Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2014
"Spartacus' mongrel horde has swelled with each passing victory since Glaber's defeat at Vesuvius. They added thousands to rank liberating the mines of Lucania. Slaves across the Republic, humble and grateful to their masters for so many years, have broken to treachery in the wake of the ever-expanding legend of Spartacus."
Starz has had a pretty good run with their Spartacus series. Coming off the style of blood and violence that was popularized with Zach Snyder's 300, Spartacus brought that comic book/graphic novel intensity to television.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2014
"It's like Prohibition never happened but for one thing. Prices will increase twenty-fold. We got a product a fellah's gotta have. Even better is that, we got a product he ain't allowed to have."
The fourth season of Boardwalk Empire began pretty much the only way it could have after the bloodbath that ended the previous season. It was an explosive season that delivered the best gangland war in television history. Now there has to be some kind of peace or at least status quo after the end of the violence. Nucky is making his peace with Arnold Rothstein and his people. He also owes Chalky White for saving his behind when war broke out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2014
"Welcome to the SyFy Channel."
OK, not really. Revolution aired on sister network NBC, both part of the Universal family. Usually the sibling resemblances are not very visible. Revolution, however has all the elements of a typical SyFy Channel series. These shows almost always start with strong source material or a crazy but clever idea.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2014
"Hi, little guys."
There was a time, decades ago when Walt Disney Studios was doing quality documentaries on a pretty regular schedule. Many of them appeared on the television show The Wonderful World Of Disney, and more than a few were released as feature films. And while that tradition has continued somewhat, it's been a while since I was truly impressed by a Disney documentary. That all changes with the release of Bears.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 11th, 2014
Need for Speed is based on a video game. It caters to people who love the experience of speed. There is a huge audience for this sort of thing. To their credit, the writer and director makes every effort to create an actual story and real characters in this presentation. It is easy to compare it to Fast and Furious, but why bother. That gives these sorts of films too much credit. Fast and Furious and Need for Speed are designed to give people a thrill. If anything, Need for Speed takes things more seriously than the Fast and Furious series.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 25th, 2014
When the first Wolf Creek was released it was one of those films that had a lot of hype around it, and when I got around to watching it, I dug it. It’s one of those films where the more I’ve watched it the more I’ve gotten to appreciate it, not just for its gore, but the film has a solid story, and I appreciated that the film at no time allows you to get too comfortable. At any moment a character could be brutally murdered. It’s the character of Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) who could equally make me smile with his crude outback charm or make me squirm with uneasiness the moment his hands took hold of a weapon.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 11th, 2014
“You’re not just an analyst anymore. You’re operational now.”
Witness the birth of -- actually make that rebirth of --one of the most popular action heroes in literature. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has been a character of many jobs and many faces over the years. Baldwin, Ford, and Affleck have all stepped into the role of the man who has been a soldier, an analyst, an operative, and a president. Now Chris Pine looks to fill the shoes left behind by some of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 3rd, 2014
What makes us human? That is the primary theme of Robocop, the remake of the 1987 film of the same name. The 1987 film was a huge blockbuster success, spawning two sequels, and no doubt that is the hope for the remake at the very least. Joel Kinnaman steps into the suit made famous by Peter Weller, and he is not the only big name to grace the film: Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, and Jackie Earle Haley, as well as the great Gary Oldman playing the doctor who made Robocop possible: with such a top-notch cast, how could the project fail?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 21st, 2014
Most action pictures have an aura of super-seriousness, or they are filmed as comedies and everything is meant to be ridiculous. It definitely is a difficult task to mix the two effectively. On some level most action pictures are ridiculous, since most of us will never experience the close proximity to death and danger that is depicted on the screen. Also, life and death are often cheapened with high body counts but little consequence for our hero. In 3 Days To Kill, all sorts of elements are brought to bear in order to reinforce the average everyday family experience and not the lone killer.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2014
"This is the story of a man who won by choosing love over fame, fortune and countless adventures..."
Danny McBride managed in inhabit the role of Kenny Powers to such an extent I do appear to have trouble keeping them separate. Now the countless adventures continue for McBride who is going to have to get us all to see him in a new light as he leaves troubled Powers behind and moves on to other things. For fans it's a bittersweet goodbye to Eastbound & Down. The final episodes have aired and now they are available on this 2-disc Blu-ray swansong.
