Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on May 7th, 2014
Following the live performance of Madea’s Neighbors From Hell captured on this DVD, Tyler Perry joins his fellow cast members on stage after they’ve all taken their bows. Perry has ditched his Madea drag and takes to the microphone to thank his fervent, loyal fans for their support. You probably know Perry because of the phenomenal success he has enjoyed in TV and movies. (And because he puts his name on practically everything he does.) However, Perry is quick to remind his audience that it all started on the stage.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2014
"Let's Be Careful Out There!"
It started as a mid-season replacement on NBC and ended up anchoring NBC's famous Thursday night lineup for seven years. In that time Hill Street Blues racked up enough awards to fill a lot of trophy cases. The face of television would be changed forever. There was nothing like it before, and there hasn't been anything like it since. It was a breeding ground for brilliant television show-runners like Scott Brazil (The Shield), David S. Milch (Deadwood), Walon Green (ER), Dick Wolf (Law & Order), Ken Olin (Alias) and David Black (CSI:Miami).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 5th, 2014
When it comes to the feud between Marvel and DC film adaptions, I think we can all agree Marvel at this point may be winning the battles on the big screen, but when it comes to the animated films DC has been delivering hit after hit. Perhaps it’s because the landscape in animation is virtually unlimited and comes with a significantly smaller price tag to deliver.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 5th, 2014
“I do wish I could be content, but...”
“You cannot.”
There's a reason “Great Expectations” continues to be adapted for the stage and screen more than 150 years after its publication. Charles Dickens wrote — and set — his novel during Britain's Victorian era, but the classic coming-of-age story is thick with ideas about social status and all-consuming ambition that easily transcend its original time and place. So how does this new version, first released in the U.K. in 2012, stack up?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 5th, 2014
It’s been a while since a movie has been released that broke the rules on how we expected a film to be made. Avatar was the last game changer, I would say, considering it gave audiences a new way to see films in 3D. Sure, hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in that film, and the reward for bringing audiences something different is it being the highest box office grosser ever. Escape From Tomorrow goes in the opposite direction, and to be matter of fact about it, the film shouldn’t even exist. But writer/director Randy Moore pulled off something that is an achievement that deserves praise for filming his sci-fi satire on location at Disney, without their permission.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 1st, 2014
There is something I find unsettling about an amusement park after hours, when all the rides are shut down and the laughter and screaming of kids running around are gone. These parks, for the most part, are designed to take us to another time or another world where reality is how the park engineers design it to be. So when Skip (Jason Spisak) arrives at the Old West theme park to be the overnight janitor, I could appreciate the surreal world he would be stepping into. As we go along with him on a tour during his first day, his guide and superior is played by Jon Gries, who seems to have a story for just about everything at the park.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 1st, 2014
It’s easy to envision the elevator pitch for Devil’s Due. You only need five words: “Rosemary’s Baby meets Paranormal Activity.” The upside is obvious. The idea of a demonic pregnancy has terrified and unsettled expectant mothers since Ira Levin published Rosemary’s Baby in 1967 and Roman Polanski adapted it for the big screen the following year. Meanwhile, the Paranormal Activity films made low-budget/found-footage domestic horror hugely profitable. The downside? You’re probably not topping Rosemary’s Baby, and horror audiences seem to be suffering from an acute case of found-footage fatigue.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 1st, 2014
In 1998 following the release of Roland Emmerich’s version of Godzilla, the story would continue following some of the characters that we met in the film as well as a host of other characters and monsters. With a 40-episode run coming out to about 14 hours of television, the DVD release of the series comes out at just the right time for those who need a temporary fix before seeing their favorite big green lizard splash across the big screen once again.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 29th, 2014
Martial arts films are just about as done to death as the slasher film. Just about every angle and direction that you can take with these films has been explored by now. When it comes to the martial arts genre, seeing a student or son avenge their father or master is just about the motivation in most of these films, but audiences accept this because what we are sitting down for is the action. Seriously, how many people remember the plots of the old Jackie Chan or Jet Li films? But go back even further to the core classics like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin or Five Deadly Venoms; these films are all rooted in the spirit of revenge.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 29th, 2014
There have been complaints that there are not enough films that have decent lead roles for women. There are those that say that Hollywood does not make enough movies for women. Then when they do, critics tend to dismiss them as “Lifetime” movies (a term that is dismissive because of the cable channel that churns out generic movies for women). It seems far easier to accept excessive violence or male-oriented films with sexual content. If a movie tries to legitimately capture real situations from a woman's point of view, it can be patronizingly categorized as pap and schmaltz.
