Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2014
By John Delia
Most every child knows the story of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty from early video, books and DVD. Unless you went to see the movie at a theater back in the 1959, however, you probably saw a version that was not crisp and colorful. Finally, after what seems forever, the family animated fantasy has been Blu-ray remastered and digitally restored in super widescreen. The Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD have new bonus features and include the DVD release’s special extras as well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 9th, 2014
“You know what you just did, don’t you? You jumped the shark.”
People have been mocking SyFy original films since the days when the network spelled its own name properly. But staying home on a Saturday night to “MST3K” your way through flicks with D-list actors and Z-grade visual effects has been replaced by Twitter, which practically blew up when the impossibly campy Sharknado premiered last year. SyFy recognized that social media has made it possible for anyone with Internet access to trade yuks and one-liners on a global scale; more importantly, it has allowed the network to be in on the joke in an unprecedented way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2014
"Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true?
Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory. The idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2014
"What I am about to tell you sounds crazy. But you have to listen to me. Your very lives depend on it. You see, this isn't the first time."
No, this isn't the first time. Tom Cruise seems to be making a habit of these science fiction action movies of late. There was Oblivion and War Of The Worlds, and quite frankly Edge Of Tomorrow looked to be pretty much more of the same. But there's a huge difference between this film and the previous two. Edge Of Tomorrow is actually good. What looks on the surface to be just Groundhog Day with futuristic toys turns out to be a redemption story that I actually never saw coming.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2014
When I was a young boy I loved playing with my toys. We didn't have Transformers in those days, but we did have Major Matt Mason, plastic dinosaurs, Hot Wheels and Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker sets. Yeah, in those days a toy could cause third-degree burns and no one really worried about getting sued. Kind of takes the fun out of being a kid today. You know who else, I bet, loved to play with his toys? MichaelBay. I bet he had the coolest toys in his neighborhood. He probably wasn't the best guy to be friends with, however. He didn't invite the kids over to play with his toys. He likely charged you a nickel to watch him play with them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2014
Baseball is huge, and Bollywood is huge, so imagine if you put them together. In many ways, Million Dollar Arm is about Indian culture and what a separate world it is from ours. The film starts out in Los Angeles where J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm from Mad Men) is a sports agent who has broken off from a big agency to start his own firm. His partner, Aash (Aasif Mandvi of The Daily Show), is very nervous about where their next client is coming from, since they lost a big one right at the start of the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 5th, 2014
In 1996 it was a brave new world for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Tarantino was still riding the wave of Pulp Fiction’s fame, while Rodriguez was going strong with his follow up to El Mariachi, Desperado (which went on to be a bigger hit). The two had crossed paths at various film festivals, and through the course of their meetings they discussed various projects they could possibly do together. The project that brought these two together would be horror/ crime genre mixer, From Dusk Till Dawn.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 30th, 2014
It’s been quite some time since The Chappelle Show went off the air, and it would appear Comedy Central has finally found its replacement. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the show is on the same par, but what Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele bring to the small screen is something that has piqued my interest and shows some potential. Both Key and Peele got their big break from working on the sketch comedy show MADtv, and it would seem they are taking their talents and what they learned to bring us something that is a little familiar but still fresh and keeps its audience laughing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 29th, 2014
"Prisoners of the ARC, hear me now. You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."
It's 97 years ago and nuclear holocaust has made life on Earth unlivable... at least that's what most people believed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 26th, 2014
"And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, "Come and see." Then, behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."
No, this is not a Johnny Cash song or a bible study post. Believe it or not, we're talking Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving's famous story The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. Fans of the tale will recall that Ichabod came to encounter the headless horseman in one of the first American horror tales ever written.
