Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 8th, 2013
Twenty-five years in any business is a feat to be recognized, especially when it is in the field of entertainment. It requires constant dedication, devotion, and a loyal fan base that sticks by you; Morrissey seems to have all three. In his latest concert series, Morrissey 25 Live, the English singer celebrates his latest career milestone at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles. From the very beginning, it is obvious that the singer has a loving and dedicated fan base, which was the most surprising detail for me given that before this disc, I had never heard of the singer.
The concert begins with testimony from two admitted Morrissey fans, who speak about how his music speaks to them. He appears to have the crowd from the very beginning as they go wild as he comes to the stage. He grabs the microphone, utters “Viva Mexico, I never forget my alma mater,” and the band launches right into the first song, “Alma Matters.” It took me a second to realize what his comment meant given that according to the cover art, the concert took place in Los Angeles (His words are equally confusing given that according to his bio, the singer is English.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 7th, 2013
"I like people to go away from a Queen show feeling fully entertained, having had a good time. I think Queen songs are pure escapism, like going to see a good film - after that, they go away and say that was great, and go back to all their problems" - Freddie Mercury
I had that very pleasure back in the late 1970's when I attended a Queen concert at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. It was one heck of a show. Freddie was flamboyant as always. They were also quite good. I still remember an acoustic set they did in the middle. Take away the "plugs" and you really find out what kind of musicians you're dealing with. Apparently, pretty good ones.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 6th, 2013
“You think you had a bad day? This guy lost a billion dollars.”
Clear History is ostensibly about hot-shot marketing exec Nathan Flomm, who misses out on a billion-dollar payday after a petty disagreement. But really, this HBO Films original comedy is basically a 100-minute, all-star episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with prettier scenery. As such, it's another opportunity for writer/star Larry David to profanely and incredulously sound off on a fresh set of social landmines, including insincere apologies and birthday e-card etiquette.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 6th, 2013
Ike Evans (Morgan) owns the most swank hotel in Miami. It's the Miramar Playa. He bought the land at a song from his deceased wife's family, and he's turned it into a luxury city where the likes of Frank Sinatra call home. He's determined to make it without caving to the influence of his minority partner, who happens to go by the name of The Butcher. He's Ben Diamond (Huston), and he wants the hotel to become a kingdom of gambling and other profitable vices. Sure, Ike allows a little prostitution and backroom bookie action, but he wants to keep the hotel pretty much legit. That's hard with a bank nut that runs $65,000 a month.
He has a young wife, Vera (Kurylenko) who was once the sensational Vera Cruz, a Cuban Tropicana dancer. He has two sons. Danny (Cooke) is studying law and doesn't want any part of the hotel business. He's being recruited by the DA's office in order to get a man inside. They don't really want Ike. They want Ben Diamond, and if they have to squeeze Ike to get to him, then that's what you might call collateral damage. Danny's in love with Mercedes (Garcia-Lorido), who is a maid at the hotel and daughter to Ike's hotel manager Victor (Vazquez). Victor's wife was killed in the Castro takeover of Cuba, and Ike's trying to get her ashes out. Stevie (Strait) is Ike's youngest son. Stevie tends bar in the hotel's famous Atlantis Bar (remember that Miami bar in Analyze This)? He does want the life of his father. He's also a bit of a womanizer. But he's fallen in love with Lily Diamond (Marais), who also loves him. They have a rather torrid affair. The only trouble is that Lily is The Butcher's wife, and he is the jealous type.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on November 4th, 2013
Although they were brutally gunned down almost 80 years ago, everyone knows the names “Bonnie & Clyde”, even if they're only familiar with the bank-robbing basics. Don't look now, but Arthur Penn's landmark, definitive Bonnie & Clyde film — with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the title roles — came out 46 years ago, so I imagine there's a large segment of younger movie fans who haven't seen the story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow play out on screen. The ultra low-budget Bonnie & Clyde: Justified arrives just in time to capitalize coincide with December's star-studded, multi-network miniseries that will surely raise the notorious duo's pop culture profile once again.
“Now the tale I'm about to tell you is the truth, the author's side. And if anyone tells you different, then they didn't know Bonnie & Clyde.”
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 1st, 2013
Ever since the release of Step Up and Stomp the Yard, there have been no shortage of sequels or similar dance movies looking to capitalize on the same success, and when Frat Brothers came across my radar, I expected more of the same; that is not what I got. On the back cover of the disc, the tagline reads: “Sometimes you have to create your own destiny.” That is exactly what the film does, going beyond the expected parameters of a dance movie and forging its own play just as its lead character does.
Legacy, tradition, and family: these are the principles that Kyle (Mishon, Lincoln Heights) and Q’s (Richard John Reliford, General Hospital) father instilled in them (in that order) at a young age. Born into the legacy of the Delta Gamma Gamma, the only pathway that has ever been laid out for them is to follow in the footsteps of their grandfather and their uncle, as well as their father and pledge Delta Gamma Gamma. This fate has always been fine with Q, who wants nothing more than to make his father proud and become a Gamma. Kyle, however, has questioned the pathway in front of him for quite some time simply going along to appease his brother and his father. As the time to pledge comes closer, Kyle really starts to believe that being part of his family legacy is not the right path for him, especially considering it would mean being under the thumb of Derrick (Romeo Miller, Madea’s Witness Protection) a pledge-master with a clear vendetta against him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 30th, 2013
“I’m often asked, ‘What do I do for a living?’ And I answer: ‘I do what I want.”
For the better part of the last 20 years, CeeLo Green has ferociously defied musical expectations by zigging when you expect him to zag. (If you thought the former frontman of hip-hop collective Goodie Mob would eventually become one of the judges on TV’s #1 singing competition, then go buy a lotto ticket immediately because you have a gift.) I happened to be in Las Vegas earlier this year when I saw a poster for CeeLo’s Sin City Loberace show. And for the first time I can remember in regards to CeeLoo’s career, I thought, “Hey that actually makes sense.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2013
When Vikings Season 1 first arrived, I have to admit I was pretty excited. I was particularly eager to see footage from their very first game. Fran Tarkenton came off the bench, and the Vikings went on to become the first expansion team ever to win their very first game. OK, as Baby, our Shepherd/Chow mix dog film reviewer would say: I made that last part up. You'd have to have been living under a pretty isolated rock to have missed all of the buzz over The History Channel's epic new drama series Vikings.
This is quite a step up for the History Channel folks. They've certainly produced a great number of historical dramatizations and documentaries, but nothing they've ever done before compares with this series. We used to review a ton of their stuff here for years, so you know I've liked a lot of the things they've done. But Vikings puts them in a totally new stratosphere. This is historical drama that you've only seen before in the likes of Rome or The Tudors. Of course, there's a very good reason for that. Michael Hirst created the series and is the creative force behind it. He served the same positions on The Tudors. That puts expectations here very high, and the show has met or exceeded them all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 30th, 2013
It’s hard to believe that once if you said the word Google, there is a good chance no one would have known what you were blabbering about. Now the internet search database is the largest search engine on the web and is a dominating company that is given the same reverence Steve Jobs and Apple receive. Because of Google, the days of hitting the books to find information and the Dewey decimal system are all but things of the past. But technology and growth are a part of life.
Billy (Vince Vaughn, who also co-wrote the film) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are forty-something grinders who pound the pavement selling watches to their high-class clients. Unfortunately for them, their boss, played by John Goodman,,has decided to call it quits with the watch business and retire. With few skills and no other options, Nick takes a job at his sister’s boyfriend’s mattress shop, while Billy struggles to find where to go next. This struggle is something most audiences will be able to relate to in the present job market as the film uses the current job market to delve into the opportunity for second chances and wrestling with regret.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 30th, 2013
There are five clans of Vampires that are secretly living amongst humans. Said secret is maintained by a code of conduct called the “Masquerade” which states that vampires can never reveal themselves to a human; nor can they “embrace” (bite and convert) a human without approval from the highest council. Defying this means that your lengthy life is forfeit. A detective discovers the truth about the Masquerade when his girlfriend loses her life after defying these very rules, and he sets out to reveal the entire realm of vampires in San Francisco.
The vampire clans resemble mafia crime syndicates. They operate in secret to both hide their supernatural identities, and hide their financial operations; many of which have spanned centuries. So the story of the detective seeking to uncover the vampire world operates on different levels; revealing the truth behind the murders and other crimes these groups are committing, along with the aforementioned exposure of their supernatural lineage.
