Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 19th, 2013
Chris Hardwick is a card carrying, flag-waving nerd. He is very proud of said nerdiness and has devoted the lion's share of his career expressing this. Probably best known for his various hosting duties, especially for the Nerdist podcasts, Hardwick gets to display his stand-up chops in his first, full-length DVD special and he does not disappoint.
Mandroid (if the title was the first hint) is certainly for the nerds. There are references throughout that may not be fully understood by those who have not been initiated into nerd kingdom. Though if you are a part of said kingdom, Hardwick may well be the leading jester. Also, if you a “nerd” (by nature or by choice) you could set up a pretty nice drinking game for every time he uses a Harry Potter reference..just sayin'...
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 18th, 2013
TNT prides itself on “knowing drama,” but as far as I’m concerned the network’s best series was also its most woefully underappreciated. It didn’t have any cops, lawyers or doctors. It wasn’t as light or slick as some of the channel’s hits like The Closer (cops), Franklin & Bash (lawyers) and Rizzoli & Isles (a cop AND a doctor; don’t make me guess which is which). It didn’t have aliens (Falling Skies) or impossibly charismatic crooks (Leverage). Instead, Men of a Certain Age dealt with a topic that is much less fun to think about, yet happens to 100 percent of us: getting older.
I realize a show that deals honestly with aging sounds about as much fun as a colonoscopy. (Coincidentally, the Men embark on a weekend colonoscopy outing in Ep. 6/ “Let the Sunshine In.”) Men of a Certain Age simultaneously celebrates life’s small victories while chronicling its many indignities. Thankfully, the show’s excellent acting, writing and directing keep the material entertaining and genuine.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 17th, 2013
Shout Factory this week releases a Jackie Chan double feature that I can actually stand behind and say, “Yes, buy this.” Chan has been churning out movies since the early 60’s, and with a rumored retirement looming, soon we’ll only have his vast catalog of films to gush and cringe over. Though I think it is safe to say his body could use a break; after all, how many broken bones has this man sacrificed all in the name of cinema?
Crime Story The first on this double bill is the Hong Kong action flick Crime Story. It opens up with a gang of thugs going through a test run for a kidnapping they plan to do. The plan is to take their hostage while on the streets, in the open where anything and everything can go wrong. The test run alone, which ends in a collision, shows the risk the gang is willing to take. The target happens to be a billionaire, Wong (Law Hang Kang) who already suspects there are men out to kill him, thus introducing Inspector Eddie Chan (Jackie Chan).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 17th, 2013
Do you realize how much you’re affected by advertising? Branded attempts to answer this question while showing us where our world is headed if the trend continues. Mishka Galkin (Ed Stoppard, The Pianist) is Russia’s advertising whiz kid. When Mishka meets Abby (Leelee Sobieski, 88 Minutes, The Wicker Man), they immediately become friends, despite the fact that she is the niece of Bob Gibbons (Jeffrey Tambor, TVs Arrested Development, the Hellboy movies), Mishka’s boss. Even though Bob warns him to stay away from Abby, Mishka enters into a personal and professional relationship with her, developing an Extreme Makeover-type show in Russia together. Unfortunately, the show tanks when the woman getting the makeover falls into a coma following her cosmetic surgery.
In the public outcry that follows, Mishka is jailed and Abby is deported. When he gets out after being incarcerated for a few days, Mishka angrily confronts his boss, claiming that Bob used his former CIA contacts to orchestrate the show’s failure so that Abby would leave Russia (and Mishka). During this argument, Bob has a heart attack and dies. Believing his marketing ability is “a curse” harming those around him, Mishka decides to leave the advertising business behind and become a hermit. (The idea that Mishka’s ability is a curse comes from the film’s narrator, who sounds like GLaDOS, the evil computer from Portal.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 15th, 2013
“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”
We’re now 40 years removed from Bruce Lee’s shocking death, and the martial arts superstar has unequivocally achieved pop culture immortality. I Am Bruce Lee examines the icon’s cultural and cinematic impact, as well as the many ways he has influenced current sports and music stars. The film already bills itself as “the best Bruce Lee documentary ever,” so I’m not really sure what you need me (or any other critic) for. I decided to go ahead and watch it anyway.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 14th, 2013
"Space... The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before."
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. No, this is not a Charles Dickens review. It very accurately describes the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The first season went over much better than anyone really expected. The Trek faithful embraced the series and the new characters. It was now time for the show to find its own feet with a second season. Unfortunately, several things went wrong. The Writers’ Guild went out on strike, and that meant no new scripts. Paramount was even talking about getting rid of the series. That was until someone remembered that this was not the first attempt to resurrect Star Trek for the television screen. In the late 1970's Paramount was preparing to launch its "4th" network. The anchor was to be a return of Star Trek, commonly referred to as Star Trek: Phase Two. All of the original cast would return with the notable exception of Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. The show would basically continue that crew's voyages. Then Star Wars lit the box office on fire. Combined with the scrapping of the network, until later, the television series became Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Spock returned along with two new characters. You might recognize Riker in Decker and, of course, Troi in the Deltan Ilea. The series was no more, but several scripts had been written and shelved. With some tweaking, Star Trek: Phase Two's scripts became Star Trek: The Next Generation's foundation for season two.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 13th, 2013
What do you do when you have to choose between the law and what is morally right? Lieutenant Danny Sefton (Seth Gabel, TV’s Dirty Sexy Money and Fringe) faces that very problem in Allegiance. Having lost the respect of the men in his command by transferring to a recruiting position right before they are to deploy to Iraq, Sefton faces a crisis of conscience when one of those men — Specialist Chris Reyes (Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, Like Mike, Roll Bounce) — has his non-deployment waiver revoked.
Reyes’ son is sick. However, due to conflicting diagnoses — one says Stage 4 lung cancer; the other chronic asthma — and the fact that he’s the best medic in the company (and they don’t have a replacement), Lieutenant Colonel Owens (Aidan Quinn, Jonah Hex, TV’s Elementary) decides to deploy Reyes. Having exhausted all his options, Reyes tells Sefton he intends to go AWOL and asks for Sefton’s help.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 12th, 2013
Probably most known for his roasts on Comedy Central, Anthony Jeselnik offers an hour (included the many long pauses) of stand-up comedy that is 100% bad taste. Dark humour and a huge ego are Jeselnik's shtick so you have absolutely every reason to walk away from this...except you might actually catching yourself laughing.
Jeselnik never attempts to make friends with the audience. It's common for a comedian to talk to members of the crowd and perhaps take a few shots at them. Jeselnik sets out to offend and elevate himself above everyone in the room with him. Again...this is his act. Could he be a true egomaniac? Perhaps. He's certainly good at portraying one onstage. More importantly, is it funny? The answer: sometimes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 10th, 2013
If it were possible to buy stock in any under-25 actress today, I’d pick Jennifer Lawrence first, Emma Stone would be a close second, and Kristen Stewart would be last. Lawrence has a pair of blockbuster movie franchises in her back pocket (The Hunger Games, X-Men) and is already a two-time Oscar nominee, thanks to her recent nod for Silver Linings Playbook. So if a studio were to have a Jennifer Lawrence film on its bench, September 2012 would probably look like some prime real estate.
Prime real estate and a murder-related discount are what attract Elissa (Lawrence) and her mom (Elisabeth Shue) to their new home in House at the End of the Street. Elissa becomes drawn to reclusive next door neighbor Ryan (Max Thieriot). Four years earlier, Ryan’s parents were murdered by his sister, who promptly disappeared. (That explains how Elissa and her mom got such a good price on their rental.) Ryan now lives in the house by himself, but a series of strange occurrences make it clear Ryan’s house hasn’t seen its last dead body.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 10th, 2013
“Our enemy here is Al-Qaeda. It’s no secret they are not afraid to die. Neither are we. Tonight we know why we are here. We know who we are. Tonight we fight for something truly greater than ourselves. Tonight we ride.”
“It’s a good day to be a SEAL, good day to be an American.” Yes, I am aware that I’ve already opened with a film quote, but truthfully this film has quite a few good ones. Seal Team Six is the telling of Operation Geronimo, the successful mission that lead to the assassination of Al-Qaeda leader and engineer of the September 11th attack, Osama Bin Laden. I’m sure there are many that are thinking “why would a made-for-television film be made when on January 11, Zero Dark Thirty will premiere worldwide?” They may view the making of this film as a waste of money. They would be absolutely wrong.
