Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 7th, 2015
When it comes to screenwriters in the industry, William Goldman is virtually the king of the written word. From writing such hits as Marathon Man and All The President’s Men to The Princess Bride, Goldman will always be a legend in Hollywood even if it has been a while since his last successful original work. Wild Card is a remake of the Burt Reynolds version of Heat back in 1986. It’s been a few decades since watching the film, so instead of trying to remember anything from it how about I just stick to this stylized version?
Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a guy who doesn’t mind helping you out so long as you pay him for his time. He’s somewhere between a bodyguard and your best friend depending on what the situation calls for. When we first meet him, we see him taking a beating from a schlub that is looking to impress a woman; we know Nick is taking the fall, and when he takes the punches it’s hard to not think that Nick takes a sick bit of pleasure from these hits, but what it comes down to is getting paid.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 4th, 2015
"It's a comedy...hopefully."
It's been six years since Hugh Grant teamed up with director Marc Lawrence. It's their fourth collaboration. It doesn't appear that Lawrence is willing to direct a film that doesn't feature Hugh Grant, because he hasn't. Let's just say the fourth time wasn't the charm. In fact, it wasn't even all that charming. And the problem is that Grant and Lawrence have attempted to build careers out of making Grant charming. By now they're just trying too hard, and the result is a poor showing that was in desperate need of a Rewrite.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2015
They started as a local band in Philadelphia. By 1972 they had released their first album on the national stage called Whole Oates. The duo has been together for over 40 years and have remained playing through most of that time. Even with stops for solo projects, Daryl Hall and John Oates have remained a team throughout those years. It's rather rare for a rock team to remain together and friends for so long. Their endurance has paid off in so many ways, but 2014 would be a year they would see a lot of that hard work and partnership be recognized as they became the first Philly band inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. They are also the best selling duo in recording history. Sounds like the books can be closed on Hall & Oates, right? Wrong. It's also true that in all of their world tours the group never played Ireland. That mistake was corrected when Hall & Oates appeared at the historic and intimate Olympia Theatre in Dublin on July 15, 2014. High-definition cameras were on hand to record the event. And now Eagle Rock Entertainment is releasing the historic event on Blu-ray. It's Hall & Oates Live In Dublin.
While the core duo for whom the act is named has remained intact all of those years, many musicians have come and gone. Fortunately, for this release the band featured here is one of the best the duo has ever assembled. This is absolutely one of the tightest groups of performers I've seen or heard in quite a while. The longest-standing member of the band is sax player Charlie DeChant. He's been with the guys since the fun started in the 1970's. His riffs provide much of that Philly sound that makes the Hall & Oates experience one of the more unique ones around. There's a fusion of rock, funk, and old time rhythm & blues to the sound, and it's distinctive. Count Charlie has one of the huge contributors to that element. The band here also features three members of the 1970's Average White Band. We're talking about Eliot Lewis on keyboards, Brian Dunne on drums, and bass player Kyle Jones. Both bands had a very similar vibe, and the combination is one of those natural things that just work out perfectly. Throw into the mix guitarist Shane Theriot and percussionist Porter Carroll, and you have a recipe for good music.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 2nd, 2015
“For the first time in four years, I can say what I really think.”
It may have taken four years for fictional U.S. Vice President Selina Meyer to make her boldest political move yet, but Veep was finally able to achieve all-around greatness in just three. I know there are fans of HBO's caustic comedy series who would argue the show was already great, and I agree there have absolutely been many flashes of foul-mouthed brilliance throughout its run. But it wasn't until Veep had Selina Meyer try to outgrow the show's title in season 3 that the series itself ascended to another level.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 31st, 2015
Most movies are just not very good. Lots of money goes into turning out boring, repetitive garbage. You watch it and then dispose of it and make room for the next thing. There are some who do more, but the more you do, the greater the risk. Most filmmakers are not given the freedom to take really big risks, but someone who has been given the opportunity to take the big risk is Christopher Nolan. Interstellar is $165,000,000 gamble shooting for the moon. Actually Nolan is shooting for something way past the moon. He wants to take us to another galaxy. There is so much speculative science in this film that it is mind-boggling. The cutting edge of real science is, frankly, getting crazier and crazier. The average person really has no idea how crazy, but Interstellar is going to try to show us just how crazy. The true nature of some of the elements of the theory of relativity and other related theories is that they defy all logic.
One of the most important things in Interstellar is its attempts to deal with some of the properties of time. The laws of physics tell us time acts differently in different situations. In this movie time rules everything in people's lives, but the main character is given the power to do something with time that most of us don't even imagine. It's important to know some of these situations are described in actual scientific theory. In fact, real science is getting closer and closer to God all the time. Most people who don't believe in God don't expect science to contradict that way of thinking. Interstellar doesn't talk about God, but it comes close to doing something similar. It is science's contention to state statistically there are millions of planets with intelligent life out there. Some of those intelligence forces will seem like God to us. This is simple science, but people have such a wide range of beliefs that no one will ever agree on what is the truth. The reason we don't agree is because mankind is just not smart enough to have real answers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 30th, 2015
“There's money flying all over Silicon Valley, but none of it ever seems to hit us.”
There's a lot to like about HBO's Silicon Valley, which debuted last year with a confident, clever freshman season that took merciless aim the tech capital of the U.S. My favorite thing about the show — besides hyper-specific jokes aimed at geeky targets like the many endings of “Mass Effect 3” — is that it portrays (and makes fun of) each aspect of the cutthroat tech industry, from the self-important, aggressively eccentric billionaires to the scrappy, proverbial guys in a garage.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on March 27th, 2015
There's a mile-long list of Hollywood movies that have been re-titled in foreign countries to hilarious effect. I've personally had much less experience with foreign productions being re-branded for American audiences, but Diamond Heist seems like one of the more egregious examples you're likely to find. The DVD cover has professional tough guys/straight-to-DVD MVPs Michael Madsen and Vinnie Jones brandishing weapons while accompanied by a vague explosion and the wonderfully generic tagline, “Payday is only a bullet away.” In other words, there's nothing here that suggests this Hungarian import is actually an action/comedy about male strippers.
To be fair, when you read back the key parts of that last sentence — “Hungarian action/comedy about male strippers” — it's not hard to see why there was some re-tooling in order to maximize the film's prospects in the U.S. Diamond Heist was originally titled Magic Boys, even though the Chippendale's-style action is less Magic Mike titillating and more Full Monty slapstick.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 26th, 2015
"Antarctica, an inhospitable wasteland, but even here, on the Earth's frozen bottom, we find life. And not just any life: penguins. Joyous, frolicking, waddling, cute and cuddly life. Look at them, tumbling onto their chubby bum bums. Who could take these frisky snow-clowns... seriously?"
This one has been a long time coming. I like the Madagascar movies and have been fairly positive about them in these pages. Each time I pointed out that the highlight of these films were the antics of those military-minded penguins and their grand schemes. The film's powers that be have also noticed this, as the penguin characters have been trending with more screen time as the franchise went along. Now those flightless maniacs have finally gotten a film of their own, and dare I say it, The Penguins Of Madagascar are flying higher than the source films with this frosty little tale.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 26th, 2015
I’m not really a big Beatles fan. That will shock, anger, and dismay many of you. Sure, I’ve got a couple of favorites, but nothing I feel the need to hear over and over again. Now, with that said, I am a fan of Paul McCartney. Of all the Beatles he has evolved the most. He has gone from a kid who was nothing really special, just in the right place at the right time, to a very accomplished musician. Few musicians today can match his performance skills on almost any instrument. While a lot of celebrities talk about compassionate subjects, I get the impression McCartney is more sincere than most. Perhaps it’s this sincerity that makes him such a good songwriter.
Paul McCartney is a great example of what Darwin meant by survival of the fittest. No one in the music business has learned to adapt and thrive like Paul McCartney. The term timeless has been applied so often to so many performers that it might have lost any meaning. Still, if anyone deserves that description, it is Paul McCartney. With The Beatles he helped define the 60’s and reinvent Rock and Roll. In the 1970’s and 80’s he continued the hits with Paul McCartney and Wings. When Wings finally disappeared into the midnight sky, McCartney was still at it as a solo artist. Certainly, McCartney albums are fewer and far longer between. Still, each new release is an exercise in quality. Even when I don’t care for a particular McCartney song, it’s easy to hear the work that went into each note.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on March 25th, 2015
“The recent earthquakes in Los Angeles: facts of life or foreshadowing the big one?”
I'm not saying the makers of L.A. Apocalypse — a SyFy-level TV movie centered on catastrophic earthquakes in California — timed the release of their low-budget action flick so it premiered well ahead of San Andreas, the would-be summer blockbuster starring Dwayne Johnson about catastrophic earthquakes in California. It's just funny how things often work out that way. L.A. Apocalypse doesn't have The Rock (or anyone you've likely heard of) and is working with a very small fraction of San Andreas' budget. The result is as underwhelming as you'd expect.
