Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2012
"In ancient times the world was ruled by gods and monsters...And now the time of the gods is ending."
It appears that Greek mythology has become the fodder for a ton of movies of late. From young adult films to the hardcore action movies, audiences are getting their fill of the familiar gods and beasts from mythology lore. Some are calling it a trend or hot phase, like vampires and robots. Whatever it is, it isn’t a phase, and it isn’t merely passing through.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 23rd, 2012
"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
That famous proverb comes from a couplet in the Robert Burns poem "To a Mouse." ("The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/Gang aft agley") Simply put, it means that even the most carefully prepared plans can go wrong at any time. The line also provided the title for John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", the classic 1937 novella that has since become required reading in many high schools, along with "To Kill a Mockingbird", "The Great Gatsby" and others. Steinbeck tells the tragic story of slow-witted Lenny and his friend/protector George, two migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression. I imagine Steinbeck's best laid plans probably didn't involve his story becoming the basis for a British cage fighting movie.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 22nd, 2012
As mentioned previously in my reviews, Iron Man in animated form does not have the greatest track record. I remember watching the Iron Man animated film not too long ago (check here for a small review: https://upcomingdiscs.com/2012/04/29/marvel-animated-features-3-movie-collection-blu-ray/) and just thinking that it never even got close to the awesomeness that is the live action films with Robert Downey Jr. Today, we get to review some episodes of Iron Man Armored Adventures. Hopefully the series improves from last season.
(For those who need to catch up on the first season, please take a look at my review of the first season:
https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/05/13/iron-man-armored-adventures-the-complete-first-season/)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2012
"I'm a consulting detective of some repute. Perhaps you've heard of me? My name is Sherlock Holmes."
In 1887, readers of the popular periodical Beeton’s Christmas Annual were to receive quite a special treat. There wasn’t much fanfare or hype to the event. Inside the pages of the magazine was a story called A Study In Scarlet. It was a detective story, perhaps like many published before, except for the detective himself, a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Together with his faithful companion and chronicler Dr. Watson, Holmes would win the hearts of those holiday readers. It might have been an ordinary day, but the world was about to change. Sherlock Holmes would become the most famous detective in the world. His stories would remain in print nearly 130 years later. Over 100 films would be made featuring the character. There would be television shows and cartoon spoofs. No other character has appeared in more productions. When his creator dared to kill the beloved detective in order to move on to newer stories, his very life was threatened. It would seem that Doyle was on the verge of becoming a victim much like those in his stories. There was only one man who could save him from such a grim fate, and he did just that. It was Sherlock Holmes himself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 20th, 2012
When I saw that Nicolas Cage and January Jones were headlining a little-seen/straight-to-DVD-caliber title, part of me was perversely excited. This had the potential to be a historic summit of bad acting! To be fair, I generally enjoy the — shall we say — avant garde stylings of Cage's performances, but I'm much less impressed by the relentless joylessness Jones bring to her work (even on the excellent Mad Men). In short, I was prepared to laugh and I was prepared to wince. However, I was not prepared to enjoy this entertaining, preposterous thriller as much as I did.
Cage and Jones star as Will and Laura Gerard, a happily married New Orleans couple. You know they're the perfect little cultured pair because she's an orchestra cellist, and he's a high school English teacher who plays hyper-competitive chess games with a co-worker (Harold Perrineau). Their world is shattered one night when Laura is brutally attacked after leaving work. While an emotionally distraught Will is in the hospital, he is approached by a stranger named Simon (Guy Pearce). Simon claims to represent an organization that is fed up with the shortcomings of the criminal justice system. He offers to exact vengeance on Laura's attacker in exchange for a favor from Will somewhere down the line.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 19th, 2012
"Nikolai Petrovich Rachenko...our warrior elite...a very powerful and valuable tool...if he can be controlled."
It's no secret that they just don't make action movies like they used to. (Sylvester Stallone just shot a brawny arm into the air in protest. I see you, Sly!) These days the odds of seeing a pretty boy like Matt Damon and a perennial tough guy like Bruce Willis headlining an action flick are just about even. You're just as likely to see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in family fare like Journey 2: The Mysterious Island as you are in an manly romp like Fast Five. Heck, the Arnold Schwarzenegger role in the upcoming Total Recall remake is being played by...Colin Farrell.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on June 19th, 2012
The Raconteurs were formed in Detroit in 2005 by Jack White, formerly of The White Stripes; he pulled together artists Brendan Benson, Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence, who were formerly with the Cincinnati garage rock band, The Greenhornes to create the radio friendly garage band, The Raconteurs. Pulling from the roots of rock and roll with a raw, gutsy sound, they immediately scored with their debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, which went to number two in the U.K. and made the top 10 on Billboard's album chart in the U.S. In 2008, the band played one of the premier musical festivals, the Montreux Jazz Festival in support of their second album, Consolers of the Lonely. The concert was captured on video and is The Raconteurs’ first live recording and official video released by the band.
To enjoy the garage band sound, one must be ready for rough and unpolished rock and roll. The Raconteurs: Live at Montreux 2008 is about as rough and unpolished as it gets. I realize this is going to sound like blasphemy to fans of Jack White and the band, but the concert sounds so raw it seems as if they didn’t even practice for the set. Harmonies are way off, guitars crazy out of sync, voices cracking and croaking off key, even the rhythm of the percussion is unsteady at times. This is not helped by a terrible live mix which at times buries the vocals and other times highlights them to the point of crushing the backing instruments.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 18th, 2012
Take the supernatural comedy of Groundhog Day, merge it with the in-your-face ultra awkwardness of HBO's comedy Extras, then shave away all that stuff I said about “comedy” and you have this film. Oh yes, this film follows the formula of a Comedy, but has none of the fun implied in such a label.
Eddie Murphy plays a successful Book agent named Jack McCall, who makes his living by the way he can spin his words. There is a running gag that he represents authors and yet does not take the time to actually read books for he's too busy talking...but it's about as humorous and the sentence I wrote describing it just now. When McCall tries to reel in a religious guru to sign with his agency, he is soon cursed (or blessed, depending on whether you've guessed there's a happy ending by now or not) with a tree that holds a thousand leaves (mind you, this is not the actual amount but a random guess made at one point), which represent a thousand words McCall speaks. Each time he says a word, a leaf falls off of the tree. What happens to a tree after it loses it's leaves? To a Californian, it is dead...to me (as a Canadian) it simply means it is winter....but here I am trying to be funny when I've got a gosh darn Eddie Murphy film to talk about!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 18th, 2012
There are countless John Wayne Westerns in existence, but a hearty handful stand out above the rest. Hondo is a part of said handful. The story is a somewhat familiar one; that of a lone gunman seeking redemption by helping out a young woman fight off Indians...it just howls “John Wayne Western.” That being said, there are some standout performances and the portrayal of Native Americans is tad more progressive than what was within Westerns of the previous decade.
This film was created at the tail end of the first wave of 3D films, in the 1950s, and it only seems to be utilized during the opening credits and the climactic battle scene (mostly via arrows being shot almost towards the camera). 3D is a term that seems to imply a certain level of campiness, but Hondo avoids that pitfall by developing its characters and enriching the story with some (non-corny) twists and subplots that help move past the larger, cowboys vs. Indians story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 18th, 2012
Did you know that Power Rangers Samurai is the nineteenth season of Power Rangers? But the difference here is that Saban Brands bought back the franchise and have promised a more fun and humorous Power Rangers, similar to older seasons when they last owned the product. So, today I have for you folks a look at the first two volumes of this new series. Let us see if the new team holds a candle to the heroes of old.
47,48,49,50. Ready or not, here we go. So begins another game of hide and seek. However, this school yard game is cut way short when the Nighloks (an evil alien force) ATTACK! All of the sudden, we see the Red Ranger, Jayden (played by Alex Heartman) with his Mentor Ji (played by Rene Naufahu) heading off the pack. Ji offers the Nighlok pack the option to retreat but the Red Ranger is in no mood to give retreat this day.
