Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 14th, 2018
New cartoon series these days are a hard watch for me. Gone are the days of classic shows like X-Men, Batman: The Animated Series and even newer favorites like Regular Show which ended about a year ago. Now we get shows where it seems like it is one cheap joke after another including Teen Titans Go and that show about some kid named Steven. So, I wasn't too thrilled to get the newest incarnation of Ben 10 on my review desk a couple of weeks ago. That's when I decided to employ the talents of my 2 year old son, Keaton and see if he can offer some insight.
"Thomas"...no son, we can't watch Thomas (The Train) right now. We have to review Ben 10, there are twenty episodes on this thing, see if you like it or not. "BeNNN." Yep, I hand my son the dvd case. He breaks open the stark white case and gives me the disc. "Thomas" Used to this exchange, I go ahead and put the dvd in the player and it brings up the menu. I select English subtitles, and then go to play the first episode. My son blinks at the opening and decides to sit down on the couch with his thumb in his mouth. He points, "Elmo?", he asks inquiringly. "No, BeNNN." He doesn't say anything else at this point and keeps sucking his thumb while looking at the screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 9th, 2018
The notion of having one of comics’ famous costumed detectives face Jack the Ripper is simply one of those ideas I can’t help but smile with geeky joy thinking about. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, takes the caped crusader back to the early turn of the 19th century, a time when Gotham City was in its early days, before skyscrapers flooded its landscape. This unique take does offer up some fun twists on the legend of the character ,but also takes many liberties of historical events that actually took place. This kind of revisionist history can be fun; take Inglorious Basterds for instance, but how much should you really play with actual history and set character mythology? This is definitely a new playground for the creators to play with, so how does the animated film shake out?
At the start of the film we meet (Poison) Ivy, who has taken a different career path than most may be used to. It is followed by her confrontation with the Ripper, and it doesn’t go so well. It’s an opening like this that lets the viewer know that the familiar cast of heroes and rogues are not safe in this world, so forget what you think you know, and try to sit back, relax, and try to enjoy the story that unfolds.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 9th, 2018
“There was a guy on TV the other night. Had a theory that nearly a quarter of all so-called fatal accidents were actually murders. That's ridiculous...it's only about 10 percent.”
It's one of the more familiar action/thriller tropes: an apparent suicide or accidental death that actually turns out to be an elaborate murder. Usually that story is told from the perspective of the murder victim's loved one, who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. What's cool about Accident Man — a stylish and rollicking action romp — is that it gives us an irreverent look at the cold-blooded killers who craftily carry out these cinematic crimes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 7th, 2018
Kenji Kamiyama is a fairly known name in the anime world. His auspicious beginnings had him contributing backgrounds to shows like Duck Tales and movies like Akira. He then contributed scripts to a Wild Arms anime show and also did the screenplay for one of my favorite animes, Blood: The Last Vampire. His really big break occurred when he landed the director chair for the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex films. After directing the TV show, Eden of the East, he came up with an idea for a new animated film called Ancien and the Magic Tablet. Unfortunately, that name didn't really stick and was renamed Napping Princess. Fast forward to 2018, and I have in my hands the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo set from Shout Factory. Let's check it out.
Once upon a time everybody had the same job. That job was to build machines or in plainer terms, BRAND NEW CARS! The King of Heartland thought this was the key to happiness. If you owned an old motorcycle or last year's model, you would get docked by your manager until you got the newest car right off the line. But there was a voice of hope and reason in the kingdom that belonged to Princess Ancien.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2018
“Never forget.”
The sight of Charlie Sheen in an earnest 9/11-themed drama is, to say the least, surprising. The controversial, tiger-blooded star has obviously drawn his share of headlines in recent years for reasons that have nothing to do with his acting. So you may or may not have forgotten that Sheen was also one of the most famous 9/11 truthers. But the most surprising thing about the ill-conceived 9/11 is that Sheen — delivering his first dramatic performance in years — isn't even the most tacky thing about this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 4th, 2018
When coming into this film you need to put aside any expectations of seeing your typical Pixar or Dreamworks animated film. This is arthouse animation that is filled with originality while attacking the clichés we see in big-budget disaster films. I didn’t really know what to expect from this film, but with a voice cast that includes Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolf, and Susan Sarandon it was such an odd mix that my curiosity couldn’t resist. So is the trippy animated film a success, or is it a dud destined to sink into obscurity?
The film runs at 77 minutes which leaves the film little time to set up characters and plot, but somehow the film still manages to give us a group of fully-fleshed-out characters; though they are a bit exaggerated, they remain relatable. Dash (Schwartzman) and his best friend Assaf (Watts) are returning to school with hopes of being more accepted and respected than they were the previous year. The friends work together on the student newspaper where Dash enjoys writing exaggerated pieces while his friend prefers to stick to the facts and not blow the story out of proportion. It’s because of Dash’s flare for exaggeration that it’s difficult to find students to believe him when he discovers the school is in danger of falling into the ocean.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 2nd, 2018
Bad Robot, in my eyes, is simply the best at keeping things a secret. In this day and age, to be able to surprise audiences is just about an impossible task. When the first Cloverfield trailer was released in 2007 in front of Transformers, it was a trailer that had us all guessing up until its release. In my opinion Cloverfield was one of the best found-footage films to come out and was a grand achievement, considering it was a monster film that had been pretty much been kept under wraps until its actual release. Bad Robot managed to surprise us again, releasing a trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane that set the internet on fire with theories and hopes for this to be a long-awaited sequel. But is that what this really is?
What I want to go ahead and get out of the way is, if you’re hoping for spoilers, there will be none, other than to say if you are expecting a big-budget extravaganza filled with monsters destroying cities, this is not that film. You will feel cheated. Instead, what 10 Cloverfield Lane delivers is something more intimate than I would have expected, and it takes the thriller genre back to its basics.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2018
It might be hard for me to admit, but there are certain instances where having an ultra-high-definition transfer of even a modern film is not necessarily a better thing. The UHD 4K release of Cloverfield is one such instance. There is no question that the transfer is about as sharp and clean as anything I’ve seen on Blu to date. The problem is that it only helps to accent the stylistic flaws inherent in this kind of film. The most noticeable improvement is in the first third of the film. Of course, that part of Cloverfield is about as entertaining as watching paint dry. I still don’t care about these characters and their party ramblings any more now than I did before. The fleeting shots of the creature do look better, but you still better hit the pause button if you want a good look.
The entire film takes place inside the camcorder of a character named Hud (Miller). Hud was given the recorder to document the goings on at a farewell party for Rob (Stahl-David). Rob is about to leave New York for an executive position at a company in, of all places, Japan. I suspect the destination to be one of many Godzilla nods Abrams offers in the film. Hud is doing his duty diligently when the building shakes and half of New York loses power. A television report informs the partiers that an oil tanker has overturned in the harbor near Ellis Island. The people take to the streets, and from here on all of the events are seen only through the lens of Hud’s camcorder. We’re treated to rather fast-paced and too often jarring images of New York crumbling around these people. Buildings collapse in images eerily reminiscent of 9/11. There are explosive fireballs and screaming jets overhead. We hear someone cry that “It’s alive,” and from that moment we get very fleeting glimpses of the large creature causing all of this devastation. It is also shedding smaller parasite creatures that find tasty humans throughout the city. We never really know what this creature is or where it came from. We honestly never get very many good looks at it. Rob wants to go across town and check up on his girl, Beth (Yustman). Wherever our small troop goes, it seems the creature is never far behind.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2018
"Once upon a time there was a great war that brought so much sadness to so many people. Hardly anyone could remember what happiness was like. But something happened that changed all that..."
“Winnie the Pooh doesn't know what to do …” begins a popular song written by Kenny Loggins, recorded first in 1970 by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with a more popular and enduring version by Loggins and Messina a year later. Hundreds of millions of children since the 1920's know who Winnie the Pooh is. He's the happy-go-lucky bear who lives in the 100 Acre Wood with Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga, and Roo. But Pooh's best friend of all was a young boy named Christopher Robin. The books have entertained children for nearly 100 years. Walt Disney introduced us to very different but equally as endearing animated versions in the 1960's. The stories have continued with Saturday morning cartoons, feature films, and an upcoming live action Disney production. Pooh and his friends remain a fond memory for most of us. But most of us don't know the story behind the iconic characters. Goodbye Christopher Robin does an admirable job of bringing that story to life as vividly as the stories have brought Pooh to life over the years. But this is not really a happy story at all. Real life seldom is, and I credit director Simon Curtis for being brave enough to tell the unhappy story without so many of the trappings of Hollywood and the need to have our stories end in happily ever after.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 29th, 2018
“Everyone was warned, but no one listened.”
These words — which are about as subtle as a tsunami — are heard in voiceover at the start of Geostorm, the latest effort from master of disaster (films) Dean Devlin. Yes, I realize no one should venture into a big budget flick produced by Dean Devlin (Independence Day, 1998's Godzilla) looking for subtlety. But no matter what side of the climate change issue you fall on, Geostorm is equally offensive to all parties. And it's not because of its politics or its shoddy writing, which gives that opening monologue to a character who ends up being completely inconsequential. It's because this would-be blockbuster is shockingly short on both fun and spectacle.
