Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 7th, 2013
For over 40 years Aerosmith has been rocking the airwaves, and with over a 100 million albums sold, it is safe to say they are one of America’s greatest rock bands. It had been seven years before that the band previously performed in Japan, and after the devastation the country endured during the earthquake and tsunami in early 2011, the band was inspired to return to Japan and perform. Rock For The Rising Sun is more than simply a documentary of a concert in Japan; instead it is the documentation of the band’s journey that follows them along their stops throughout their tour and their interaction with the fans. For fans looking to get the full concert experience from their living room, this should help satisfy your needs, but this experience does offer more. With footage cut in between songs we get to spend time with the band, though arguably this could have been better suited as footage cut together as a bonus feature instead of getting in the way of the concert footage.
I can appreciate what was attempted here, but I feel it should have been so much more. This was a missed opportunity to see these pop culture icons truly making a difference and helping the country, or at least a few select individuals, but instead we get to see them at Disneyland. Had there been no mention of the devastation the country suffered and the band claiming to go there in support of those affected, then perhaps I would view this a little differently. But to use the tragedy and show nothing of its effects or the band confronting any of the survivors with aid I feel makes this all seems a bit disingenuous.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 5th, 2013
The fact that Kumail Nanjiani decided to call his first Comedy Central special Beta Male immediately gives you a sense of his self-deprecating style. Fortunately, the ability to laugh at himself is merely one of many comedic gifts this on-the-rise comic possesses. This consistently funny, frequently hilarious hour-long set — filmed in Austin’s Moody Theater — touches on a wide range of topics, including his Muslim upbringing, cats disguised as pizza delivery men, and outdated rollercoasters.
Nanjiani has made his way into numerous “Comics to Watch” lists, but most audiences probably know him from scene-stealing turns in Franklin & Bash and Portlandia. He’s also got plenty of comedy geek cred, lending his voice to Adventure Time and collaborating with Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black for the short-lived Michael and Michael Have Issues. This is my drawn-out way of telling you Nanjiani’s humor ticks a lot of boxes with audiences.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 2nd, 2013
At some point or another as kids we’ve experienced either the fear of the dark, what lurks in the closet, or perhaps the dread of what awaits under the bed. As adults most view these fears we had as children as impractical, but for those of us who remember these fears, the possibility of what terrors awaited us come nightfall was something very real. Sure, mom or dad would check the room to assure us there was nothing there, but we knew better. We knew the moment the parents left the room the dreaded terrors would crawl out from there dark hideouts and come for us in our sleep. It’s this childhood terror that director Steven C. Miller (director of the Silent Night remake) attempts to bring to the screen.
Neal (Jonny Weston) has just moved back home after living across country for several years with his aunt. It takes some time before we fully understand the tragedy that caused this move, but we know from the get-go many believe Neal was somehow responsible. His return home is met with many changes; most painful for him is his father falling in love and wanting to remarry. Thankfully for Neal he at least still has his younger brother, Paulie (Gattlin Griffith) who has eagerly awaited his return.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 2nd, 2013
I’ll say this about a program that has remained consistent in quality for twenty seasons…it makes for challenging reviews. Talking about each season of Gunsmoke is difficult in that you either write briefly to try to avoid redundancies, but might seem too hasty, or you have to labour over each episode, in which case, you’re only going to have hardcore fans paying attention. Since this website has touched on previous seasons: ( https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=gunsmoke ) I shall opt for the former option, and hope y’all out there catch that I’m not being hasty…but respect a show that warrants no fresh complaints after 9 years a-runnin’ thus far.
The format has been full hours stories since season 7 and it hasn't lost any steam in season 9. The cast saw a little shifting as Ken Curtis' character Festus is introduced just before longtime sidekick Chester (played by Dennis Weaver) departs at the end of this season.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 1st, 2013
The cartoons I’m most fond of from my childhood are all cell-animated, simply because I grew up in a time before computer generation effects and animation had been fully realized. Now when you flip on the TV it’s hard to find any true animation; everything has moved on and evolved to CGI. When the studios have the time and money, they can release some breathtaking features like Finding Nemo and The Croods. But when it comes to television the CGI never seemed to match the quality of the features. That is until Dreamworks released Dragons: Riders of Berk.
Berk is a land shared by both Vikings and dragons. For generations the two feuded with one another until a boy, Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) came along who was able to train the dragons, and since then the two have worked together to cohabitate Berk together. Joining Hiccup on his many adventures are his somewhat loyal group of friends and their dragons. But it’s his closest and dearest friend Toothless (a rare night fury dragon) who sticks to Hiccups’ side through the good and the bad. Their relationship is more than a simple bond between a boy and his pet. The trust the two share is shown time and time again throughout the series whether through a simple trust fall exercise, to a point where both Hiccup and Toothless take separate leaps from a cliff in the hope the two will come together to escape another dragon. These leaps of faith are poignant considering Toothless can’t fly without Hiccup in the saddle due to the fact he has an injured tail and has an attachment that only the person in the saddle can control.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2013
“Treading through the dreadful darkness of the land, I dipped the pith of a rush into the tallow, and soon the rushlights guided me down the somberness, the gloomy flames unveiling this unfamiliar soil.”
B.J. Smith 1714-1775
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 1st, 2013
This is the third stab at making an animated series about these radical reptiles. This lone DVD acts as a sampler of seven episodes taken from the middle of its first season, instead of the complete season set. (A common move from Nickelodeon.) These episodes introduce the characters well enough that it will make you curious to see more of what this series has to offer.
This is the first series presented as a 3D computer animation. The graphics are nicely rendered, but are sometimes hard to see since the movements, especially during fight scenes, are incredibly frantic. I certainly hope the fact that I find the pacing too fast isn't a sign of old age arriving. The animators have clearly gone through a lot of trouble choreographing a fight that can sometimes have at least a couple dozen characters interacting (a very difficult thing to manage) and I'd appreciate it more if the speed didn't make me feel like I need to feed the DVD Ritalin.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 31st, 2013
For most modern moviegoers, Marilyn Monroe is probably more “famous for being famous” than she is for her cinematic body of work. (Of course, she’s also infinitely better known for an entirely different “body of work.”) That’s not totally fair because Monroe has at least one bona fide classic (Some Like It Hot) and a handful of indisputably indelible images among her movie credits. Those of you interested in exploring her filmography are in luck: Fox has just released two titles from her mid-1950s superstar peak on Blu-ray, including her turn as an ambitious showgirl in Bus Stop.
The film quickly introduces us to Beauregard “Bo” Decker (Don Murray), a naïve and socially tone deaf cowboy. For the first time in his life, Bo is venturing out of the Montana ranch where he was raised to compete in a rodeo in Phoenix. Bo’s friend and father figure Virgil (Arthur O’Connell) tries to encourage the 21-year-old man-child to find a nice girl to settle down with, but Bo is only interested in finding his one perfect “angel.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2013
"Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before."
The fourth Season of Star Trek: The Next Generation erased any doubts that the show could stand on its own. The series had developed its own characters and situations that allowed the show to somewhat separate itself from the confines of the original series. The Best Of Both Worlds cliffhanger and fourth season resolution would become one of the top-ranked episode of all of Star Trek, and with a shot across the bow from the Borg, Star Trek: The Next Generation had truly arrived.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2013
In the 1950's and 1960's Hammer picked up where Universal had left off. They became the studio for the very best in horror films. With names like Lugosi, Karloff and Chaney finally reaching the end of their reign, Hammer offered up the likes of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. They resurrected all of the famous Universal monsters in their own image. Now we had a new cycle of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Mummy. While the films were somewhat low-budget and released mostly through the drive-in circuit, these films made a bloody splash with horror fans all over the world. But by the time the 1970's had begun, the studio was falling behind in the horror genre. Anthony Hinds had left the studio, and with him went some of the passion for the horror films that made Hammer famous. The studio heads became more interested in other kinds of films, and the horror department languished for a time.
While the studio was still bringing back the monsters that had made it famous, there was a decided effort to return to their own roots with the psychological thriller, and one of the best turned out to be Hands Of The Ripper. Hammer was certainly in decline, but Hands Of The Ripper had the advantage of being shot at England's famous Pinewood Studios where other more illustrious films were also in production at the time. Sets were utilized from The Private Lives Of Sherlock Holmes and more notably James Bond. M's office would be completely recognizable here, complete with the padded door. These sets and production advantages allowed Hands Of The Ripper to go beyond the cost-cutting measures in place at Hammer during this time. It ends up being one of the studio's richest and most atmospheric films.
