Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 18th, 2011
The attack on Pearl Harbor and the days leading up to that fateful event are the subject of the 1970 effort. The narrative jumps back and forth between the Japanese and American perspectives as just enough things go both wrong and right on both sides (the ascendancy of the militant army faction over the reluctant navy in Japan, crucial intelligence always arriving just a bit too late to the right people in States) to make the surprise attack inevitable.
For anyone who has had to endure the unspeakable Pearl Harbor, this is a welcome antidote. Its approach is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Michael Bay’s. There is no romance story here. In fact, there are barely any characters – top-billed Joseph Cotten has about twenty words of dialog and an equal number of seconds of screen-time, and the closest one gets to a character arc involved Admiral Yamamoto and his reluctant, despairing planning of the attack. What one has instead is a sense of people as chess pieces being moved about by a sadistic master playing solo. And rather than Bay’s ridiculous CGI, actual planes are used, with the result that even with the passage of years, the attack in this film is far more convincingly realized.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 14th, 2011
"Long ago in ancient China, the peacocks ruled over Gongmen City. They brought great joy and prosperity to the city, for they had invented fireworks. But their son, Lord Shen, saw darker power in the fireworks. What had brought color and joy could also bring darkness and destruction. Shen's troubled parents consulted a soothsayer. She foretold that if he continued down this dark path, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white."
We all know who that warrior is, don't we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 14th, 2011
"He's a real monster. And he's not brooding or lovesick or noble. He's the shark from Jaws. He kills. He feeds. And he doesn't stop until everybody around him is dead."
Okay, there's going to be two schools of thought going on when it comes to this movie. There are going to be plenty of fans who, like myself, absolutely loved the original tongue-in-cheek 1980's film. It has endured over the years, and I have found it to be just as charming and chilling now as I did when I first saw it back in 1985. Chris Sarandon was wonderful as the vampire, and who couldn't love Roddy McDowall as the reluctant vampire hunter, Peter Vincent? The fact remains that Fright Night was and is still one of those films that will always be a part of our collective love affair with movies. So there is that school of thought out there that thinks we should leave these classics alone and to remake them is akin to hearsay of the strongest order. And no one has been more critical of the remake/reboot/reimagine/rehash mill than I have. But I'm going to speak just a touch of sacrilege to the brethren: If you haven't yet, give this new version of Fright Night a chance. It's actually a blood-well good time. More on the whole remake thing later.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 14th, 2011
"Within our lifetimes, we've marveled as biologists have managed to look at ever smaller and smaller things. And astronomers have looked further and further into the dark night sky, back in time and out in space. But maybe the most mysterious of all is neither the small nor the large: it's us, up close."
Another Earth has all the earmarks of a first feature film for director Mike Cahill. It's also quite obvious that the director is far more comfortable in the documentary style of filmmaking. This movie is shot with the same kind of cinema verite style, and while it does follow the story of these two broken people, it is always told from an intimate point of view of a close chronicler who has somehow gained access to the drama as it is unfolding. There isn't a sense that any of this is scripted. The dialog doesn't contain any of the practiced lines or delivery that you would find in most dramas out of Hollywood. In fact, there isn't anything "Hollywood" about the film. There lies its greatest strength and, perhaps its greatest weakness.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 14th, 2011
“Here's the thing, I... I live my life a certain way. And that is that I like to think that if you put your trust out there, I mean, if you really give people the benefit of the doubt, see their best intentions, they're gonna want to live up to it. It doesn't always work out, clearly, but, more often than not, I think that if you do, people will rise to the occasion. I really believe that.”
In a deck of Tarot cards there is a major arcana card called The Fool. It depicts a young man wearing colorful motley clothes and carrying all his possessions in a bag on his back. A dog barks at his heel as he heads off into the world, his eyes so full of wonder and excitement he doesn’t see the cliff directly in front of him. Our Idiot Brother is a movie about that kind of fool.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 14th, 2011
Quick, ask me a question that involves Rock and Roll music. Chances are the answer to that question is either the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. The answer was Nickelback? Oh, then the question must have been: Name a Band that only had two good albums and spent the rest of the time copying their own music repeatedly until you wanted to smash Chad Kroeger in the face. Anyway, our review today takes us to 1978 and the Rolling Stones. See, I told you all avenues lead to the Beatles or Stones.
The Rolling Stones by 1978 were a huge success having released over a dozen albums, many of which reached Gold and Platinum status many times over. Their latest album, Black and Blue went to Platinum in the US and hit #1 on the Billboard charts and stayed on the charts for twenty four weeks. Their two big hits off the album included “Fool to Cry” and “Hot Stuff”. The former song, “Full to Cry” scored as a top ten hit. In addition to Platinum status in the US, France and the UK both reported Gold sales for the record.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 13th, 2011
“Oh hidy ho officer, we've had a doozy of a day. There we were minding our own business, just doing chores around the house, when kids started killing themselves all over my property.”
A carload of preppie college kids set off for a Memorial Day weekend of partying deep in the backwoods of West Virginia. They encounter a couple creepy looking hillbillies leering at them on the highway. Stopping to gas up they encounter the two rednecks again, but this time one of the two approaches the girls holding a scythe over his head and laughing like a madman. Feeling threatened, the kids get in the face of the rednecks warning them to back off. Later, deep in the woods, an urban legend is shared around the campfire about the Memorial Day Massacre, a series of unsolved hillbilly murders which took place in that same forest twenty years ago to the day. To shake off the scary story the kids decide to go skinny dipping. Unknown to them, the two backwoods hicks watch from offshore in a small fishing boat…
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 13th, 2011
“It's impossible, but it would appear that the Spermupermine has had an adverse effect on your system. It's not only strengthening your spermatozoa, but it's causing it to grow to gargantuan proportions.”
I definitely have a soft spot for the horror anthologies; they’re the equivalent of cinema short stories. Some of the best horror anthology movies were Creepshow, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, The House That Dripped Blood, Trick ‘R Treat, Asylum, Body Bags, Dead of Night and Black Sabbath. I mention this because if you are fond of horror anthologies, watch these. However, if you have a taste for bad taste (I’m talking early John Waters bad taste), if you can’t get enough of Grindhouse style B-Movie tributes, if you crave countless NC-17 style sex horror gags topped with an insane fecal spectacle, then I am happy to say Chillerama is your Holy Grail… well, er… more like Unholy Grail.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 13th, 2011
"'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...not even a mouse..."
The poem is a popular one. It was originally titled A Visit From St. Nick and has been a holiday staple since the 1820's. No one knows for sure who wrote it, and there are several schools of thought on its authorship. What is not in doubt is that the lines are about as familiar as Christmas itself. Over the years it has been lampooned and used as an inspiration for many films, plays and songs. In 1974 Rankin & Bass tackled the title, and it has since become a holiday staple. While not quite as popular as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas or A Charlie Brown Christmas, it remains one of those fond memories, particularly with those of us who were children in the 70's.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2011
Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s…. well, Clark Kent. And we finally have to say goodbye to the wonderful universe that this show has brought to the Superman mythology. With the show ending on its own terms we expected a lot from this season, and it was something just short of impossible for the cast and crew to deliver on those fans expectations. The season wasn't perfect, and I'm sure that each fan walked away disappointed in something that happened, or more likely didn't happen. It was a tall order, but I think that the show delivered quite handsomely. For me, it was important that Tom Welling get that chance to put on the suit and fly. I wouldn't think it was any kind of major spoiler to tell you that he does. Those last 12 minutes were payoff enough for me. There were also some rather emotional moments that brought back many past cast members including the much-anticipated return of Michael Rosenbaum as Lex.
There were certainly epic story-lines going on here. There's a Watchmen/X-Men-like story that deals with a law to force masked heroes to register with the government amid a surge of anti-hero public backlash. Of course, it's Lois's father played excellently by Michael Ironside who leads the anti-hero legislative push.
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