Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on April 10th, 2018
Cinema is a beautiful thing, and it is really special when a film can remind you of its beauty. So often are we blinded by genre conventions: we want to see the gore of horror, feel the laughter of comedy, or the tears of drama. Yes, the films we watch are all indeed beautiful in their own right, but not every film captures the pure essence of cinema. In Search of Fellini delivers that essence on all fronts, whether it be through cinematography, on-location shooting in Italy, stylistic editing, or the fantastic acting. Naming your film after a man who’s widely considered to be a master of his craft sets the bar of expectations very high by default, and this film cleared the hurdle with no problems.
In Search of Fellini is a coming-of-age story about a sheltered girl named Lucy (Ksenia Solo), as she travels to Italy in search of her newfound favorite director, Frederico Fellini. Lucy’s mother, Claire (Maria Bello), has constructed a fantasy world for her daughter, shielding her from realities such as death, working, and sex. Once Claire receives grim news, she hides it from her daughter, but Lucy is blessed with the intuition to understand something is wrong. She begins to try to find work, but what she finds instead is a film festival that is dedicated to Frederico Fellini, and she falls in love with his work. It is from here that she sets off to Italy. This story is loosely based on a similar adventure had by co-writer Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), when she traveled to Italy in her early 20’s.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 6th, 2018
Ever since Jon Bernthal left The Walking Dead, he has managed to create quite the impressive resume over the years. From having some standout performances in Fury, Baby Driver and recently taking on the role of Frank Castle in The Punisher, he is easily making a name for himself. Now we get to see him take on the role of Sam in the new small town indie thriller, Sweet Virginia. In a film that is filled with well-crafted characters matched with some terrific performances by the cast, it’s a shame the film didn’t reach Blu-ray with more of a buzz around it. From the film’s violent opening, the film percolates with menace and unease to the final climax.
When we first meet Elwood (Christopher Abbott), it’s obvious there is something a little off about this guy, and it doesn’t take long before we see what the man is capable of. To put it simply, this may be the most intimidating hitman we’ve seen on screen since the Coen Brothers gave us Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. A bold statement, but as we see Elwood unravel on screen, we see a man who is desperately wanting to be accepted, whether it’s being a son or simply a friend, but the guy is a pillar of rage and violence. And it’s when we see him show up to the motel as a guest and he’s trying to befriend Sam, you just know this will only end badly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2018
"And so we ran on. Into Summerland and the place they said did not exist. And all the while, wolves were at our heels. Black masks, boots and the one they called The Eye. We had come to do the work that must be done. To strip ourselves of the fog of life before."
If the first season of Legion was intended to lift any fog, it failed miserably. In fact, keeping you in a fog is series creator Noah Hawley’s superpower. He was also the creator of the television adaptation of Fargo, which was often more than a little confusing. But with Legion Hawley has taken these "skills" to the next level, and how you respond to the series will absolutely depend on how much you like your brain messed with while you're watching a show. If the answer is a lot, this is the perfect show for you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on April 4th, 2018
John Cena continues to attempt to branch out from the WWE, this time with an animated film featuring a peace-loving bull in Spain. Granted, John Cena is not first person I envision when I think about nonviolence, but it is an interesting choice nonetheless. Ferdinand tells the story of a bull raised to participate in the matador competitions featured in Spain. Disney continues to buck against the grain, creating a character that contrasts with his circumstances. Naturally, this is an animated film, and being well into adulthood, I am clearly outside the target audience. However, I am fortunate enough to have a daughter who does fit that demographic, so I enlisted her services for this film. Ironically, I actually ended up enjoying the story a lot more than she did. Too be fair to the film, my daughter only possesses a 20-minute attention span. To her credit, she stuck out the entire film, and we can both provide you with the benefit of our experience.
Continuing my earlier statement about the character, Ferdinand (John Cena), unlike the other bulls, does not desire the glory of competing in the matador competition (at this point, the bulls are unaware that they will be killed in the competition). He would much rather spend his time grazing and smelling the flowers. This also contrasts with his size, as he has grown to be a large and intimidating-looking animal, but he remains a gentle giant.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 4th, 2018
When The Sandlot first came out 25 years ago, I connected to the coming-of-age baseball story as strongly as Babe Ruth connected with one of his titanic, 400-foot homers. I grew up in baseball-obsessed Puerto Rico and I happened to be the exact same age as dorky protagonist Scotty Smalls. I’ve kept in touch with the film over the years, but Fox’s new 25th Anniversary Blu-ray re-release of The Sandlot was a great excuse to watch it from start to finish.
An adult version of Scotty Smalls recounts the story of his most memorable summer. As a fifth grader, Scotty (Tom Guiry) moved to a new town with his mom (Karen Allen) and stepdad (Denis Leary) just before the end of the school year. Scotty’s mom wants her sweet, nerdy son to actually get into a little bit of trouble during the summer, so he falls in with a group of kids who play baseball in a raggedy patch of grass called The Sandlot. The only problem is Scotty doesn’t even know how to throw a baseball. Fortunately, Scotty is taken in by Benny (Mike Vitar), the group’s leader and the best baseball player by far. During that one remarkable summer, the kids encounter a dream girl, arrogant Little Leaguers and a legendary canine menace known as The Beast, which swallows up any baseball that finds its way into his yard.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 3rd, 2018
Ever since Disney purchased the rights to the Star Wars property, it was no surprise that Disney would take full advantage of it. Between the movies and TV shows it’s fairly easy to get your Star Wars fix, but is too much of a good thing a bad thing? For Disney XD we have the animated LEGO series Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, and though it is targeted towards kids, there is plenty of fun for the long-time fans as well. What I already enjoyed about the series is that instead of following established characters in the Star Wars canon, we get to get a glimpse at the life of the mechanics who repair the ships after returning to battle. Granted, the story seems to always venture off to other planets and many adventures throughout the galaxy.
I missed out on season one, but it was fairly easy to jump into the second season of the show. The second season generally takes place during the same time as Return of the Jedi, so for fans of the movie, we can finally get to see what else the Rebellion and the Empire were up to during this time.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 30th, 2018
Curious what happened to Diane Lockhart after slapping the taste out of Alicia’s mouth? Well, I wish I could say that all was well, as tragedy strikes again just as she is on the cusp of retirement. That’s where we find Diane at the start of The Good Fight. I had heard rumbles about the show shortly after news that it was moving into production, the spin-off series that would focus on the powerhouse that is Diane minus Julianna Margulies’ character. More interesting was the decision to make the series only available on the CBS’s streaming service. Clearly, streaming service has become a big part of home entertainment, so naturally it was only a matter of time before the networks joined the party in order to compete. However, I must admit that I was skeptical about shows only available through these means, as I doubted that the content was truly worth the price of admission. I must confess that after watching the series, I am tempted to sign up for a subscription. The Good Fight actually turned out to be one of the most well-written and clever legal dramas that I have ever seen. This is made more impressive by the fact that I am not the target audience, but my wife is, and let me tell you, once we started one episode, she wouldn’t stop until we had watched them all.
Picking up some time after the events of The Good Fight, Diane is motivated to make a change following the inauguration of Donald Trump. She decides that it is time to retire as name partner of Lockhart, Deckler, Gussman, Lee, Lyman, Gilbert-Lurie, Kagan, Tannebaum, & Associates (yeah that’s quite the mouthful, but notice whose name is at the front), her prestigious law firm, and plans to purchase her dream home. Wrapping up her last case, she must bump heads with Adrian Boseman (Delroy Lindo), a well-respected attorney representing the victim of police brutality in Cook County. This case brings her in direct contact with her former employee, Lucca Quinn (Cush Lumbo), which reopens old wounds about a certain someone (Alicia). Determined to go out on a win, Diane plays hardball, but Adrian, who has something to prove, does not make it easy for her.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 30th, 2018
With Archer Season 9 Danger Island getting ready to debut in April, Season 8 of Archer titled Dreamland makes its way onto DVD, for many to binge and catch up before the season premiere. I have to admit it took me a while to finally give this show a chance. Last year I had the opportunity to review Season 7, and honestly, ever since I have been a fan. What’s bothered me, though, is how could the show continue following the way season 7 ends? Let’s face it; things were looking grim for the former world’s greatest secret agent, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), so where does the show go from here?
The season kicks off with Lana (Aisha Tyler) and Mother (Jessica Walter) sitting at Archer’s bedside in a hospital while he remains in a coma. Rather than have Archer magically awaken from his coma, the show instead goes into Archer’s mind, which leads us into Dreamland. It’s 1940’s Los Angeles, and immediately we see Archer as a PI discovers that his long-time partner, Woodhouse, has been killed. This may be the greatest way a show has done a sendoff of a character and voice actor, since the show’s voice actor for Woodhouse, George Coe, passed on in real life. The character is missed in the show, but there are some genuine touching moments as Archer takes a break time to time to lament his partner’s passing. This doesn’t mean the show is a Debbie Downer, but instead it does seem to be darker than the previous seasons and full-on embraces its Noir undertones.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2018
"A long time ago in a galaxy far far away..."
It was exactly 40 years ago that we first saw those words flash across the screen. Star Wars was born, and it has become one of the most enduring franchises in film history. The franchise survived a long drought when it didn't seem likely we would ever see those words again. The franchise survived the throes of George Lucas, who created it all and then went a little rogue when he finally did follow up his iconic trilogy. If The Last Jedi and the two previous films are any measurement at all, the best thing George Lucas ever did for the universe he created was to give it up. Of course, I wouldn't necessarily call $4 billion quite giving it up. Since then he's been a bit critical of the path Disney has taken and feeling somewhat left out of the decision process and has openly shown concern for his child under the Disney flag. And after the soap opera that has become the Han Solo film, the fans were getting a little worried as well. It's still too early to know what will become of that particular journey, but that's next year's concern. For now just sit back and revel in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2018
After six seasons I don't really think of Major Crimes as a spinoff from The Closer. It has gone on to establish itself as a much better show than its former version ever was. We have become very comfortable with most of these characters, and the series isn't really looking over its shoulder anymore, if it ever did. This is one of those shows that's just easy to watch. There might not be anything groundbreaking going on here, but it feels like that old worn shirt that you love to wear because it just feels good having it on. That's the kind of thing that can go on for many years, and it did. But Major Crimes is shutting its doors with this sixth and final season now available on DVD from Warner Brothers.
Pretty much the rest of The Closer’s cast remained intact for its six years. The senior officer on the team is Lt. Provenza (Bailey), and he's become the field commander of the team over the years. There's Lt. Andy Flynn (Denison) finally getting married to Commander Sharon Raydor, who originally came from Internal Affairs and was not instantly beloved. But Mary McDonnell gave the role some life, and she became a bit of the show's emotional center. Lt. Tao (Chan) is still one of the tech experts, along with Buzz (Keene), who also serves as the videographer of the unit. Buzz gets a promotion to reserve officer, but he’s still pretty much the guy with the camera. Detective Sanchez (Cruz) is back after suffering a death in the family. He still loses his cool a little, but I found him an awkward character this season. The delivery has changed to an almost deliberate tight, calm cadence. He's obviously struggling to keep his temper under control. Dr. Morales (Del Arco) has a bit of a testy relationship with the police unit this season. It's nice to see some strain here. The unit also includes Kearran Giovanni as Detective Amy Sykes. Last season the show added the rather dry Detective Wes Nolan, played by Daniel di Tomasso. He fits in rather quickly as far as chemistry goes with the unit. Of course, as an undercover cop he was used to being pretty much on his own, so he's still learning the whole teamwork thing. This season we see the arrival of a new and interesting character. Detective Camille Page is brought over from Missing Persons because of her expertise in dealing with missing children cases. (More on that later.) She's played by Jessica Meraz and is a fiery detective not used to being a part of a team. She likes to finish other people's sentences and was mentored years ago by Provenza. The standout character has to be Lt. Provenza, played by M*A*S*H’s G.W.Bailey. The character is actually a lot like that show’s Rizzo. Just pretend that he finally got out of the Army and got into law enforcement. He’s always complaining and getting into trouble, but he’s smart, and his instincts are often dead-on.
