about making me a copy. Now you know why we're not friends any more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 20th, 2010
"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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 20th, 2010
Sylvester Stallone returned to his roots with 1993's Cliffhanger. No, I'm not talking about his iconic Rocky role here. I'm talking about his ancestral roots. The movie was filmed high in the Italian Alps to achieve many of these incredible vistas and the snow capped mountains. Believe it or not, this was June at the location, and several of the crew were stranded for a time because of a sudden and powerful blizzard.
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