Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2010
For most of this last decade Mel Gibson might as well have vanished from the face of the planet. The once extremely popular actor had charmed the world. Women found his childish grin to be irresistibly sexy, and men bought into the “kick ass and crack a joke” style that made the Lethal Weapon films such a romp of fun. But lately, you expect him to be the subject of a “Where Are They Now” segment from a late show on television. It's no secret why Gibson climbed so quickly out of the public eye. I'm sure everyone still remembers the drunk-driving arrest where Gibson compounded his already serious case of bad judgment with even worse judgment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2010
I've seen quite a bit from Steven Seagal of late. There was his reality series from his deputy job, and many of his numerous catalog titles are finding their way to Blu-ray. All in all, it's a pretty good time to be a Steven Seagal fan. The latest of these earlier films to reach high definition is the 1990 entry Marked For Death. It pretty much follows the established Seagal formula here, combing martial arts with the vendetta theme, that he has come to personify for so long. It has a little of what the fans are looking for,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2010
"When I was young, about eight or so, I tried making friends with God by inviting Him to my house to watch the World Series. He never showed."
Jim Carroll was a promising young high school athlete. He was seduced into the dark nature of New York City's underbelly of drugs and violence. During his youth he was also an aspiring poet, who kept a poetic journal of his thoughts before, during, and after his slide into addiction. When he finally did manage to climb out of the hole and gain his sobriety, the entries became a popular piece of literature.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 10th, 2010
A short time ago I had the unexpected pleasure of watching and then reviewing Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself. I say unexpected, because I was looking for the typical Madea antics and ended up drawn into a compelling gospel musical that was inspirational and entertaining without ever feeling like I was sitting in mass listening to a long homily. Now I've just had the opportunity to see Stan Foster's The Preacher's Kid. There's no doubt that Foster has been inspired by the Black Theater productions of guys like Perry.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2010
"Most of the world's population has been wiped out by a virus. Civilization, as we know it, has come to an end. For the few survivors, every day is a fight for life. But sinister forces threaten their future."
Right from the opening credits, you can see that a lot has changed since 1975 and the original series. I'm guessing that my watching them back to back allows for even more dramatic notice of the changes. Everything is cleaner here. The production values are light-years away from what they were. Even the disc menus reflect the higher-tech edge of the 21st century production values.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 4th, 2010
These last couple of years have seen a resurgence of a particular kind of character study. For me I think it started with The Wrestler. For Mickey Rourke, it was a powerful comeback and led to an example of grand theft at that year's Oscar celebration. Now, I wouldn't exactly say that Jeff Bridges was in any particular need of a comeback. He's had some pretty steady work over the years. Still, you just can't watch Crazy Heart and not be reminded of The Wrestler. These characters could not be more different in a lot of ways. But they are also cut from the same cloth.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 26th, 2010
The first District 13 movie was considered a modern day cult classic. It featured a number of meticulous and daring stunt scenes that were worked without the use of wires or computer generated effects. It was written and produced by Luc Besson famous for Fifth Element & Leon. But would the sequel set in the future 3 years later be able to hold the same interest?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 26th, 2010
"You're not in Kansas any more. You're on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day. If there is a Hell, you might want to go there for some R&R after a tour on Pandora. Out there beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for Jujubes..."
I don't really have to tell you what Avatar is. If you haven't heard of it by now, I have only one question to ask of you: How was that coma?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 25th, 2010
We are in the mid-60s, when, during the glory days of the Stones, the Who, and other colossi of British rock, the BBC allows almost no airplay of said music. To the rescue comes a group of commercial pirate radio stations, broadcasting from ships off the coast. Priggish minister Kenneth Branagh is determined to shut them down, and our focus is on one particular ship, run by Bill Nighy, and boasting such luminaries as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Nick Frost as DJs. Onto this ship of counter-culture rebels comes a young Tom Sturridge, and this wet-behind-the-ears youth becomes the eyes through which we watch the various eccentric goings-on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010
Flight Of The Intruder is one of those films that appears and disappears off of the film world radar about as quickly as a stealth bomber. It has had its share of accolades but often passes swiftly into that entertainment night of obscurity. While it is at its core a Vietnam War film, the movie never really appears to be about the war at all. It attempts to capture some of the sartorial wit of Catch 22 while still trying to pass itself off as a serious enough movie. Make no mistake. This film leaves no war cliché unused, particularly in the stilted, sometimes gung-ho dialog of its characters.
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