Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 10th, 2012
"December 7, 1972: Apollo 17, the final official lunar mission, lands on the moon. In 2011 eighty-four hours of classified footage is uploaded to www.lunartruth.com. This film was edited from that footage."
Yes, you get the picture. Apollo 18 is another "found footage" film that has populated the movie landscape since the time of The Blair Witch Project. Unlike that famed film, this movie did not go on to make any kind of box office history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on January 4th, 2012
“If you run, they catch you; if you don't run, they catch you.”
Just miles from one of the most glamorous cities in the world, Rio de Janeiro, resides a favela (slum) known as Cidade de Deus or City of God. The poor were routinely pulled off the streets of Rio and forced to live in squalor in this favela. For decades this hell hole was run by murderously corrupt police and street gangs. Like a roach motel, once you checked into the City of God
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 2nd, 2012
By John Delia
Slick, compelling, and gripping, Contagion uses the fright brought on by past outbreaks of deadly virus attacks around the world to punch home a ‘what if’ plot that succeeds in scaring the pants off accepting moviegoers. The recognizable actors save the plot from being hard to follow as it jumps from country to country in this thriller that ‘could actually happen’.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2011
By John Delia
Shattering, piercing, gut wrenching, queasy, bloody, gouging, bone breaking, mind blowing, and yet mesmerizing, that's what Final Destination 5 is all about, especially in 3D. This is one of those select few films that use 3D well, and it will blow your mind. If you have never seen a Final Destination movie or are a big fan of the guts and gore they deliver, then rush to see Final Destination 5, but do not go over a bridge on your way.
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 28th, 2011
The longest running show in prime time doesn’t feature cops, doctors, or lawyers. It’s hard to believe that The Simpsons have existed as long as the Fox network. While the series didn’t really begin until Fox’s second year, the characters were part of The Tracey Ullman Show, which did start the first year of Fox. Who could have guessed that an animated short from an otherwise horrible and doomed variety show would explode into such a phenomenon?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2011
It all started with a very short novel by French author Pierre Boulle. It wasn't even that much of a hit at first. But a small group of Hollywood moguls led by Arthur P. Jacobs believed in the property and worked hard to get a film made. It wasn't easy. They had to interest a big star and make a test reel in order to get anyone to bite. Fortunately for us all, Fox did bite. After five films, a television series, and a cartoon run, the franchise ran out of steam by the middle of the 1970's.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2011
"This film documents the Vietnam War in the words of Americans who served there. It features home movies and rare archival footage collected during a worldwide search and now presented in HD. Many scenes are graphic in nature. Viewer discretion is advised."
A while back History brought us one of the best war documentaries I've seen for television. That was called WWII In HD and put you as close to the real battlefield as any American has come since the brave soldiers who fought there so many years ago. The images were stunning and the descriptions came from the words of several people who were actually there.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 22nd, 2011
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the pre-eminent holiday fare success story. Not only was it gigantically successful for Dickens himself, to the point that not only did he then follow it up with other Christmas books (The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Haunted Man), but he also took charge of one of its early adaptations, trimming it down for oral performances. It has also, of course, been the subject of numerous film versions, with everyone from the Muppets to Bill Murray having a go. This one, from 1970, turns the story into a musical.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2011
By John Delia
At first look you may think that Margin Call is an extension of the film Wall Street, but as the film progresses I found a very good movie that really shows the effect of greed, contempt, lack of compassion, and survival of the fittest, no matter who gets squashed in the process. It’s like our economical climate these days; you never know when or where the next shoe will drop.