Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 24th, 2014
The horror western is the genre mash-up that just hasn’t seemed to translate to the big screen. Jonah Hex was a big-budget attempt that simply fell flat. There was the little indie-film gem The Burrowers (2008) that managed to be a fun little film but just never grabbed the audience on a larger scale. But it seems the public is still craving television and film filled with zombies, and since we’ve seen just about every other iteration of the zombie genre, it was inevitable we would see them taking on the Wild West. Revelation Trail doesn’t just dip its toe into zombie western horror; it dives right into this massacre of the undead.
After a small town is overrun by zombies, a preacher (Daniel Van Thomas) and a marshall (Daniel Britt) set off on a journey of survival and in the process kill as many zombies as they can along the way. Really, there isn’t all too much more to this plot, since the film attempts to be more of a character study, with these conflicting characters trying to survive in this unforgiving landscape. Of course the preacher continues to see the humanity in these undead individuals, and the marshall sees them as simply the damned who need to be destroyed. It’s a jumping-off point that should fill this film with plentiful moments of moral dilemmas between the two individuals, but the film seems to be afraid to get beneath the surface of these characters.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 23rd, 2014
"You should never stop thinking about a life you’ve taken. That’s the price you pay for taking it."
In 2010 David Michod directed his first full-length feature Animal Kingdom. It was a critical success, and he went on to pick up a Best Director award with the Australian Directors’ Guild. Now Michod has completed his sophomore effort, The Rover, which does explore some familiar ground with criminal families, but the film takes a more introspective approach to life and what matters most in the world when you believe you have nothing left to lose.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2014
"Book 'em Danno."
It's been 30 years since we last heard that phrase. Still it persisted in the modern lexicon along with the term Five-0, which is still shouted in high-crime areas in cities all over the country whenever a police presence is felt closing in on the bad guys. Hawaii Five-0 ended in 1980. That's when Tom Selleck took over the sets and production crew on Hawaii to work as Magnum P.I. until 1988 when it all closed down for good, or did it? Wouldn't you know it, the show has been resurrected and become the hottest drama on television? A younger Steve McGarrett and company are back in action and Hawaii ...the world might never be the same again. Roll wave...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 22nd, 2014
Sibling filmmakers Howard J. and Jonathan Ford seem to be huge believers in the “Location, location, location” real estate adage. The duo — collectively known as The Ford Brothers — previously made The Dead, which was billed as “the first zombie road movie set against the spectacular scenery of Africa.” I actually wasn't a fan of that flick, but saw enough technical skill and enough potential in the concept to make me curious about a follow-up. With The Dead 2: India, the Ford Brothers have once again transplanted old-fashioned zombie thrills to an exotic, under-explored location. Only this time, they brought a story and more engaging performers along for the trip.
The Dead 2: India features an all-new cast and a plot that is mostly unrelated to its predecessor. (The most we get are radio transmissions that allude to the African zombie crisis from the first film.) This time around, the action follows American turbine engineer Nicholas (Joseph Millson), who finds himself hundreds of miles away from pregnant girlfriend Ishani (Meenu) when the zombie epidemic begins to spread through India. Ishani and her family — including disapproving father (Sandip Datta Gupta) — find themselves trapped near the slums of Mumbai as Nicholas fights his way to the city with the help of a young orphan named Javed (Anand Krishna Goyal, making a nice feature film debut).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2014
"Oh boy, zombie apocalypse!"
No, it's just South Park. But it has invaded pop culture as much as zombies have over its amazing 18-year run. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been walking a tightrope for over 18 years now, and it just doesn’t get old. One of the reasons the show doesn’t grow stale is their ability to make such a quick turnaround on current events. Because the show takes literally days to write and produce, they are quite often always the first to address an issue. They had an election-night episode on literally the next day in last season. That means the ideas stay as fresh as the headlines.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 18th, 2014
In case you’ve been hiding beneath a rock the past few years, The Big Bang Theory isn’t just a hit TV show, but instead it’s a show that has ingrained itself into pop culture. You can go out to most major retailers and find shirts with “Bazinga”, and I’m willing to bet at least one of your Facebook friends has posted a GIF on their feed about the show. It’s a show I told myself I wouldn’t get caught up in because I was so sure it was nothing more than a fad. It took being sick with the flu a couple years back and a determined friend lending me the first four seasons of the show for me to sit back and give it a chance. Before I was finished with the first season I found myself embracing the show and just feeling like a dunce for waiting so long. After all it’s a show about movie and comic book geeks, aka “my people”. In other words, for those who have missed out on this show, believe the hype; it really is that good.
It’s been seven seasons since we first met roommates Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and\ Sheldon (Jim Parsons) along with their beautiful neighbor across the hall, Penny (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting). Over the years we’ve watched these characters evolve and take leaps in their relationships and other avenues in their lives. Sure, we’ve all been on board for the rollercoaster relationship between Leonard and Penny, but for fans the most shocking was when Sheldon (who just may be one of the funniest quirky characters written in years) finds himself in a relationship with Amy (Mayim Bialik).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2014
"The city still needs saving. But not by the Hood. And not by some vigilante who's just crossing names off a list. It needs... something more."
That someone, that something more ...that something else is the DC Comics character Green Arrow. Not to be confused with the same-colored Hornet or Lantern. In season 2 Oliver Queen finally sheds the name and reputation of the Hood or Vigilante. He has vowed not to kill, and he no longer has the list to guide him. His job now is to go after any bad guys in Starling City.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 17th, 2014
“It’s not the end of the world.”
I still remember the night I walked out of the screening of the Roland Emmerich version of Godzilla. I can’t remember a time I had ever been so angry at a film. It was a film that was an insult to the monster that I had held in such high regard right alongside King Kong. Sure, I had seen the trailers, but when I saw that first reveal of their “Godzilla” I cringed. I hated it. Had the film been called anything else, perhaps my loathing towards it would have been different, but it was a film that was foolish enough to hold the name of Godzilla. Now it’s been over 15 years and Hollywood is taking another stab at presenting us with an Americanized version of Godzilla. And this time they nailed it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2014
"Spartacus' mongrel horde has swelled with each passing victory since Glaber's defeat at Vesuvius. They added thousands to rank liberating the mines of Lucania. Slaves across the Republic, humble and grateful to their masters for so many years, have broken to treachery in the wake of the ever-expanding legend of Spartacus."
Starz has had a pretty good run with their Spartacus series. Coming off the style of blood and violence that was popularized with Zach Snyder's 300, Spartacus brought that comic book/graphic novel intensity to television. The presentation was both original and effective for a television series. Instead of presenting a typical ongoing story, Starz used a serialization method that made each season a separate collection of shows while maintaining the continuity that fans could appreciate and follow.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2014
CSI is one of the longest-running shows on television. There are still a great number of original or early-years cast members still there. But I think it's actually the changes that have allowed the show to rediscover itself once again. It's actually been a good thing for the series and the franchise. It's a family again. That's no dig on anyone who has left. It's just that I like this group a lot, and we've been able to see stories that just would not have been done in the old days. It has new legs, and I think we just might be in it for the long haul.
For the two or three people on the planet who don’t know, the idea is actually quite a simple one. The CSI night shift crime scene investigators utilize all of the latest science to solve often brutal crimes. Instead of guns, these detectives come packing microscopes and test tubes. If you want to know more about the previous seasons and spinoff shows, bang it here to catch up: CSI Reviews.
