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.
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 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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 24th, 2021
In 1999 when The Sopranos first premiered on HBO, I don’t think anyone was expecting just how much it would change the television landscape. In its run it made cable TV a main contender for the Emmys, but it also changed the way we see TV, as it took the gangster movie dynamic and stretched it out into a series that ran successfully for 86 episodes. Then there was the way the series came to a close that has had fans and critics talking nearly 15 years after it last aired. It’s the show that raised the bar for what television can be and has been the standard since which only a handful of shows have been able to match in quality. Personally (and I know this is a controversial take), I’m only a fan of the first three seasons, but even a bad episode of The Sopranos is better than most television shows out there.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 22nd, 2021
“As long as we are looking over our shoulder, the past is not dead.”
When it comes to Daniel Craig’s Bond movies, I’ve found them to be hit-or-miss. There are those I love, such as Casino Royale and Skyfall, and then there are those that I wasn’t that into, such as Quantum of Solace and Spectre. However, when it comes to No Time to Die, there is no question that it is my favorite of all the Craig-led Bond movies. Maybe it was how long I’ve been waiting to experience it given that the onset of COVID resulted in the film’s release being delayed multiple times, so by the time it was finally here, I could barely contain my excitement. However, I think it is more likely that the reason is the knowledge that this will be Craig’s final portrayal as the suave secret agent with a penchant for shaken martinis.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2021
Besides the fact that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and that it’s essentially a white collar gloss on Goodfellas, you’d be forgiven for thinking somebody other than Martin Scorsese directed The Wolf of Wall Street. I don’t mean to suggest Scorsese has lost his masterful touch or his passion for filmmaking, both of which were on display as recently as two years ago in the wonderful Hugo. It’s more that after spending the better part of the 21st century making strong, serious dramas, I didn’t necessarily expect Scorsese to make his funniest, loosest and most audacious picture in decades
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 1st, 2021
Superman: The Animated Series was partly made in the same fashion as the massively popular Batman: The Animated Series. The tone was a little more serious, and the stakes were raised in order to create a sense that Superman might just have met his match. It was first produced in 1996 and made 54 episodes through the year 2000. The show received high praise for raising the bar but at the same time keeping what was important to the mythos of Superman. In fact, it even received a nomination for an Emmy. Besides Smallville, this probably stands out as the best television adaption of the one known as Superman, the Last Son of Krypton and hero to the planet Earth (and beyond).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 28th, 2021
No, this isn’t a remake of the 1994 Ice-T Surviving the Game. Unfortunately, this is yet another low-budget action film starring Bruce Willis that has this reviewer wondering if we’ll ever get a great film out of Willis ever again. For the past few years it seems Bruce Willis has given up doing A-list films and has instead gone the route of straight-to-disc releases, and the films have ranged from tolerable to garbage. This is frustrating, because I think we can all agree he’s better than this, but he seems to be fine cashing the paychecks and going onto set and looking miserable from one scene to the next. I miss seeing Bruce Willis being the average-Joe badass. The Last Boy Scout? Heck, at this point I’d rather see him in a Hudson Hawk revival, but alas, this seems to be what we’re stuck with.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 20th, 2021
"My name is Lt. Aldo Raine, and I'm putting together a special team, and I need me eight soldiers. Eight Jewish-American soldiers. Now, y'all might've heard rumors about the armada happening soon. Well, we'll be leaving a little earlier. We're gonna be dropped into France, dressed as civilians. And once we're in enemy territory, as a bushwhackin' guerrilla army, we're gonna be doin' one thing and one thing only ... killin' Nazis. We will be cruel to the German, and through our cruelty they will know who we are. And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us. And the German won't be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives. And the Germans will be sickened by us, and the German will talk about us, and the German will fear us. And when the German closes their eyes at night and they're tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with. Sound good?"
All right, so I’m a bit late to the party on this one, but I wanted to toss in my two bits anyway.
