Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 21st, 2015
"'Tis the season for Demon Dean."
It's almost like some twisted holiday season. Each season finds the Winchester Brothers in some way divided following an apocalyptic event. The world might be saved once again, but Either Dean or Sam is in Hell or Purgatory. One might be living in an alternate reality or just in a coma. This season starts with the tradition very much alive as the Mark of Cain has finally turned Dean into a demon, albeit one who loves to do bad karaoke. His partner in crime isn't his brother Sam, but the King Of Hell himself, Crowley.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2015
"The wilds of Sri Lanka, land of myth and legend where rocky pinnacles overlook cast tropical forests. And an abandoned city lies shrouded in the jungle. The kings who once reigned here are long gone. These days, there's a new dynasty in residence. But this one is governed by the law of the jungle."
From such a majestic intro told against a backdrop of beautiful vistas we find our tranquility broken by an invasion of primates rushing across the landscape to the voice of Micky Dolenz singing the theme song to the 1960's comedy classic The Monkees. Hey, Hey, it's Disney Nature's latest adventure into the life of a family of animals. Enter Monkey Kingdom.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 17th, 2015
“You need to promise…something goes wrong, you need to drop a bomb on this whole mess.”
The biggest literal bang on Homeland came courtesy of the explosion that wiped out CIA headquarters in the season 2 finale. However, many fans and critics would argue the subsequent third season was an even bigger bomb. (I thought season 3 at least finished strong following that dismal start.) Nevertheless, season 4 of Showtime’s cracked, crackerjack spy drama represents a soft reboot for the show. It’s also a return to its Emmy-winning season 1 form.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 16th, 2015
Gotham City. You know the name just as you know the names of Metropolis and Smallville. These are important places in the DC comics universe that have existed as part of modern American mythology since the 1930's. Warner Brothers has decided to tackle Gotham in much the way it spent 10 years bringing us to Smallville. But there is a decided difference to be found here. Smallville was indeed the origin story of Superman, and while the obvious answer might be that Gotham serves the same role for Batman, I found that to be a bit of an oversimplification.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2015
"My name is Walter O'Brien. I have the fourth highest IQ ever recorded: 197. Einstein's was 160. When I was 11 the FBI arrested me for hacking into NASA to get their blueprints for my bedroom wall. Now I run a team of geniuses, tackling worldwide threats only we can solve..."
By now you are used to the geeky technical expert that is a requisite part of many television crime-solving teams. It's become such a stereotype that it's more formula than character by this point. So what if you had an entire team of these super-intellects, and there was only one normal person in the line-up.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 14th, 2015
"He is a confused and tortured young man...”
The “he” in this case is Peter Snowden, a chatty, charismatic, and deeply troubled war veteran. “He” also happens to be the only character who appears on screen in Nightingale, a potentially-fascinating HBO Films experiment that doesn’t quite reach its potential. At least, “he” is played by Selma star David Oyelowo in what is a thoroughly mesmerizing performance.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 10th, 2015
American Heist is an independent action flick that eventually nods to Michael Mann's Heat and Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon. (Along with Ben Affleck's The Town, if you're interested in a 21st century doppelganger.) However, the movie's action-packed finale can't completely disguise the fact that this is actually a dour family tragedy masquerading as a heist film. But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, at least the makers of American Heist know who to rip off flatter.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2015
For most of our characters, the season begins pretty much in real time from the season 5 finale. There is a spell keeping magic out of the city limits of Mystic Falls, and that means no vampires or supernatural beings can cross into town. Elena is taking pre-med courses at college, mostly because it gives her access to the hospital's blood bank. Stefan is supposed to be out looking for a witch powerful enough to bring back Bonnie and Damon after they were trapped destroying "the other side".
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 5th, 2015
"1836, Republic of Texas. The Mexican territory is home to thousands of US settlers. Tensions rise as Comanche and Kawakawa fight to keep their lands. Outlaws roam free, and slaves are caught in the crossfire. Mexican General Santa Anna battles to reclaim the land. US President Andrew Jackson is hesitant to intervene, and Texas has no choice but to declare itself an independent nation... The Alamo in ashes, pioneers, Tejanos, Indians and soldiers have no choice: fight or die."
Houston, we have a problem.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 4th, 2015
The D Train was not what I expected...and thank goodness for that. The film boasts that it's from the “comedic geniuses who brought you Nacho Libre and Wayne's World,” although the only thing those two movies have in common is that they're both comedies with, um, people in them. Meanwhile, the glossy poster makes it look like an inspirational drama, which doesn't exactly mesh with the phallic-sounding title. In other words, there's nothing about The D Train that hints at the intriguing dramedy lurking underneath.
