Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 6th, 2016
Between 2002 and 2008 Jason Statham made a name for himself playing Frank Miller in three Transporter films. Miller was a former special ops expert who became a high-end black market transportation expert. He used his skills to transport anyone or anything from point A to point B for a hefty fee. He had a few rules that governed his business: the deal never changes once it's made, no names, and he doesn't want to know what he is transporting. The business made for some nice action films that gave Statham a chance to show off that particular skill set. The films brought in a modest box office, averaging around $35 million each. It was barely enough to keep three films going in the franchise. It all ended in 2008, and Statham moved on to bigger and sometimes better things. That should have been the end of the story. It isn't.
Editor-turned-director Camille Delamarre decided to take a run at a reboot, of sorts. Game of Thrones actor Ed Skrein takes over the Frank Miller role, and the film picks up the character already established. It's a grey area on what to call Transporter: Refueled. It's not entirely a reboot. The character is established, as are the rules and general formula. But it is a rather new take on the material. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of heart in this attempt, and the wheels might have gone completely flat on this franchise.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 4th, 2016
At this point, the most shocking M. Night Shyamalan-related twist would be for the director to make a movie that people actually enjoyed. (The “M.” stands for “maligned,” right?) Hopes weren't exactly high when it was announced Shyamalan — who was once fated to become either “the next Hitchcock” or “the next Spielberg” — would be dabbling in the fading found footage genre. So imagine my surprise to find that The Visit — a broad, nutty mix of comedy and horror — is the director's loosest, most playful effort since Signs. It's also his first (subjectively) non-terrible flick in about a decade.
We meet a harried single Mom (Kathryn Hahn) as she prepares to send her two children on a week-long trip to meet her estranged parents. Becca (Olivia DeJonge) is a 15-year-old aspiring filmmaker who decides to document the experience of meeting her grandparents on camera; she also wants to find out the reason Mom had a falling out with them. Tyler (Ex Oxenbould) is a 13-year-old freestyle-rapping, germophobic goofball who enjoys undercutting his older sister's self-seriousness. The pair take a train to the rural Pennsylvania town where their mother grew up and are met at the station by Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), who take the kids back to their dilapidated farmhouse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 4th, 2016
It’s been a long wait for those of us wanting to see Eli Roth’s return behind the camera since Hostel 2 hit the screens. I’ve been more than a little excited since hearing about Roth’s plans to bring the cannibal genre to its jungle roots. It’s been long enough since audiences have been shocked by the ferocity we haven’t seen from the genre since Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox. Sadly, the intentions were there, but the execution just fell short. Instead of getting the shock and gore we’ve come to expect since Cabin Fever and Hostel 1&2, this time around we get a film that feels a little restrained.
Justine (Lorenza Izzo) is a college freshman who desperately feels the need to protest against the injustices in the world but hasn’t quite found a cause worth fighting about. That is, until in one of her classes the subject of female circumcision is brought up. It’s a subject that offends and disgusts, and it’s one of Roth’s moments to interject his “agenda” upon the audience. Though for most viewers they will simply pick up on this scene as being a way to foreshadow some of the brutality to come.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 2nd, 2016
"His imperfections were unsettling. But Frank Sinatra was a genuine artist, and his work will endure as long as men and women can hear and ponder and feel. In the end, that's all that really matters."
He was The Beatles before The Beatles were The Beatles. His voice would make women swoon and men want to be him. He romanced some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood history, and he sat at tables with kings, princesses and presidents. He was The Voice. The Chairman Of The Board. He was Old Blue Eyes. His name was Francis Albert Sinatra, but we all called him Frank.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 1st, 2016
America’s most dysfunctional family is back for a fifth season. Showtime dramedy series Shameless, based on the popular UK series of the same name, continues with the same level of comedy and drama that has made it one of the network’s all-time popular shows. The Gallagher clan is always full of surprises, and this season is no different, especially when comes to the family matriarch, Fiona, who probably comes through the largest arc this season as always. Usually when a show reaches this point, it begins to show signs of tedium or signals that it is close to its end; however, that is not the case here, as the season 6 is expected to begin in January.
When we last looked in on the Gallaghers, Fiona was just released from jail and is now on probation. Mickey was worried about Ian, who was beginning to exhibit symptoms of his bipolar disorder. When Fiona wishes to hospitalize him, Mickey fights back and asserts that he will look after Ian. Frank the Plank awakens from his liver transplant to discover his marriage to Shelia. Told that the side effects of his transplant won’t be pleasant and he must refrain from drinking, Frank takes off with Carl and shares a drink with his way-underage son. The final scene was probably the most shocking, as a familiar face showed up outside the Gallagher house.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 31st, 2015
“We're in hell.”
The Blu-ray cover for Bone Tomahawk features a grizzled Kurt Russell donning a cowboy hat. That image immediately indicated to me that I would be in steady, exceedingly capable hands for the forthcoming Western adventure. What I didn't necessarily expect was for Bone Tomahawk to also deliver one of the more frightening, engrossing, and pulse-pounding movie-watching experiences of the year.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 25th, 2015
With their impossibly beefy frames, larger-than-life personas, and familiarity with staged combat (sorry, buddy), pro wrestlers fit the old-school action star mold perfectly. Unfortunately for them, Hollywood isn’t nearly as interested in action flicks that don’t have superheroes, dinosaurs, or Liam Neeson. And while interconnected cinematic universes are all the rage at the moment, Lionsgate and World Wrestling Entertainment have a pretty interesting partnership themselves. Their latest offering is the dopey, compulsively watchable 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown, which is considerably more entertaining than it has any right to be.
You may have guessed by now that 12 Rounds 3 (even the title is wonderfully ridiculous) is the third film in the saga. However, it’s also the second film in the “Action Six-Pack” series, a recent pact between Lionsgate and the WWE to make a sextet of action flicks starring the latter company’s wrestlers. (The first film in the “Six Pack” was Vendetta.) Even before this partnership, the WWE had found a measure of straight-to-DVD success by plugging its superstars into action vehicles that are only vaguely related to each other. (See, The Marine series.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 25th, 2015
Whenever I read the caption that says the story is inspired by true events, the first thing I wonder is how much of film is actually truth and how much is poetic license. Am I the only one who wonders that? I’m guessing I’m not. In the case of Dragon Blade, I’m thinking that the opening featuring Jackie Chan’s trademark clumsy marital arts style is likely the latter, a tale that falls short of war epic status due to sentimental tendency. Held my attention in the beginning; however, I felt my interest wane in the middle, and by the conclusion it had lost me completely. Sad, because I was excited for this film when I originally heard about it.
Dragon Blade takes place in 50 BC, and Jackie Chan is Huo An, captain of the Silk Road Protection Squad. As the group’s leader, Huo An with a small coalition does his best to keep the peace in Silk Road, a task that is very difficult given the constantly warring factions. Despite these obstacles, Huo An holds steadfast to his code, refusing to resort to violence without attempting peaceful negotiations first. An honorable man, his life is shortly turned upside down when he and his group are accused of smuggling gold and sentenced to a prison camp.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 10th, 2015
“In a war, there's really only two things that are gonna ruin your day...officers and orders.”
The concept of duty — particularly giving and following orders that will almost certainly result in death — is at the forefront of War Pigs, a straight-to-DVD actioner that doesn't actually have that much action in it. For a movie with the likes of Dolph Lundgren and Chuck Lidell gracing its Blu-ray cover, scaling back on the butt-kicking seems like a death sentence. However, I was surprised to find the action sequences were actually the weak link in this limited but reasonably entertaining World War II yarn.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 9th, 2015
“Why are the Romantics relevant today?”
Some Kind of Beautiful shamelessly embraces every rom-com cliché in the book. The utterly nonsensical title, the main characters’ impossibly-posh digs, and the film’s exceedingly contrived and predictable plotting are probably enough to send jaded moviegoers running to the airport exit. So why am I not kicking this film to the curb? Well it helps that this particular group of attractive stars shares a relaxed, mature chemistry that carries the story through its more outlandish shenanigans.
