Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 22nd, 2013
The Three Stooges might well be one of the most famous comedy teams in American entertainment history. What started as a Vaudeville act in the early 1920's would take theater audiences by surprise in the Depression years of the early 1930's in the famous shorts for Columbia Pictures. The shorts featured brothers Moe and Curly Howard with Moe's vaudeville partner Larry Fine. The shorts found them in all manner of situations from plumbers to Civil War soldiers. Moe was the domineering leader of the trio who ruled with an iron fist, usually slammed against Curly's head or Larry's jaw. The boys took slapstick rather literally, and before long their routines became part of the pop culture. The shorts appear violent even today. Moe wouldn't think twice about slamming a sledgehammer into Curly's head. The show's sound effects would become iconic as well.
In the 1960's and 1970's the Stooges found new fame when their shorts showed up on television. A brand new generation was introduced to the Stooges, who had gone through a few line-up changes over the years. When Curly became too ill to go on, brother Shemp joined the gang. Other incarnations included Joe Besser and finally Joe DeRita as Curly Joe. Moe and Larry remained for the entire run. It's these television airings that first introduced me to the boys.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 22nd, 2013
James Wan is simply a director who continues to impress me. Ever since Saw was released, I’ve been a fan of his visual style that he brings to every film. Let’s face it, Saw is pretty much the biggest horror franchise of the past decade, and it all started with a simple little indie film that took place mostly inside a dirty bathroom. When Death Sentence came out, I was floored by how well he managed to construct a Death Wish film for a new generation. The parking garage scene was just freaking awesome. Then along came Insidious, which was another massive smash for Wan. Sure, the movie had its creepy moments, but for me the final act just fell apart. Now Wan is set to release The Conjuring upon the masses; is it another smash hit like Saw and Insidious, or will this be destined to fall flat as Dead Silence did?
The Conjuring is based on a true story about famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who are staples of the paranormal investigation history and made famous for their “findings” with the Amityville investigation in Long Island. With ghost-hunting shows saturating the cable channels, it was inevitable that we would finally get a tale about the investigators who somewhat started it all. But this isn’t so much just about the Warrens, but instead about the most terrifying case of their lives.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 22nd, 2013
I can recall with perfectly clarity my first encounter with this television series: it was rainy day and I was extremely bored; my vast collection of DVDs held no appeal, and I was eager for something new. I was in Target, browsing for something to fit the bill, and I came across the first season on sale. At this point I had heard of the show, but the only thing I knew about it was that NPH (for those not in the know, N.P.H. are the initials of Neil Patrick Harris) was involved. Now what started as a way to alleviate a boring day has spawned to watching all 184 episodes (that count does not include the season currently airing) and still being just as captivated as I was with the series as when I watched the pilot.
When the series left off last season, Barney had become engaged to Quinn (his stripper girlfriend), Marshall and Lily are now parents of a little boy that they named after Marshall’s dad, Robin is dating someone; however, the news of Barney’s upcoming nuptials hits her hard though she does her best not to show it, and as for Ted, he has been reunited with Victoria, his girlfriend from the first season. She has just run away from her own wedding and made her way to Ted and proposed that the two run off into the sunset together. The final shot of the season showed the pair doing just that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 19th, 2013
So, it is the Upcomingdiscs.com 31 Nights of Terror and your favorite columnist, Mr. Michael "Hey, were you expecting John Ceballos?" Durr has stepped in for a review about some of his favorite subjects. Cheesy Horror flics and Alyssa Milano. Today's title is an absolute cult classic and that is the original 1995 Vampire thriller, Embrace of the Vampire. So strap yourself in, and prepare to watch something so beautiful that it brings a tear to this columnist's eyes. (Tissue please)
*Warning*, the following post may contain absolute chicanery. Any attempt to make sense of this review should probably require a trip to the local psychiatrist's office for an immediate appointment. While there, you might want to ask for my mind back. I seemed to have lost it on my way to the Badminton for Divorcees convention. Thank you for your cooperation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 18th, 2013
"46,000 people died here. Do you think it's haunted?"
It would have been so much better for me if I had seen the first season of American Horror Story. Of course, it isn't necessary. This has to be one of the most clever television ideas I've encountered. You don't have to have seen the first season because, while the actors are pretty much the same, they play completely different parts in a completely different story in the second season. This kind of television takes you back to the early days of sketch television and reparatory theater. The difference is that this stuff has an edge. It has an edge so sharp that you're very liable to hurt yourself if you're not very careful.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 17th, 2013
“Zoe Hart, you went from no boyfriends to two in one night… which one you gonna keep?”
That’s the burning question at the heart of this charming dramedy's second season. Most of the fish-out-of-water shenanigans from the previous year are done now that city girl Zoe Hart has settled into her medical practice in fictional BlueBell, Alabama. As a result, season 2 of Hart of Dixie focuses heavily on the many romantic entanglements of BlueBell’s citizens, led by the least convincing doctor since Dr. Pepper.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 17th, 2013
The Halloween holiday season is upon us, and as kids count down till the day they can trick or treat dressed as their favorite ghoul or goblin, leading to candy binges that would put me in a diabetic coma. It’s also appropriate that the kids get to watch some films to have some thrills and chills that are age-appropriate (don’t make the mistake of showing a six-year-old Friday the 13th 2). With the release of A Monsterous Holiday, we get a short film that clocks in at 48 minutes; the cover art may appeal to some, but looks are deceiving.
Andy (Drake Bell) is one of those boy geniuses that would rather tinker on science projects in the garage than worry about sports. Finally it seems like it just may be his year to beat out a pair of twins who always seem to come out ahead. Unfortunately after one explosion too many, Andy’s dad decides to find a place for him on the football team. To make matters worse, the night of the big science fair happens to be the same night of the team’s big Halloween game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 17th, 2013
My knowledge of Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal bands can be counted on one hand with a couple fingers to spare. So as you can probably imagine, when this discs found its way to me, my enthusiasm or my confidence in it was not high. So when I say that Black Label Society: Unblackened was not what I expected, it is not an indictment; quite the opposite, in fact. The concert started right as I hit play, I expected to see the band come out, pick up their instruments, and possibly do a little introduction (that came towards the end of the concert) but that was not the case. As soon the banner drops, the group launched into the first song of their set, Losing Your Mind; no muss, no fuss. The song had a catchy and enticing chorus, but other than that, it did not resonate with me, possibly due to the fact that I had trouble understanding what vocalist Zakk Wylde was saying. I don’t attribute this inability to him but rather my ears adjusting to this new experience.
Needless to say, I did not take an immediate liking to the group and their brand of music, but by the third song of the set, Sold My Soul, I had been brought into the fold. There was palpable passion behind the vocals of that song, making it one of the most relatable songs of the set in my opinion. From then on, I was a member of the crowd; if I knew the words I would have been singing along.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 16th, 2013
"We always thought that alien life would come from the stars, but it came from deep beneath the Pacific."
The only thing we seem to love more than giant monster movies are movies about giant dudes going a few rounds with said giant monsters. It was huge television fare in the 1960's and 1970's. We had Ultraman, Space Giants, and Johnny Socko. All of them were Japanese imports that gave us daily or weekly monsters doing the old "Tokyo Stomp", and just when things appeared at their darkest, the giant hero would arrive and give us a show more akin to the weekend wrestling shows than anything else. We'd get choke-holds and body slams that would make the rubber suits jiggle as they fell. It was all in good fun and appears to have pretty much disappeared from the television and film landscape. That is, until Guillermo del Toro brings us one of the summer's eagerly awaited tentpole films: Pacific Rim.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 16th, 2013
Direct-to-video sequels of successful animated films are tricky at best. The video release is usually a sign that either the studio is trying to cash in quickly on the franchise or they are just not confident enough in the sequel to put it up on the big screen, usually with good reason. Smaller budgets mean less impressive animation and a lack of A-list voice actors. Every studio has been guilty of one or the other and more often both. But what's the story when the original film made a disappointing $25 million at the domestic box office? That usually signifies that a sequel of any kind is not likely in high demand. Such is the quandary of Alpha & Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure.
The original film wasn't near as bad as the box office figures would have you believe. It was pretty much an average computer-animated feature film. It had a very solid voice cast that included such talent as Justin Long, Danny Glover, Dennis Hopper and Christina Ricci. It just didn't have a lot of punch to it, and it fizzled. I'm not sure how anyone thought that this one would have any more heart or punch after you take away the great talent and substitute relatively unknown names. That doesn't mean untalented, by any means. They do pretty much what's expected of them here. I just wish I could say it was entertaining.
