Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 12th, 2016
With the success of the Teen Wolf series, it comes as no surprise that MTV would not just capitalize on creating another genre series to the channel, but also tap into the success of a young adult book series. It seems like a no-brainer. Tackling the book series of The Shannara Chronicles was a big risk for the network, with a large cast and a lot of effects, but most importantly, this may be the most dramatic shift the network has had in appealing to a demographic. Really, let’s take a moment and realize how the network that once appealed to the audience that praised the exploits of The Jersey Shore is now attempting to appeal to a geekier and, let’s face it, a smarter audience. It’s a true sign of the times and how things have changed, and it’s a change for the better.
The Shannara Chronicles takes place on Earth, many years after the planet suffered through some cataclysmic event. The world, or at least as far as I can tell, America, is now known as The Four Lands. When the series opens up we are introduced to Amberle (Poppy Drayton), who is an Elf princess, but has been secretly in training for a contest that will determine an elite group called The Chosen, who are basically the protectors of her people. As it would turn out, she does succeed, but it’s at a cost. Her people worship a magical tree called the Elcrys that gives power and protects the people, unfortunately the tree is dying, and Amberle may be its only hope for survival.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2016
"And then there's Maude."
In football, there's always a lot of talk about coaching trees. You know the idea. Some great mastermind who saw his assistants go on to have success of their own and who passed that lucky charm down to others for, perhaps, generations. All In The Family would be the television equivalent to a coach with a long tree. There were an incredible number of spinoffs that led to other spinoffs. Archie's neighbors The Jeffersons moved on up to the East Side and had their own several years of success. That show saw maid Florence have her spinoff from that show called Checking In. Meanwhile, Archie's daughter had her Gloria series, and after Edith's death, Archie settled into Archie Bunker's Place. Even the Bunker home had a spinoff called 704 Houser Street when a new family moved in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 10th, 2016
“I don’t know what kind of trouble he can get into in a day.”
At first glance, those words — spoken by a father in the midst of a particularly eventful weekend with his estranged son — sound like a filmmaker giving himself permission to put his characters in the most outrageous situations possible. But The Confirmation actually shines by keeping things simple. The movie is a low-key, thoroughly affecting story of a father and son forging an unexpected connection.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 9th, 2016
For the horror fans out there, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there have been a lot of horror anthologies being pumped out. It’s a concept that I can appreciate, but even as a fan, enough is enough already. It’s great to see talented people coming together to film a handful of short films, all with a collective theme, and seeing how the filmmakers use the platform to tell the story. For me the VHS series is my favorite of the bunch; not every story will be everyone’s cup of tea, but there are at least one or two stories per DVD that people can enjoy. When it comes to Monsterland, I feel this is a film that somewhat cheats the rules of a true anthology, because it’s really just a collection of short films made independently of one another that seem to have been purchased for this one release. The problem isn’t with putting a bunch of short films together to release for one DVD release; instead what bothers me is that of all the short films that are out there, these are the ones that were picked. Not all of them are bad, but for the amount of talented upcoming filmmakers out there, it’s hard for me to believe that this is the best that could be found for this release.
We are brought into the story as we see a movie theater that is under attack by monsters. Bodies and blood are everywhere, but one guy armed with only a baseball bat decides to stay and watch the movie that is playing; the movie just happens to be Monsterland.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
"Roots: The Saga of an American Family literally blazed across this nation's screens."
In 1977 the entire country became Africans for eight consecutive nights. The name Kunta Kinte would become a household name. It was unprecedented on so many levels that even the ABC executives that made the decision to air it believed it was going to be a ratings disaster. The decision to run it on so many consecutive nights was made to avoid the ratings collapse from lasting more than a week. But by the time the final episode aired, Roots had become the most-watched television mini-series of all time. The final episode was the most-watched episode of television of all time. The mini-series record stands 40 years later. The episode record has been broken only twice since then. First it was the "Who shot JR" cliffhanger on Dallas, and eventually the final episode of M*A*S*H would take and continue to retain the record. If only those executives had known, it would have been a sweeps event instead of the usually dead January slot in which it aired. It was one of the first examples of event television. Businesses closed early. Vegas shows were cancelled because everyone was in their hotel room watching Roots. Before it was over 130 million people saw at least part of the mini-series. At the time there were just under 200 million people alive in the country. The only question I have is what were the other 70 million people doing?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
“Who you gonna call?”
By now everyone knows the answer. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson are the Ghostbusters. As their ad proclaims, they’re ready to believe you. Ghostbusters was originally conceived by Aykroyd as a vehicle for John Belushi and himself. When Belushi died, reportedly from a drug overdose, the project sat on the shelf a few years. Harold Ramis would eventually team up with Aykroyd and finish the script. It’s been said that “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Leave it to these …two knuckleheads to combine the two and create a phenomenon. Like pretty much anyone else, I’ve seen Ghostbusters many times in the last 20 years. And just like all of you, I’m still not tired of it. I am, however, done with the repetitive theme song.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
"Who you gonna call?"
This time?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
"I started at the bottom working every club in New York City. I mopped floors. Swabbed ashtrays. Hauled kegs. You think you work hard? Try scraping Chubby Checker's vomit off the inside of a toilet stall."
Martin Scorsese is a man who has worked very hard over the years. His list of film accomplishments is too big to list here. On television his recent teaming with Terrance Winter produced Boardwalk Empire. It's not much of a surprise the two would team up again for another HBO series. The unlikely partner in this trio is Rolling Stones front-man Mick Jagger. Together these guys have given us another quality HBO series and another compelling anti-hero.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2016
"We began as wanderers, and are wanderers still. We have lingered enough on the shores of the Cosmic Ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars" - Carl Sagan
The Shout Factory documentary Journey To Space is the kind of release that the 4K market was made to serve. Most of this material was filmed in 65mm or with digital cameras in as high as 10K resolution. It was made for screens that are up to three stories tall and still show off the wonders of the images presented. That makes it the perfect kind of item to put on a 4K disc. It was created to be seen with this kind of resolution and color clarity. The material isn't completely original. There is footage here from several other films: The Dream Is Alive, Destiny In Space, Mission To Mir, Space Station 3D, and Hubble 3D. All are created for IMAX theaters. Call it a space odyssey of greatest hits.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on June 6th, 2016
Sketch comedy is always something that has brought me joy. While I was introduced to Saturday Night Live and Monty Python’s Flying Circus at a young age, I don’t think I would trade my engagement with the current sketch comedy scene for a dead parrot or samurai delicatessen (hilarious though they may be). As far back as I can remember, I would watch one sketch show after the next: All That in my earliest years, Chapelle’s Show during high school, and Whitest Kids U Know, as well as the more risqué Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! throughout college. Then in 2013, I was introduced to Kroll Show and taken for a rather wild ride. The show certainly does not have the most insane premises I have seen in a sketch comedy show (see Tim and Eric), but it does pack enough charming, playful irreverence to be polarizing.
The show stars Nick Kroll, a L.A. based comedian, most well-known for his interesting array of characters. Most viewers might recognize Kroll from the hit series The League, where he plays the pompous, obsessive-compulsive lawyer, Rodney Ruxin. However, before I knew him in that role, I had the pleasure of listening to his fantastic characters on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast. Fabrice Fabrice, Bobby Bottleservice, and Gil Faizon are just a few of the characters that Kroll has has put a televised face to through his show. That being said, Season 3 is the show’s last, and while it is a little sad for me to see it go, I eagerly await Kroll’s next big project. My love for this show (as well as Kroll’s comedy) stems from his infectious sense of humor, as well as an amazing ability to maintain consistent comedy through each interweaving sketch.
