Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 26th, 2018
Like so many others, when I read the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline I simply fell in love with the nostalgic ride through the 80’s, all thanks to a virtual reality world called The Oasis. From start to finish it was a book filled with pop culture references that would make film and video game geeks squeal with delight, and it was no surprise that the book was a hit and would be turned into a film. There were only two names I could think of that could ever come close to making this film a reality: Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. With Spielberg involved, he was the only person I could imagine who had the clout to get all the licensing rights needed to pull this adaption, but still the biggest question I had was, does Spielberg still have it in him? I’m not questioning the man’s talent, but instead it’s the magic and wonder he would bring to his films, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, to Jurassic Park, where he could get us to believe the fantastic and impossible was real while we sat in a dark auditorium watching his film.
The Oasis is an open virtual reality world like nothing we have ever seen before, but with how our technology is developing it is quickly becoming a possibility for things to come. There are worlds and planets within The Oasis where you can be in constant battles to win coins, or go to exotic places for a vacation. It’s a world where you can be whatever you want and experience just about anything you want. Basically think about Westworld, but on steroids. The creator of this world is Halliday (Mark Rylance) who before dying announced to all of The Oasis that he created an Easter Egg hidden somewhere in The Oasis, and whoever was to find it would gain sole control of The Oasis and all of Halliday’s fortune.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on July 18th, 2018
by Ian Delia
Another one of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s movies is now raising the bar. This new motion picture is filled with intense action. There isn't only shooting and fighting, but there are also new, but unusual, animals. From smaller, slightly lethal, animals into giants of terror with their mission is to take over the world to please their master. All the power of endless destruction is controlled by Claire Wyden, who is played by Malin Akerman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 13th, 2018
“This may very well be our last mission, Ethan…make it count.”
You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but Tom Cruise was 53 years old when he did this film. So it’s only natural to wonder how many more Missions the indomitable superstar has left in him. Well, if Rogue Nation is any indication, the above quote is meant to be more winking than prophetic. Just like its tireless star, the fifth installment of the 19-year-old Mission: Impossible film franchise is spryer, tighter, and more energetic than its age might suggest with the sixth just about to drop at the box office.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 12th, 2018
You might call me jaded, but I am pretty disappointed by the state of horror movies. It's not just the last few years. The truth is I haven't seen 10 really good horror movies in over a decade. Now that I've had a chance to see A Quiet Place, that number isn't going up. A Quiet Place is not a really good horror movie. It ends up making a lot of the same mistakes that filmmakers think define a horror film in the modern age. It relies too heavily on jump scares and characters who do some of the most idiotic things, thus placing them in a somewhat self-created dangerous situation. But I will make the argument that A Quiet Place is still a pretty good horror film because of a rather clever and unique concept and a filming process that allows us care for these characters more than the usual horror film red-shirt fodder that too often leaves me rooting for the monster in a Darwin-like weed-out-the-gene-pool kind of way.
The film takes place in a near-future that newspapers place at about 2020. It's now day 86. We are now in the familiar post-apocalyptic world of deserted streets and a family of characters scrounging through the derelict buildings for scraps on which to survive. The difference here is that this family, a husband and wife with three young kids, are going out of their way to remain as completely silent as possible. They communicate strictly through sign language and walk on bare feet to avoid the sounds of footsteps. Each move is carefully calculated to avoid even the careless sound of placing a pill container on a counter. Silence is golden, and before the title card is revealed, we discover the reason for all of this care. The Earth has been invaded by creatures that are blind but with heightened hearing ability. They hunt strictly by sound and move at lightning speed toward any sound and attack with razor-like appendages. These attacks are over in a second, and the viewer is left with graphic evidence that in this future world, silence isn't golden; it's survival.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 27th, 2018
“Run, Forrest, run!”
Forrest Gump is one of the most beloved films to be released in the past 25 years. The movie received critical love (to the tune of 6 Oscars, including the Academy Award for Best Picture) and commercial love (this was the highest-grossing film of 1994) upon its release. For better and worse, Gump can be seen as a reflection of its good-natured, dim-witted hero: it's a classic example of heart triumphing over head. Time — and, specifically, the internet — hasn't been nearly as kind to Gump as it has to several other films released the same year, but the movie endures thanks to some unforgettable sights, sounds, and a miraculous lead performance.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2018
"Who is Jack Reacher? Born Jack, not John. No middle name. He's a ghost. Served in the military police. A brilliant investigator, troublemaker, too. And two years ago he disappears. You don't find this guy unless he wants to be found."
We've found him. The character of Jack Reacher comes from a series of thriller novels written by Lee Child. From the very start you know that this is going to be a different kind of Jack Reacher than fans have come to know and love from the books. He’s described as being 6' 5’’ and about 250 pounds. Tom Cruise doesn't really fit any of those description elements. He does, however, fit two very important descriptive elements when it comes to Hollywood. He's still a big name and a pretty reliable box office draw. He also put up some of his own cash to produce the movie. Now that's how you get cast for a part very physically different from yourself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 19th, 2018
When Pacific Rim first came out, I had a blast with the film. It was the ultimate giant-monster-versus-giant-robot film that my inner ten-year-old has wanted to see for so long. Sure, the film had some dialog issues, but the world that Guillermo del Toro created with the film was so over-the-top and beautiful that the bad dialog was easy to forget. It knew what it was, brainless eye candy, and it delivered in a big way. Now we have the sequel coming out; del Toro is no longer at the helm, and in his place we have Steven S. DeKnight whose previous directorial efforts have been episodes from Daredevil and Dollhouse. Does the sequel hold up? Well, to put it bluntly, not even close.
John Boyega has been an actor I’ve appreciated since I first saw him in Attack the Block. Seriously, if you haven’t seen Attack the Block yet, stop wasting time and see this immediately. While I’ve enjoyed seeing him in the new Star Wars films, I just feel he’s an actor who hasn’t gotten the appreciation he deserves, and for a while when I saw he was going to be in Pacific Rim: Uprising I had hopes that this could be the film that put him over the top. He comes into Uprising playing Jake, the son of the famed hero of the jaeger/kaiju Stacker Pentecost who was played by Idris Elba. He wants nothing to do with that legacy and instead has become a thief in the world that is still in ruins from the kaiju attacks that occurred ten years prior. It’s while he is trying to steal tech from an old jaeger that he runs into Amara (Cailee Spaeny), who is stealing jaeger tech of her own so she can finish building one herself. The two, though, are eventually caught, and instead of serving jail time the powers that be decide to send them to Top Gun…I mean jaeger training. How this makes any sense is a stretch at best, but this is a movie about monsters the size of skyscrapers, so logic I suppose should really be left at the ticket counter.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 14th, 2018
For some reason, adapting video games into good films has been the nut Hollywood just can’t seem to crack. The Resident Evil series has been successful, but I wouldn’t say it really holds up to the game. Personally, Silent Hill has been the only adaption I’ve really enjoyed, and that film has divided fans as well. As for the Tomb Raider franchise that kicked off in 2001, sure, it had some fun sequences. And with Angelina Jolie becoming a hot commodity at the time, it’s not too much of a surprise that it did well at the box office. Now 17 years later, the time has come for Tomb Raider to get a makeover and work its way through the reboot machine. This is a reboot, though, I don’t mind; after all, the video game gave its featured character a makeover and decided to tell the story of a much younger Lara Croft. As for the film, how did it do as it followed the game’s footsteps by casting a younger actress to fill the role?
Tomb Raider is kind of a big deal for Warner Bros. Sure, they kicked in a lot of money for this film, but, more importantly, this was obviously a potential tentpole franchise that they hoped to squeeze several sequels out of. Because of the franchise potential, it is no surprise that they would cast a younger talent for the role of Lara Croft, and for me Alicia Vikander is great choice. For those unfamiliar with Vikander, I simply can’t recommend Ex Machina enough. Is she Angelina Jolie? No, but that’s okay; times have changed, and, instead of sexualizing the role, we get a more grounded and relatable take on the character.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 13th, 2018
“A straight line…you just go, and you never…look…back.”
Well, I hope you’re ready to have everything you know about the Terminator franchise turned on its head. As a franchise known for his alternative timelines where the things we come to know are often turned around, my previous statement may sound like the usual bread and butter to you. However, I must say that I feel like the latest incarnation of the franchise, Terminator Genisys, has really outdone itself this time. As far as reboots go, this may be one of the best that I have seen in quite some time as we are introduced to a completely new cast (well, almost completely new cast) portraying characters already near and dear to our hearts. Terminator Genisys was an action-packed experience sure to leave the audience entertained.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 29th, 2018
The film is based on a series of books that I had never read, and from what I understand the film takes many liberties with the storyline and characters. As his sophomore effort behind the camera, there were high expectations for what Garland would do, and the result I believe is one of the most divisive films I’ve seen in a while. This is the kind of film that gets me excited for the future of cinema, not just because I loved the film, but I love the conversation it can provoke with other filmgoers.
The film has a non-linear narrative; really, this is my only complaint, since it opens virtually where our story is nearing its end. While I usually don’t have a problem with this kind of storytelling, I’m annoyed by it this time around, because all the suspense around the survival of our lead is stripped away. The film still manages to squeeze in some head-spinning surprises at the end, so I can easily put my one measly complaint aside.
