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?
Pixar had already been making short subject computer animation. If you ever have the opportunity to check out their collection of shorts, you can't help but be impressed with the evolution of the process as evidenced in these short films. The awards were rolling in for the upstart company, and it was only logical that sooner rather than later they would be the ones to attempt a full length feature film. Of course they were quite a small company at the time with no distribution network in place to launch a major motion picture. There wasn't much of a promotional arm to the company to create the kind of buzz, pun intended, a full length film would require. The truth was that Pixar's small size, which was so much of a creative asset, just wasn't up to the kind of task they were taking on. The first step would have to be to find a partner with the name recognition and resources to back up such an ambitious project. They would likely be betting the future of the company on this one effort. The choice was obvious. They would tie their fortunes together with the same company that took the very same risk 70 years ago. Walt Disney had created the very first animated feature film with Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. The result started an entire industry and put that one-time fledgling company on the map. Would Pixar be able to make the same impact on the industry that Disney had so many decades before? Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Toy Story knows the answer to that question. Lightning did indeed strike twice, and Toy Story would open the floodgates to an entire new industry of computer animated features.
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.
An old man and master of tattoos (played by Randall Duk Kim) is filling in an elaborate tattoo on a young gangster named Hollywood (played by Sung Kang)’s back. A henchman brings Hollywood a sealed envelope. The envelope is opened and out spills black sand. The old man is startled. He starts to spin a tale about ninjas and how he saw an envelope just like that before everybody around him was assassinated.
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. We're not talking about an unknown cast here. The real mystery is, why did such an impressive cast take this movie on? Hugh Grant is pretty well known, if not for his movies, then for his back seat antics with a hooker. So, his judgment should already be in question. I mean, who would give up Elizabeth Hurley for a 20 dollar hooker? Sarah Jessica Parker has been riding pretty high on her Sex In The City fame. Perhaps she was just trying to solidify a romantic comedy image here. Both made horrible choices here, and neither generated a character worth caring about. What's worse, the two share no chemistry and even a devout romantic comedy avoider like me knows enough to understand that the two most important elements in the genre are chemistry and characters that you feel something for.
Paul and Meryl (Grant & Parker) are a married couple who have been separated for three years because Paul had an affair. Both are highly successful in their chosen fields. Paul is the senior partner in a prestigious law firm and Meryl runs a very elite real estate agency. Paul wants to patch things up, but Meryl is not so sure. So the two agree to meet for a date and see if they can talk about their situation. The dinner date doesn't go very well and is completely ruined when the two witness the murder of a man who was about to turn state's evidence. Now their relationship issues are the least of their problems. The killer knows who they are (Meryl's picture is pasted everywhere from billboards to bus stations) and he's not about to let them testify against him. Enter the Witness Protection Program. The two are given new names (The Fosters) and sent to rural Ray, Wyoming where the local sheriff happens to be a Federal Marshall who has experience protecting witnesses. Marshall Clay Wheeler (Elliott) and his wife Emma (Steenburgen) are simple folk who live miles from civilization, making their home the perfect place to hide the couple. Now forced together, the two have to deal with their relationship issues to save their own lives. You know the killer's going to track them down, and through the carelessness of the couple's two personal assistants and Meryl's inability to stay off the phone, he tracks them down.
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.
It’s hero day at a local school. One student named Ronnie (played by Kevin DeCoste) starts to spin the tale about his hero: Hachi. Hachi is a dog that was actually owned by his grandfather, Parker (played by Richard Gere). We then start to flash back to a Japanese man shipping an Akita dog that travels cross county and ends up in Rhode Island.
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"?
Meet Lem (Long). He's your typical 1950's teen. His biggest worry is how will he impress Neera (Biel), the girl of his dreams? He holds down a job proudly at the local museum and planetarium, where he teaches that the universe is nearly 500 miles across, containing 1000 stars. Wow! He doesn't have time for the fantastic movies and comics that depict humaniac invasions. His friend Skiff (Scott), on the other hand, reads and watches them all. He's quite well versed in the topic of alien invasion. He's convinced that "they" are coming, if they're not already here, that is. For these innocent and peaceful folks, the nightmare scenario that they've feared their entire lives is about to come true. An alien has invaded!
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.
When Pixar finally landed permanently at Disney, no one was more excited than I was. It seemed somehow quite fitting that the studio that invented the animation feature should now take the lead with the company that invented the computer animated feature. It was a match made in heaven, or at least Neverland. But, I was as shocked and dismayed as many fans of the medium when Disney made a rather abrupt decision to close down its hand-drawn animation studios. There was plenty of rancor from the move and more than a few talented artists suddenly without jobs. It appeared that the Mouse House had traded one legacy in to acquire another. And so it looked as if we would never again see the wonderful marvels of a hand-drawn Walt Disney creation. Ah, but we all forgot. Disney is in the fairy tale business, after all. And like every good story, just as it looks like the villain has triumphed and all hope is gone, a white horse bearing a hero can never be far behind.
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. There is certainly an element of a parable to this film in particular. It is not at all unlike the biblical tale of Job. Don't look for higher meaning in this tale of a man in search of a higher meaning. Instead, be prepared to become a fly on the wall in a life that is far from ordinary, yet anything but extraordinary.
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. But this film is very different from anything you've seen from the Madea character, or honestly out of any of Tyler Perry's previous film projects.
When the film begins, it looks like it's going to be another haphazard Madea adventure. She's asleep in her bed when she hears a crashing sound downstairs. Someone done broke into Madea's house. You're already starting to feel sorry for the crooks. That is, until we find out they are three young children. Apparently their parents are dead, and they've been living with their grandma, but she's been AWOL for over four days. Madea does the only thing she can. She feeds the kids, much to the discontent of Perry's other alter ego, her husband Joe. "You feed them and they keep comin' back," he warns. Once she's heard their heartwarming tale, she takes them to their Aunt April (Henson). April is working as a singer at a local nightclub but is ruining her own life on booze and an abusive relationship. Madea comes knockin' while she's trying to sleep and lays the bad news on the wannabe star. April's got no room in her life for three kids, and on top of that, her church has sent over a homeless Mexican named Sandino (Rodriguez) who needs a place to stay and can pay by doing jobs around the house. We all know from the beginning that grandma’s not coming back, so I'm not really spoiling anything for you there. April will be faced with making some changes in her life, both for the kids and for herself. It's through music and faith, and a little help from Sandino, that she manages to open her heart to her new family.
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. 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 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.
However, it wasn't really the location along with its harsh weather conditions that caused this film the most trouble. The script was plagued from the beginning with several drafts and many writers. There were so many hands in the stew that lawsuits went on for some time afterwards, leading to several writers getting a paycheck they otherwise weren't getting. I've heard that as many as 12 people had a pass at the script in some form or another. Actor Christopher Walken was set to play the bad guy in the film but left the production just before shooting began. You will also notice that the film is dedicated to Wolfgang Gullich. Gullich was one of the best stunt climbers in the business. He did a lot of those climbs where you see a character without a harness or safety line. He managed to achieve all of this quite safely, only to be killed in an automobile accident in August of 1992, almost a year before the film actually opened. Finally, the film was forced to acknowledge that the harness which is seen to malfunction in the film’s opening scene was rigged to fail and that the actual harness was quite safe. All in all it was a troubled film from start to finish. It did get a lot of hype from Sony and went on to bring in a respectable $85 million at the domestic box office, but it was a much larger hit overseas pulling in almost $200 million. It's still considered much more of a hit in Europe than it has ever been in America.
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