Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2020
"I'm a consulting detective of some repute. Perhaps you've heard of me? My name is Sherlock Holmes."
In 1887, readers of the popular periodical Beeton’s Christmas Annual were to receive quite a special treat. There wasn’t much fanfare or hype to the event. Inside the pages of the magazine was a story called A Study In Scarlet. It was a detective story, perhaps like many published before, except for the detective himself, a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Together with his faithful companion and chronicler Dr. Watson, Holmes would win the hearts of those holiday readers. It might have been an ordinary day, but the world was about to change. Sherlock Holmes would become the most famous detective in the world. His stories would remain in print nearly 130 years later. Over 100 films would be made featuring the character. There would be television shows and cartoon spoofs. No other character has appeared in more productions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 11th, 2020
“Mr. Holmes, you must widen your gaze. I’m concerned you underestimate the gravity of coming events. You and I are bound on a journey that will twist the very fabric of nature. But beneath your mask of logic, I sense a fragility. That worries me. Steel your mind. Holmes. I need you.
This was quite possibly my favorite scene from the movie, as it perfectly exemplified the journey that the character was about to embark on. This monolog was perfectly delivered by the film’s villain played by Mark Strong and could be seen as the battle cry for Robert Downey Jr.’s Holmes. With an original story from Producer Lionel Wignam, this reimagining of the beloved characters thrust us into the action right away with Holmes hot on the trail of a killer. Hired to find a kidnapped girl, Holmes locates her and prevents her from being sacrificed for a dark arts ritual. Capturing the mastermind, Lord Henry Blackwood (Mark Strong), Holmes forgoes the credit as per usual.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 10th, 2020
"How do you guys change so fast?"
Welcome to what has become known as The Arrowverse. It's the common name used to describe the DC Universe as it is presented and maintained on television, primarily those shows featured on the CW. It's named after the first of those shows to hit the air: Arrow. That world has been steadily expanding to the point where it began to include each of the shows as they arrived on the network. On The Flash that expansion went on to include older television shows that featured DC characters, in that case the 1990's series The Flash. Now that universe is growing to include the films both past and present and was reaching a point where it might all collapse under its own weight. It might have just been too much to handle as the comic-friendly concept of a multi-verse is used to explain these various incarnations of characters and events. It could get confusing, and that's exactly what started to happen in the DC comics in the 1980's.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 9th, 2020
“Hey, You Guys!”
It was the summer of 1985 when my mom took me to see The Goonies, I remember standing in front of the movie theater and staring at the poster on display with a little nervousness and wonder. I was only five, and I simply had no concept about what I was about to watch. I remember this day fondly, because this was the day I fell in love with cinema, though it would take me a few more years to wrap my head around these emotions. I had seen movies before this, but the experience of seeing The Goonies simply floored my imagination, and it inspired me to want to know more about pirates, lost treasure, and all the possible adventures one could have. As I’ve gotten older, despite how many movies I’ve seen, this is one that will always remain as one of my all-time favorite films. For those 30 or older who still haven’t seen The Goonies, well, I feel bad for you; you’ve missed out on a cinematic treasure that stands among the other classic films of the 80’s like Back to the Future, ET, Gremlins, and Ghostbusters (sure, there are others I’m not listing, but I think you get the point). When Super 8 came along, then a little later Netflix put out Stranger Things, it started a small revival of the children-in-peril genre that flourished in the 80’s. Despite how good some of these nostalgic revivals have been, they still can’t capture the magic of The Goonies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 26th, 2020
"Events have been set into motion that you couldn't possibly understand."
If you're thinking of joining The Flash for the first time in season six, that's not going to work out so well for you. Hopefully you're a speed watcher, because you have five seasons to catch up on before you start in on this release. In fact, it's not just The Flash you might want to check out. The Arrowverse DC shows will become more interconnected in this season than they ever have before. It's all leading to the end of Arrow, the beginning of Batwoman, and a five-part crossover that will blow your mind. This is without question the best show in the Arrowverse television family and has been since the day it aired. You're going to love what this series has cooking, but you need to start with getting yourself caught up in order to fully appreciate what is in store for you here. In addition to Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman, you can find out what we've had to say about The Flash. Check out our reviews of the previous five years here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 21st, 2020
"Trust me. This isn't the story I expected to be telling. But you know as well as I that stories, like the people who tell them, aren't always what they seem to be. I suppose I should start here, in Gotham. Three years ago when Batman mysteriously disappeared, it divided the city. Some hoped he'd be back; others figured he was dead. I thought he abandoned Gotham for the same reason he abandoned my family. Because he didn't care."
The Arrowverse is losing its founding member. The shortened 8th season of Arrow was its last. It was certainly time. The series was starting to literally fold back on itself, and it was time to move on. But that doesn't mean the universe it created is getting smaller. It's expanding. Batwoman joined the universe, and the huge crossover this season and Superman & Lois is about to join next season. There are no empty spaces around this table, at least not for long. Enter Kate Kane, played by Ruby Rose. It's a character almost as old as the Batman himself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 21st, 2020
t’s a bold move when a film wants to compare itself to an 80’s classic like The Goonies. If anything, it more closely resembles the 2007 film Disturbia, and that film borrowed heavily from Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Had this film stuck closer to the Hitchcock formula, I feel The Wretched could have easily been a stronger film, but the biggest problem the film has is that it tried to be too clever for its own good, and as a result it comes off a bit sloppy and contrived. That doesn’t mean that this is a bad film; in fact it’s a fun late-night romp, but what’s frustrating is seeing how it could have been so much more. While I know there was some buzz for this film earlier in the year, I’m kind of wondering if this buzz was generated by those who had actually seen the film or those who had only seen trailers? The film opens up with a young girl arriving at a house to babysit. It doesn’t take long for her to see that something is wrong at the home, and of course something is definitely going on in the basement. This is our first introduction to the skin-walking, body-modifying witch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 12th, 2020
I remember when The Golden Compass came to theaters. I know I saw it because I was a projectionist and had to screen the print, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember anything about the film. Perhaps that’s why that when I first heard about HBO doing a TV series adaption of the beloved book series His Dark Materials that I wasn’t all that thrilled. I’d never read the young adult series, and considering the amount of awful YA film and TV adaptations that have bombarded us for nearly two decades, it too played a role in squashing any excitement I may have had in different circumstances. To be fair, when presented the offer to review the series, the odds were stacked against it, though I do attempt to always give a show or film an unbiased chance when I sit down with it. I feel it’s important I say all this because I want to express just how blindsided I was by this show and its story. Although its target audience with its books may be young adult, by the time the credits of the last episode rolled for its first season I found myself not just engaged with the story, but I had quickly grown attached to these characters and their story in a way I haven’t experienced since perhaps the first season of Stranger Things.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 26th, 2020
It continues to amaze me how Warner Brothers does so well with their DC products in the television universe but manages to execute so poorly with their films. Despite being a bit formulaic, the CW DC shows are still a blast to watch, but it’s the more adult-oriented shows Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing that have left me most impressed. Now they have released Pennyworth for the Starz Network. Despite the confidence I have in the other shows, I went into this one with cautious optimism. The biggest question that bothered me was do we need another series that delves into the Batman universe? Gotham recently wrapped up, there’s a Batwoman series, Joker was last year, and a new Batman film coming next year, not to forget all the other incarnations of the Dark Knight. What had me interested, though, is the notion of finally getting to see Alfred Pennyworth as the former SAS officer in his prime and the chance to see how he became entangled with the Wayne family. Was the series a letdown or yet another success for the DC television universe?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 2nd, 2020
"This is this. This ain't something else. This is this."
When it comes to picking “the greatest Vietnam War film” it’s one of those arguments that can get pretty heated with fans of cinema. Platoon, Apocalypse Now, and The Deer Hunter are typically the three I tend to hear named the most, as for me it has always been The Deer Hunter, not just because of its intense portrayal of the war but because of the journey it sets us on, a journey so profound I can easily say it’s one of the best films ever made. I don’t feel like I’m saying anything bold after all it did win Best Picture in 1978 as well as several other Oscars that year. It’s a film though that every time I sit down and watch it, the experience manages to impact me in a way I’m never quite ready for. I first saw it when I was a teenager, didn’t know anything other than it had Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken, I didn’t know what to expect and by the time it ended I was floored. Everything from the visual scope of the film, the intensity of the violence, the performances, I was maybe 14 and didn’t quite have a grasp for what epic cinema could be but after watching The Deer Hunter it became the film I’d hold others up to this standard. It is now decades later and Shout Factory has gone through the process of restoring the film and released it in 4K, how does it hold up after all this time?
