Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 30th, 2016
“A creature that gestates inside a living human host…and has concentrated acid for blood.”
If you're a fan of sci-fi, horror, or action films, chances are you're also intimately familiar with the creature at the center of the Alien franchise. Ridley Scott's 1979 original is a masterpiece of space horror, so it would've been foolish for any follow-up to try and replicate the same formula. Instead, James Cameron's classic sequel succeeds by transplanting an entirely new genre into the series (Aliens is basically a war movie) while maintaining the sense of terror that made its predecessor a classic. You can get a fresh look for yourself now that Fox has released a 30th Anniversary Edition.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 28th, 2016
Shonda Rhimes now has a fourth series running on ABC this past season. Joining Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, and How To Get Away With Murder is the new series The Catch. The series is based on a series of novels by Kate Atkinson and was actually created by Jennifer Schuur. And while The Catch distinguishes itself rather nicely from the usual Rhimes formula, you can still expect the bed-jumping antics that Rhimes is so obsessed with. It's the one thing that all four shows have in common. It doesn't matter whether she's a writer, creator, or just a producer; there's never been an episode of a series with her name on it that doesn't have plenty of sex. In this case it's a sad distraction from what turned out to be a rather clever show.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 27th, 2016
The title might be a bit misleading. Alicia is not so "good" these days. She's tougher and more willing to make the hard choices. She's more cutthroat in court and even when it comes to asserting her position in the firm and with her cheating husband. This is not the "stand by your man" show it might have appeared to be when it began. It's evolved, and that only makes for better television. And now that it has finally come to an end, it's easy to see that Alicia is now just as calculating and manipulative as her husband ever was. If the show was going to stay on the air, there might have been need for the title to change. Of course, I always took it as ironic anyway. Fans will have all the time in the world now to debate such subjects.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 27th, 2016
“This is when we roar.”
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 also means expectations were sky high for this second season. While Empire has inevitably lost some of the sizzle from its unprecedented debut, this unapologetically over-the-top soap rap-era has also managed to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 27th, 2016
"My name is Brian Finch. I was your average 28-year-old screw-up until I took a pill called NZT. Suddenly I had access to every brain cell. And that's why the FBI hired me. There's just one problem. The NZT will kill you unless you have this shot."
Brian is a guy with a lot of dreams but no ambition to actually make them work. When we find him he's pushing an album that he hasn't even written the songs for. Hey, don't we all? His friends and family nod understandingly, all knowing he'll never get around to any of it. He likes to get stoned, and there goes any real ambition he might have actually had.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Dan Holland on September 26th, 2016
When it comes to titles from Blizzard Entertainment, I was always more into the Starcraft and Diablo franchises. I played World of Warcraft (WoW) for a small period of time when it became a popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), but my interest in the game quickly died. The aesthetics were a little too cartoony for my liking, plus, you paid for a subscription. Regardless, I am just one fan of Blizzard: WoW caught on like wildfire. I still know people who are playing the game to this day.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 26th, 2016
Last Spring Eagle Vision released four discs that were collectively known as The Frank Sinatra Collection. But when a man's been singing for nearly 70 years, you can't hold a career like that on just four discs. There was always going to have to be more. The more has arrived in the shape of three more DVD's brimming with Sinatra. This time there are 3 DVD's to add to the growing collection. Each features performances, often from television specials. Each is a landmark even in Sinatra's incredible career. Each will bring you back to that ol' Blue Magic.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 26th, 2016
This movie definitely gives credence to the saying, “keep it in the family,” given that it features the two leads falling in love. I know what you’re thinking: that’s nothing new. Almost every story in existence features a love story in one fashion or another. You are correct, but here’s the kicker: they are both married into the family; he to their deceased daughter and she to their cheating son. That should make things a bit awkward around the dinner table at the holidays.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 22nd, 2016
Growing up I was obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series; it was the Saturday morning cartoon I just couldn’t get enough of. When I couldn’t watch the cartoon, I’d be playing with the toys and eventually the video game back in the original Nintendo console days. So when the movies came out, my parents had no choice but to take me to see them. Back in those days we had the turtles in rubber suits; as a kid the experience was fun but still just not as good as the cartoon. As I got older, well, those original films seem to hold up less and less, and when the news came that an updated version of the film would be coming out I got a little excited, that is till I saw the trailer for the 2014 film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 22nd, 2016
“Does doing things the legal way really make it better?”
Since movies are at their core a form of escapism, they have a way of glamorizing anyone who violently slashes through the red tape of the criminal justice system. It helps explain the enduring appeal of vigilante/revenge movies and it's probably why we're meant to root for the charitable bank robbers in Marauders. While the movie contains some cool flashes of style and occasionally bumps up against some interesting ideas about justice, it ultimately gets way too bogged down in red herrings and pointless subplots.