Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 11th, 2015
“That’s your job as The DUFF…Designated Ugly Fat Friend.”
Let’s just get this out of the way right at the top. The idea that Mae Whitman — or any other actress cast as the lead in a mainstream Hollywood movie — is “Ugly” and “Fat” is absurd. (Not to mention entirely subjective.) So it’s tempting to dismiss The DUFF as the latest bit of evidence that there’s no truth in advertising. But then you’d be missing out on a charming teen comedy that grabs the snarky underdog baton previously held by the likes of Mean Girls and Easy A.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 9th, 2015
"Some things stay the same. I mean the gamer is the game."
Stop me if you've heard this one before. A newspaper reporter and a cop go into a bar... It sounds like a setup for a pretty lame joke. It's actually the story of how one of the greatest television shows to ever air got started. It was the brainchild of two real-world players who hadn't yet seen their worlds portrayed accurately in television of film. They set out on a mission to change all of that. And, changing all of that is exactly what they did.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 2nd, 2015
The town of McFarland, California is North of Los Angeles and South of San Jose. More specifically, it is near Bakersfield and not too far south of Fresno. San Diego is practically spitting distance from Tijuana. I say this because much of California is alien to me. The movie McFarland, USA is about delving into the realities of California. Forget that this is a feel-good sports movie for a minute. This is a movie about the Latino experience from a true story about a coach from 1987, but the film updates some of the changes that have taken place since then. Today Latinos make up 39% of the population of California, making them the largest segment of California society. It is no secret that the trends toward America becoming predominantly Latino are still a ways off, but very real. The point is that America is changing, so get used to it. We are all Americans.
This film is very positive and inspiring, but often in ways that are unexpected. It is about how we can find value in the most unexpected places, and the new America is just as proud and strong. It is about hard-working people who are among the poorest in the country who can been seen as a reserve of unexpected strength.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 1st, 2015
“One thing one can be sure of is that there wasn't before him an Orson, and there'll never be a second.”
This year (May 6, to be exact) marks what would've been Orson Welles' 100th birthday. To celebrate, filmmaker Chuck Workman has made a charming documentary with a title as grandiose as its subject. Magician: The Astonishing Life & Work of Orson Welles is a thoroughly entertaining — if somewhat superficial — survey of one of the 20th century's greatest showmen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 27th, 2015
“Welcome to Cut Bank, MT. coldest spot in the nation.”
When you make a darkly comic crime thriller that centers around a bunch of bumbling schemers and a single, righteous cop — and then you name that movie after a frigid, real-life city in the northern part of the U.S. — the comparisons to Fargo are simply impossible to ignore. Thankfully, Cut Bank is buoyed by its own dry, lively cast of characters who are brought to life by a nimble set of performers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 21st, 2015
At this point, it’s pretty difficult to find a play by William Shakespeare that hasn’t been produced for the stage or adapted for the screen many times over. So imagine my surprise when I came across Cymbeline, a Shakespearean play I’d never even heard of. (Though maybe that says more about me than it does about the play’s popularity.) Filmmaker Michael Almereyda transplants the action to the present day, but the tablets, cell phones, and other anachronistic touches aren’t enough to inject life into a languid, lurching film that largely squanders a pretty impressive cast.
“For years, Cymbeline — King of the Briton Motorcycle Club — has maintained an uneasy peace with the Roman Police Force.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 19th, 2015
If nothing else, The Pyramid has an intriguing premise. A father-daughter archaeologist team discovers an unusual, three-sided pyramid buried 600 feet underground that might even predate the ancient Egyptians. Essentially, this is Ancient Aliens as a found-footage horror film. Yes…unfortunately, I said “found footage,” a cinematic device that now feels even more decrepit than your garden variety mummy. So while the film’s opening act probably got people like this guy extremely excited, the movie falls apart the deeper the characters descend into the titular pyramid.
Miles Holden (Denis O’Hare) is a patient, old-school archaeologist, while his daughter Nora (Ashley Hinshaw) is more excitable and has been quicker to embrace new tools like satellite technology in her work. Together, they have made what is potentially the find of the century: an ancient pyramid buried deep beneath the desert in Egypt. A documentary film crew — journalist Sunni (Crista Nicola) and camera guy Fitzie (James Buckley) — arrives to capture the Holdens’ discovery.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2015
"As you know, in less than two hours liquor will be declared illegal by decree of the distinguished gentlemen of our nation's Congress. To those beautiful, ignorant bastards. Rest assured that, dry though the country may be, I am in the midst of concluding arrangements that will keep Atlantic City wet..."
HBO has finally released a full series set of Boardwalk Empire on Blu-ray. This is an HBO trend that has gone full tilt in the last year, seeing such hits as The Sopranos, True Blood and soon The Wire all coming in wonderful full-series releases. They look great on your video shelf. Together they create a tremendous number of hours of quality television. I love having it all in one place. If you're new to the show, what better time to climb on board? Here's a primer on what you're going to see. I almost envy you folks who will watch it all for the first time in one sweep.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2015
"A man of your age has no excuse for looking or behaving like a fugitive from a home for alcoholic music hall artistes."
Sound like anyone you know? Johnny Depp is one hell of a talented actor. There are few in the industry than can so completely inhabit a character. He has an uncanny ability to make you forget Johnny Depp the actor and lose yourself in his performance. He is a chameleon physically and expressively. Unfortunately, Johnny has had trouble finding box office gold lately. You see, he's having a lot of fun at our expense. But it's not just we who are footing the bill for his tomfoolery. The studios are handing out hundreds of millions of dollars for box office misses like The Lone Ranger, Transcendence, Dark Shadows, The Rum Diaries and the animated Rango. Depp appears interested only in making films where he can have a blast on screen and doesn't appear all that concerned if the film makes any money or if the audience feels like they've been invited into the party. You can now add Mortdecai to that list. There's absolutely no question that Depp is having a blast, but if you paid anything at all to see it, it was at your expense.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 14th, 2015
“To truly know a man, you must walk in his shoes.”
On the lone special feature of any substance included on this Blu-ray, director/co-writer Thomas McCarthy admits The Cobbler was inspired by the well-known idiom listed above. I’m all for getting as many original ideas on the big screen as possible. But even if you don’t think basing a feature film on a popular saying is a shaky proposition, The Cobbler severely underwhelms because it totally fails to capitalize on its high-concept premise in an intriguing way.
