Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 8th, 2017
“Try to call for help…there’s no one for miles.”
The horror stories I tend to enjoy make me empathize with the ill-fated characters on screen instead of making me yell at them for their stupidity. In other words, “What would I do in this situation?” is a much more compelling question than, “Are you a freakin’ idiot?!” We don’t need to get into whether or not I’ve ever found myself handcuffed to a bed. But suffice it to say that Gerald’s Game — Netflix’s brutal and thrillingly taxing adaptation of Stephen King’s 1992 novel — kept me absolutely riveted from start to finish.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2017
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. - Mark Twain"
Last year Leonardo DiCaprio walked away with an Oscar for his performance in the winter wilderness survival film The Revenant. The film also took statues for its amazing cinematography and also for direction. By the time I was finished screening The Mountain Between Us, I had already started to have flashbacks. Consider this movie to be a Revenant built for two. The film has a great many of the same strengths as last year's epic. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see at least nominations for Hany Abu-Assad for director in his first English-language film.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2017
"Turns out we've had a hellish night. Peyton, kidnapped by Seattle's criminal kingpin, saved by a new amnesiac version of Blaine, which doesn't seem to be sitting well with Ravi. Major, suffering because he promised a zombie named Natalie she'd wake up to a new and beautiful world. And now he can't find her. And poor Clive. 48 hours ago, he had no idea that zombies were a real thing. What I need to tell him may send him over the edge."
And by now you might be either over the edge or at the edge of your favorite television seat.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 6th, 2017
“In our conversation, he seemed relaxed, unfailingly candid, earnest, and trustworthy. That is his talent and his curse.”
You probably know the name Bernie Madoff, the notorious fraudster who used a Ponzi scheme to steal almost $65 billion dollars from his victims. (Yes, that's “billion” with a B!) But if you were hoping to gain some insight into the man and his methods, this HBO film isn't really the place to look. The Wizard of Lies features a fantastic cast, some effective directorial touches, but is too often guilty of telling rather than showing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 5th, 2017
“This is a corpse infected with the plague. It is uncaring, unfeeling.”
When it comes to the overwhelming majority of zombie fiction, it’s all about brains (or rather, BRAAAINS!!!) It’s what the undead hunger for, and a well-placed headshot is usually the only way to kill them (again). And that doesn’t even cover the popular device of using the walking dead as an allegory for an increasingly mindless society. Warm Bodies stands out because it’s more concerned with an entirely different bodily organ. Based on Isaac Marion’s popular novel of the same name, the zombie romantic comedy deals directly with matters of the heart.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 4th, 2017
"And now, folks, it's sock-it-to-you time."
Few television shows have had as much influence on the pop culture as did Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The brainchild of George Schlatter the series has left behind a rich legacy. Even if you've never seen an episode of Laugh-In, you've heard the catch-phrases, or you've watched another show that was directly influenced by it. Lorne Michaels, who created the iconic Saturday Night Live, began as a writer on Laugh-In, and once you've seen Laugh-In, you are going to instantly recognize many of the same ideas. Shows like Hee Haw and the British Benny Hill have admitted to taking material directly from Laugh-In.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 4th, 2017
“This may seem a peculiar request...but could someone explain why I'm here?”
That question is posed slurred by Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp's perpetually sloshed swashbuckler, during his very first appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Given that this is the fifth film in a faded franchise — and that Depp probably needs the money — the answer for why any of this is happening appears to be painfully obvious. Which is why I was delighted (and frankly a little shocked) by how much fun I had watching this latest entry, which manages to entertain while openly plundering the original movie's winning formula.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 2nd, 2017
“You love this type of drama.”
When Fox’s Empire premiered in early 2015, it became an instant sensation that re-wrote the ratings record books. The show’s mix of high drama and hip-hop obviously struck a chord with an underserved segment of TV viewers. Of course, that sort of otherworldly buzz and ratings success was never going to be sustainable. So while Empire has inevitably lost some of the sizzle from its unprecedented debut, this unapologetically over-the-top soap rap-era continues to entertain by leaning into its Twitter-shattering craziness.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2017
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The saying's as true of the human body as it is of a washing machine or a blender. A good surgeon knows that if you go screwing around with something that doesn't need screwing, you are the one who is liable to end up screwed."
One of those things on television that doesn't appear "broke" is Grey's Anatomy, heading into its 14th season on ABC. By now Shondra Rhimes must own a pretty big piece of ABC. OK, she doesn't likely own any of Disney, ABC's parent company, but if this were a game of Monopoly, Rhimes would be smiling all the way to the fake bank.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 29th, 2017
I taught at a Florida high school that took two state championships in seven years, and believe me, I know how seriously these schools take their football. I’m told Texas treats high school football as something sacred to be worshipped, and church meets every Friday night during the fall season. If that’s the case, I can’t imagine a series capturing the emotion that goes into one of these programs as well as Friday Night Lights has. Taken from the film of the same name, the series is even better. So many things about this freshman show impressed me throughout its season run. The cast of relative unknowns, except for Kyle Chandler and perhaps Connie Britton, morph into their characters so well you might never know that a good many of them are performing in their first show. This cast gives new meaning to the term ensemble cast.
