Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 2nd, 2022
It’s amazing how a pretty face can get you act against your better instincts. Letting someone you just met, a complete stranger, move into your house and giving access to your top-of-the-line security system. Yeah, that is not something that happens unless the person is breathtakingly beautiful. Incidentally, Lily Krug fits that description to a tee. She is a knockout beauty without question. However, looks alone wouldn’t have been enough, given the dark turn her character was destined to take; there had to be some malice behind those eyes. She had to have the eyes of a heartless and calculating sociopath. Did she deliver? Let’s just say, whenever I see her in future roles, even if she is playing a protagonist, it’s going to be hard not to see the predator that I know is lurking behind her eyes.
Shattered follows tech millionaire Chris Decker (Cameron Monaghan), a recent divorcee, who after selling his company has withdrawn from the world. He dedicated his life to his company, so much so that he prioritized it over his family, leading to his subsequent divorce. Now without it, he finds it difficult to let go of the things he pushed aside in favor of his work, i.e. his marriage and his relationship with his daughter. However, according to his soon-to-be ex-wife (Sasha Luss), he needs to move on. Almost as if on cue, enter Sky (Lily Krug), a captivating and disarmingly charming woman he has a chance meeting with in a supermarket. The attraction is instantaneous, and after an accident leaves Chris injured and in need of full-time care, Sky steps in to play nurse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2022
On May 5th 1980 film producer Euan Lloyd was on-hand for 17 minutes while the Iranian Embassy in London was raided by Britain's elite Special Air Service (SAS) to free hostages taken by a terrorist cell. He immediately ran back to his house and called his agent to register several film titles, including Who Dares Wins, which was the original shooting title and British release title of what in America came to be The Final Option. It's important to understand that it was never his intent to do a film about the exact event but use that inspiration to do a film that often mirrors that of the actual raid. Instead of using the actual terrorists and their motives, he felt it was important to make the story not about the bad guys so much as it would be a celebration of the bravery and actions of the SAS. He invited the actual SAS to participate. They declined but eventually offered him some under-the-table assistance when they saw what it was he was trying to do. Those motives have created a bit of a controversy over the film throughout the years, and Lloyd has been accused of making a right-wing propaganda film, which if you actually see the film, you'll quickly realize it is not. Now you have a chance thanks to KL Studio Classics and the Kino release of The Final Option.
The 1980 setting remains. This time the terrorists are domestic and have infiltrated a peace movement that has grown because of a new treaty Britain signs to allow American nukes on the islands. They use the framework of the legitimate movement to recruit and create the civil disorder they need to do something huge. That chance comes when they learn that several American Senate members and US cabinet members will be attending a dinner in their honor hosted by the Iranian embassy. But British Intelligence knows they are there, and they know something is up, so they start to prepare for the worst.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 1st, 2022
In 1999 when Man on the Moon was released, Jim Carrey was pretty much one of the biggest comedic stars in the industry, though at the time I don’t think audiences were prepared to see Carrey make such a departure despite it being a career best performance. This was one of those box office failures that shouldn’t have been, but to be fair, 1999 is one of the most stacked years of great films, though how Carrey didn’t even get a nomination is baffling. So what are my thoughts after revisiting the Andy Kaufman bio-pic that was penned by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood and The People Vs. Larry Flynt) and directed by Milos Foreman (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus)? The opening scene pretty much sets the tone for the film you are about to see with Andy Kaufman (Jim Carrey) breaking the 4th wall to address the film the audience is about to see. He goes on to tell them that the movie is over, and the credits roll and eventually the screen goes to black. When I saw this in theaters, I was surprised by how many people in the audience actually walked out, but to be fair, if you’re not slightly amused by this gag, I don’t imagine you’ll enjoy the rest of the film. Andy Kaufman wasn’t simply a comedian but more of a performance artist who seemed to get pleasure out of entertaining himself first, and if other people enjoyed the gag, well, that was an added bonus. For Kauf was great, but if they got upset or walked out, even better. When George Shapiro (Danny DeVito) catches one of Kaufman’s performances, he feels Andy is a unique talent and offers to be his manager.
The film lets us see the variety of characters that Kaufman developed, from his loveable foreign man that was made famous on Taxi when he was Latka to his obnoxious lounge singer alter-ego Tony Clifton. In some ways the character of Tony Clifton may be Kaufman’s greatest work that he created with his long time friend and comedy partner Bob Zmuda (Paul Giamatti). Seeing how Kaufman uses the character to pull one over on the studio and create drama on the set of Taxi is one of the more memorable yet cringe-worthy moments of the film. What’s even more impressive is how the filmmakers were able to get so many people from Taxi to return and shoot segments for the film. But it’s not just the Taxi sequences where we see people pulled from real life to play themselves in the film. So many people from Kaufman’s real life are in the film, his real life manager, Zmuda, his Dad, and his granddaughter all are sprinkled in this film that attempts to capture the essence of Andy Kaufman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 25th, 2022
"They usually call death row the Last Mile, but we called ours the Green Mile, because the floor was the color of faded limes. We had the electric chair then. Old Sparky, we called it. I've lived a lot of years, Ellie, but 1935 takes the prize. That was the year I had the worst urinary infection of my life. That was also the year of John Coffey and the two dead girls."
For me that place would be the movies. From the time I was a little kid, movies have always had an incredible fascination with me, and it's where some of my fondest memories come from. It's what has led me here, writing about the things I see, and it's never lost its charm even when it became a job. Films like The Green Mile are a huge reason why that is so.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 25th, 2022
Despite my tender age, I didn’t see Escape from New York until I was in my early twenties. My parents never talked about it, my college friends didn’t seem to care, and the Internet wasn’t nearly as prevalent as it is now. But it has become my favorite movie of all time. What’s curious is that the sequel to the film, Escape from L.A., is what introduced me to Kurt Russell and the character of Snake Plissken (and became the foundation of everything I consider to be “cool”). It holds a giant chunk of my movie heart, and I’m glad today to bring you this review of the UHD Blu-ray from Paramount. It is 1998, and hostile forces inside the United States are growing strong. Los Angeles is ravaged by crime, and the US Police Force is formed to keep the peace. A political candidate (played by Cliff Robertson) emerges and predicts a millennium earthquake that will destroy Los Angeles in divine retribution. An earthquake measuring 9.6 on the Richter scale hits at 12:59pm on August 23rd in the year 2000.
The presidential candidate becomes President and shortly after becomes President for his life term. He relocates the capital from Washington DC to his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia. Los Angeles is no longer part of the United States. As a part of Directive 17, all unfit people would be sent there indefinitely behind the Great Wall with no chance ever of retribution. Unfit people could be anybody the President decides, from criminals, murderers, to simply people based on their religion and red meat consumption. Yes, eating a steak in the 21st century could be grounds for exile.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 25th, 2022
“Over a million athletes play high school football every year in America. Each with a dream of their own. Only about five percent of them make it to college ball. And only one percent of those get drafted to the NFL. Most don’t stay in the league for more than three years. Most are not quarterbacks. Only a select few will ever play in the Super Bowl, and each year, there is only one MVP of that game. So, by all accounts my dream, my story is impossible. That’s just the kind of story this is…”
That is quite possibly the best opening monologue that I seen in a long while, and the fact that the man that this film is based on was the one to deliver it just made it all the sweeter. Kurt Warner. If you are a football fan, that is a name that you undoubtedly heard. Even if you only have a passing knowledge of football, enough that you speak it articulately with some, chances are you’ve heard of Kurt Warner. If you haven’t heard of him, allow me to give you brief overview about him: he is an NFL Hall of Fame inducted quarterback, who is widely considered the greatest undrafted player to ever have played the game. He played for the then St. Louis Rams and led their first Super Bowl victory in 2000, picking up a Most Valuable Player award for himself along the way. The list of accolades goes on, but for your sake, I think that should give you a pretty good overview of who he is. I’d say with those kinds of achievements, he is worthy of biographical sports film being made about him. Lo and behold, here we are with American Underdog.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 25th, 2022
Kino Lorber has put together a fun double feature pairing the films FX and FX 2 for their Studio Classics line. These films are a bit of a relic of the past considering how much Hollywood has strayed away from the days of using practical effects to the more modern approach of CGI. Sure, when using CGI you can create just about anything the brain can imagine with the aid of a computer, but there is something about latex, props, and actual sets that have always made movies come alive and feel more grounded in reality. These effects wizards are capable of pulling off almost as much as anything a computer can, but it’s the supplies and setup on set that has made CGI a more acceptable approach in the industry. Over the years special effects and makeup artists in the industry have been contacted by the government to enlist their help in special operations. The film Argo (2012) explored this nearly a decade ago, but going a little further back to 1986 with the first FX film we got to see a fictionalized account of a “what if?” scenario, and the result was a fun film that spawned a sequel and even a TV series.
In this film, Hollywood special effects genius Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) is contacted by the Justice Department to help them stage the assassination of a crime boss, played by Jerry Orbach. As you would expect, things don’t go as planned, and Rollie finds himself being fingered as the trigger man, and if he has any chance of staying alive and out of prison, he has to use his unique set of skills to uncover the culprits.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2022
You just have to watch a few minutes of this film to get what the filmmakers were going for, and if you’re a fan of 80’s sword and sorcery films, i.e. Conan The Barbarian, Red Sonja, this will certainly whet your visual appetite. But then if you also happened to be a fan of the animated films Heavy Metal, Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings, and Fire & Ice, then The Spine of Night is going to be cinematic catnip that will satisfy your geeky cravings. But if none of the films I mentioned above excite you, well, you might want to shuffle along, because this film just isn’t for you. Honestly, I was even on the fence with this film, but then I had to think of the teenage version of myself, and, well, back then in the glory days of VHS, if I had this title to watch, I would have been stoked to come across it. So just what is The Spine of Night? Well, it’s a love letter to a genre that simply doesn’t exist in the mainstream anymore, but it obviously still has its fans, and who knows, maybe a cult following with this film can help revive the genre.
Tzod (Lucy Lawless) is the swamp witch/queen who gets her power from a very rare blue flower of Bastal. She has her powers stripped from her and is left for dead while Ghal-Sur (Jordan Douglas Smith) takes the flowers and has plans to use the plant's power for more sinister means. As for Tzod, we watch most of her journey to collect the final plant that exists but is protected by The Guardian (Richard E Grant), and she tells him her story of woe before he grants her permission to take the plant. This is a very simple explanation for what goes on in this film, and there are several smaller stories that fill up the films running time. But it’s not so much the story that I feel the viewers are looking for, but just the entire experience of the film itself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2022
If you ever wondered just why Marilyn Monroe is the icon that she is today, all you have to do is watch Some Like It Hot, and you’ll see how she captured the attention of audiences from 1959 and well beyond to this day. She was already a star by the time she made the Billy Wilder classic after being in films like Gentleman Prefer Blondes and The Seven Year Itch, but it’s her role as Sugar that really showcases all of her talent, though unfortunately it was the film where her troubles off screen were taking a toll on her physically and emotionally. This would also be the film that would launch Jack Lemmon’s career and be the first of many collaborations with the acclaimed writer and director Billy Wilder. Some Like It Hot isn’t simply a classic film, it is literally a piece of film history that made a profound impact on the motion picture industry, and the American Film Institute proclaimed it to be the greatest comedy of all time.
Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) are a pair of down-on-their-luck musicians in Chicago 1929 who are playing jazz clubs during Prohibition. After narrowly escaping a raid at a club they are playing, their luck takes a turn for the worse when they become the only witnesses to the St. Valentines Massacre, and the mob is after them to keep them quiet. Looking for a quick escape, Jack and Jerry find a way out and a gig that will have them performing in Florida all expenses paid. Unfortunately it’s for The Sweet Sues, an all-girls band. Knowing their lives are on the line, they decide they have no other choice but to disguise themselves as Josephine (Curtis) and Daphne (Lemmon), and of course hilarity ensues.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2022
"And I thought we were pals."
Bert I. Gordon and I shared a friend. He was one of Forry Ackerman's favorite people, and when I would see Forry, he never failed to mention Gordon. Bert I. Gordon was once the king of schlock. He was as much a marketing genius as he was a filmmaker. Like William Castle, he knew how to find something zany and odd which was just different enough to bring in the audiences. I saw most of his films of the 60's and 70's at drive-ins where most of his films were shown in those days along with many of the Hammer and AIP Poe films from Roger Corman. If you look at the B films in the science-fiction/horror genres from that time, you will find them dominated by Gordon, Corman, and Castle. Gordon often used stories in public domain so that he didn't have to pay a writer and he would adapt them with some clever "hip" idea and out would come a cheapie, but something that was always a hoot to watch. Previously you could only see Village Of The Giants in the television set where it was lampooned by those guys at Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I have that version. Now thanks to the folks over at Kino, there's a respectable version out on Blu-ray, and every schlock or Bert I. Gordon fan needs to pick this one up.
