Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 2nd, 2015
Despite Stephen King’s place in modern literary history, Hollywood continues to be hit-or-miss at successfully adapting King’s work for the big screen and television. Personally The Mist is one of my favorite films based off of King’s work, but one can never forget The Shawshank Redemption. Unfortunately, though, there are many more duds than there are successes when it comes to adapting “the Master of Horror’s” work. Big Driver is the most current work to be brought to the screen.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2015
Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis sounds like a murder mystery. The cover of the DVD says, “Ignorance, negligence, indifference”. The documentary was produced by the Autism Media Channel, and the cover also says, “Autism and the US healthcare system”. The implication is that things are not going well for the growing number of parents of autistic children. In March of 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that the rate of autism had risen to 1 out of 68 births in the United States, and that was nearly double from ten years prior.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2015
I give James Franco a lot of credit. He works very hard for a big-shot Hollywood actor. He is ambitious in ways that no one from his generation even comes close to being. He's fearless in his choices and will do practically anything that sparks his creative muse. He is constantly working on film projects, making sure that he includes big-budget blockbusters, but his real passion is a string of micro-budget experiments. He just starred on Broadway in Of Mice And Men. He has won Golden Globes, and he has been nominated for Oscars. He also pursued simultaneous degrees at numerous institutions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2015
Art And Craft is a documentary about an off-kilter mind. That is not necessarily a bad thing. To have an off-kilter mind, that is. Many great geniuses and many great artists have had off-kilter minds, like Van Gogh and Kafka and others too numerous to mention. Art And Craft is about a man who painted many of the great works of art. The only problem is his paintings are nearly exact copies of the originals by famous artists. Mark Landis is one of the most prolific art forgers of the last 30 years. The other thing that should be noted is that he gives all the art away to museums as original works of the great masters.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2015
"Who are the Mythbusters?"
You know who the Mythbusters are, don't you? They've been a staple on the Discovery Channel for over 12 years now. Yes, this 10th year anniversary release is a little late, but a welcome title all the same. If you really don't know who the Mythbusters are by now, I can't think of a better way to get acquainted than to pick up 50 of their best episodes in one collection
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 29th, 2015
“Love is an endless act of forgiveness.”
May Brennan is the best-selling author of a successful book centered around Arabic proverbs. She is played by Cherien Dabis, who is also the writer/director/producer of May in the Summer. Both Dabis and her fictional counterpart use short, pithy phrases like the one above as the basis for exploring familial and romantic relationships. But while May encounters rousing success with her (fictitious, unseen) book, Dabis' picturesque, breezy, ultimately disposable film is a little bit more of a mixed bag.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 28th, 2015
"Did that just happen?"
I have to confess that I entered The Judge expecting a different kind of film than I actually saw. After seeing the trailer, I was reminded of some of the classic courtroom dramas I'd seen over the years, from 12 Angry Men through ...And Justice For All. On the ride to the screening I found my mind was swimming with the "closing arguments" Al Pacino delivered in ...And Justice For All and was trying to image how Robert Downey, Jr. was going to try to top that.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 27th, 2015
His uncle played Christian music, and he sang bass in a chorus for some years. His father gave him a guitar and started him on lessons at age five. With all of that background, it seems no surprise that Trace Adkins became a hit on the country music scene. It was obvious to everyone but him. Instead he looked to sports and a chance to be a lineman for Louisiana Tech until he blew out his knee. When the doc told him he had no chance at a football career, did he turn to that music? Nope.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 26th, 2015
“Hello, please allow me to observe you working.”
A sign bearing those words hangs inside Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation factory responsible for films like Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro. It's one of many polite directives that adorn the airy workspace, but it also describes the mission of The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. The movie gives fans an unprecedented look inside the world (and walls) of Studio Ghibli, and watching the creative process is alternately fascinating, frustrating, and exciting. However, the documentary also surprisingly turns out to be an elegy for a dying art form.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 25th, 2015
Justice or vengeance: how often the lines of the these two things become blurred. At what point does justice become vengeance, or when does it become warranted to take the law into your own hands? Zarra’s Law tells the story of two men who have lived their life coloring inside the lines, doing the right thing, only to see the murderer of someone they loved dearly walk free after a less-than-satisfying sentence. Retired cop Tony Zarra’s (Tony Sirico) life is frozen at the moment he witnessed his brother’s murder. Despite being on separate sides of the law (Tony being a cop and his brother being a member of the mob),