Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 9th, 2016
"I'm under some medication for a medical condition so I may not be seeing this correctly. But I'm pretty sure I might be seeing some of your students possibly eating Mr. Peterson. Again it could be the medication."
Cooties starts out with the grossest sequence in the entire film. You might not want to start this film if you're eating, particularly if you're eating chicken nuggets. Ben Franklin once warned us that there were two things one should never see made: laws and sausages. He might just as well have been talking chicken nuggets.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 8th, 2016
"The techniques change, the victims change but it's still a question, "How do these things happen? How are they institutionalized?"
“I was just following orders.” It was the plea heard by too many of the Nazi war criminals during their trials following World War II. It wasn't enough to spare them the consequences of their actions, of course. Six million people were exterminated, experimented on, or tortured. The excuse just didn't hold water. But was it at all valid? Could an otherwise "good" person be turned into something evil just because someone in authority told them to do it? Just how far would an average human being go toward hurting another person whom they have no provocation to hurt just because they are told to do so?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 8th, 2016
Battle for Skyark is a hero’s journey tale without question, as the main character finds himself thrust into the said role of protecting a ragtag group of kids from perceived monsters. Sounds like a lot of responsibility for a kid, if you ask me. The type of thing that sends a person into a dark corner and makes them ball up in the fetal position. You don’t get that, exactly, but you get something similar. Rags witnesses the murders of his father and faces his exile from Skyark, the city created above the Earth following an invasion by an alien race. Upon his arrival on the abandoned planet, he finds himself thrown into the role of savior due to a prophecy which states that the boy who bears thirteen shadows (cuts on the arm sustained during the expulsion process) will lead a group of resistance fighters and take control of Skyark.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 8th, 2016
“I just have this sick feeling that something awful is going to happen.”
I pride myself on being able to keep a reasonably open mind when I pick up a new title to review. But sometimes I can’t help but judge a crappy movie book by its cover. That was actually the case with Kill Game, featuring an androgynous Michael Myers-lookalike brandishing a bloody knife on its cover. I was fully prepared to roll my eyes through this movie, which also nods to Saw, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Big Chill (a little). Much to my surprise, I found myself kinda-sorta getting into this twisty, nasty, low-budget slasher.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2016
“Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” Romans 5:20
The quote above imparts a spiritual message which I will get back to. First, I want to talk about one of the stars of this movie, David Oyelowo (pronounced “oh-yeh-lo-wo”). Oyelowo is best known for playing Martin Luther King in the film Selma. Oyelowo had previously racked up an impressive number of supporting roles in high-profile films like Jack Reacher, Interstellar, The Butler, The Paperboy, Lincoln, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Help, A Raisin in the Sun, and A Most Violent Year. In a short amount of time he has demonstrated that he is one of the most skilled actors working today.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 7th, 2016
"A good family business is not the same as a good family."
You can say that again. The television landscape is changing, at least on cable. Ray Donovan is the latest in the string of new shows that are attracting talent once thought out of reach for television. A show starring Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight: this Showtime series looked to be something very special... and it has gotten better... perhaps a lot better.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 7th, 2016
“Ballet is the ultimate optical illusion. We make effort appear effortless.”
If ballet dancers make the seemingly impossible look graceful and elegant, then Flesh and Bone similarly soars when it doesn’t try quite so hard to conjure drama. The best version of this provocative Starz miniseries explores the psychological toll that ambition, competition, and the (impossible?) quest for creative perfection can take. Unfortunately, the series also introduces way too many subplots and distractions during its 8-episode run.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by BABY on January 7th, 2016
Baby here. I'm the German Shepherd/Chow who handles security here at Upcomingdiscs. You know what puts the scowl in my growl? I'll bet you guys all had a lot of fun over the Christmas holidays. There were probably a lot of parties to go to. We had one here at Upcomingdiscs, but don't ask me how it was. That's because they locked me upstairs in a bedroom the whole time. That's right, the chief of security was locked up. Apparently I can't be trusted when people are walking around with a lot of food. They trust me to guard thousands of dollars worth of home video equipment. I keep those Fed Ex/UPS guys in check every day. But a meatball or a potato chip?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 7th, 2016
I previously reviewed season 4 of The Nanny, and now it’s time to review season 5. If you are interested in the overview on everything about The Nanny and season 4 in particular, then you will have to go back and look for that review. This all about season 5, which I might suggest is the climax of the 6-season series, for whatever that’s worth. The relationship between Fran Fine and Maxwell Sheffield had been on a slow burn for four seasons, but the time was coming for a reckoning. Will Fran’s persistence and patience pay off? I don’t want to make this too dramatic, since The Nanny is probably one of the silliest sitcoms ever made, and that’s taking into consideration that there are hundreds and hundreds of silly sitcoms.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 6th, 2016
Between 2002 and 2008 Jason Statham made a name for himself playing Frank Miller in three Transporter films. Miller was a former special ops expert who became a high-end black market transportation expert. He used his skills to transport anyone or anything from point A to point B for a hefty fee. He had a few rules that governed his business: the deal never changes once it's made, no names, and he doesn't want to know what he is transporting. The business made for some nice action films that gave Statham a chance to show off that particular skill set. The films brought in a modest box office, averaging around $35 million each.
