Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 4th, 2016
If you were a child in the 1960's or 1970's, you were around at the golden age of the Christmas television special. We just celebrated the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and there were a ton of holiday charms that came and went each year. But there were a handful that became classics and found their way to the airwaves every year in December. Of course, A Charlie Brown Christmas became one of these, and it is indeed among the best. It was not the only special to become beloved by generations of viewers. Now Dreamworks has brought together seven of the most memorable of these classics. This was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me, as it will be for millions of children of all ages who looked forward to these event broadcasts each and every year. Now you can watch them whenever you want. And they might not be just for Christmas anymore.
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 4th, 2016
At this point, the most shocking M. Night Shyamalan-related twist would be for the director to make a movie that people actually enjoyed. (The “M.” stands for “maligned,” right?) Hopes weren't exactly high when it was announced Shyamalan — who was once fated to become either “the next Hitchcock” or “the next Spielberg” — would be dabbling in the fading found footage genre. So imagine my surprise to find that The Visit — a broad, nutty mix of comedy and horror — is the director's loosest, most playful effort since Signs. It's also his first (subjectively) non-terrible flick in about a decade.
We meet a harried single Mom (Kathryn Hahn) as she prepares to send her two children on a week-long trip to meet her estranged parents. Becca (Olivia DeJonge) is a 15-year-old aspiring filmmaker who decides to document the experience of meeting her grandparents on camera; she also wants to find out the reason Mom had a falling out with them. Tyler (Ex Oxenbould) is a 13-year-old freestyle-rapping, germophobic goofball who enjoys undercutting his older sister's self-seriousness. The pair take a train to the rural Pennsylvania town where their mother grew up and are met at the station by Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), who take the kids back to their dilapidated farmhouse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 4th, 2016
It’s been a long wait for those of us wanting to see Eli Roth’s return behind the camera since Hostel 2 hit the screens. I’ve been more than a little excited since hearing about Roth’s plans to bring the cannibal genre to its jungle roots. It’s been long enough since audiences have been shocked by the ferocity we haven’t seen from the genre since Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox. Sadly, the intentions were there, but the execution just fell short. Instead of getting the shock and gore we’ve come to expect since Cabin Fever and Hostel 1&2, this time around we get a film that feels a little restrained.
Justine (Lorenza Izzo) is a college freshman who desperately feels the need to protest against the injustices in the world but hasn’t quite found a cause worth fighting about. That is, until in one of her classes the subject of female circumcision is brought up. It’s a subject that offends and disgusts, and it’s one of Roth’s moments to interject his “agenda” upon the audience. Though for most viewers they will simply pick up on this scene as being a way to foreshadow some of the brutality to come.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 4th, 2016
“This road is like a magnet for serial killers.”
There's a difference between paying tribute and ripping somebody off. Wrecker — a high-speed, low-budget actioner — bills itself as “an homage to road classics like Duel.” Unfortunately, that's far from the only nod to Steven Spielberg's 1971 thriller. Wrecker rehashes every significant story beat from Duel, except with a lot less filmmaking skill and a pair of infinitely more annoying protagonists.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 2nd, 2016
“History of man is defined by war. And war is defined by the men who fight it.”
Well, it is definitely more high-tech than the 2007 version, but is that necessarily a good thing? That’s what you are here to find out in this reboot of the popular video game of the same name (minus the Agent 47 part, that is). Rupert Friend is Agent 47 in this updated version, and I will say that despite my initial upset feelings about the recasting of the character, he does an excellent job as the highly motivated and proficient assassin. As far as reinvention goes, I was pleased with this despite it being theoretically ridiculous in some areas, but hey, isn’t that what fantasy is anyway?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 2nd, 2016
"His imperfections were unsettling. But Frank Sinatra was a genuine artist, and his work will endure as long as men and women can hear and ponder and feel. In the end, that's all that really matters."
He was The Beatles before The Beatles were The Beatles. His voice would make women swoon and men want to be him. He romanced some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood history, and he sat at tables with kings, princesses and presidents. He was The Voice. The Chairman Of The Board. He was Old Blue Eyes. His name was Francis Albert Sinatra, but we all called him Frank.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 1st, 2016
America’s most dysfunctional family is back for a fifth season. Showtime dramedy series Shameless, based on the popular UK series of the same name, continues with the same level of comedy and drama that has made it one of the network’s all-time popular shows. The Gallagher clan is always full of surprises, and this season is no different, especially when comes to the family matriarch, Fiona, who probably comes through the largest arc this season as always. Usually when a show reaches this point, it begins to show signs of tedium or signals that it is close to its end; however, that is not the case here, as the season 6 is expected to begin in January.
When we last looked in on the Gallaghers, Fiona was just released from jail and is now on probation. Mickey was worried about Ian, who was beginning to exhibit symptoms of his bipolar disorder. When Fiona wishes to hospitalize him, Mickey fights back and asserts that he will look after Ian. Frank the Plank awakens from his liver transplant to discover his marriage to Shelia. Told that the side effects of his transplant won’t be pleasant and he must refrain from drinking, Frank takes off with Carl and shares a drink with his way-underage son. The final scene was probably the most shocking, as a familiar face showed up outside the Gallagher house.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 31st, 2015
“We're in hell.”
The Blu-ray cover for Bone Tomahawk features a grizzled Kurt Russell donning a cowboy hat. That image immediately indicated to me that I would be in steady, exceedingly capable hands for the forthcoming Western adventure. What I didn't necessarily expect was for Bone Tomahawk to also deliver one of the more frightening, engrossing, and pulse-pounding movie-watching experiences of the year.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 25th, 2015
Pan is a very big and expensive movie, so when you buy your ticket you are getting a lot for your money. Most movies are not for everyone, but it is safe to say that an expensive movie will offer more entertainment value than an inexpensive or cheap movie. Pan was also put together by an award-winning team of respected filmmakers who have been very successful in the past. That is also a good bet when you are buying a ticket. Pan is an expansion of the story of a beloved children’s classic, Peter Pan. Again, you can’t go wrong there. In fact, it is mostly new material that serves as a prequel to the existing story where Captain Hook is basically a nice guy, and there is a whole new villain instead. The new villain, Blackbeard, is played with tremendous gusto by Hugh Jackman. Again, this is a good thing. Rooney Mara (nominated this year for numerous awards for the film Carol this year) is Tiger Lilly. Garrett Hedlund is the young Hook. Amanda Seyfried is Mary, the mother of Peter. Promising young actor Levi Miller is Peter Pan. Peter starts out in a cruel London orphanage but is kidnapped by the evil Blackbeard and his pirates in his giant floating pirate ship and taken to a place beyond space and time which you probably know as Neverland. Peter is eventually rescued by the young Hook, but the story beyond that gets difficult to summarize. The movie is an amazing visual experience and well worth watching.
Now the bad news. The film was not well received by most critics. The reason is because the film has some issues that might distract from the complete enjoyment that the $150 million budget might lead you to expect. One problem is that the original Peter Pan is perceived as having racist elements, especially with a character like Tiger Lilly. The producers tried to avoid that by hiring Mara, a white actress. Then there was a petition circulated that Hollywood didn’t hire enough actors of color. It seems like a no-win situation to me. You can’t have it both ways, people.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 25th, 2015
With their impossibly beefy frames, larger-than-life personas, and familiarity with staged combat (sorry, buddy), pro wrestlers fit the old-school action star mold perfectly. Unfortunately for them, Hollywood isn’t nearly as interested in action flicks that don’t have superheroes, dinosaurs, or Liam Neeson. And while interconnected cinematic universes are all the rage at the moment, Lionsgate and World Wrestling Entertainment have a pretty interesting partnership themselves. Their latest offering is the dopey, compulsively watchable 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown, which is considerably more entertaining than it has any right to be.
You may have guessed by now that 12 Rounds 3 (even the title is wonderfully ridiculous) is the third film in the saga. However, it’s also the second film in the “Action Six-Pack” series, a recent pact between Lionsgate and the WWE to make a sextet of action flicks starring the latter company’s wrestlers. (The first film in the “Six Pack” was Vendetta.) Even before this partnership, the WWE had found a measure of straight-to-DVD success by plugging its superstars into action vehicles that are only vaguely related to each other. (See, The Marine series.)
