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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2018
"A long time ago in a galaxy far far away..."
It was exactly 40 years ago that we first saw those words flash across the screen. Star Wars was born, and it has become one of the most enduring franchises in film history. The franchise survived a long drought when it didn't seem likely we would ever see those words again. The franchise survived the throes of George Lucas, who created it all and then went a little rogue when he finally did follow up his iconic trilogy. If The Last Jedi and the two previous films are any measurement at all, the best thing George Lucas ever did for the universe he created was to give it up.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 24th, 2018
“I respect that you love your group, but it’s time for you to move on.”
The first Pitch Perfect movie arrived in Fall 2012 as a goofy, energetic, underdog surprise that charmed audiences with its funny jabs at (and genuine affection for) a capella music. But as the trilogy (allegedly) comes to a close a little more than five years later, the only quality that this popular, profitable franchise managed to retain from that previous sentence was “goofy.” The saucy tagline for this movie is “Last Call Pitches,” and everyone involved seems ready to hang up their pitch pipes.
