Posted in: Hardware Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2026
"Imagine, a world without, murder. 6 years ago, the homicidal rates had reached epidemic proportions. It seemed that only a miracle could stop the bloodshed, but instead of 1 miracle, we were given 3, the precognitive. Within 3 months of the precrime program, the homicidal rates in the District of Columbia had reduced 90 percent. 6 Years in the precrime program, and there hasn't been a single murder. Now, the system can work for you. We want to make sure that this great system is what will keep us safe will also keep us free. On April 24, vote yes on the national Precrime initiative."
From the mind of Philip K. Dick there was a rush of box office gold that lasted several years. His Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep came Bladerunner. From We Can Remember It For You Wholesale came Total Recall... twice. After the first Total Recall there was plans of using Dick's The Minority Report as a sequel. The stories are unrelated but there was a script prepared and somewhere along the way the film got tabled and sat unproduced for decades. It wasn't until both Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise took an interest in the project that the script was dusted off and taken for a spin. But there had been too much time since Total Recall and so screenwriters Scott Frank and Jon Cohen decided to return to the source material and create the stand-alone movie that would become Minority Report. It was the first time one of Dick's stories would make it to the screen with at least a version of the story's actual title. These guys just added the requisite The and the story was now ready for prime time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2026
"Imagine a world without murder. Six years ago, the homicidal rates had reached epidemic proportions. It seemed that only a miracle could stop the bloodshed, but instead of one miracle, we were given three, the precognitive. Within three months of the precrime program, the homicidal rates in the District of Columbia had reduced 90 percent. Six years in the precrime program, and there hasn't been a single murder. Now, the system can work for you. We want to make sure that this great system that will keep us safe will also keep us free. On April 24, vote yes on the national precrime initiative."
From the mind of Philip K. Dick, there was a rush of box office gold that lasted several years. From his Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep came Bladerunner. From We Can Remember It For You Wholesale came Total Recall ... twice. After the first Total Recall, there were plans of using Dick's The Minority Report as a sequel. The stories are unrelated, but there was a script prepared, but somewhere along the way the film got tabled and sat unproduced for decades. It wasn't until both Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise took an interest in the project that the script was dusted off and taken for a spin. But there had been too much time since Total Recall, so screenwriters Scott Frank and Jon Cohen decided to return to the source material and create the standalone movie that would become Minority Report. It was the first time one of Dick's stories would make it to the screen with at least a version of the story's actual title. These guys just added the requisite "The", and the story was now ready for prime time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 7th, 2026
"Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn't quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse.”
Frank, Jr. is that second mouse ... and then some. Before his 19th birthday, Frank Abagnale Jr. posed as a pilot, doctor, lawyer, and secret service agent in an uncanny crime spree that saw him forging millions of dollars worth of fraudulent checks. This film chronicles the fantastic yet true adventure with large doses of fun injected into the two-and-a-half-hour-long chase."
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2025
In the 1930’s and 40’s, MGM was trying to get in on the lucrative animation game. The field was dominated at the time by Warner Brothers with their Loony Tunes shorts, and of course, the iconic cast of animated characters coming out of the Walt Disney Studio. For years they had failed to find the right property to take advantage of the market. It wasn’t until the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera approached the studio with their first project that the times did change, at least a little, for the fledgling animation department at MGM. The project was far from an original one even for the time. It was a very basic cat-and-mouse adventure featuring a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. There would be almost no dialog on the shorts. It certainly didn’t look like much of a hit to the studio brass, but with no better ideas on the way, they went ahead with the new shorts of Tom And Jerry. There’s a reason why the cat-and-mouse pair is such a classic. It’s because it works. If you can make your characters entertaining and endearing enough, you can have a hit. MGM finally entered the major leagues, and the team of Hanna and Barbera would become one of the most successful animation teams in history. They would go on to create such cherished characters as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, and, of course, Scooby Doo.
These were the days of the Golden Age in Hollywood. These shorts were not being produced for television, which hadn’t been invented when they began; rather, they were intended for theater-goers. In those days, going to the movies was much more of an inclusive experience. You always got a cartoon short along with an adventure serial, the likes of Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and The Lone Ranger. These multi-chaptered serials were the forerunners to the modern television series. It kept you coming back to the movies to see what would happen next. Each chapter ended in a cliffhanger. These early serials were the inspiration for such film franchises as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Finally you got one, sometimes two movies, all for the price of a single admission.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 3rd, 2025
"They're not above nipping at you. Wildfires are pushing coyotes deeper into Los Angeles neighborhoods. They're desperate. They're going to do what they have to to survive."
I think it started with Jaws in 1975. People were afraid to go into the water; some still are. It started with sharks, but by the end of the 1970's it was killer bees, ants, bears ... and by the turn of the century there were giant killer snakes and bears high on cocaine. The wave continues this year with Coyotes, directed by Colin Minihan. The film is at times clever, but it moves into the territory of a comic book movie by using crazy comic frames to introduce characters, and while we're talking about sharks, this movie is jumping them in the first 10 minutes as we watch a young spoiled rich girl walking her yip-yip dog. The next thing we know she's reeling in 15-feet of leash and a bloody foofoo collar at the end. The stage is set. It's a bit amusing, but scared? Not this one. Instead we have CGI coyotes that look like something out of a ... that's right. Comic book.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 27th, 2025
“Do you know why people break up? Guilt. But if you make the bad thing okay, there is no guilt.”
Boy, was this messy. This was possibly the messiest love affair I ever witnessed, which somehow managed to make me laugh, yet also had me rolling my eyes at times. When good-natured Carey’s wife, Ashley, tells him she wants a divorce, his world is shattered. Seeking support from his friends, Julie and Paul, Carey discovers the secret to their happiness: an open marriage. Well, you can guess what transpires next. Essentially, the two couples’ friendship erupts into conflict when the husband of a divorcing couple sleeps with the wife of an open marriage couple. Frequent collaborators Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin star in the film, which they cowrote together, joining forces with Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona as their respective significant others. So, to put it simply, in this comedy, both guys are punching above their weight.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 20th, 2025
"Plato wrote that the ancient Greeks believed we were created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. but Zeus feared our power so he split us into two separate parts, dooming us to spend our lives in search of the other half."
What's in a name? Let me tell you, Billy. When I was first offered the opportunity to watch and review Together out on Blu-ray from NEON, I nearly passed. I saw that it was directed by a Michael Shanks, and I had met Shanks a few years ago. I honestly found him to be one of the biggest idiots I've ever had the displeasure of meeting in the business. Fortunately, I took a closer look at the thing, and I'm glad that I did. You see, this Michael Shanks is not the idiot I met years ago. Of course, that guy was the Stargate SG-1 actor, and this guy is much younger and now a first-time director, and not a complete idiot after all. So I could watch the film minus the bias I would have had a hard time ignoring if it had been that guy. So I took the opportunity, and I'm happy that I did, because while nothing close to a classic or masterpiece, Together is a rather fresh look for a horror film and first effort for the director.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2025
"Sometimes I feel the past is a more comfortable place than the future."
I think for anything to have a grand finale, it has to have been grand to begin with. And I don't think one could argue that Downton Abbey hasn't been grand, at least at some points in its life. Downton Abbey spent six years on television and has amassed 52 episodes. In that relatively short run, the series has also managed to collect over 200 award nominations and several Golden Globes along with other prestigious awards. Let's not forget a rather loyal fan-base that has watched each episode with anticipation of the next sharp barb or character revelation and will insist on franchise authenticity. In one of its years it was the number-one binged series in the world. That's a lot of power, and it's little wonder that all of these ingredients were expected to create a little box office gold. But film franchises from television shows rarely go on to such golden heights. There are some notable exceptions, to be sure. But even here, expectations and changing caretakers often lead to both high points and flops. The Star Trek franchise is a perfect example of those kinds of ups and downs. Mission Impossible is an example of shows that have to be completely retooled to hit the high numbers. Now that the expected last film has been released, where will Downton Abbey fit in this equation? The fans have been vocal and strong enough that a new film franchise had been anticipated to fill the void left by the series almost at once, and those fans weren't disappointed. But how will they feel now that it has all come to an end?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2025
“Now we’re playing some football.”
Let’s just start with the high marks: Marlon does his thing, which I fully expected that he would. Right when you think that we have already seen the best that he has to offer, he finds a new gear, and let it be known that he will not be typecast as just a comedian or as a writer or as producer. He is, in fact, him. Pun intended. Tyriq Withers shows some promise as a leading man, and like his character is clearly hungry to make a name for himself, with this project being his second box office horror appearance this year (the other being I Know What You Did Last Summer). Also, you can see Jordan’s Peele’s influence on the film, as there are a handful of similarities to his previous projects. However, Him, while entertaining, does not achieve the same impact as those aforementioned projects. There was plenty of intrigue, but the train somewhat comes off the track, particularly in regard to the film’s conclusion.
Posted in: 1.85:1 Widescreen, 2160p, Classic, Dolby Digital Atmos, Drama, UHD Blu-ray (4K), Warner Bros. by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2025
"Well, gentlemen, in my opinion, if we send him back to Pendleton or we send him up to Disturbed, it's just one more way of passing on our problem to somebody else. You know, we don't like to do that. So I'd like to keep him on the ward. I think we can help him."
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest was the first movie I ever saw on HBO. These were the very early days of the cable network. It was before the dawn of any real home video. It was at my Aunt Shirley's house that several members of the extended family gathered in dining room chairs around a 19-inch television to watch a movie uncut and without commercial interruption for the first time in our lives. A lot has changed since that 1970's afternoon at my aunt's house. Today we have hundreds of such choices on our television dials. I've seen a huge wave of home video technologies since that day that have included CED video discs, VHS/Beta, laserdisc, DVD, high-definition Blu-ray and now on UHD Blu-ray in glorious 4K The entire game has changed since that gathering 50 years ago. One thing has not changed a bit. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest was a dynamic and compelling film that day. It remains so today.
