Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 16th, 2022
Over the past decade we’ve seen a resurgence in reboots, remakes, and anthologies, so it isn’t much of a surprise that the beloved horror anthology Creepshow would get the reboot treatment. To be fair, this is an extension from what the first films set out to be, though the big difference is instead of just being a film with a few stories, it is now a TV series, each episode containing two tales to horrify and entertain. When I first heard about the series, I was cautiously optimistic. The first two films I consider classics, as do many other fans of the horror genre. Then there was that third Creepshow that I feel we all just want to forget and pretend never really happened. Without George Romero being around, I just wasn’t even sure I’d want to see a show that could possibly just water down everything that was great about the films and simply turn out to be a cheap imitation. The first two seasons of the series I enjoyed, and they offered plenty of promise for things to come. How do Greg Nicotero and his creative team deliver on their third season endeavor?
Episode 1 is a bit of split bag. The first story, Mums, is a fun little revenge tale that involves some carnivorous plants, and the second story, Queen Bee, is a bit of social commentary about fans idolizing their celebrity heroes and going a bit too far in the name of fandom. The revenge aspect of Mums certainly makes this a fun story. I don’t want to spoil much with it, but it is definitely the stronger of the two stories. My biggest issue with Queen Bee is the actual creature effect. This is one where less would have been more, because I simply wasn’t a fan of the creature design, and it just took away from the potential creep factor of the storyline.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 26th, 2022
"Look at them praying for a miracle that isn't coming. Who knows? Maybe it's my curse to leave one betrayal behind only to find a greater one here amongst the stars. They could have stopped this, but none of them had the strength to do what must be done. But I do."
Crossovers have been big events in the CW Arrowverse shows. They would involve characters from all or most of the current shows, and the episodes would play across the shows themselves. The events were always huge so that they required the combined force of the many DC heroes. Times have changed, and now The Flash is pretty much the only Arrowverse show left on the air. That creates a bit of a logistic problem for the whole crossover event idea. Or does it? This season there is a crossover, of sorts. It plays out over five episodes and includes characters from some other Arrowverse shows even though they are no longer on the air. The Flash begins its eighth season with a crossover event called Armageddon. It encompasses the first five episodes of the season and features characters from the other shows.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 18th, 2022
“Space … the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.”
Nearly 20 years after the original Star Trek left the network airwaves, Gene Roddenberry set out to discover whether he could catch lightning in a bottle once again. Some say he did an even better job with Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are times I tend to agree. The Star Trek sequel series had a lot more advantages from the moment it was conceived. Star Trek, a series that barely registered on the ratings during its three-year primetime voyage, became a huge sensation in syndication. By the time The Next Generation came on the scene, the original show had been syndicated in over 20 different languages all over the world. It had launched an animated series, and a fifth feature film was already in the early stages of consideration. So it isn’t quite fair to judge the success or quality of The Next Generation over the original series. One thing is inarguable. The second would never have existed if not for the first.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2022
"There's a bizarre version of Superman on the loose."
They are the most famous couple in comic book history. Together they are Superman & Lois, and they've joined the ever-expanding Arrowverse for their second season now out on Blu-ray from Warner Home Entertainment. While this is still a young series, the characters and these actors portraying them are not new to the Arrowverse. Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane have been here for a few years. Both have shown up on Supergirl, and both appeared in a couple of the crossover events that have pulled together the various Arrowverse shows in the past. Now the focus is on them. They have their own show, and it's quite a different approach to the characters and their story. There has also been a departure that puts the show no longer in the official Arrowverse. I suspect that move comes on the heels of The Flash now entering its final season and I suspect closing the Arrowverse going forward.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2022
"Nothing had prepared me, no books, no teachers, not even my parents. I heard a thousand stories, but none could describe this place, it must be witnessed, to be understood, and yet I've seen it and understand it even less than before I first cast eyes on this place. Some call it the American dessert, others The Great Plains, but those phrases were invented by professors at universities surrounded by the illusion of order and the fantasy of right and wrong. To know it you must walk it, Bleed into its dirt, drown in its rivers, then its name becomes clear, it is hell, and there are demons everywhere. But if this is hell and I'm in it, then I must be a Demon too and I'm already dead.."
We're a visual people, and so most of you will recognize Taylor Sheridan from his role as a chief of police in Sons of Anarchy when the controlled puppet regime had finally left the scene. It's not a remarkable role, and it's not a complete surprise that Sheridan found his calling more recently behind the camera. As a writer his first script hit it out of the park. Sicario is an awesome film populated with compelling and interesting characters who thrived on a broken system. That theme appears to have stuck with him, because Yellowstone appears to take us back in time to the days of open frontiers and cattle barons who struggled to keep their land amid lawless communities and raiding parties of American Indians who were portrayed as savage beasts who kill women and children in the middle of the night to become to shadows of nightmares and the stories told to keep children in line. These themes were all there, but it takes place in a modern setting that does indeed make for an interesting new twist on an old idea. This is the dawning of the modern western where lands still stretch for miles and are still owned by a single family. It's Bonanza in the 21st century, and Kevin Costner thought enough of the idea to star in this television drama series for The Paramount Network.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 26th, 2022
"I've been acting like this because I can't take these shutdowns anymore and I'm scared what it's doing to me. I'm looking for who to blame, saying I'm trying to help people to make myself feel better, because the truth is I just want to have fun again. I wanted to see that I could go out into the world and do the things I used to do... I want my life back. I just want my life back."
This has been a tough year for everyone. Productions all around the world have been uprooted because of the pandemic. I guess I thought there might have been one place on this planet that was safe. OK, I made that last part up. We always knew that South Park was going to have a field day with COVID. Let's be honest; the amount of material for the irreverent show is simply off the scales. There's nothing like a global catastrophe to bring out the sharp wit of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The pandemic meant we saw the long-running animated series limited just like everyone else. So instead of a 10-episode run, the 24th season of South Park is made up of two double-length "Pandemic Specials", but just for whats and giggles, let's call it South Park The Complete 24th Season and get a look at it in Blu-ray.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 29th, 2022
"It all started when a man named Bishop created a team of robots. He sent them back in time with one goal: to destroy the 20th century. These machines were programmed to think that they were beyond human. That they were superheroes. They made their way across country murdering some of the greatest figures in history, famous lawmen and men of science. Finally they kidnapped the inventor of time travel itself, and with his help set their sights on destroying all of history. No one could stop these so-called Legends. Not until we came upon the real flesh-and-blood superheroes whose job it is to put history back on track. We're the real Legends of Tomorrow."
If none of that made any sense to you, don't worry about a thing. It'll all become clear over the final 13 episodes of DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: The Complete 7th and Final Season. OK, I lied. No. It really is the 7th and final season, but it won't really become all clear. You see, that's the nature of the series. It's the crazy uncle of the Arrowverse that says a lot of things no one understands. But we all kind of nod our heads and suspect it will all be OK.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2022
"Sounds like the Mad Hatter is throwing a tea party."
Of all of the Arrowverse shows, I think Batwoman has had the hardest road of it. Ruby Rose was far from the dynamic character the CW or DC could have hoped for, and she spent most of her first season complaining or on the outs in some way or another. In her single season she was constantly outshone by her villain and pretty much everyone around her. It's bad when the one in the cape and cowl can't seem to attract any attention. It was a surprise to no one that Ruby Rose left the show after that first year. What did surprise me was that the show was going to continue. Instead of recasting Kate Kane, the powers that be brought in a completely different person to play the title character. Enter Ryan Wilder, played by Jevicia Leslie. She took the rap for a friend and ended up serving 18 months in prison for drug possession. Her foster mother was killed by some bad guys who never paid for the crime. Needless to say, she is carrying a lot of angst. Now she can't find a job or a place to live. She's homeless and living out of her van. She watches a ball of fire which turns out to be a plane crashing out of the sky. It hits near her van, and when she explores the wreckage, she finds the batsuit. Of course she puts it on and gets quite a kick out of the things she can do. She soon realizes the suit can help her get some revenge on the bad guys and starts kicking some butt.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 16th, 2022
What do you get if you take The Sopranos and mix it with Animal Kingdom and place it in Ireland? That’s pretty much the best way I’d go about describing the first season of the new AMC television show Kin. The show only runs for eight episodes, but I have to say this is the most satisfying gangster story I’ve seen in some time. No, I’m not about to say it is better than The Sopranos, but it definitely has the potential to be in the same league if the show continues with the momentum it has going for it. What’s a shame, though, is that with so many cable channels and streaming services out there, this is a show that has gotten lost in the mass of content, and it deserves to be recognized. The Kinsellas family is a small-time crime family based in Dublin. The family runs their business under Eamon Cunningham (Ciaran Hinds) who is pretty much The Godfather over all of Ireland. Mostly Cunningham deals with drugs, but literally if you are involved with any sort of crime, he’s still collecting on it. Then there is Frank Kinsella (Aidan Gillen, aka “Little Finger” from Game of Thrones) who is in charge of the Kinsella family and their small ring of criminal activity. Frank is a fun and complicated character who is a crime boss with a bad habit of using coke but also gay dating apps. Frank is also a family man who not only is trying to do what’s best for the Kinsella family, he has to also deal with his hotheaded knucklehead of a son, Erik “Viking” (Sam Keeley). Amanda Kinsella (Clare Dunne) runs a car dealership that is used to help launder money for the family. Her husband, Jimmy (Emmet J. Scanlan) is one of the heads of the family who works beneath Frank. Frank’s brother, Michael (Charlie Cox) is recently released from prison, and he we can assume was the “heavy” for the family as we find out he’s responsible for a lot of deaths before his stint behind bars. And finally there is Bridget “Birdy” Goggins (Maria Doyle Kennedy), who is basically a family advisor. The power dynamics of this crime family are interesting, and how the show balances the “family” drama with the “crime” drama is definitely one of the show’s strengths.
Now that you’ve met the family, what is the show all about?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 31st, 2022
"Hello, Dexter Morgan."
It's been almost 10 years since everyone's favorite serial killer disappeared into a hurricane and left the airwaves with a somewhat unsatisfying series finale. It wasn't quite as bad as David Chase's ill-conceived hard cut that ended The Sopranos, but unlike David Chase, Team Dexter gets a second chance to get the ending right. With the death of actor James Gandolfini, Chase won't ever get the opportunity to give Tony Soprano a better exit. But Dexter gets the sendoff he should have had back in 2013 with the limited revival series Dexter: New Blood. The 10-episode run returns Michael C. Hall to the role of Dexter Morgan. You don't want to break into these episodes without taking time to watch the original series. That's going to set you back about 96 hours, but the investment is necessary if you're going to truly appreciate this return. You can check out our reviews of those previous seasons by banging it right here: Dexter Reviews. I'll wait....
