Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 30th, 2017
“I’m writing a book about magical creatures.”
The wizarding world J.K. Rowling conjured for her Harry Potter series captured the imaginations of children (and many, many adults) throughout the globe because it was precisely that…a fully realized, living and breathing world with its own lingo and lore. So while spinning off a corner of that universe might seem like a blatant cash grab, Rowling’s imagination has provided particularly fertile ground for new franchise opportunities. (OK, OK…the part where Warner Bros. agreed to make five of these before the first one even came out *does* feel like a cash grab.) For example, this latest crowd-pleasing stab at a billion-dollar series is based on…a fictional textbook mentioned in Rowling’s Potter saga.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on March 30th, 2017
Let me preface this review by clarifying that this is not M. Night Shyamalan’s 2016 thriller about a dangerous man with different personalities. Instead, this review addresses Deborah Kampmeier’s Split (2016). It is an unfortunate circumstance for films to share the same name when released in the same year, especially if one of the directors has a considerable amount of fame under his belt. Thankfully, Kampmeier’s film came through the Upcoming Discs hub; otherwise, I might never have heard about it through my traditional consumption. Split is most certainly worth the watch, but the imagery is uncomfortably intense for the majority of the film. To the average film consumer, I offer a fair warning to stay away. However, Split delivers image after image of disturbing symbolism, nearing the caliber of Alejandro Jodorowski.
Split tells the story of an exotic dancer/actress Inanna (Amy Ferguson) in New York who is finding it hard to overcome her stage fright. As the film progresses, she falls in love with Derek, her production’s mask maker (Morgan Spector), a troubled man unable to let go of his traumatic past. As their relationship grows, they marry, but that only begins to create a restlessness within their relationship. She discovers that Derek is now cold and distant: instead of the mysterious, charming man she met on set, he is a tortured, brooding soul indoors. Derek’s behavior becomes more erratic when Inanna’s production includes a scene in which she must sleep with a man. As Derek’s behavior worsens, Inanna begins to have surreal hallucinations involving the production she’s involved in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 27th, 2017
You ever hear that old adage about not putting your hands too close to the flame? Obviously Walter Stackhouse, Patrick Wilson’s character in A Kind of Murder, did not heed the warning as he finds himself embroiled in a murder conspiracy of his own while investigating a separate one. This film noir is based on a novel from the famous author of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith. Murder mysteries in recent months have become a huge interest of mine, so when presented with this film, I was extremely excited with the opportunity. However, after watching, though I was intrigued by the whodunit aspect, I found the other areas lacking, specifically connecting with the lead character.
Walter Stackhouse (Patrick Wilson) appears to be the man who has it all: a successful career as an architect, a beautiful home, and a gorgeous wife (Jessica Biel) to share it with. But a happy man is the last thing he appears to be, escaping his seemingly perfect life in order to delve into the macabre world of murder. After a gruesome murder of a woman, Walter begins to investigate her death, which eventually leads him to her widow (Eddie Marsan) and puts him at odds with investigating detective Laurence Corby (Vincent Kartheiser).
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 27th, 2017
I am not the target audience for this Hallmark Channel series. Despite this fact, it was not hard to find something to like about When Calls the Heart: Heart of Faith. This Christmas special which takes place between the Season 3 finale and the impending Season 4 premiere tugs on the heartstrings and provides a festive feeling in the month of March. Odd, I know, but who says you can only have holiday cheer during the winter season? More than that, the special preaches the true meaning of Christmas as we watch a town come together to accomplish something not for themselves but for the betterment of the committee.
Picking up where the Season 3 finale left off, it’s Christmas time in Hope Valley (formerly Coal Valley) and Miss Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow) finds herself heading up the Christmas committee, including organizing the Christmas play. Determined to do a good job, she dives head first into her work, rallying everyone she can to assist with the preparation, as well as trying to teach her class the true meaning of Christmas by assigning roles in a very creative way. Meanwhile, the townspeople are working to build new homes for the settlers who apparently lost their homes as well as their families in the mine collapse that predated this special. Working day and night to complete the project before the holiday, Canadian Mountie Jack Thorton (Daniel Lissing) must overcome many obstacles, all the while serving in his official capacity as the town’s law enforcement officer.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 24th, 2017
“Black women aren’t bitter. We’re just tired of being expected to settle for less.”
When people talk about racial and gender equality, they typically point to notions like everyone having the right to vote or the same opportunity to pursue their personal or professional passion without fear of discrimination. The premise of Insecure — HBO’s funny and insightful comedy series about modern relationships — is not quite that lofty, but no less worthy: black women reserve the right to be just as neurotic and lead love lives that are every bit as messy as their white counterparts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on March 23rd, 2017
Probably the most silly of animated films this year, and that’s a good thing for Sing. Enjoyable, very funny, touching, and absolutely incredibly wacky. The family film targets children, but the adults will enjoy it a lot more than the average toon. I’m surprised the filmmakers waited so long to put the film in theaters, but with no children’s anime to stop it from becoming a blockbuster, it’s a very possible chance it will. Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey voiced), the grandson of a theatre owner, has the tough job of bringing the venue back to its glory after he inherited the entertainment palace. Heading for oblivion, he will have to come up with entertainment that will bring in the crowds, or it’s doomsday for the young entrepreneur. With his back to the wall, he comes up with a contest for the best singer who will win $1,000, every cent he has to his name.
His assistant Karen Crawly (Garth Jennings) doesn’t have a clue about her job, but takes orders just the same. One of her duties is to print out the flyers that will be spread all over town for the competition. But, unbeknownst to Buster, Miss Crawly makes a typo on the flyer offering $100,000 to the winner, and a gust of wind blows them all over the city.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 22nd, 2017
“Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in.”
In its transition from stage to screen, Fences — the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by the late August Wilson — doesn’t venture far beyond the Maxson household. And that’s precisely the point: director/star Denzel Washington isn’t overly concerned with masking the story’s stage origins. The existential claustrophobia that the characters in the play have been carrying their entire lives is right up there on the cramped screen.Fences is set in 1950s Pittsburgh and centers around Troy Maxson (Washington), a boisterous former Negro League baseball player who works as a garbage collector alongside best friend Jim Bono (Stephen Henderson). Troy shares a home with Rose (Viola Davis) — his wife of 18 years — and their son Cory (Jovan Adepo), who is being recruited to play college football. The other people in Troy’s orbit include Lyons (Russell Hornsby) — Troy’s musician son from a previous relationship who has a penchant for visiting on his father’s payday — and Gabriel (Mykelti Williamson), Troy’s mentally disabled younger brother who also lives in the neighborhood. Gabriel was previously under Troy’s care after suffering a head injury in World War II; Troy used the subsequent government payout to buy his family’s house.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 20th, 2017
We’ve reached a point where I’m starting to wonder if there is anything new that can be brought to the vampire genre. They may not be my favorite horror creature, but vampire movies tend to be fun for the most part, and being fun is mostly what we look for when we decide to check out a horror film. Bloodrunners attempts to show us something new, taking us back to the prohibition era of the 1930’s, but is this a trip worth taking? Grab a bottle of hooch and a stake for the road, because it’s nightfall, and I’m about to dive into this vampire tale.
A new club has opened up. It offers up swinging music and most importantly illegal booze that is served on the hush-hush. Trouble is, news about the place travels fast, and it is even frequented by some dirty cops. Running the club is Chesterfield (Ice-T), a smooth band leader who also has been in the illegal hooch selling business for a while. This is a role for which from the start Ice-T was perfectly cast, and as the film progresses, for me it’s his performance that kept me engaged. Despite the modest budget, the club looks more than serviceable; after all, most speakeasy joints were in hidden-away rooms that the police were never supposed to suspect. This is where Jack Malone (Michael McFadden, who also had script writing duties) shows up to shake down the place.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 16th, 2017
- “OK, first, I'm not a princess...”
- “If you wear a dress and you have an animal sidekick, you're a princess.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 13th, 2017
“Life's pretty simple, you know. It's long periods of waiting broken up by brief moments of change. That's it...that's all it is.”
100 Streets tells three barely-connected stories set in the same one-square-mile area of present-day London. (The neighborhoods of Chelsea and Battersea to be exact.) The stories are each quite compelling in their own right, and they're performed by a talented group of actors. Unfortunately, the movie is occasionally bogged down by distracting, pseudo-profound soliloquies like the one at the top of this review. I appreciate the stabs at thoughtfulness and depth, but they come off as forced here and are more likely to make you roll your eyes than inspire you.
