Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on February 15th, 2018
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: single gal pals looking for love — among other things — in the big city. On television, the trope dates back to the days of Laverne & Shirley and continues with more contemporary entries like Sex and the City and Girls. The queens kweens of Comedy Central's Broad City have given that timeless story hook a funny, druggy and tremendously weird spin for the past four seasons. That includes this most recent batch of episodes, which is lighter on comedy than usual as it explores the origin of NYC besties Abbi and Ilana's relationship...and the way even the closest friends can inevitably drift apart.
Broad City chronicles the (mis)adventures of Abbi and Ilana (co-creators Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer), a pair of uncommonly attached best friends living and playing in New York City. Season 4 begins with a long-overdue flashback episode (“Sliding Doors”) that reveals how Abbi and Ilana met...along with a darker, alternative outcome for their friendship. (Abbi is saddled with the most unfortunate wig I've seen in a very long time.) The rest of the season still contains the bizarre flights of fancy that have become the show's signature. The most polarizing example is the half-animated Ep. 4/“Mushrooms,” which will feel like an especially bad trip if you're not on Abbi and Ilana's wavelength.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 19th, 2017
Like most people my age (I'm not telling), I watched my fair share of Full House. I wished I could be as cool as John Stamos, be as funny as Dave Coulier and wished Bob Saget was my dad. Then I grew up and realized I wasn't as cool as John Stamos, didn't find Dave to be quite as hilarious (sorry Dave), and still wished Bob was my dad (Actually, even more so when I found out he was quite the dirty comic). Fast forward about twenty years and the Full House theme has been brought back into the present with some familiar faces and a few new ones. Let's take a look at Season 2 of Fuller House.
If you are one of those people like myself who have never seen an episode of Fuller House and need a quick rundown of characters, well here you go. We have DJ Tanner-Fuller (played by Candace Cameron Bure) who is widowed, a veterinarian and has three kids. The three kids are Jackson (played by Michael Campion), age 13, Max (played by Elias Harger), age 7 and Tommy Jr (played by Dashiell & Fox Messitt), age barely out of the womb (probably around 2). In addition, we have DJ's sister, Stephanie Tanner (played by Jodie Sweetin) who has moved from London to help DJ raise her kids. Also, she is ridiculously hot. (There I said it, I'm sure it will come up again).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 19th, 2017
“There is only one war that matters. The Great War...and it is here.”
Ever since Game of Thrones premiered in 2011, viewers have been tantalized by the notion that “winter is coming.” (And it's been a *much* longer wait for book readers who fell in love with the first installment in George R.R. Martin's “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga more than 20 years ago.) Ned Stark's famous words have launched a thousand memes, and this shortened seventh season of HBO's spectacular fantasy drama — 7 episodes instead of the customary 10 — seemed poised to begin delivering on their promise. While the show is still able to thrill audiences like nothing else on TV, the strain of wrapping up such an epic story finally started to show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2017
"Art is a lie. Art gives the chaos of the world an order that doesn't exist."
The X-Files will soon return for a second revival season with 10 episodes that will likely finish the franchise. But if you're a Gillian Anderson fan, you won't have to wait until next year to get your Anderson fix. Acorn has a release that you really have to discover. Gillian Anderson has served three seasons (or series, as the Brits call them) in Belfast for the BBC series The Fall. With the broadcast of that third and final season, Acorn is releasing a nice complete set of all three seasons on both DVD and Blu-ray. If you want to win a copy of the DVD set, you have to stay tuned here and be sure to check out our 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways. In the meantime, I'm going to tell you about the Blu-ray set that I've just had the pleasure to consume for review.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 8th, 2017
“Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality.”
As things in our world become exponentially more chaotic and inexplicable by the day, the theory that we're all living in a computer simulation becomes a little harder to completely dismiss. The idea that our reality is an illusion dates back to the 17th century but most recently gained traction thanks to a 2003 paper published by Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom. It's also been a popular theme in classic sci-fi works like Blade Runner, Total Recall, and The Matrix. To that list, we can now add HBO's Westworld, a slick and star-studded sci-fi/Western mash-up that features the requisite shoot-em-ups and pay cable sexcapades, but is actually most interested in exploring the nature of humanity.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 7th, 2017
This is quite a step up for the History Channel folks. They've certainly produced a great number of historical dramatizations and documentaries, but nothing they've ever done before compares with this series. We used to review a ton of their stuff here for years, so you know I've liked a lot of the things they've done. But Vikings puts them in a totally new stratosphere. This is historical drama that you've only seen before in the likes of Rome or The Tudors. Of course, there's a very good reason for that. Michael Hirst created the series and is the creative force behind it. He served the same positions on The Tudors. That puts expectations here very high, and the show has met or exceeded them all.
The final moments of the first half of Season 4 takes a many-years jump forward in time. Ragnor (Fimmel) has abdicated his power and has been missing since the failed siege of Paris. Bjorn (Ludwig) has pretty much taken over as leader of the group. His younger sons have now grown into men and of course are now played by different actors. The most significant of these new castings is Alex Hogh as the grown Iver. The actor bears a rather striking resemblance to Travis Fimmel, and Hogh also does a remarkable job of pulling many of Fimmel's nuances into his character. He may not be able to walk, but it's clear that it is Iver who has inhiereted his father's strengths and personality. This is brought out even more when Ragnor suddenly returns. He has plans to return to England and avenge the slaughtered settlement he left there years ago. Bjorn wishes to follow his own path and explore the fabled Mediterranean Sea. Iver is the lone son who wishes to join his absent father. It becomes the end of Ragnor's story and really the beginning of Iver's to some extent.
The series does a pretty good job of bringing the culture and lifestyle of the Viking people to life for us. There is a great effort toward authenticity. That isn't to say that the show claims to be historically accurate. The Vikings were not a literate people. They did not keep a written record of their lives. What is known has been pieced together through artifacts and stories that were handed down orally from generation to generation. It's not even possible to depict the culture with any precision or accuracy. When you watch a film or a series like this, you need to be mindful of the difference between authenticity and accuracy. They are not the same things and shouldn't be confused here. Authenticity means that there's an attempt to portray the world in a faithful way. We're talking costumes, weapons, beliefs, lifestyles and environment. That's not to say that the film is attempting to tell a "true" story. Only one that feels true. Accuracy is intended to educate. This kind of a show is intended to entertain, and the authentic presentation is there to immerse us realistically in the world in order for us to care about the characters and events. The Vikings does this with a sweeping eye toward detail. The world comes alive for us, and we can be swept up in the events.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 2nd, 2017
“Here’s how it is: the Earth got used up, so we moved out and terraformed a whole new galaxy of Earths, some rich and flush with the new technologies…some not so much. The Central Planets, thems formed the Alliance…waged war to bring everyone under their rule. A few idiots tried to fight it, among them myself.”
Sound familiar? A crew of scrappy underdogs skirting the edge of the galaxy to avoid an oppressive interplanetary alliance. Exactly 40 years ago, Star Wars used that formula to capture moviegoers’ imaginations, and it is currently being replicated by the uber-popular Guardians of the Galaxy series. But in between those two behemoths there was a little show called Firefly.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 23rd, 2017
“Welcome! Everything is fine.”
One of my favorite bits from the dearly departed Inside the Actors Studio involved host James Lipton administering a questionnaire that concluded with "If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?" It's a momentous question that often drew a humorous response. The Good Place opens with its main character waking up in the afterlife and being greeted with bright green lettering that says "Welcome! Everything is fine." It's a reassuring sentiment to be sure, but let's be clear: there is nothing just "fine" about The Good Place. This sharp, hilarious, and goodhearted fantasy/comedy is spectacular!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 19th, 2017
When it comes to hearing the name Loch Ness, just about everyone will think about the giant lake where “Nessie” the mythical monster inhabits. Whether you are a believer or not thousands converge to the Scottish Highlands location in hopes to be one of the lucky ones to catch a peak of the elusive beast. But the Loch Ness I am talking about is a beast of a whole other ilk. Thought the TV series does take place in a small tourist town that thrives on the legend that haunts the cold water, the series instead is about a serial killer that has been unleashed upon the town and given its residents something more to fear other than a giant monster that roams the lake.
A group of friends decide that they want to play a hoax by creating a fake plesiosaur carcass and placing it along the lake shore. While using fake innards that salvaged from the local slaughter house it is later discovered a human heart managed to somehow get mixed up in the remains. With a human heart found and no body, this of course sends an uneasy shock-wave through the town. Detective Annie Redford (Laura Fraser) is tasked with leading her first murder investigation in a town that rarely has experienced its share of violence and it doesn’t take long before a body is found (not one that belongs to the missing heart) and it is understood that they have a serial killer on their hands. Investigator Lauren Quigley (Siobhan Finneran) is called in to take lead of the investigation where she also brings criminal psychologist Blake Albrighton (Don Gilet) to assist.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 19th, 2017
“How many more people will you sacrifice?”
When it premiered in 2013, Reign was an effective bit of counterprogramming for the CW, which continues to be ruled by superheroes, vampires, and other Supernatural beings. Even as Reign appalled historians, the series quickly established itself as a campy and compulsively watchable take on the saga of Mary, Queen of Scots. Unfortunately as the show progressed through Mary’s tragic life, Reign inevitably lost some key players. The result is a show that got more convoluted and less interesting as it limped toward its fourth and final season.
