Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on April 11th, 2018
“Did you hear what the teacher wants?”
We’ve all had that especially demanding teacher whose class we quietly dreaded. Yet instead of pushing her students toward academic excellence, the educator at the center of The Teacher is infinitely more interested in what her kids’ parents can do for her. This Czech/Slovak drama hints at some interesting points about compliance. But like a student — or perhaps even a certain movie reviewer — who uses too many flowery words before finally getting to the point…the movie ultimately can’t get out of its own way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 10th, 2018
When you are about to sit down for a comedy with Ed Helms and Owen Wilson, you pretty much know what you’re getting yourself into. Sometimes you just want to watch a movie for a few good laughs; then when it’s over, you return to your day-to-day routine. When it comes to Father Figures, the problem is that the film from the get-go is trying to get you to believe that Helms and Wilson could possibly be fraternal twins. Yeah, we’ve seen this before with the film Twins, only this time around we have a film about brothers attempting to overcome their differences as they work together to find their real father. When you have Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, and J.K. Simmons filling out your cast, the potential for a solid drama with great performances could be expected. Unfortunately, it seems everyone here for the most part showed up to the set to phone it in, and the film suffers for it.
Things get started when Peter (Helms) and Kyle (Wilson) meet up at their mother’s wedding. Peter is a successful yet lonely proctologist, while Kyle is the life of the party, making money off of residuals for having his likeness on a bottle. It doesn’t take much to get the joke that despite being twins, these guys couldn’t be any more different. As an odd twist of fate would have it, while watching an episode of Law & Order Special Victims Unit, Peter sees a character in the show that looks a lot like his dad. When he confronts his mother (Glenn Close) about this, she reluctantly confesses that she had lied, and that their real father is none other than Terry Bradshaw. This in turn has the brothers setting off on a trip together to confront and meet their dad for the first time. Since this is a movie, things obviously don’t go as planned.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on April 10th, 2018
Cinema is a beautiful thing, and it is really special when a film can remind you of its beauty. So often are we blinded by genre conventions: we want to see the gore of horror, feel the laughter of comedy, or the tears of drama. Yes, the films we watch are all indeed beautiful in their own right, but not every film captures the pure essence of cinema. In Search of Fellini delivers that essence on all fronts, whether it be through cinematography, on-location shooting in Italy, stylistic editing, or the fantastic acting. Naming your film after a man who’s widely considered to be a master of his craft sets the bar of expectations very high by default, and this film cleared the hurdle with no problems.
In Search of Fellini is a coming-of-age story about a sheltered girl named Lucy (Ksenia Solo), as she travels to Italy in search of her newfound favorite director, Frederico Fellini. Lucy’s mother, Claire (Maria Bello), has constructed a fantasy world for her daughter, shielding her from realities such as death, working, and sex. Once Claire receives grim news, she hides it from her daughter, but Lucy is blessed with the intuition to understand something is wrong. She begins to try to find work, but what she finds instead is a film festival that is dedicated to Frederico Fellini, and she falls in love with his work. It is from here that she sets off to Italy. This story is loosely based on a similar adventure had by co-writer Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), when she traveled to Italy in her early 20’s.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 6th, 2018
Ever since Jon Bernthal left The Walking Dead, he has managed to create quite the impressive resume over the years. From having some standout performances in Fury, Baby Driver and recently taking on the role of Frank Castle in The Punisher, he is easily making a name for himself. Now we get to see him take on the role of Sam in the new small town indie thriller, Sweet Virginia. In a film that is filled with well-crafted characters matched with some terrific performances by the cast, it’s a shame the film didn’t reach Blu-ray with more of a buzz around it. From the film’s violent opening, the film percolates with menace and unease to the final climax.
When we first meet Elwood (Christopher Abbott), it’s obvious there is something a little off about this guy, and it doesn’t take long before we see what the man is capable of. To put it simply, this may be the most intimidating hitman we’ve seen on screen since the Coen Brothers gave us Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. A bold statement, but as we see Elwood unravel on screen, we see a man who is desperately wanting to be accepted, whether it’s being a son or simply a friend, but the guy is a pillar of rage and violence. And it’s when we see him show up to the motel as a guest and he’s trying to befriend Sam, you just know this will only end badly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2018
"And so we ran on. Into Summerland and the place they said did not exist. And all the while, wolves were at our heels. Black masks, boots and the one they called The Eye. We had come to do the work that must be done. To strip ourselves of the fog of life before."
If the first season of Legion was intended to lift any fog, it failed miserably. In fact, keeping you in a fog is series creator Noah Hawley’s superpower. He was also the creator of the television adaptation of Fargo, which was often more than a little confusing. But with Legion Hawley has taken these "skills" to the next level, and how you respond to the series will absolutely depend on how much you like your brain messed with while you're watching a show. If the answer is a lot, this is the perfect show for you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on April 4th, 2018
John Cena continues to attempt to branch out from the WWE, this time with an animated film featuring a peace-loving bull in Spain. Granted, John Cena is not first person I envision when I think about nonviolence, but it is an interesting choice nonetheless. Ferdinand tells the story of a bull raised to participate in the matador competitions featured in Spain. Disney continues to buck against the grain, creating a character that contrasts with his circumstances. Naturally, this is an animated film, and being well into adulthood, I am clearly outside the target audience. However, I am fortunate enough to have a daughter who does fit that demographic, so I enlisted her services for this film. Ironically, I actually ended up enjoying the story a lot more than she did. Too be fair to the film, my daughter only possesses a 20-minute attention span. To her credit, she stuck out the entire film, and we can both provide you with the benefit of our experience.
Continuing my earlier statement about the character, Ferdinand (John Cena), unlike the other bulls, does not desire the glory of competing in the matador competition (at this point, the bulls are unaware that they will be killed in the competition). He would much rather spend his time grazing and smelling the flowers. This also contrasts with his size, as he has grown to be a large and intimidating-looking animal, but he remains a gentle giant.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 4th, 2018
When The Sandlot first came out 25 years ago, I connected to the coming-of-age baseball story as strongly as Babe Ruth connected with one of his titanic, 400-foot homers. I grew up in baseball-obsessed Puerto Rico and I happened to be the exact same age as dorky protagonist Scotty Smalls. I’ve kept in touch with the film over the years, but Fox’s new 25th Anniversary Blu-ray re-release of The Sandlot was a great excuse to watch it from start to finish.
An adult version of Scotty Smalls recounts the story of his most memorable summer. As a fifth grader, Scotty (Tom Guiry) moved to a new town with his mom (Karen Allen) and stepdad (Denis Leary) just before the end of the school year. Scotty’s mom wants her sweet, nerdy son to actually get into a little bit of trouble during the summer, so he falls in with a group of kids who play baseball in a raggedy patch of grass called The Sandlot. The only problem is Scotty doesn’t even know how to throw a baseball. Fortunately, Scotty is taken in by Benny (Mike Vitar), the group’s leader and the best baseball player by far. During that one remarkable summer, the kids encounter a dream girl, arrogant Little Leaguers and a legendary canine menace known as The Beast, which swallows up any baseball that finds its way into his yard.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 3rd, 2018
Ever since Disney purchased the rights to the Star Wars property, it was no surprise that Disney would take full advantage of it. Between the movies and TV shows it’s fairly easy to get your Star Wars fix, but is too much of a good thing a bad thing? For Disney XD we have the animated LEGO series Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, and though it is targeted towards kids, there is plenty of fun for the long-time fans as well. What I already enjoyed about the series is that instead of following established characters in the Star Wars canon, we get to get a glimpse at the life of the mechanics who repair the ships after returning to battle. Granted, the story seems to always venture off to other planets and many adventures throughout the galaxy.
I missed out on season one, but it was fairly easy to jump into the second season of the show. The second season generally takes place during the same time as Return of the Jedi, so for fans of the movie, we can finally get to see what else the Rebellion and the Empire were up to during this time.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 30th, 2018
Curious what happened to Diane Lockhart after slapping the taste out of Alicia’s mouth? Well, I wish I could say that all was well, as tragedy strikes again just as she is on the cusp of retirement. That’s where we find Diane at the start of The Good Fight. I had heard rumbles about the show shortly after news that it was moving into production, the spin-off series that would focus on the powerhouse that is Diane minus Julianna Margulies’ character. More interesting was the decision to make the series only available on the CBS’s streaming service. Clearly, streaming service has become a big part of home entertainment, so naturally it was only a matter of time before the networks joined the party in order to compete. However, I must admit that I was skeptical about shows only available through these means, as I doubted that the content was truly worth the price of admission. I must confess that after watching the series, I am tempted to sign up for a subscription. The Good Fight actually turned out to be one of the most well-written and clever legal dramas that I have ever seen. This is made more impressive by the fact that I am not the target audience, but my wife is, and let me tell you, once we started one episode, she wouldn’t stop until we had watched them all.
Picking up some time after the events of The Good Fight, Diane is motivated to make a change following the inauguration of Donald Trump. She decides that it is time to retire as name partner of Lockhart, Deckler, Gussman, Lee, Lyman, Gilbert-Lurie, Kagan, Tannebaum, & Associates (yeah that’s quite the mouthful, but notice whose name is at the front), her prestigious law firm, and plans to purchase her dream home. Wrapping up her last case, she must bump heads with Adrian Boseman (Delroy Lindo), a well-respected attorney representing the victim of police brutality in Cook County. This case brings her in direct contact with her former employee, Lucca Quinn (Cush Lumbo), which reopens old wounds about a certain someone (Alicia). Determined to go out on a win, Diane plays hardball, but Adrian, who has something to prove, does not make it easy for her.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 30th, 2018
With Archer Season 9 Danger Island getting ready to debut in April, Season 8 of Archer titled Dreamland makes its way onto DVD, for many to binge and catch up before the season premiere. I have to admit it took me a while to finally give this show a chance. Last year I had the opportunity to review Season 7, and honestly, ever since I have been a fan. What’s bothered me, though, is how could the show continue following the way season 7 ends? Let’s face it; things were looking grim for the former world’s greatest secret agent, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), so where does the show go from here?
The season kicks off with Lana (Aisha Tyler) and Mother (Jessica Walter) sitting at Archer’s bedside in a hospital while he remains in a coma. Rather than have Archer magically awaken from his coma, the show instead goes into Archer’s mind, which leads us into Dreamland. It’s 1940’s Los Angeles, and immediately we see Archer as a PI discovers that his long-time partner, Woodhouse, has been killed. This may be the greatest way a show has done a sendoff of a character and voice actor, since the show’s voice actor for Woodhouse, George Coe, passed on in real life. The character is missed in the show, but there are some genuine touching moments as Archer takes a break time to time to lament his partner’s passing. This doesn’t mean the show is a Debbie Downer, but instead it does seem to be darker than the previous seasons and full-on embraces its Noir undertones.
