Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 16th, 2012
Somehow, I should have known that when my wife started to read the Twilight Series, I would eventually get dragged into watching the movies. The first one, I probably saw three times, the second one, only once. The interesting thing was that my wife was turned off by the movies and I am not sure I remember how the third one ended up. But low and behold, the fourth chapter of the series did not escape my grasp. Not because of my wife, but because of my webmaster knowing I am a glutton for punishment. Enter Breaking Dawn.
Remember kids, this is part one. The new thing in this day and age is if you are adapting a book to film and really want to place emphasis on that last book, you release it in parts. This is two fold, one there is usually a lot of information that needs to get onto screen (since books are more detailed than movies) and two, everybody involved wants to milk the cash cow at least one more time than they would normally be allowed. This only works by the way if the movie is ultra successful. See Harry Potter, and now of course Twilight.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 15th, 2012
Mexico's most powerful crime lord, Julian Perez, wishes to redeem himself in his mother's eyes. Her wish is for him to find his estranged younger brother and return him home to Mexico. Julian agrees before knowing that his brother has been taken hostage while he was serving with the US Army in Iraq. A misfit team of mercenary types are assembled to infiltrate Iraq and fulfill Julian's vow to his mother.
The characters in this film all look like caricatures of 1970s cop movie characters merged with hipster cowboys. Obviously a team of warriors that look this unusual could only exist in a comedy. And indeed, this film is billed as an action-packed comedy. Though I fear that much of the more subtle humour is lost in translation for me as I found most of gags existed in the aforementioned costuming of the characters. Then again, not all was lost on me. Some of the gags, both physical and verbal, were effective. In fact, I am particularly partial to the reoccurring joke about their chosen war cry of “Tomatoes!”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 15th, 2012
Back when I reviewed the original Blu-ray/DVD combo release, I said that those wanting special features should wait for the inevitable double-dip. Well, here it is, and so loaded with features that they get a Blu-ray to themselves.
Following the events of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the Autobots are working hand-in-mechanical-glove with human authorities (in other words, the apparently all-powerful CIA), keeping close watch for Deception activity, but also helping out in human-on-human conflicts. Meanwhile, Shia LaBeouf has traded in improbably hot girlfriend Megan Fox for the equally improbable Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (an improbability that the script does have some fun with). He is also out of work and dismayed at not being given due consideration as a saviour of the planet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 20th, 2012
The Paranormal Activity franchise steps back in time for this third entry, revealing how and why sisters Katie and Kristi come to suffer demonic assaults later in life. We are back in 1988. The blended family of mother Julie (Lauren Bittner), daughters Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) and stepfather Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith) are settling in to life together when the first odd things start happening.
Wedding video producer Dennis is the first to suspect the outright paranormal, and sets up cameras upstairs and down to capture events. Ominously, little Kristi has an imaginary friend, Toby, who, in proper Captain Howdy style, reveals himself to be all too real. What is he saying to Kristi? What does he want of her? Answers are forthcoming, and they are not reassuring.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 28th, 2011
When I was a kid, I read a lot of books. The most fond tales of my youth include Sword of Shannara (Terry Brooks), Dear Mr. Henshaw (Beverly Clearly), Charlotte’s Web (EB White) and Mr. Popper’s Penguins (Richard & Florence Atwater). Each one of those books holds special memories and I’ve read each of them at least a few times. Today, we get to explore another one of those treasured books in film form. Enter, Mr. Popper’s Penguins.
It is the year 1976, we have a very young Tom Popper Jr. who is simply known as Tippy Toe on the radio. His father on the other side of the broadcast is known as Bald Eagle and he travels around the world in search of various adventures. They communicate for a long time over the radio but sometimes have lapses (such as the one from 1976-1981) where Bald Eagle does not make contact for the longest time. The last transmission was that he was on the verge of something big. That was unfortunately thirty years ago.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 7th, 2011
By proxy, I get to see a lot of Tyler Perry movies. Whether it would be a review for this site or perhaps my wife wanting to see something with Madea, I have seen just about every movie the director has put out there. Most of the time I found myself laughing quite a bit but sometimes his movies find themselves a bit preachier than I can tolerate. But what would I think of a Tyler Perry play? Well, I found out the answer when I watched: A Madea Christmas.
We open to a rendition of Oh Come All Ye Faithful. I guess I should expect lots of singing in this one. The stage re-opens as we see Lilian Mansell (played by Chandra Currelley Young) lecturing Margaret (played by Cheryl Pepsii Riley) her maid. It seems that Margaret wants to go home to see her family on Christmas but Lilian needs her to help around the house. It appears that Lilian’s daughter, China is bringing home a man this holiday season.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 28th, 2011
It is 1979. While filming a Super 8 horror movie, a group of young friends on the cusp of adolescence witness a spectacular train wreck. They later discover that they accidentally captured evidence that there was an alien creature on the train, and it is now loose in their small town. But if the mysterious disappearance of dogs, engines and (increasingly) people wasn’t trouble enough, the military descends upon the community with an agenda far more merciless and inhuman than that of the alien itself.
I was 12 in 1979, and I was shooting Super 8 monster movies, so I get the nostalgia that writer/director J.J. Abrams is going for here, and this is an utterly unapologetic exercise in nostalgia. Abrams is is out to recreate the experience of a Spielberg movie from that era, and with the man himself acting as producer, the mission is accomplished. Super 8 plays like the Lost Spielberg Movie, with all the wonder, thrills, and sentimentality one would expect. There is so much here that works beautifully. The young cast is terrific, the dialogue crackles, the effects are spectacular, and the creature is both menacing and sympathetic, like some unholy version of ET reworked by H.P. Lovecraft.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 11th, 2011
In the 1980’s, I feasted on a bevy of animation growing up. I watched typical cartoon shows like Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Voltron. Honestly, my habits were to watch every piece of animation that came across in those days at least once. Yes, even the Care Bears. But sadly despite all of that, I completely missed some great ones. One of those truly great ones was the Robotech series. Now, with an 85 episode behemoth of a complete series set, I get a chance to rectify that grave injustice.
Robotech originally ran March of 1985 in the United States. It had started out as a Japanese series and then Harmony Gold USA came in, reworked the dialog and content so that they could sell it to stations in the US as first-run syndication. However, Harmony tried hard to include most of the complexity and drama of the source material. Producer Carl Macek supervised the proceedings and the sweeping epic was born. The show did very well and had attracted a more mature audience that was not expected.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 7th, 2011
“The mind is like a labyrinth in which anyone can get lost.”
The debut film from Mexican director Fernando Barredo Luna, Atrocious is yet another entry into the “found footage” genre. This is a niche where you either enjoy the handheld bouncy ride or you don’t (or if you have motion sickness, you can’t). I, for one, quite like this style of horror. With video cameras in our phones, tablets, computers, cars, and appliances as well as security cameras recording our every move 24 hours a day; the media sources for these stories are endless. The “found footage” genre really captures the YouTube viral zeitgeist. If done right, these films can easily suspend your disbelief, tricking your brain into believing what it is seeing is real and the horror we witness feels more real and immediate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2011
"That be the cold hand of fate I feel down my nape."
With each of the previous Pirates Of Caribbean films pulling in over a billion dollars in total revenue, it was indeed the cold hand of fate that determined the franchise would not end. Like Captain Jack Sparrow himself, this franchise isn't going to be easy to kill. It's true that the last two films, the third in particular, were rather universally scorned by the critics. But they still pulled in a boatload of money and quite honestly weren't near as bad as all of that. Like the theme park attraction that the franchise was named after, you have to consider these movies as rides. The only intention is to entertain. And by all accounts they've been doing a pretty good job of that for several years now. Even when the rest of the supporting cast bowed out of the franchise, it isn't finished yet, and there's no indication that the voyage is nearing its end any time soon.
