Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2021
"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"
Another holiday season and another release of the classic It's A Wonderful Life. This edition looks like a storybook case and has both the restored black & white version as well as the recent colorized versions of the films. If you have one of the UHD 4K collections, you pretty much have the definitive version of the film, and the audio and visual aren't likely to get any better than that. But there are many of you out there who have not made the switch to UHD. This is likely going to be that best ever release for you. You get two versions of the film in an attractive and safe case.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 25th, 2021
When we got aboard the Snowpiercer, it would seem like a new world order was going to be happening. Well, that still holds true for Season 2, but not quite the way we were initially imagining. Did you see what I did there, “got aboard,” because it’s a train. OK, OK; that’s my one joke. Last we saw Daveed Diggs’ Layton, he’d finally managed to seize control of the train carrying the last of humanity following an apocalyptic freezing of the planet. His reign is extremely short-lived, however, as he is almost immediately threatened by the return of Mr. Wilford (Sean Bean) and Melanie’s thought-dead daughter, Alexandra (Rowan Blanchard). I can tell you that after this cliffhanger of a season last season, I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation for the next season. And this season doesn’t disappoint, as the power struggle for the train is continued with a new adversaries, as old adversaries become new allies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 25th, 2021
This was actually the first movie I ever saw on a date. Nearly twenty years ago. The most interesting thing being that I can tell all sorts of things about that experience, but for the life of me, I can’t tell you a thing about the movie. Prior to re-watching it, that is, and having done so, I now understand why it faded from memory, because it isn’t a movie that really makes a lasting impression. This is surprising given that the film is credited as the first photorealistic computer animated film, as well the most expensive video-game inspired film up until 2010. The thing is, it’s a film that if you ask me, never really should have been. The story is not compelling, and it does not accurately depict the source material by which it was inspired. They share the same name, but none of the characters or the plot of the film originated from the video game franchise. Talk about a bait and switch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2021
"We are the only people who are capable of handling time-traveling aliens."
Of course, that can only mean The D.C. Legends Of Tomorrow. This is the sleeper of the entire Arrowverse. It's never really been one of the higher-rated shows, but it has a strong cult audience and has survived more than one season on the proverbial bubble and has beaten back a pandemic and outlasted such better shows as Arrow and Supergirl. I always enjoy it, but I do find it the hardest show to completely follow. It will delve into the silly and the absolutely crazy, and it's pretty much jumping sharks on a weekly basis. It doesn't help that every year sees a huge shakeup of the cast, and this season was no exception.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 20th, 2021
I will say this for DC animated movies, they sure do pack a lot of story in their limited runtime. This film is only an hour, and somehow it felt like two and half hours of storytelling were comfortably fitted into that time. I know stories that don’t accomplish half as much with double the time. That is an accomplishment in itself. This re-release brings back the 2011 animated film based on the four-issue story arc of the same name. It’s a bit of a origin story, encompassing Batman’s first year operating as the Dark Knight at the height of corruption in Gotham. It is also a bit of a origin story for Batman’s nemesis turned ally, James Gordon, who wages his own war against the corruption in the police department. I remember watching this a few years ago, and it didn’t really hold my attention. However, on this outing, I was thoroughly engaged and entranced by the story. That just goes to show you that first impressions can change.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 20th, 2021
When it comes to dystopian-type films, it is very difficult to break ground. In the span of cinematic history, we have seemed some good ones (Mad Max, Snowpiercer), and we seen some bad ones (Chaos Walking, Battlefield Earth). Unfortunately, I would have to rate The Colony (a.k.a. Tides) in the latter group rather than the former. Simply put, there just wasn’t anything about the film that resonated with me. Many of the plot themes felt recycled and predictable. The story follows an astronaut returning to Earth to determine whether it is habitable following years of climate change, pandemics, and war that have decimated the planet. Upon arrival, she immediately finds herself captured by those left behind on the planet. So apparently the planet was not that inhabitable to begin with. Around this time the film started to give me The 100 vibes
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2021
"There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie."
No one knew those rules better than Wes Craven. He helped to create them, after all. Starting in 1972 with the cult favorite The Last House On The Left, he followed that just two years later with The Hills Have Eyes, which led to a sequel. But it wasn't until a decade later that he would deliver his masterpiece and most successful franchise, Nightmare On Elm Street. Wes Craven introduced the world to Freddy Kruger, and our dreams have never been quite the same since. While others attempted to reproduce the same results with many sequels, it was Craven himself who put Freddy to bed with New Nightmare exactly 10 years after his birth.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 17th, 2021
From Bride of Frankenstein to Night of the Living Dead and even Godzilla, horror has been a platform filmmakers have used for decades to handle larger societal issues. In 1992 when the first Candyman released, it was a film that tackled issues of class and race, but it did so in a manner that didn’t feel forced, and in doing so it added an extra level to what I’d consider one of the best horror films of the 90’s. I love the story of Candyman, and the performance Tony Todd gave this tragic character was an equal blend of horror, menace, and sympathy. The way the first film builds its impending doom for Helen Lyle has rarely been matched in films since. Watching as her life crumbles around her up until the moment she finally surrenders herself to Candyman and accepts her awful fate is an impactful moment. The sequels just never lived up to the first film, and it’s a shame,
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2021
"I, Cordell Walker, do solemnly swear..."
No, this is not the next spin-off of the zombie Walking Dead franchise. There's a new ranger in town, and his name is Cordell Walker. I know what you're thinking: "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." That's where you'd be wrong. They might share the same name and job, but this Walker is nothing like the Chuck Norris version that lasted for over a decade when you include made-for-television movies. This Walker is much younger. He was a Marine who had joined after 9/11. He has a family. His wife was killed a year ago, and now he's trying to raise his son and daughter with the help of his parents, who were no longer living in the Norris series. The episodes are more of an ongoing story arc,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 11th, 2021
"My name is Nicky Shen, and this has been my home for three years. A Shaolin monastery in Yunnan Province, China. My mom sent me on a cultural tour of China. Turned out, it was really a matchmaking tour to land me a Chinese husband. Just one of the many ways my mom tried to control my destiny. I panicked. I ran. That was the first time anyone told me I had a choice in anything. I was only planning to spend the night. But then I saw something that I knew I wanted to be a part of. These women were warriors. And so I stayed. Pei-Ling became my Shifu, my mentor."
The new Kung Fu series at the CW is not really anything like the 1970's show that starred David Carradine. And while the credits claim to be based on that show, they really do not have anything in common. This show is not a period piece but exists in current day San Francisco. The titular character is no longer a middle-aged quiet hero or a guy. Instead we have law school drop-out Nicky Shen, a twenty-something woman who doesn't quite have a handle on who she is.
