Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 17th, 2013
Is the idea of a “low-budget epic” an oxymoron? I realize an ingenious filmmaker like Neill Blomkamp was able to make the $30 million District 9 look like it cost about five times that much, but I’m talking about really working with scraps. Heck, for $30 million, the filmmakers behind Viking drama Hammer of the Gods could’ve probably made this film 10 times. The Blu-ray case makes it seem like a SyFy-level production, but director Farren Blackburn admirably had his sights set considerably higher.
Viking ruler Bagsecg (James Cosmo) has been mortally wounded during his war against the growing Saxon resistance. From his deathbed, the king orders his son Steinar (Charlie Bewley) to locate banished oldest brother Hakan (Elliot Cowan) so that Hakan can take his rightful place on the throne. (Steinar has another older brother named Harald, played by Finlay Robertson, who also appears to have his sights set on the crown.) Steinar embarks on this mission flanked by his loyal crew: right-hand man Hagen (Clive Standen), superstitious Jokul (Guy Flanagan), and crass savage Grim (Michael Jibson). The foursome, along with a few unexpected allies, soon find themselves venturing into the heart of darkness.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2013
"Mystic Falls. I was born here. This is my home. For centuries, supernatural creatures have lived among us. There are vampires, werewolves, doppelgangers, witches and even hybrids. There are those who protect them. And those who want them dead. They're our friends. Our enemies. The ones we love. And the ones we've lost. And then there is me. I'm human... at least I was."
And, of course, that was the big news as season 3 of The Vampire Diaries ended and season 4 begins. To save her life Elena was turned into a vampire by Damon's blood. She died in a crash while the blood was still in her system, and as Damon reminds us, we all know either you feed or you die. Those are the choices. What will she decide?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 16th, 2013
I have a prediction about reality shows: with a new one seemingly sprouting up like a weed every few minutes, the number of people on television will eventually be greater than the number of people watching at home. Granted, some of these shows are amusing, educational and even inspirational. But too many of them reward negative, repulsive behavior with fleeting fame. Speaking of rewarding negative, repulsive behavior with fleeting fame, The Morton Downey Jr. Show was on the air for less than two years, yet that was long enough to earn its host the title of “Father of Trash Television.”
Evocateur chronicles the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of Downey’s controversial, wildly successful talk show in the late 1980s. Documentary filmmakers Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger frame their subject’s life story as an outrageous psychological drama. As a result, the film also delves into Downey’s past, including his childhood as the son of neglectful showbiz legend Morton Downey and an alcoholic mother, as well as his surprising ties to the Kennedy family in the 1960s. In fact, the film dedicates so much time to the past, the final act of Evocateur — and the final act of Downey's life — feels rushed. (He died of lung cancer in 2001.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2013
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is an acquired taste. For me, I’ve really got to be in that certain mood to watch it. The idea is pretty whacked. Depending on the season you’ve got, Joel or Mike is trapped in space on the “Satellite of Love”. Doomed to spend his life watching very bad films, our hero makes the best of a bad situation. He uses his resources to construct a couple of robot pals. Together they watch the films from the front row, constantly riffing on them. If you’re like me, you’ve invited a few friends over to watch a schlock festival. The movies weren’t as important as the banter you created while watching. That’s exactly what you see here. The silhouettes of our host and his robots dominate the lower portion of the screen, where they provide alternative dialog and sometimes witty commentary on the action. The two evil station owners/mad scientists send them a new bad film each week to observe their reactions to the bombs. The films are broken up by off-the-wall skits and fake commercials to alleviate the tedium. The series started as a public access show in Minnesota and was picked up by Comedy Central, where the access quality remained as part of the show's charm. This is a show you could have produced for the cost of a lunch at McDonald's and remain on the value meal menu. What would happen if they got Hollywood money and a chance to go big?
The idea started actually while the show was quite young and still just a local phenom. It was the early Joel years, and ideas for a feature film were always flying among the writers. One of the early ideas had robot Crowe reproducing Steve McQueen's motorcycle stunt from The Great Escape, except this time it was to get to a sunbathing Kim Cattrall. Apparently Cattrall was into the idea, but costs and other factors killed the idea in the...well...idea stage. Other ideas included a musical. None of these ideas got off the ground, and the show continued to plow its television horizons, cultivating a bit of a cult following.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 10th, 2013
Supergroups are hot right now: witness the astonishing box office dominance of The Avengers, as well as Warner Bros./D.C. Comics’ frantic attempts to replicate Marvel’s success. But the idea of a supergroup — a collective whose members have previously achieved individual success — has been around for a very long time, and is most commonly found in the world of music. The members of PSMS (Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, Tony MacAlpine and Derek Sherinian) certainly fit the supergroup bill. Late last year, they united to rock the faces off their fans in Europe and Asia.
Live in Tokyo captures their Nov. 14 show at Zepp Tokyo last year. PSMS — Portnoy (drums/vocals), Sheehan (bass/vocals), MacAlpine (guitar), Sherinian (keyboards) — was formed in January 2012. Although they weren’t exactly strangers, the group experienced some understandable growing pains when they first got together. (Portnoy expands on this in the Behind the Scenes featurette on this Blu-ray.) By the time this concert was filmed, however, PSMS had been together for nearly a year and they sounded like a totally cohesive unit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 30th, 2013
Seeing the words ‘Uwe Boll Presents’ was enough to have me a little worried about this one. For the most part any time I’ve seen the name connected to a film, it resulted in a disaster most would rather have gone without seeing. But then I think about the films Rampage and Postal, two films that are really quite fun if you give them a fair chance. In the case of Zombie Massacre, Boll’s presence is in the form of producer (as well as a fun cheeseball appearance playing the President), and the talent put in charge of the production are a duo that show some promise. Written and directed by Marco Ristori and Luca Boni (Eaters) are a pair of young, passionate guys who seem to love zombie films, but in a time where zombies have saturated the market, is average enough to garner any attention?
In this incarnation of the zombie film, it is a bacteria created by the US government that causes the zombie epidemic. The small Romanian town is infected, and before the bacteria spreads any further the government hires a team of mercenaries to go into the town and set off an atomic bomb at the local power plant. But things don’t go as planned once the mercenary team discovers this was meant to be a one-way trip for them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2013
"Poor John Doe, what a way to go."
You might be asking yourself the obvious question here. I know that I was. Who is Arthur Newman? Arthur Newman is Colin Firth. The busy actor has been the king of the hit-or-miss movie. He's scored some wonderful roles in films like The King's Speech. But much of his career has been as a chameleon actor in niche independent festival films. Arthur Newman certainly fits in that latter category. In fact, the film has been making its way through the European circuit for the better part of the past year. Now it appears poised to make the jump to at least a few mainstream multiplex screens. I wouldn't hold out much hope for the chances. Direct to video might have been a better landing place for this one. It's about to get Summer Stomped.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 27th, 2013
Carlos Santana is too cool for words. When I say that, I refer to both his widely-acknowledged status as a “Guitar God” and to the fact that he doesn’t utter a single word until the 30-minute mark of Invitation to Illumination, his 2011 reunion with John McLaughlin. Having another rock deity on stage appears to have inspired Santana, who performs with an extra little bounce in his step during this Montreux Jazz Festival show. This Blu-ray also has the unintended consequence of serving as a tribute to the festival’s late founder.
Claude Nobs, the festival’s general manager and founder, died earlier this year following a skiing accident. The Montreux Jazz Festival was established in 1967, and Nobs crossed paths with both Santana and McLaughlin in the early 1970s. That was also around the time the rock/jazz fusion-loving duo collaborated for 1972’s “Love Devotion Surrender” album, which was followed by a tour the next year. Exactly 40 years later, their first full-length concert in decades makes its Blu-ray debut.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 23rd, 2013
“It’s been a long time getting from there to here.”
Thirty-five years to be exact. Enterprise is the fourth spinoff from the original 1960’s hopeful series. The Earth is finally ready to send its first starship to explore the vast galaxy. This first starship Enterprise is smaller than the ships we’ve become used to. There are no shields or photon torpedoes. The transporter has only been cleared for inanimate objects. Not that this stands in the way of its occasional “emergency” use. The ship is very much like the cramped spaces of today's submarines. It adds an even greater sense of reality to the show. The crew is composed of Captain Jonathan Archer (Bakula), First Officer and Vulcan High Command liaison, T’Pol (Blalock), Chief Engineer Charles (Trip) Tucker (Trinneer), Tactical Officer Malcolm Reed (Keating), Denobulan Dr. Phlox (Billingsly), Pilot Travis Mayweather (Montgomery) and Linguist/Communications Officer Hoshi Sato (Park).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 21st, 2013
"Everybody's got guns."
Lately, you might have heard a lot of folks talking about getting home for a little Nucky. Well... it's not what you think. They're talking about Nucky Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi on HBO's latest gangland series, Boardwalk Empire.
