Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 26th, 2020
“This is a vile waste of taxpayer dollars.”
Will Smith and Tom Holland team up for an animated spy movie; talk about a draw for the crowd. This premise alone was enough to get me and my daughter drawn into the movie. Of course there is a bit more to it, as it also involves Will Smith’s character being accidentally turned into a pigeon. An interesting twist of fate, but honestly, I think it would have been great if it just stayed a straight spy film, without the pigeon addition. Not to say that the film wasn’t still a success with this addition, because as it is the film tackles a very critical subject matter: the use of violence. Who said that a feature film can’t impart an important life lesson, especially with a younger audience? Granted, I did have to spell it out a bit for my daughter, but she’s eight; what are you gonna do? In addition to Smith and Holland, who is making a name for himself in the world of voiceover animation, the cast is rounded out with familiar faces, or should I say voices, such as Ben Mendelsohn, Karen Gillan, Rashida Jones, Reba McEntire, and DJ Khaled.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 25th, 2020
It’s hard to believe as a cinephile that Terrence Malick isn’t a more celebrated director. Sure, he has his fans, but his films virtually never translate to box office success, which is a bit of a shame. His past few films have managed to sneak into movie houses and disappear with little to no fanfare. Honestly, I was a bit surprised to realize how many films Malick has managed to release since the release of The Tree of Life. I understand how most will look at his films and say they are “pretentious” or even “boring”. To be fair, his films are not for everyone, but the one thing I think anyone can take away from his films is that they are each visually stunning. Malick doesn’t simply make your typical tent pole adventure film. Instead they all have a tendency to be contemplative and have a more spiritual or philosophical message. When it comes to A Hidden Life, he delivers just that, and while I’d consider labeling this one of his better films, its nearly-three-hour running time has this film feeling as though it’s overstayed its welcome.
A Hidden Life follows Franz Jagerstatter (August Diehl), an Austrian farmer who is called upon to fight with the Nazis in World War 2. We get to go along with Franz as he goes into training to be a soldier, but quickly we see how he wants to be no part of it; he’d rather be back at home on his farm with his wife and three kids. It doesn’t take long at all to get that Franz is a good guy who holds firmly to his beliefs, but is he willing to make the sacrifice of remaining true to himself and his nature by continuing to refuse to fight and not pledge loyalty to Hitler? Franz understands the consequences of his actions, and the film follows Franz and his family as it stretches over four years till he is finally faced with the ultimate decision of life or death. The plot is so simple, but Malick isn’t trying to tell a compelling story but rather film the experience of making such a difficult decision. We see the pain and turmoil that Franz and his family endures over the years, from Franz and his physical and emotional confrontations with Nazi officers at the prison, to the struggles Fani (Valerie Pachner) encounters at the farmhouse.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 25th, 2020
“Welcome back to Jumanji!”
It would seem that welcoming the audience back to the jungle is in order. Now here is a sequel that when I heard it was being made, all I could do was shake my head. I just couldn’t fathom a reason for a sequel to be made. The film was already a continuation of the previous installment. I also couldn’t fathom a worthwhile story being told. And if it wasn’t for the hard work of Jack Black, who basically made the movie, I believe that my opinion would not have been changed otherwise. After barely escaping the game the first time, the group finds themselves drawn back into the world of Jumanji in order to save one of their own. However, the stakes are higher, as not only is the gang venturing into brand new territory; they are hampered due to being saddled with two new players in the form of franchise newcomers Danny DeVito and Danny Glover. The previews did not do the film justice, as it truly turned out to be far better than I was initially anticipating. It does get a bit long-winded, but for the most part it is a good, fun, and funny return to the established universe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 19th, 2020
"There's a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes."
Clint Eastwood is about to hit 90, and there are no signs that it's slowing him down. Last year he even returned to the front of the camera for The Mule. Now he's back as just the director, and it appears that Eastwood has found two of his favorite subjects in one film. He's always been attracted to the isolated man. If you look back at the men he himself has portrayed over the years, they were misunderstood loners. In recent years he has taken a bit of a shine to telling true stories that usually deal with unlikely heroes who are thrust into a dangerous situation and must act. Heroes like Chris Kyle in American Sniper, airline captain Chesley Sullenberger, the WWII heroes who raised the iconic flag at Iwo Jima in Flags Of Our Fathers, and the brave ordinary tourist who stopped a terrorist attack on a passenger train in The 15:17 To Paris. These heroes always pay a price for their actions, and often they are even persecuted for what they've done, as in the case of Sully. Eastwood has combined that true story and unlikely hero for his latest work, Richard Jewell. It's a cautionary tale that is worth watching, particularly in an age where we are constantly told that if we see something, we must say something. After watching Richard Jewell, you might just experience a potentially catastrophic hesitation. And who could blame you?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 17th, 2020
Bombshell is a dramatization of the real-life scandal that occurred at broadcast news giant Fox News in 2016, where multiple women came forward to report incidents of sexual harassment, many of which involving the chairman and CEO of the company, Roger Ailes. This is an event that I’m sure everyone had some awareness of back then, and if you didn’t, you know about the events involving Weinstein. In regards to this film, it is told from the prospective of three women who were employed at Fox News: Megyn Kelly, played by Charlize Theron, Gretchen Carlson, played by Nicole Kidman, and Kayla Pospisil, played by Margot Robbie. Unlike Theron’s and Kidman’s characters, Robbie’s character is actually a composite character based on accounts of multiple women. In addition to these talented women, this film has someone recognizable names that it would take me the length of this entire review for me to record them all, but I will give you a few of the most prominent cast members: John Lithgow, who portrayed Ailes, Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch, and Kate McKinnon, who played a friend and confidant to Robbie’s character. The list literally does go on and on. I can honestly say that I did not expect to see so many recognizable faces, but I suppose that speaks to the cultural relevance of this movie, as it tackles the idea of sexual harassment in the workplace and the pressures that victims find themselves under, as well as the potential ramifications of reporting it, no matter how tragic it may be that they face such consequences in the first place.
One of the things I really liked about this movie is the multiple layers, as it displays three women, all of whom face this issue and struggle to figure out how to handle the situation and how to cope afterwards. Theron’s character finds herself between a rock and a hard place. Despite having to ward off Ailes’ advances early in her career, she has managed to thrive at the network, and when the allegations come to light, she’s put under immense pressure by the network to defend the chairman. All of this coming not long after another public battle with the then presidential candidate Donald Trump. After barely surviving that very public ordeal where she found her private life brought into the public view, she wants nothing more than to stay out of the matter. Theron does a good job of humanizing Kelly, despite her initial inaction, and actually becomes the character who propels the story as she goes on her own search for the truth.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2020
"Who are we if we can't protect them? We have to protect them."
As I write this there's a truly "Zombie Apocalypse" attitude going on around the world. With the launch of A Quiet Place II delayed because of health panic this might just be the time to "quarantine" yourself in your home theatre and watch the film again on UHD Blu-ray in 4K. There's nothing different about this release except for the steelbook format and different cover art. The discs provided are exactly the same discs you already have if you own the previous 4K release. It makes a nice collector's item as you wait for the eventual follow-up, which I hope will be very soon. You might call me jaded, but I am pretty disappointed by the state of horror movies. It's not just the last few years. The truth is I haven't seen 10 really good horror movies in over a decade. Now that I've had a chance to see A Quiet Place, that number isn't going up. A Quiet Place is not a really good horror movie. It ends up making a lot of the same mistakes that filmmakers think define a horror film in the modern age. It relies too heavily on jump scares and characters who do some of the most idiotic things, thus placing them in a somewhat self-created dangerous situation. But I will make the argument that A Quiet Place is still a pretty good horror film because of a rather clever and unique concept and a filming process that allows us care for these characters more than the usual horror film red-shirt fodder that too often leaves me rooting for the monster in a Darwin-like weed-out-the-gene-pool kind of way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 13th, 2020
“You are in the presence of angels.”
After recently reviewing Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, it only seems fitting that I am returning to you in order to give you the scoop about the most recent installment of the franchise. It is in fact an installment into the franchise, as it exists in the same universe as the television series, as well as the two films that starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. However, in this installment, the Townsend Agency has gone global with agents (called Angels) operating in several international cities, each with their own Bosley (a title that serves as a rank in the organization). For the purposes of this film, we are focused on Sabina Wilson, played by Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Jane Kano, played by Ella Balinska (Midsomer Murders), and Elena Houghlin, played by Naomi Scott (live-action Aladdin). Rounding out the cast are Patrick Stewart, Djimon Hounsou, and Elizabeth Banks, who also serves as the film’s director.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2020
"That's the bravest damn thing I think I've ever seen."
Director Roland Emmerich is no stranger to big-screen battles. The difference is that up until this year those battles have been against aliens, huge climactic changes, or giant lizards named Godzilla. There's no question that he understands how to shoot epic confrontation. The question I had going in to Midway was, can he deliver a battle that wasn't fiction? After nearly tow and a half hours, the answer came back somewhat mixed. This isn't the first time that the Battle of Midway has been brought to the big screen. In the 1970's Charlton Heston gave us a film that was more renowned for the trendy Sensurround gimmick than it was for the drama that unfolded on the screen. Sensurround was a fancy name for huge subs that would shake the theater, and if you were lucky enough to be seeing the film at a theater with enough money to go all the way, you might have found yourself in a seat that was wired to shake, rattle, and roll. Today the chains call that Dolby. This Midway didn't lend itself to some William Castle hustle. It's all up on the screen. The film bears no relation to that earlier effort except for the legendary battle in the Pacific that turned the tide of the Pacific theater of World War II toward the Allies. The film actually shares more in common with the classic Tora Tora Tora in that we spend a good deal of screen time with the Japanese players in the battle. Not at all like the earlier gimmick film, this movie is intended to place you squarely in the middle of the action. If that's what you came to see, you are certainly in for an immersive experience, only without the hot-wired seat.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2020
A sure sign that Easter is just around the corner is yet another home video release of perennial seasonal favorite The Ten Commandments. In years past, we got the multi-disc edition, complete with original silent version of the film. This particular version is rather more stripped down, as far as features go, but it does mark the film’s re-release on Blu-ray. It's a collector's item kind of package with the discs arriving in a book form that isn't quite that full of info but looks kind of nice. The set includes the exact same discs and extras as the original Blu-ray release offered. On the surface this looks like one to avoid if you already have the previous release. But they baited the hook with more than fancy packaging. You get the original DeMille 1923 version of the film, and that's quite a good reason to pick this up. I'm disappointed that there's no 4K version of the film. It was originally shot in 70mm, and a restored 4K disc could look incredible. Maybe next Easter.
The first act of Cecil B. DeMille’s epic is as much a tale of Egyptian power politics as it is the story of a man coming to terms with his identity and destiny. We follow Moses (Charlton Heston) as, rising from triumph to triumph, he has the throne of Egypt within his grasp (much to the displeasure of Yul Brynner, the Pharaoh’s actual son and rival for the affections of the sinuous Anne Baxter), only to lose all worldly power when he realizes he is actually the son of Hebrew slaves. Cast out of Egypt, he returns to demand the liberty of his people, and comes clutching a fistful of plagues to make sure his former brother pays heed.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2020
The notion that there are two sides to every story is at the center of The Affair. Almost every episode depicts the same events related to the titular adulterous relationship from two different perspectives. It’s an ingenious and inclusive storytelling tool, because TV viewers are encouraged to spot the differences in each character’s account of events. (Along with inconsistencies in hairstyles, wardrobe, wallpaper, etc.) That’s why I was somewhat disheartened by the latter portion of the season veering away from what made the show great.
– “Marriage means different things to different people.”
