Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 22nd, 2015
What do Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher, The Monkees, and Nat King Cole have in common? (Besides, of course, their undisputed status as musical icons and the adoration of millions of fans.) Well at various points in their illustrious careers, they were each backed by The Wrecking Crew, a tight-knit group of session musicians responsible for cranking out some of the most familiar hits of all time. This documentary is a lively love letter to that incredibly charismatic and cohesive group, whose contributions remained largely anonymous for decades.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 19th, 2015
This was one of the best documentaries that I have seen in a long time. Very engaging, and it covers subject matter that everyone already has an opinion on: infidelity. Of course you can tell from the appropriately coined title that it focuses on the idea of individuals in a committed relationship who seek additional gratification outside their relationship. This documentary does a good job of addressing all expects of this topic including how media outlets such as poplar television series and reality portray the stigma. Broken down into multiple sections, we are even treated to hearing from celebrities as well as the public about their opinions of having or being a side piece. It was a truly illuminating experience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 19th, 2015
“We’re not in the middle of the third act. We just got to the end of the first.”
Aaron Sorkin almost definitely knew The Newsroom had been simultaneously renewed for a third season and canceled when he wrote those words, which come at the end of the season 3 premiere. It’s a winking and bittersweet bit of writing for a show that seemingly infuriated as many more people than it delighted over the course of 25 episodes. (Which apparently amounts to a single season of Pretty Little Liars.) So how else would you expect The Newsroom to go out than with moments of singular brilliance mixed in with a few controversial bangs?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on June 18th, 2015
by Dustin P. Anderson
We find three roommates, all not living up to their potential: a starving artist, a struggling writer, and a desperate gambler. While their dreams fall to the wayside, they work for the apartment complex they live in, performing maintenance and checking on tenants. One day the landlord calls for them to check on someone who is behind on their rent. They find that the man who lives there is dead, and seems to have been taking photos of them without their knowledge; however, these are photos set a day in the future taken by a strange machine.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 17th, 2015
“Tell everyone to get ready. Jimmy is coming.”
If someone were to tell me while walking out of Schindler’s List that 20 years later Liam Neeson would be an action star, I would have thought they were out of their mind. Between the trio of Taken films and numerous films that seem to be cut from the same ilk, Liam Neeson seems to be walking in the same footsteps as Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood as being the go-to everyman who just so happens to be a badass with or without a gun.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 17th, 2015
I’m hard pressed to think of a movie star who is better at playing rich a-holes than Michael Douglas. He’s played a Murderous Rich A-Hole, a Rich A-Hole Who Gets Put In His Place, and a Self-Destructive Rich A-Hole, to name just a few. And that’s not even counting his Oscar-winning turn as Gordon “Greed is Good” Gekko, the Definitive Rich A-Hole. It’s tempting to tidily sum up Beyond the Reach as “Gekko’s Got a Gun.” Unfortunately, what starts out as a picturesque two-hander becomes more preposterous as it goes along before completely flying off the rails in the final act.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2015
"It means what it always means. Nobody tells you anything when you wanna know it. Only when they feel like telling it. And then only enough to make you crazy to know more."
When it comes to Pretty Little Liars, it seems making the fans crazy is what they do best. The fifth season of the show is out on DVD, and this is no place for beginners. If you don't know who Aria, Spencer, Emily, Hannah and Alison are, it's time for you to head back to the beginning and catch up. You can find our reviews from those seasons here. For the rest of you, let's talk Pretty Little Liars, shall we?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 15th, 2015
“People you knew — people you forgot you knew — all ready to spend your money. And we got to be careful. We got to be smart.”
We look at professional athletes who've hit the genetic jackpot and make unseemly amounts of money, and we assume that they'll be financially set for the rest of their lives. Survivor's Remorse, a Starz sitcom that follows a young basketball star who's just signed his first big-money deal, gives us a frequently funny, consistently crass glimpse into why that isn't necessarily the case.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 14th, 2015
Now this was an interesting one for me. Usually when I watch a movie I like to look for uniqueness, what sets it apart from the thousands of films (I’m pretty sure that’s accurate) I have seen in my lifetime. In the case of As Night Comes, I didn’t particularly find it unique, but there was something that I just liked about it. Given the choice, there are aspects I would change to provide a more engaging experience; however, as is, the story is still worth a watch. Well, to start off, I kind of got the wrong impression of the film; I was expecting a fantasy drama, possibly a film about vampires.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on June 12th, 2015
As a member of the Upcomingdiscs family, it probably isn’t a surprise that I am a fan of David Hewlett. Yes, Dr. Rodney McKay is a role we are most familiar with, but my appreciation of the good doctor goes a little deeper than the Stargate universe. I first became a fan of David Hewlett after watching him in Vincenzo Natali’s low-budget feature Cube (1997) and began looking to other films in which he was featured, such as Pin (1988) and Nothing (2003). His body of work as an actor goes much deeper than these films, but they are largely responsible for my fandom.
