Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2016
Clint Eastwood is 86 years old. He is also one of the best film directors working today. His latest film shows no signs of a man winding down his life, let alone his career. I obviously hinted that most other actors (or directors) his age have long ago died or checked into a nursing home. Eastwood looks lean and mean and still directs that way. Eastwood is interesting, as well, because he tends to pick projects that are outside the Hollywood studio corporate thinking. In other words, Eastwood is his own man and does pretty much anything he wants. His films as an actor and director have courted controversy way back to the days of Dirty Harry and A Fistful of Dollars. His films as a director and his personal political views are always full of contradictions that suggest a vibrant, searching mind. Sully is Eastwood’s latest film, starring Tom Hanks, and it is deceptively complex as well. On one level, Sully is a textbook depiction of a famous true life event.
On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) piloted a US Airbus A320 from LaGuardia airport. Three minutes into the flight, both engines are unprecedentedly hit by a flock of Canada geese (which is the subject of a pretty good joke later in the film) and create 208 seconds of hell for Sullenberger and the other 154 human beings on the US Airways flight. The film starts with a bang, with Sullenberger struggling to control the plane under the worst possible circumstances. This is part of the nightmares that hound the rigorously professional pilot. The fact is that the world is full of people who do difficult and dangerous jobs, and piloting a giant passenger airliner is certainly one of them. But the film also pays tribute to hundreds of other first responders who have to rush to life-and-death emergencies every day.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 15th, 2016
In 1959 when Ben-Hur came out, it was a massive undertaking that nearly closed the gates for MGM after nearly bankrupting the studio. It was a huge risk in producing such a large-scale epic that fortunately paid off and became one of the studio’s cornerstone successes. The story of Judah Ben-Hur and his fall from being a prince, to becoming a slave, to eventually becoming a hero to the people in the arena is such a familiar story that it’s hard to not feel you’ve seen this before without even entering the theater. In some parts I look at Gladiator and see somewhat the same film, only being set in a separate time and place. But really, the story of betrayal at the highest levels, and seeing great figures fall only to pull themselves up again is a theme Hollywood seems to relish, and it seems to attract many viewers in the process. Now it seems Hollywood is desperate for remakes, and I figure someone felt it was time to once again dust off the story of Ben-Hur, only this time throw in all the CGI gimmicks at the director’s disposal; after all, $100 million isn’t the investment it used to be for a film. But to paraphrase the great Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park, perhaps the producers were so preoccupied with thinking if they could remake the film they didn’t stop to think whether they should.
Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) is the newest star to tackle the role of the Jewish Prince Judah Ben-Hur. This is the kind of casting that has me a little excited, because right now he’s just an actor on the rise, and having him front in center on a grand epic is something that could help make Huston a breakout star. He’s a departure from previous incarnations, but in a good way; he gives more range than what we’ve seen before, yet sadly doesn’t have that commanding presence that Charlton Heston was able to bring to the role. But Huston manages to give his character charm as we see him in love with Esther (Nazanin Boniadi), a servant girl in the palace. But the crux of the story is around the friendship/brotherly bond between Judah and Messala (Toby Kebbell), a Roman soldier who grew up as an adopted child with Judah.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 15th, 2016
“Word of advice: don't take up a sentimental attitude over the poor.”
That bit of wisdom is offered by Henry Wilcox, the scheming, obliviously shameless wealthy capitalist in Howards End. The 1992 Merchant-Ivory film — which gets a spiffy, 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release courtesy of Cohen Media Group — is based on an E.M. Forster novel that was published in 1910. However, Henry's philosophy towards the less fortunate members of society strikes a chord more than 100 years since the character made his debut. And that's just one reason Howards End is worth another look as we prepare to turn the calendar to 2017.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 14th, 2016
relatively out of the spotlight as she has worked on making her cable network channel, OWN, a success. While I wouldn’t ever say I was a fan of Oprah’s work on the screen, I could appreciate what she did in The Color Purple and Beloved. This being said, I have to admit I was a bit reluctant to take a title that at first glance seemed to be a show that would be heavy-handed with its subject matter centered around the church. Despite my concerns, I’m glad I picked up this title, because despite how it handles some very familiar topics, it’s presented in a manner that not only feels fresh but is truly an engrossing show that manages to suck the viewer in and kept me wanting to see what would happen next.
Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge) returns to her Memphis home with her daughter, Sophia (Desiree Ross), to pay her final respects to her sister who has passed on. Grace returns home but is hardly greeted with open arms. The Greenleaf name is one that has a far reach, due to the fact that Bishop James Greenleaf (Keith David) runs Calvary, a large mega-church that has thousands of followers, with several members of the family taking on large roles in the day-to-day functioning of the church. The Greenleaf family (at least a good portion of them), all seem to live together under one roof, in a mansion that is situated upon a large, picturesque piece of property. The show wastes no time in setting up all the drama that unfolds behind the walls of the mansion and inside the church.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 7th, 2016
Moviegoers tend to have better memories than amnesiac assassins, but I think it’s fair to say we’ve mostly put The Bourne Legacy out of our minds. Universal’s underwhelming, halfhearted attempt to spin off one of its more lucrative franchises all but guaranteed the eventual return of original star Matt Damon and two-time director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum). The duo has re-teamed for the entertaining yet inessential Jason Bourne, which — for better and worse — will feel extremely familiar for fans of the trilogy.
“I remember…I remember everything.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 1st, 2016
The most remarkable thing about Looking might have been how thoroughly unremarkable it was. The HBO dramedy — which followed the love lives of three gay friends in San Francisco — sidestepped any sort of headline-grabbing sensationalism. However, Looking was often low-key to the point that it bypassed being funny or particularly entertaining. The latter point was a bigger issue early on since the show's naturalistic tone made Looking more engrossing as the series progressed and deepened its roster of characters. You can see for yourself how the show got better as it went along now that HBO has released the entire Looking saga — two seasons and a movie — in one handy Blu-ray set.
“I don't know if either of us are very good at being who we think we are.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 24th, 2016
There is a way this film could have been great if not a little amusing. Imagine if James Bond was being stalked by Q; what would Bond do? Sure, I’ll admit it’s a silly notion, but it’s all I could think about as I watched this film about a millionaire and his family being stalked by a disgruntled I.T. worker. In general, it’s a story we see a couple of times a year, the seemingly charming figure that comes into a person’s life that turns out to be crazy and throws everyone’s life into chaos. Films like Cape Fear and One Hour Photo are just a couple of examples of films that tackled the stalker sub-genre; even last year’s overlooked gem The Gift showed you can still be terrifying with a little creativity.
Mike Regan (Pierce Brosnan) is a millionaire who has it all. He has a beautiful, loving wife, Rose (Anna Friel) and a teenage daughter, Kaitlyn (Stefanie Scott) as well as a successful enterprise. Mike is looking to expand his brand and create a new business venture, one that looks to embrace the future of technology as our society continues to grow all the more dependent on our smart phones and computers. After helping save Mike’s pitch to the company, Ed (James Frencheville), an I.T. temp, gets hired full time to the company. Impressed with Ed’s talents, Mike even goes so far as to invite the new I.T. guy out to his home to check out his home security system. I don’t think you need a Magic 8-Ball to see where this is going.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 23rd, 2016
It’s been a while since Nicolas Cage has been in a big studio-released film. It doesn’t mean he’s doing bad movies; it just means he’s not doing any tent-pole releases that flood the multiplex. Seeing Nicolas Cage in a film like Army of One is simply a snapshot of how modern cinema has to evolve for better or for worse. Really, I don’t mean to come off as though this is a bad film or inferior to any other films past or present, but ten years ago this is a film that would have had a much wider release and would easily have gotten more attention. After all, who could resist Nicolas Cage in a film helmed by the director of Borat?
I vaguely remember hearing the story in the news. American Gary Faulkner (Cage) decides to set off on his own to capture Osama Bin Laden and bring him back to the US. It was a story that was a little more than a blip in the headlines, but thankfully we have Army of One that delivers a film that embraces the insanity of the scenario and takes some liberties with the true story, all in the name of comedy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 18th, 2016
“Does death only come for the wicked and leave the decent behind?”
Throughout its first five seasons, Game of Thrones has been relentlessly cruel to its viewers heroes in a way that shocked audiences and upended genre expectations. But as Thrones edges toward its conclusion — and as the TV adaptation becomes more unmoored than ever from the George R.R. Martin novels that inspired it — certain storytelling conventions seem to be inevitably taking over. I seriously doubt this saga will have a traditional “happy ending,” but season 6 is as close as the show has ever come to being a full-blown crowd-pleaser.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2016
"What we do has consequences, intended and unintended. The decisions we make, the actions we bring have weight."
When upcoming heavyweight contenders like Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin get together, you have reason to expect big things. And Billions is very much about heavyweights. The entire show is one big metaphor for a heavyweight prizefight. In one corner you have U.S Attorney Chuck "The Scholar" Rhodes, played by Paul Giamatti. He's the reigning world champion with a record of 80+ to 0. In the other corner is Bobby "Axe" Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis; he could also be considered undefeated. He runs a sexy brokerage firm. He's the people's champion because he gives very freely to notable charities and particularly to first responders because his wife's brother was a fireman killed at ground zero on 9/11. Both of these guys walk and talk like champs. There's a lot of trash-talk between them, but both have very lurid and potentially devastating skeletons in their perspective closets. And most of the first season plays out like the traditional preliminaries of the big fight. They are headed to an ultimate collision, and it's even-money who, if anyone, walks away with the belt.
