Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2015
At the end of 2013 Shout Factory released a horror marathon on DVD called Scream Factory All Night Marathon. OK, so it only had four films averaging about 90 minutes each, hardly all night. But it was a nice collection of more obscure 1980's horror that made a rather nice night in with the boys...or the girls. Two of those films have now found their way to a single Blu-ray disc and released by...you guessed it, Shout's Scream Factory division. While I'm not a huge fan of having two or more films on one disc, this pretty much amounts to the same as the standard four episodes on a disc that you'll find in many television releases in high definition.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2015
"This story is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war" - Erich Maria Remarque
Like most people from my generation, I suspect, I saw this version of All Quiet On The Western Front first in a high school history class. I can't for the moment recall if it had been a world history class or American history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 14th, 2015
"What you're talking about is a one-way street, you understand? Once you start there is no going back."
Ah, but there is going back if you're watching Kill Me Three Times. I don't necessarily mean that you'll want to watch the film over again (you might). Kill Me Three Times is a bit of a collection of vignettes that continue to circle back upon each other. Each time you get a different perspective or a bit of new information is unveiled. For those of you who insist on a linear logic to your films, this one's not for you. In fact, those of you who insist on logic at all might not quite get this one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 13th, 2015
“I wanna tell you something. I've been a bad man...I've been a very bad man most of my life. So, I decided I want to do one thing in my life. One good thing in my life before I die.”
Those words are spoken by elite contract killer John Alexander at the start of Absolution, a straight-to-DVD offering that is largely cobbled together from the spare parts of other junky action flicks. The film stars Steven Seagal, who was a very bad man on-screen during his early '90s heyday. John wants to do one good thing before his time is up; coincidentally, all I want is for Seagal to make one action movie that at least comes close to recapturing the spark that made him a star. Absolution is not that film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 8th, 2015
“I'm not a scientist, although I do play one on TV occasionally. Ok...hell, more than occasionally.”
The “I'm not a _____, but I play one on TV” catchphrase transcended its humble origins to become the go-to, jokey line for anybody who feels empowered to speak outside their area of expertise. Merchants of Doubt, however, isn't concerned with soap opera actors trying to sell Vicks on television. Instead, this flashy, funny, well-researched documentary examines the select group of people who present themselves as scientific authorities to the public. It also argues that they purposefully create confusion with the goal of maintaining a very lucrative status quo.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 7th, 2015
Maggie is a slow zombie movie. You might assume I'm describing where this film falls on the fast zombie vs. slow zombie spectrum. (For the record, the monsters in Maggie do move at a decidedly deliberate pace.) However, the deliberate pace also applies to the way first-time director Henry Hobson unfurls his story in this bleak zombie drama. Everybody in this film — including a playing-against-type Arnold Schwarzenegger — shuffles and lumbers their way through their lives, whether or not they've been infected with a lethal virus. In other words, this is pretty much the last thing you'd expect from a movie that has both Schwarzenegger and zombies...and that's a big reason of why I dig it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 6th, 2015
"During the long, dark period of the Great Wars, an elite class of soldier rose from battle. Their unbreakable code was simple: possess a noble heart of courage, right conduct, and absolute devotion to one's master. From out of those years of bloodshed an empire would emerge. Its power would assimilate persons of every color, creed, and faith. This uncontested rule eroded the traditions of the great knights... but not for all."
Last Knights is an ambitious direct-to-video production. It sports a rather elite class of actors headed by Morgan Freeman, who adds a ton of gravitas to any role he plays.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 2nd, 2015
“Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.”
There's a segment in I Am Evel Knievel that features some of Knievel's contemporaries — along with a few of the younger extreme sports athletes he inspired — breaking down just how difficult it is to jump a motorcycle across vast distances. (Especially when you're using relatively primitive equipment the way Knievel was.) Long story short, the crucial components are guts and a mental makeup that doesn't allow you to overthink or dwell on the insanity of what you're about to do. This entertaining documentary succeeds in illustrating how Knievel had both of those qualities in spades.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2015
"There's always a consequence for breaking the rules."
Maybe that's why the crew from The Lazarus Effect decided to use all of the rules and conventions in the book without daring to really break any new ground of its own. By the time I was finished with the film, I felt like I had watched several horror movies at the same time. It's most intentionally Frankenstein meets Flatliners meets insert-your-favorite-ghost/possession-movie meets every-Stephen-King-film-ever-made. With all of that at its fingertips and a pretty bright cast, all The Lazarus Effect could do was raise itself to mediocrity.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 29th, 2015
It honestly took me a while to get over the opening shot of The Forger. The shot itself is rather unremarkable: it's a simple close-up of star John Travolta sitting in a small room by himself and staring straight ahead. But between his ridiculously obvious wig and the waxy texture of his face — the actor now looks like he's wearing a Michael Myers-style “John Travolta” mask — I knew it was going to be pretty difficult to take him seriously, no matter who or what was playing. It's a shame because there's actually a pretty decent family drama to be found within The Forger.
