Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 6th, 2016
When this series initially started, I was intrigued, although it merely seemed like a filler show. However, I find that I have to eat my words, since Beauty and the Beast survived four seasons before coming to a climax with this final season. The swan song for the show had already been sung before the first episode of this season even aired, but that didn't stop the cast or the crew from providing a suspense-filled season as well as a proper conclusion to the story.
Catherine and Vincent's (Kristen Kruek and Jay Ryan) tale has been filled with danger and circumstances that have tried to tear them apart, usually starting the seasons apart. However, the start of the final season finds them very much together and celebrating their honeymoon. They believe the danger is behind them and Vincent's secret is safe, courtesy of a Department of Homeland Security cover-up. Matters heat up quickly when news regarding beasts starts to hit the internet. Before long, the couple finds themselves back in the thick of things aided by their loyal friends J.T., Tess, and Catherine's sister, Heather.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 1st, 2016
"In penance for their uprising each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public reaping. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight to the death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as the Hunger Games."
Now that all four films are out on UHD Blu-ray in glorious 4K, we have the opportunity to view them all again from the very beginning. It's easier to catch the subtle nuances that were planted in the earlier films that would pay off over the four-film run. It took us four years to do that originally. Now you can do it in a day. Jeremy Butler takes us on the final part of that journey with The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part 2 (2015).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 1st, 2016
The most remarkable thing about Looking might have been how thoroughly unremarkable it was. The HBO dramedy — which followed the love lives of three gay friends in San Francisco — sidestepped any sort of headline-grabbing sensationalism. However, Looking was often low-key to the point that it bypassed being funny or particularly entertaining. The latter point was a bigger issue early on since the show's naturalistic tone made Looking more engrossing as the series progressed and deepened its roster of characters. You can see for yourself how the show got better as it went along now that HBO has released the entire Looking saga — two seasons and a movie — in one handy Blu-ray set.
“I don't know if either of us are very good at being who we think we are.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2016
"In penance for their uprising each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public reaping. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight to the death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games."
Now that all four films are out on UHD Blu-ray in glorious 4K, we have the opportunity to view them all again from the very beginning. It's easier to catch the subtle nuances that were planted in the earlier films that would pay off over the four-film run. It took us four years to do that originally. Now you can do it in a day. Gino Sassani takes us on the next part of that journey with The Hunger Games The Mockingjay Part 1 (2014).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2016
"Sometimes a dragon gets lost...and winds up far from his home."
It appears to be the intention at Walt Disney Studios that each of its animated classics is to be remade as a live-action film. You can certainly understand the why that might be so. Computer-generated images have passed into the realm of photo-realistic presentations. Today there isn't anything you can't bring into the "real" world to interact with actual flesh and blood actors. The concept brought us the brilliant Jon Favreau version of The Jungle Book. Not all of these attempts have been or will be quite so successful. I count Pete's Dragon among one of those lesser-than films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 30th, 2016
"In penance for their uprising each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public reaping. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight to the death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games."
Now that all four films are out on UHD Blu-ray in glorious 4K, we have the opportunity to view them all again from the very beginning. It's easier to catch the subtle nuances that were planted in the earlier films that would pay off over the four-film run. It took us four years to do that originally. Now you can do it in a day. John Ceballos takes us on the next part of that journey with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 29th, 2016
"In penance for their uprising each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public reaping. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight to the death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games."
Now that all four films are out on UHD Blu-ray in glorious 4K, we have the opportunity to view them all again from the very beginning. It's easier to catch the subtle nuances that were planted in the earlier films that would pay off over the four-film run. It took us four years to do that originally. Now you can do it in a day. John Ceballos takes us on the first part of that journey with The Hunger Games (2012).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 29th, 2016
1n 1972 Charles Bronson played The Mechanic, Arthur Bishop. He was a hitman with a high level of skill. When he tries to pass on that skill, he's betrayed, and he has to get himself a heaping helping of revenge. In 2011 Bronson did indeed pass the character to Jason Statham when the film was remade. Unfortunately, Bronson had passed in 2003 and couldn't actually pass the torch on the screen. Statham turned the character into more of an action anti-hero, and the film really didn't perform at the box office. It never made back its budget in the domestic market and barely made money when the worldwide take was finally counted. It certainly didn't appear as if the world was clamoring for a sequel. Instead of going for a direct-to-video release, the film tanked at the American box office but was saved by a reasonable take worldwide. Not enough, I suspect, to see the character return, at least not to the box office. The Mechanic: Resurrection couldn't raise the franchise from box office death, but it might just be a solid direct-to-video franchise if the star and filmmakers have the desire to keep playing in this particular sandbox.
Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a professional killer who is believed dead himself. He's no longer in the assassin business. He's been keeping a low profile until he's approached by a woman who represents a Mr. Crain (Hazeldine). Crane wants Bishop to kill three targets that are almost impossible to get to. If he doesn't do the job, Crain will reveal to the world that Bishop is still alive. Of course, Bishop refuses, but it sends him on the run hoping to find Crain before Crain can find him. That's when he meets Gina (Alba) who is also being blackmailed by Crain and has been placed in Bishop's path as a damsel in distress to force him to do the jobs. When that doesn't work, Gina is kidnapped, and now Bishop sets out to do the jobs while trying to rescue Gina.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 29th, 2016
Fresh out of the vaults comes another cult classic. Vestron Video has decided to unleash Return of the Living Dead 3 for horror fans to snatch up this holiday season. Considering the titles that Vestron has already released, for some this might be a title that will leave fans scratching their heads about there being an urge to re-master this film, much less crank out a Blu-ray with so many features. Well, the simple answer is that the person in charge of acquiring and releasing these titles knows that there are fanboys like me out there who will shell out the money for a product that’s given this kind of attention. Return of the Living Dead is a cult classic and is mostly responsible for casual moviegoers making the connection with zombies and brain eating (yes, we real horror fans know better, but I always thought it was cute when an old girlfriend would dress as a zombie for Halloween and shuffle around moaning “brains”). If I’m being straight with you, I can’t remember the sequel at all, but the third I do remember, and there are some fond memories that still hold up with this title.
When Curt (J Trevor Edmond) picks up his girlfriend Julie (Melinda Clarke), he’s got a surprise for her, only it ends up being the start of the many bad decisions to follow. He’s decided to steal his dad’s key card and use it to access Top Secret areas on the base his father works at. His father is Colonel John Reynolds (Kent McCord), and as it would turn out, the Colonel is in charge of a program that uses a unique chemical, Trioxin, to re-animate corpses. That’s right; the military is at it again trying to create a weapon that will no doubt turn against them. Curt and Julie slip far enough into the base to get a glimpse at some of the gruesome experiments and reluctantly decide they’ve seen more than they can handle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2016
"Stop me if you've heard this one before."
The first thing you need to know about The Secret Lives Of Pets is that it's not terribly original. Fans of the Pixar Toy Story Franchise will find pretty much every element of this script has been lifted from one of the three Toy Story films. Of course, if you're going to lift an idea, you might as well steal from the best. Of course, there are always formulaic ideas in films, particularly animated films geared mostly toward children. And while I really did enjoy almost everything about this film, I just can't escape the fact that I've seen it all before. Sometimes that feeling got a little uncomfortably obvious. And by sometimes, I mean the entire length of the movie. Look beyond the plagiarism, and you will find the film a delightful collection of characters and circumstances that just so happened to have been ripped off from Toy Story.
