Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2026
"Man will always be a man. There is no new man. We tried so hard to create a society that was equal, where there'd be nothing to envy your neighbor. But there's always something to envy. A smile, a friendship, something you don't have and want to appropriate. In this world, even a Soviet one, there will always be rich and poor. Rich in gifts, poor in gifts. Rich in love, poor in love."
For many, Saving Private Ryan has been the measure of the perfect war film in the modern era. Without question the Steven Spielberg film is a milestone in depicting battle on the screen. But I’m going to make the possibly unpopular statement that Enemy At The Gates is a better film, and the standard by which war films should now be measured. The movie is at least almost as good technically as Private Ryan. There are battle scenes that offer the same caliber of shocking reality. And even if this movie falls a little short of the technical marvel that Private Ryan was, this movie captures the human element of war time in a way I hadn’t seen before or since.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2026
"Fado. Fado. Long, long ago, deep in the woods there was a small stone hut. And inside the stone hut there lived an old Cailleach, a witch. Preying upon the lost, the evil old crone would first put the doomed travelers under her spell, leaving them as dazzled and vulnerable as lamplit game. The witch would shackle her stunned prey before taking them on a tour of the underworld. And sometimes a hand or a claw would reach out from the dark and tear a piece from these at the end of her chain. Pluck out an eye. Peel off an ear. And sometimes they took something from a little boy that was more valuable to him than his eyes or his ears. Any guesses which part of you that might be?"
That's just the perfect start for the latest folk horror story from the writer/director of Oddity and the lesser Caveat. Of course, I'm talking about young writer/director Damien McCarthy. He seems to have a thing for one-word titles, because his latest scare comes in the form of Hokum out on UHD Blu-ray and 4K from Neon and Alliance Entertainment. It's a refreshing effort that delivers a nice story complete with the kind of atmosphere that pulls you into the dark tale. He doesn't fall to the temptation of the cheating jump scare, and the result is well-worth the pick-up.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2026
Writer Andy Weir has a bit of a predictable science fiction style that has already struck box office gold. His novel The Martian was directed by the iconic Ridley Scott and starred Matt Damon as a lone astronaut stranded on the planet Mars. Weir's stories have a common theme that mankind might find the answers that confound us on Earth out there among the planets and the stars. Fans of that kind of hopeful science fiction won't be disappointed when they encounter Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's adaptation of another one of Weir's hopeful space stories called Project Hail Mary. The duo have been noted for their work in the Sony Spider-verse films and have most experience with animated features. Their work on Project Hail Mary should elevate them deservedly in the world of live-action science fiction with this recent release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 9th, 2026
“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”
Wow, of all the things that I expected to see in a movie starring Hollywood powerhouses like Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, nothing could have prepared me for the subject of The Drama. I’m no stranger to a movie catching me off guard, but this one was in a whole other stratosphere when came to taking me by surprise. This is a movie that will be talked about for quite some time in my opinion, because it is not afraid to address a very serious issue, one that could have easily had this movie condemned. However, the handling of the subject is really thought-provoking and asks some really pertinent questions regarding relationships. Such as, can you forgive someone for the worst thing that has ever done, or in the case of this film, what they considered doing? Now had I been in Zendaya’s shoes, you couldn’t have waterboarded that information out of me, but that would have made for a pretty lame movie. In the case of this film,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 2026
"Take a deep breath in ... and exhale. Inhale. And exhale. Notice the beat of your heart. The rhythm of life. You hold the power to create all that you desire out of nothing. What do you see? What do you feel? Remember that there is great power within you. And that power will guide you in your journey. Today is a beautiful day of opportunity. I am exactly where I need to be. I open myself to the universe and trust in the unfolding of my life. This day will bring you peace and an opportunity for success. Feel this moment. Have a beautiful rest of your day."
Isn't that pretty? Isn't that just inspiring? Now do me a favor. Forget all of that, and let's talk about the Amazon/MGM home video release of Crime 101. It's really about three characters trying to navigate the craziness that is each of their lives, but none of that Tony Robbins crap is going to make it any better. Now, that's very fortunate for us, because this would have been a very short and very boring film if any of this had worked on any of our characters.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 2026
"10 years ago I made the biggest mistake of my life. I should have protected my sister, but I panicked and ran. It was the last time I saw her. That F**'er survived. Maria got put back in his custody . I got caught, eventually. Now it's time to make things right."
Writer/director Krill Sokolov got his start in his native Russia with a film called Why Don't YouJjust Die. I haven't seen any of his Russian films, but from what I can tell, They Will Kill You doesn't appear to far astray from his work there. They Will Kill You is his first American feature film, and it honestly shows some originality and has the power to hold your attention for the perfectly timed 94 minute horror film. Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has now released the bloody film on UHD Blu-ray giving us the advantage of seeing the film in 4K.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 10th, 2026
“Hello, Sidney. Did you miss me? Nice little town you found, you and your pretty daughter. Reminds me of where we grew up.”
Honestly, after the last film, in which the creators broke the tradition that the three O.G. characters (Sidney, Gale, and Dewey) always made it to the final credits, I thought was going to be the end for the franchise after all. Because if there was one thing I knew, which had held true for five films, was that those three were not to be touched. So when the powers that be made the decision to kill off David Arquette’s character (I know I shouldn't be revealing spoilers; however, if you haven’t seen the previous film, you shouldn't be reading a review for its sequel, so sorry not sorry), I was of the opinion that there was nowhere else for the story to go.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 30th, 2026
"Why are you talking? Do you ever think about what you're gonna say or why you're speaking? Or do you just open your mouth and just blah blah blah blah blah? In about thirty seconds I'll be gone. We don't need to speak."
Die My Love is the latest film by director Lynne Ramsay whose best film is still We Need To Talk About Kevin. I say still is because Die My Love doesn't live up to the reputation. Ramsay was never quite a linear storyteller and this film is no exception. She loves to dabble in the subtle madness of a situation and here she does much more than dabble and while there are certainly attempts to be nuanced the film rages as out of control as her main character played by Jennifer Lawrence who takes a huge swing and a big chance here. It was the right idea but maybe not quite the right vehicle. Lawrence has been trying to distance herself from the Hunger Games franchise not because that wasn't good work
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 4th, 2026
“Stop filming me!”
Interestingly enough, this 2025 remake/adaptation is a more faithful reproduction of its source material than the 1987 version. The 1987 adaptation, while popular, took liberties when it came to the main character’s backstory and motivations, such as him being a wrongfully accused and convicted policeman who gets his shot at freedom by participating in a TV game show where convicts called Runners must battle killers for their freedom. In the 2025 remake, Ben Richards, now played by Glen Powell, is a blacklisted blue-collar worker living in dystopian anarchistic police state with his wife and infant Cathy. Unable to afford medicine for Cathy's influenza, Ben attends tryouts for the network's game shows, where his anger, misanthropy, and physical fitness see him selected for "The Running Man", their most popular and dangerous show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 26th, 2026
"In the year of our lord, Judea - for nearly a century - had lain under the mastery of Rome. In the seventh year of the reign of Augustus Caesar, an imperial decree ordered every Judean each to return to his place of birth to be counted and taxed. The converging ways of many of them led to the gates of their capital city, Jerusalem, the troubled heart of their land. The old city was dominated by the fortress of Antonia, the seat of Roman power, and by the great golden temple, the outward sign of an inward and imperishable faith. Even while they obeyed the will of Caesar, the people clung proudly to their ancient heritage, always remembering the promise of their prophets that one day there would be born among them a redeemer to bring them salvation and perfect freedom."
In the war going on between Paramount and Netflix over the purchase of Warner Brothers, I must admit I am on Paramount's side totally. If Netflix wins, you can kiss goodbye seeing films on physical media, and Warner's iconic cinematic past will just be eye candy for those 3-inch screens.
