Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 26th, 2012
Mia is a successful architect who has recently become engaged to her boyfriend Tim. While attending her father's own engagement party she starts a flirtation with her soon-to-be sister in law. From there, a full on romance blossoms that looks to tear apart all she had established with her fiancée, and the rest of her family.
This is not really a typical romance story. Rather, it is a tale of how a woman acknowledges, then painfully accepts her true feelings and desires. Mia is a lesbian who has not accepted her identity as such until Frida, the aforementioned future sister-in-law, seduces it out of her. There is a ton at stake that goes well beyond flirtation. Mia has not come out to her family, and this revelation ruins her engagement and creates a strange link between hers and Frida's family since they are on the brink of becoming related by law.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 21st, 2012
A single father gets a major job offer working in a prestigious Chicago restaurant, but the job requires him to move his entire family from out of their hometown of Toledo. They are set up with a new apartment but their dog, Shakey, is not permitted in the building. This family must then decide whether staying for this swanky job is worth losing a member of the family, or is there any other alternatives to losing Shakey?
I have had a bad string of luck when it comes to reviewing films that place “Family Approved” on their cover. To me, this has become a badge of low quality. Alas, this film is not the redeemer I'd hope it would be but it does have a couple bright spots I shall mention.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 20th, 2012
Just in time for the holidays A&E puts together three of their history documentaries and send them out to you in 3D. I'm talking about the History In 3D collection, of course. This is a 3-disc set with an episode on each disc. They come in a nice box with a holograph cover to get you in the 3D mood. Here's what you get:
WWII In 3D:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 20th, 2012
“In the beginning there was darkness. And then bang, giving birth to an endless expanding existence of time, space, and matter. Every day new discoveries are unlocking the mysterious, the mind-blowing, the deadly secrets of a place we call The Universe.”
The History series has lasted for six seasons to date. The show uses modern space photography, computer-generated images, and demonstrations along with respected scientists to explore the various aspects of our universe. While more time is spent in our own backyard exploring our solar system, the series does take us to the outer reaches of space, going back about 13 billion years. That’s as far as we’re able to see. The show is narrated by Erik Thompson. Of course, there is plenty of narration by the scientists.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 17th, 2012
A wealthy mother of three has a secret revealed about her past when her well-meaning son brings a homeless man over for dinner. This production is a play that has been filmed (not adapted) with a laugh-track spliced in, making it resemble a television show. It's meant to be inspirational but it's really just a big mess.
Every single scene in this “film” is flawed. The moral questions brought up are contrived and the solutions are ridiculous. The matriarch of the family has made millions in real estate and is planning to shut down a homeless shelter by buying the property (this is actually revealed at the climax of the film but it's so incredibly predictable that I may as well put it right here at the beginning of my review). One of her children wants to stop the deal and save the shelter after befriending one of its residents. I may as well spoil this part too: the homeless man turns out to be the father of the family. That's right. The characters in this film only exist in total extremes; either incredibly rich or utterly poor. The solutions to everyone's problems is when a millionaire faces a moral dilemma and uses their wealth to fix everything...just like it is for all families right? Totally plausible and relatable right?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2012
"So no one told you life was gonna be this way. Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D O A. It's like you're always stuck in second gear. When it hasn't been your day, your week ,your month or even your year. But I'll be there for you..."
And for ten years and 236 episodes, they were there for you. It was part of NBC's famous Must See TV Thursday Night. The show has been a perennial Top 10 placeholder in the Nielsen ratings. Who would have ever imagined that a show about six twenty-something (now thirty-something) friends would cause such a commotion? The show has thrived on a very simplistic premise – a group of six friends hanging out together in New York City and more or less enjoying themselves. The setup immediately connected with Gen X’ers and spread like wildfire. The rest, as they say, is history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 16th, 2012
To be a cannibal or not to be? That seems to be the question we will all have to ask ourselves if we ever go on to live in a post-apocalyptic society. Sure it’s in the name of survival, but can things really get so bad that one day I could be huddled up with a group of survivors and everyone wondering whose the next to keel over and if there are any special recipes someone would like to try out? Remember it’s all in the name of survival, and in the words of Andrew Zimmern, “If it looks good, eat it!”
The Day isn’t just a movie about cannibals; in fact they are simply in the background for the story of five survivors trying to make it day to day in a cruel, unforgiving landscape. It’s never made clear what has happened to the world our survivors live in, but it’s understood that a large portion of society is dead, and those that remain can do nothing more than prepare themselves for the inevitable. These survivalist movies need to be bleak and depressing, because let’s face it, when the world has managed to reach the point of creating a near extinction of the human race, having hope is a bit naïve. And that seems to be what the film makers understood when creating The Day.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 15th, 2012
Most of you reading this now have probably seen my reviews for part 2 and part 3 of this series. Well, the wonderful people at Shout Factory sent me a compilation disc in blu-ray nevertheless and I am very excited to bring it to the reading public for review. The important medium of digital or motion comics is about to receive its most significant package yet. But enough about an introduction, lets directly dive into the complete collection of Astonishing X-Men or better known as the Joss Whedon run of X-Men.
Gifted (Disc One)
The X-Men prepare for a new year of students. Jean Grey is gone, but Emma Frost has taken her place and Kitty Pryde has returned. The students are promising but still have a lot to prove. However, when a “mutant cure” is announced by Benetech scientist, Dr. Kavita Rao, the students and the team get concerned. The now almost feline Beast pays her a visit to find that her methods might not be ethical. In addition, an alien named Ord has taken a party hostage and it is up to the team to do something a little astonishing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2012
"Nice Greek girls are supposed to do three things: marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone until the day we die."
If ever a movie could be negatively affected by monstrous box office numbers, it’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding. When a five-million-dollar film rides a tsunami of critical buzz and excellent word-of-mouth past the two hundred million dollar box office gross (finally ending somewhere over $230 million), it’s impossible to see it for the first time completely free of expectation. Perhaps this was my mistake, because I went into my first viewing of the king of sleeper hits excited to a super-duper romantic comedy. …I’m not sure exactly what I was hoping for. Was it a hearty helping of belly laughs? This film offers sparse and modest chuckles at best. Perhaps it was some sort of originality within its predictable story arc. Instead, this is a by-the-numbers romcom with by-the-numbers romcom characters. Maybe I was hoping for a film that could at least approach capturing the profundity of love, or the reality of struggles with culturally divergent family values. Whatever it was, I felt pretty unfulfilled by the time it was all over, even though I found the movie reasonably enjoyable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2012
"The ancients spoke of it. It is the heart of this fierce land. It is carried in the wind. Born of our legends, and when we are put to the test, it is the one thing that we must always be."
Readers of this site already know that I have a particular fondness for most of the films that have come from Pixar. The studio pretty much invented the computer-animated feature film, and they've been setting the bar higher with each new release. I've always thought it was rather fitting that the studio ended up as part of Disney. After all, it was the Mouse House that invented the animated feature to begin with. It all has a certain poetic destiny feel for me. Pixar is still leading the cutting edge. My favorite to date has been Monsters, Inc., and I am eagerly waiting for the Monsters University prequel, which is now only a year away. In the meantime, the powers that be over at Pixar have tossed us yet another original story: Brave.
