Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 7th, 2013
"I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad."
One of the easiest ways to let your age show is to talk about your favorite video games. If you're old enough, you even remember a time when there weren't any video games at all. Most people refer to this era as The Dark Ages. But I'm willing to admit that I put a deposit down on an Atari 2600 system these many years ago. If you have a love of all things video games and a great appreciation for the history of the field, Wreck-It Ralph was built just for you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2013
Ever since Ben Affleck stepped behind the camera and took on the role of director, I’ve found myself not only becoming a fan of his work but believing the man has greatness ahead of him. When I first watched Gone Baby Gone, I was more than a little impressed; after all, it was his first time at the helm. But then Affleck released his follow-up film, The Town, and it blew me away. Sure, there were some great movies that came out that year, but the fact that it didn’t make the list of best picture nominees I just can’t understand. But with the release of Argo it would seem the Academy will have a chance to right that wrong and shower this film with plenty of adoration. Sure, this is pretty much a shoe-in for the best picture nomination, but not just because it’s great, but really, what is the competition?
There is a lot that I enjoyed, and dare I say loved, about the film. As the old Warner Bros. logo appeared on the screen I got a little excited. No time is wasted, thrusting us right into the middle of a protest growing out of hand, outside the US Embassy in Iran. The opening works great as the tension builds between the protestors and the Americans doing all they can to destroy all the confidential files they have on hand. With time running out before the embassy is over run, six Americans manage to escape taking refuge with the Canadian ambassador (Victor Garber).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 20th, 2013
"Were you expecting an exploding pen? We don't really go in for that sort of thing anymore."
It was 1962, and Ursula Andress emerged from the tropical island surf sporting a provocative swimsuit, and a tradition was born. The seductive scene would become the first iconic image in a line that has lasted a half a century and counting. Fifty years; 23 movies makes it the longest-running film franchise in motion picture history. He had many faces over those 50 years: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby, and even David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen in a 1967 spoof. For the last three films he's been played by Daniel Craig. They all had somewhat different styles. They all had a line of beautiful women. They all faced different challenges and foes. But they all shared the same name: Bond...James Bond.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 19th, 2013
“There’s a king in every corner now.”
Game of Thrones is definitely one of the best shows on TV right now, and it might be the most ambitious television series ever produced. Ambition and quality don’t always go hand in hand. (See, Cloud Atlas. No, seriously…watch it. I’m one of the people who really enjoyed that convoluted mess.) The second season of Game of Thrones — a massive undertaking that took its cast to Iceland and Croatia, in addition to its Belfast base — performed a minor miracle. It deepened, expanded and improved upon an already excellent show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2013
"All this has happened before and will all happen again. But this time it happened in London. It happened on a quiet street in Bloomsbury. That corner house is the house of the Darling family, and Peter Pan chose this particular house because these were people who believed in him..."
In 1953 with a little help from some Walt Disney magic, generations of children, and adults, of course, would learn to believe in the boy who never grew up. Peter Pan began in the imagination of writer J. M. Barrie. He appeared in a number of works from the Scottish author beginning in 1902 with The Little White Bird. The character had always been a favorite of Walt Disney himself, and it was originally intended as his second animated feature following Snow White. It became quickly apparent that the technology wasn't quite where he needed it to be to tell the story he wanted to tell. It was put on a shelf, but never forgotten. The rights to the character were willed to the children of a Children's Hospital in London, and it was from there that Walt managed to obtain the film rights for the animated feature we have today. Peter Pan has enjoyed success in pretty much every medium possible. There have been hugely popular stage productions where Peter was usually played by a woman. The character has appeared in film, music, comics, television, radio plays and, of course, printed form. He's an endearing and certainly enduring character who has now added high-definition Blu-ray to the list.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 6th, 2013
Can a scumbag also be considered a hero? Lance Armstrong fans probably mull that question each time a new, unsavory revelation about the now-disgraced cyclist comes to light. The issue was addressed in 1992’s Hero, which starred Dustin Hoffman as a low-life who saves a group of passengers on a crashed airplane. Flight also takes to the not-so-friendly skies to examine whether it’s possible to reconcile a lifetime of destructive behavior with an extraordinary act of valor.
You wouldn’t necessarily guess that from the film’s punchy trailer, which painted Flight as a cynical gloss on the Sully Sullenberger story. (The movie’s protagonist even has a similarly folksy, alliterative name: Whip Whitaker.) Instead, Flight is an R-rated drama that presents one of the most unflinching portrayals of drug and alcohol addiction you’re likely to ever see in a mass-appeal film from a big-time director and starring one of the world’s most famous movie stars.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 28th, 2013
Here’s the thing. Fans of the franchise should be pleased with the latest entry. The series has been a solid October tradition for some time now. When you consider the low cost of creating one of these films with the proven box office numbers, this was all really a no-brainer, to say the least. You’re going to get more of what you are expecting, and the film throws in enough new angles and tricks to keep the idea as fresh as possible. However, there is a flip-side to all of this. I don’t think it’s very likely that you can enjoy this film quite so fully if you have not seen any of the previous films. The history is of vital importance if you’re going to appreciate where all of this is going. That isn’t to say newcomers won’t be entertained. There are enough jumps and shocks to have a relatively good time. Still, if you haven’t gotten yourself caught up in the franchise’s mythology, you might want to make that effort before going to see this film. It was my intention to watch the first three again before I saw this one. I couldn’t find the time. I wish I had. I did see the first three films, and I still feel like I needed to refresh myself before the journey into number four. Alas, that was not meant to be, and this review will suffer somewhat because of that. I very strongly encourage you to take in the story so far before venturing to your local multiplex.
You say you don’t have the time either? Here’s a quick history lesson to get you caught up. You should be warned that here there be SPOILERS of the first three films:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2013
We've seen action films like Taken enough times that we've become a little immune to the formula. But then again, Liam Neeson wasn't your typical action figure, and so the movie was able to take audiences by surprise. It's not that Neeson hadn't already established himself as a fine actor. He just didn't fit the mold we are so used to seeing. Things have changed in the couple of years since Taken had its box office run. Neeson has now done more action films, and he's started to look more the part. The clever antics of the first film are now behind us, so a sequel isn't going to really be able to take us unaware again. And perhaps that, more than anything else, is the reason Taken 2 comes across as a bit of a disappointment.
The story itself is one of the most clever I've ever seen in an action film sequel. How many times do we watch an action hero rack up the body count in his or her quest to save the day? There's enough shooting in these films to give Uncle Joe Biden nightmares. Sequels come along and our hero is back in action against new bad guys. But what about the aftermath of the first film? Don't these guys have friends and family who might take it badly that they were killed? Of course they would, and Taken 2 starts with that very premise.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 23rd, 2013
Anytime a horror film is released with a religious element, I can’t help but be a little interested. The film that first won me over for this sub-genre was, of course, The Exorcist, and ever since seeing that film I keep hoping that one day a film will hold up to it in quality, but it seems I’ll be waiting a while. That’s not to say there haven’t been some good films to come out along the way. The Possession is one of those valiant attempts that brings something fresh to the genre but never quite reaches its full potential. Before going into this film I was familiar with the “true story” surrounding the Dibbuk box, and I’ve always felt if there was ever a story to rival The Exorcist or The Omen, it would revolve around this box. I don’t want to get into the history of the box because most of the story has little to do with the movie, and in my opinion that is part of the reason this film falls short of what could have been.
The film opens as an elderly woman approaches the cursed box to destroy it. Unfortunately for her the box knows what she is up to and punishes her for it. She is violently tossed around her living room as though she were nothing more than a rag doll; outside her son stands unaware of the punishment she is taking. It’s clear this unseen force is powerful, but what is it?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 8th, 2013
To his credit, Tim Burton has managed to keep the art of stop motion alive and well in Hollywood. He’s also proven that it can still be quite effective and just as commercial with such classics as A Nightmare Before Christmas. Since that time he’s had a modest number of hits and misses, but nothing that has come close to the holiday staple…until now. Frankenweenie is destined to become a Halloween tradition at our house, and I suspect I’m not alone.
Of course, Frankenweenie isn’t exactly a brand new idea. In 1984 Burton created a short film on the idea. It made the usual festival circuits and has shown up a couple of times as an extra on his more recent films. The original short certainly had its limitations, but it was a rather sweet little nugget that fans have been quietly enjoying for nearly 20 years. It’s actually a bit of a surprise that it’s taken the filmmaker this long to revisit the idea, but this time with a budget and running time geared for the mass audiences. Whatever the reasons for the delay, it was well worth the wait, particularly after Burton’s very disappointing take on Dark Shadows. While Frankenweenie might not completely redeem that colossal disappointment, it has gone a long way toward making me believe the filmmaker still has the wit and genius that have marked some of his earlier films.
