Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 18th, 2018
This past summer, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was turned upside down in a snap. Avengers: Infinity War was the culmination of 10 years worth of origin stories and world-building. That blockbuster featured (almost) every MCU hero in the galaxy, universe-spanning stakes, and an unforgettable cliffhanger. So you can excuse Marvel for scaling things back (waaaaay back) with its next entry. Of course, any superhero flick that came immediately after Infinity War was going to feel small by comparison, so who better to take on that task than the tiniest hero of them all?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 17th, 2018
3rd Night is one of those films that sneaks up on you. It’s shot on a low budget, there are no big named actors involved, and it doesn’t have a big studio backing. It’s the kind of film that seems to be released hoping that by word of mouth or sheer luck, people will stumble upon this film. You go to your random Wal-Mart or Target and you see these small, independent titles all the time, and I’ve always wondered how many of these are picked up as a cold buy, simply from the customer looking at the cover and reading the box. 3rd Night is a film that is going to have to go through this struggle, but for those who do decide to pick this up or find it on some other platform, it’ll be a delightful little surprise. It’s a 71-minute horror fest that is better than you’d expect despite having some strange flaws that left me questioning some of the film’s choices; despite that it still works.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 17th, 2018
“I’m sorry…I’m a really good person.”
I absolutely loved The Big Short, which managed to extract smart, insightful comedy from one of the gloomiest chapters in recent American history. But if there’s one minor critique I had, it’s that the 2015 Adam McKay film sort of glossed over the human cost of the nationwide financial collapse. On the other hand, Arizona — a violent, over-the-top black comedy that’s billed as being “from the producers of Eastbound & Down and Brooklyn Nine-Nine” — is set in 2009 and focuses almost exclusively on a handful of hard-luck losers trying to survive the housing crisis.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 15th, 2018
Over the years there have been attempts to adapt Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting at Hill House, but each attempt seemed to fall short of what the book accomplished. So when Netflix announced that they were going to be attempting to turn the novel into a ten-episode TV series, well, to be honest, it didn’t exactly get me excited. Helming the show is Mike Flanagan, who had some success with Netflix before when directing Gerald’s Game and is currently directing Doctor Sleep, a sequel to Stephen King’s The Shining. It wasn’t till a couple weeks ago when a came across a trailer for The Haunting of Hill House that I was convinced that perhaps I should give this show a shot. Once it hit the streaming service and I watched the first episode “Steven Sees a Ghost”, well, I was hooked, and what unfolded over the course of the season resulted in an exceptional television experience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 15th, 2018
"All things change. This world is impermanent and deceiving. Many things are not what they seem. You will have many adventures here. And if we live, many stories to tell at the Great Hall. If we live."
When Vikings started five years ago, I found it to be quite an ambitious task for a network that usually featured documentaries and reality shows about odd jobs. I approached this one with some caution. Now I've thrown caution to the wind for these compelling characters. I was particularly drawn into the lead. Travis Fimmel was outstanding as the Viking leader Ragnor Lothbrook. When his character was killed off after three years, I suspected things would be winding down for this experiment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 13th, 2018
“But this place...too much light.”
To put things mildly, Warner Bros. still has a bit of a ways to go before its stable of DC Comics superheroes catches up to Disney’s dominant Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, Warner and DC have long had the upper hand on both the small screen (The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow) and with their animated, direct-to-video offerings. Constantine: City of Demons represents the best of those latter two worlds: City of Demons began its life as a short-lived TV series before bringing smart-ass occult detective John Constantine back to life for this moody and thoroughly entertaining feature-length adventure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2018
Dwayne Johnson appears to be a pretty busy guy. In addition to the HBO series Ballers about to enter its fourth season, Johnson puts out a couple or more films a year. We're not talking about small independent films, but rather huge, high-budget and big f/x films. Next year will see Jungle Cruise and Jumanji 2, following with San Andreas 2, Suicide Squad 2, Black Adam, and a remake of Big Trouble In Little China, all arriving in the next couple of years. This year saw Rampage, which comes to home video next week. It's a busy life for Dwayne Johnson, who appears to have dropped "The Rock" from his name. I sure hope it didn't hit anyone on the head. Now he's starring in Skyscraper, which shamelessly combines elements of Die Hard and The Towering Inferno. In Skyscraper, Johnson shows us that he's intent on hanging around for a while... this time from 220 stories high.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 12th, 2018
“The Nazis gave the task of building an atomic bomb to Nobel Prize-winning physicist Werner Heisenberg. In response, the U.S. government sent a Jewish baseball player to assassinate him. His name was Morris “Moe” Berg.”
Growing up in Puerto Rico, baseball was my first (sports) language…but I’d never heard the name Moe Berg until I sat down to watch The Catcher Was a Spy. Berg played 15 years in the major leagues, but this stylish, uneven movie suggests that baseball was the least of his talents.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 11th, 2018
When you have done movie reviews for a very long time such as I have, you acquire knowledge about certain films and movies that in a normal life span one would probably never come across. One of those for me has been the Power Rangers series. I have reviewed several of the American adaptations for the site, and while they are not my cup of tea, I am familiar with how they work and operate. Last week, I received one of the Japanese original Super Sentai series, Chojin Sentai Jetman, and I was eager to check it out. Let's see how this all unfolds.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 10th, 2018
“Why would anybody create a Nazi puppet?!”
There are two types of people in this world: A) the sort of person who reads the question above and says, “That’s offensive! I have absolutely no idea” and B) the joyful weirdo who replies, “Why would anybody stop at creating just *one* Nazi puppet?” If you’re in Group B, you’re in luck…the people behind Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich didn’t stop at one Nazi puppet. (Not even close!) More importantly, this bloody reboot of the 1989 cult horror classic features some of the craziest and most disgusting kills I’ve seen in a while. (I promise that’s a compliment.)
