Disc Reviews

"Every year a parade is held at the Virginia Military Institute to honor cadets who gave their lives at a turning point during the American Civil War. On May 15, 1864 seven friends marched into the Battle of New Market. Only four came out."

There have been many films made about the Civil War, from the classic Gone With The Wind to the docudrama Gettysburg. It's a story that deserves being told and thereby remaining in our memory now that none of the principals are alive to tell the story. Field Of Lost Shoes doesn't really fit the classic or docudrama categories. The film feels very much like a stage production and concentrates its story not so much on the fighting but the characters who found themselves thrust into the very jaws of history. Many of the characters we know well in our collective memory. There is, of course Abraham Lincoln (Krebs). Both sides of the conflict are represented by Ulysses S. Grant (Skerritt) from the Union Army and Col. John C. Breckinridge (Isaacs) from the Confederate Army. They play a pivotal role in the war and perhaps in this story, but Field Of Lost Shoes is not about them. It's about the seven cadets who suddenly found themselves in combat for causes they did not necessarily even believe in. What they did believe in was duty and honor, and that is the repeating set of themes you'll find here.

OK, so I have a confession to make, ever since I was a kid and saw Children of the Corn, I’ve been terrified of the Amish.  Does this fear make any sense whatsoever? Of course not, but I figure I can’t be too crazy, since people are afraid of numerous things like rabbits.  I still remember the day my parents hung a large picture frame filled with B&W photos of seemingly innocent Amish folk partaking in their day to day activities.  This frame I hold responsible for numerous night terrors and only reinforcing my fear.  When it came time to settle in and watch The Devil’s Hand, little did I know this would only reignite a fear I felt I had conquered. 

Revolving around the lore that the commune of New Bethlehem believes, when six girls are born on the sixth month this sets in motion a prophecy that one of the girls will become a soldier for the devil upon her 18^th birthday. We’ve all seen these kinds of stories before, but it’s the setting that helps set this film apart.  Instead of filling this with characters that don’t believe in these kinds of prophecies, what makes the film work is that the people of the community all seem to believe at least partially in this, so as the girls begin to go missing, everyone becomes a suspect.

It’s just about impossible to not know who Grumpy Cat is; the loveable grumpy-faced cat that has been the subject of numerous memes has become an internet sensation that has its own product line.  I love cats, so I didn’t see anything wrong with the celebrity this feline has gained, but the moment I heard Grumpy Cat would be getting to star in a movie – well, I was about to say maybe a movie would be a bit much…then again I was easily reminded that such pop culture dregs such as the Kardashians have their own show; perhaps a film about a cat would be a step up from them.  Before even watching the film, I could say yes, Grumpy Cat is a far more respectable celebrity, heck, even role model, than anyone with the last name Kardashian or West, but how does the movie fare?  Well, to put it nicely, it’s a stinker, but what more could you expect?

Growing up in the 80’s I had a lot of films starring various animals in the leads, everything from Benji, The Bear to Disney classics like The Cat From Outer Space, and the Shaggy DA.  The one thing all these films had in common is that they at least attempted to care about the characters and not talk down to the audience.  The films I mentioned still hold up, whether it be because of their charm or artistic merit, whereas Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever is nothing more than a shameless cash grab to target kids and fans of Lifetime films.

It’s the holidays as you all are well aware of by now, and if not, well, you may have some last minute shopping to do.  But for the rest of us, finding time between eggnog parties and decorating, to stay in the holiday spirit I try and squeeze in as many holiday films as I can.  Unfortunately for my girlfriend, to me a holiday film is Lethal Weapon, Gremlins and Die Hard.  But on the bright side, here at Upcomingdiscs we are given titles that we normally wouldn’t give a look to, and in the case of The Nine Lives of Christmas, this little Hallmark film turned out to be a sweet little gem. 

No, seriously, guys, don’t roll your eyes; I know the words Hallmark films seem a bit scary, but this is a film that really isn’t half bad, and what may help make it a little more attractive is that it stars Superman himself, Brandon Routh.  Routh plays Zachary, a firefighter that is living up the single life dating beautiful models and working on remodeling a home while he’s keeping the town safe from burning down.  It’s while coming home he rescues a stray cat and his life takes a drastic turn, and though he originally has no plans of keeping the cat, the cat manages to work its feline magic and warm this fireman’s heart.

Cursed mummies have been a part of cinema dating as far back as you can likely imagine. That being said, I won’t call it worthy of his own subcategory or say that there aren’t new avenues to take with the premise. However, I will say that I find it difficult to imagine new approaches given that the films of the past have already found some truly entertaining avenues already. Day of the Mummy deserves credit for the unique avenue it attempted to take, but it doesn’t deserve much of anything else after that.

First person point of view, I suppose, would be the best way to sum up the way the film was administered in that every angle of the film came from a webcam or the special spy glasses our main characters wore throughout the film. At first an interesting idea which brought of fond memories video game series Doom, the novelty quickly wore off within the first twenty minutes, and afterwards it become clear that the film truly lacked depth and wasted much of its runtime telling the story of traveling to retrieve the Codex stone rather than the adventure of battling for survival. Given that the runtime was already under the normally standard 90 minute running time, the brief time would have been better spent on an epic battle between humans and zombie mummies (who doesn’t love a good mummy fight, right?) or giving a more in-depth backstory instead of learning of the legend of the supposed Codex stone secondhand from the characters. The film spent over half the running time traveling to the destination and even more time leading into an underwhelming battle that few will survive (mainly referring to the audience).

“It is a deliberate mystery the how, when, and if of it all.”

This quote perfectly characterized the entire story of Finding Joy. The reality is this movie has left me questioning: what would you do if you truly believed that your end is near? How would you spend what could be your final days? Would you do charity work as a way of buying your way into heaven? Would you attempt to barricade yourself indoors in order to avoid your fate? The possibilities of what to do are endless; however, in Finding Joy two characters choose to do something most would likely shy away from: fall in love.