Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 19th, 2014
“There is something seriously wrong with this sorority.”
Well, well what would life be without its little mysteries? It was only just yesterday that I found myself watching old episodes of Kevin Sorbo in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and now here I am reviewing one of his movies. Coincidence or fate, you tell me? Albeit the man of god-like strength is not the focus of the film, but, of course, with a title like Sorority Party Massacre, I trust you will have no trouble figuring out what takes place in this movie. And if you do have trouble, I would recommend another movie altogether.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 19th, 2014
“Zombies…killer robots…nice town you got here.”
If nothing else, filmmaker Christopher Hatton definitely thought outside the box in his attempt to spice up the lumbering zombie genre. The random appearance of killer robots about halfway through the film is such an out-of-leftfield move — assuming you started watching this movie without looking at its Blu-ray cover (and, no…Dolph Lundgren is *not* one of the robots) — that I actually found it to be inspired. It’s a good thing too because the rest of Battle of the Damned is essentially a low-budget, paint splatter-by-numbers survival flick.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 17th, 2014
“…Super secret spies living next door. They look like us. They speak better English than we do. I mean, come on. Someone’s been reading too many spy novels.”
And now someone has expertly taken the cloak-and-dagger intrigue of a great spy novel, transplanted it onto our television screens, and called it The Americans. While the show is very clearly set during the Reagan era, its complex, multi-layered portrayal of the human beings on both sides of the Cold War makes it feel thrillingly alive today.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2014
"The way of life depicted in this program dates back 300 years. Hunting, especially alligator hunting, lies at its core. Some images may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised."
And they're not kidding. Gator hunting is a bloody business, and this show gets you right up close and in the action. The hunters set hooks with bait, and once a gator is hooked they must reel it in and shoot it in a very small vulnerable spot in the back of the head. Let me warn you that animals were indeed harmed in the making of this film, and you're going to witness that harm.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 15th, 2014
The idea of a vigilante priest hitting the streets to clean up crime is something I can easily get behind. The Reverend is said to be an adaptation from a graphic novel of the same name, though it’s a title I found very little about when doing a cursory search over the internet. What I did find had the plot centering on a Reverend caught in the trappings of the battle between good and evil. Mixing in a supernatural element, some may start to think about The Preacher graphic novels; well, don’t fret, this film doesn’t pack the punch that those beloved graphic novels do, but it’s a noble attempt in the indie horror collection.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 14th, 2014
It is never an easy thing to have to pick up the pieces to a former life that was believed perfect, especially when you are completely blindsided by that life’s destruction. That is the circumstance that both leads Garcelle Beauvais and Brian White find themselves in And Then There Was You. The film features a couple of familiar faces including Leon, Lynn Whitfield, as well as Greg Vaughn, who I haven’t seen since his short stint on Charmed.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 13th, 2014
"You know, the smallest thing can change your life. In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance, when you least expect it, sets you on a course that you never planned into a future you never imagined. Where will it take you? That's the journey of our lives. Our search for the light... "
The same thing can be said for movies. They are a journey that we willingly take. Often they lead us to unexpected places. And if we're very lucky, if the film is very good, there'll be the slightest bit of change in ourselves because of the experience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 13th, 2014
Paula Patton has managed to stand out on the big screen alongside Hollywood heavyweights like Denzel Washington (Déjà Vu, 2 Guns) and Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), but she’s still probably best known for being married to Beetle-douche. That’s why I was hoping Baggage Claim, her first big solo starring vehicle, would be so much better than it turned out to be. It’s tempting to dismiss it as just another corny, clichéd romantic comedy, and forget about it until it pops up on TBS two years from now. But the film squanders too much appealing talent — and insults the audience’s intelligence too often — to let it off the hook quite so easily.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 11th, 2014
There are two very distinctive schools of thought about Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book. There are the Kipling fanatics who have never forgiven Disney for taking a story considered sacred in literary circles and creating something that honestly bears (pardon the pun) little resemblance to the original work. These folks rightfully point out that the story contains almost nothing recognizable about the story and characters from Kipling’s beloved classic. I have often condemned projects that take names like The Night Stalker and Battlestar Galactica and create a vision incompatible with the traditions I associate with them.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 11th, 2014
Upon first glance, The Adventurer: Curse of the Midas Box looks like nothing more than a straight to video mash-up of Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, and numerous other young-adult adventure films. The first impression would be correct, but what is surprising is simply how much fun this film is, and it was made for a quarter of what those block busters had. It’s a treasure hunt filled with legends of mythical beasts and a location filled with a labyrinth of secret passages. The film simply is the kind of movie that fits in snugly with the adventure films I grew up with throughout the 80s and early 90s.
