Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 7th, 2016
“Anyone can betray anyone.”
The word “spy” tends to conjure images of international intrigue and attractive people getting into exotic adventures. But don't blame John le Carre. Despite being one of the most successful and prolific spy novelists of the past century, le Carre's stories tend to be aggressively un-sexy, morally murky tales that focus on the psychological toll of intelligence work. That's why it's interesting to find that The Night Manager — a British miniseries that also aired on AMC — manages to straddle both sides of the spy fiction fence.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 1st, 2016
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have a fear of clowns, but more of the people beneath the paint. I’m not sure if anyone has recently seen in the news, but there are reports of people dressing up as clowns behind an apartment complex in South Carolina attempting to lure children into the woods. First off I immediately think this is a prank, but also there is the side of me that is curious as to there being something more sinister at play; after all, it seems like a good start to a horror film. Going back through my childhood, I can’t think of any one moment that caused me to despise clowns, but I do remember a trip to Circus World that left me convinced all the clowns there were bad.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2016
"In 2166 an immortal tyrant named Vandal Savage conquered the world and murdered my wife and child. I've assembled an elite team to hunt him throughout time and stop his rise to power. Unfortunately, my plan was opposed by the body I had sworn my allegiance to: The Time Masters. In the future my friends might not be heroes, but if we succeed, they will be remembered as legends."
Marvel may have beaten DC to the superhero team-up film. But while Marvel continues to blow away the DC filmatic universe, DC has had its best and most brilliant successes here on television. DC Legends of Tomorrow is pretty much the first television comic book team-up, and it's a direct spinoff from both Arrow and The Flash shows.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2016
"The bad guys in this town are changing. They're not playing by the old rules, or any rules. We need every measure at our disposal, and I'm not just talking more guns..."
The first season of Gotham was pretty much a straight criminal story told in a film noir environment where just a hint of the future comic book heroics is uncovered. The bad guys were pretty much standard mob guys. Were they eccentric? Yes. There were really no meta-humans or gadgets to speak of. This season we get a flood of the more familiar kinds of villains you know so well from this universe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 31st, 2016
Writer/Director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3) has a way of writing flawed characters who manage to leave more lasting impressions than the films they populate. But where he shines is when he can thrust these flawed individuals into the confines of a detective story. Most people grew their fondness for Black and his quick-witted dialog when he first penned Lethal Weapon, but for me it goes back to The Monster Squad and The Last Boy Scout, where I found myself becoming a fan even in my early years of film watching. So is the fanboy in me excited to see what Black brings to the table this time around? You betcha. In a summer popcorn season filled with comic book movies, sequels, and other films targeting the teenage demographic, it’s nice to have an action film that harkens back to the good old days (the 80’s and early 90’s) for a fun comedy/action romp that has a foul-mouthed edge.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 30th, 2016
“You're about to witness a Helena duel...a most noble affair of character and honor.”
A “Helena duel” is also a brutal, bloody ritual where two combatants are joined at the wrist before engaging in a knife fight to the death. That combination of genteelness and barbarity is at the heart of The Duel, a Texas-set Western that reaches for grandiosity and doesn't quite get there, but is nevertheless thoroughly entertaining.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 29th, 2016
"This is the law of the jungle..."
Disney appears to have a law that all of its classic cartoon features must now be made into live-action films. As I've mentioned in my review of the original classic The Jungle Book, the animated feature was the end of an important era at Walt Disney Studios. It was released about a year after Walt's death and was the last film he supervised from beginning to end. In the wake of Walt's death the studio experienced a sharp turnover and complete retooling of the animation department. With only the nine old men to carry the traditions of Walt into the future, The Jungle Book would forever mark a distinct milestone in the history of animated feature films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 24th, 2016
“There is another story. One that comes long before…happily ever after.”
An unseen narrator — an uncredited Liam Neeson, wisely choosing not to show his face in this film — intones these words at the start of The Huntsman: Winter’s War. He’s talking about the saga involving a certain magic mirror and Ravenna (a still-captivating Charlize Theron), the wicked antagonist from 2012’s Snow White and The Huntsman. But as this flat, uninspired prequel/sequel hybrid unfolds, it becomes clear that this “other story” is essentially an unimaginative mish-mash of Disney (shades of Frozen and Brave are added to the Snow White framework) and Tolkien.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 24th, 2016
For years (at this point we can say decades), fans have been holding out hope for a new installment in the Evil Dead franchise. Over the years there have been rumors of a fourth film, even talks of doing a crossover involving Ash (Bruce Campbell) taking on various horror icons. In the end these talks seemed to be nothing more than pipe dreams, but then in 2013 something special happened. A remake/sequel occurred for the series that actually was pretty awesome and gory while also being a financial success…but it was the stinger at the end of the credits that got people excited, the brief appearance of the man with the chainsaw hand himself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2016
The Vampire Diaries is finally living up to its name. Elena is asleep until Bonnie dies, so the characters have promised to keep a record of all the goings on in Mystic Falls and with their lives. And there's a lot to write about. Mystic Falls has been evacuated so that Lily and her family of heretics won't kill everybody in town. They're living in the Salvatore mansion, and Carolyn is carrying twins that don't really belong to her. And Damon...he's just being...Damon. All of them are either trying to steal or running away from something called The Phoenix Stone. Elena's going to have a lot of catching up to do, and so do you if you haven't been watching all along.
