Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jonathan Foster on July 4th, 2013
How do you cope with loss? Do you numb yourself so you don’t feel anything? Or do you lash out in anger, making everyone else feel as bad as you? Do you do seek help or do something drastic? Least Among Saints explores that concept, looking at the various types of loss and hurt from different perspectives and age demographics while exploring the way to redemption.
Anthony (Martin Papazian, TV’s 24, and also this film’s writer and director) is an Iraq War veteran whose return to civilian life has not been easy. Suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anthony drinks to forget the horrors of war and the fact that his ex-wife has a restraining order against him. After a particularly bad day, he decides to end it all. His suicide is interrupted by the frantic cries for help from his 10-year-old neighbor, Wade (Tristan Lake Leabu, Superman Returns), whose mother has overdosed on drugs. Anthony rushes Wade and his mom to the hospital, where she dies shortly after. Realizing Wade has no one and nowhere to go, Anthony convinces Wade’s social worker, Jolene (Laura San Giacomo, TV’s Just Shoot Me!), to let Wade stay with him, against her better judgment. Back at Anthony’s, Wade shows Anthony a postcard from his father and tells him that he wants to find him. Even though Anthony doubts they’ll find him, he agrees. The two set off on a road trip, defying Jolene’s explicit instructions. As they grow closer, Anthony realizes he must overcome his demons if he is to be the father figure Wade needs.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 3rd, 2013
“Only a few people in the world have the ability to remember everything. I'm one of them. If I miss something the first time, it's okay; I can go back and look again. My life…is unforgettable.”
You’ve got to admire the courage of the person who decided to call this show Unforgettable. He or she had to know they’d be leaving themselves open to easy pot-shots from viewers and snarky critics like me if the drama series failed to make a lasting impression. And, for a while, it looked like this Unforgettable: The First Season DVD set might wind up being Unforgettable: The Only Season. After sitting through the first season of CBS’s umpteenth procedural drama, I can see why the network initially canceled the show. But I can also see why they decided to bring it back.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2013
And then there was only one. More than a decade after CSI began to spin itself off to Miami and then New York, the last standing series is the original. And while even the franchise flagship has undergone cast and even style changes, it remains a ratings winner and appears to maintain an appeal the other shows never could quite capture. Not that we can call either of these spinoff adventures a failure. Both saw pretty much a decade, which is far longer than 90% of television shows ever see. Both had their own unique vision and niche that appealed to a broader group of fans. And while I never completely warmed up to the Miami version, I always rather liked the New York version, at times better than the original.
The reason could be found in the person of Gary Sinise. He's a strong actor, and he happen to have fallen into the perfect part. He became Mac Taylor for most of the fans, and it will be a lonelier television landscape without him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 2nd, 2013
A fish has to swim, a bird has to fly, and a film has to entertain; those are the defining attributes for each of the listed subjects, and in my opinion The Rambler didn’t meet its obligation as a film. The Dermot Mulroney-led film is a series of happenings, each of which are unconnected and wide open for interpretation, only tied together by one monosyllabic character. It seems that the story is whatever you want to make it, but therein lies the rub: many people don’t go to films that require them to form their own interpretation. They are looking to have a story told to them, not tell it to themselves.
The Rambler opens up with our titular character (Dermot Mulroney) observing a house on fire. Next it jumps to behind prison walls where The Rambler has ended up (whether it was due to the fire is not really explained). Through a quick montage sequence, we are given a recap of the character’s life on the inside up until he earns his release: smoking in his cell, smoking in the cafeteria, and smoking in the exercise yard.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 1st, 2013
The medical community seems to be split on whether or not dissociative identity disorder — previously known as multiple personality disorder — actually exists. Well, I’m here to offer a definitive answer because I’ve just seen the dreaded disease in action after watching 6 Souls. The film can’t decide whether it wants to be trashy, watchable horror movie that regularly tries to jump-scare you out of your seat or a somewhat serious meditation on the science vs. faith debate.
Dr. Cara Jessup (Julianne Moore) would strongly disagree with my diagnosis. When we meet the widowed psychiatrist early on in 6 Souls, she’s expressing her belief that multiple personality disorder is a fad perpetuated by the media and pop culture. Cara’s father (Jeffrey DeMunn) is also a psychiatrist, and he’s playfully determined to prove his daughter wrong. He asks her to examine a seemingly timid young man named David (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who becomes the much more aggressive Adam after a well-placed phone call. Even though Adam/David is very convincing, Cara wants to debunk the idea that he suffers from multiple personality disorder. As she investigates Adam/David’s background, she finds a common link between his personalities and realizes there might be more to come. (The movie isn’t called 2 Souls, after all.)
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 27th, 2013
We’re almost 150 years removed from the death of Abraham Lincoln, yet interest in the first major assassination in American history appears to be at an all-time high. Daniel Day Lewis just won a well-deserved Oscar for his astounding portrayal of our 16th president, and this month has already seen the home video release of the fascinating Killing Lincoln. Pictures From the Fringe enters the fray with the paradoxically-titled Saving Lincoln, a unique, well-meaning presentation of his presidency and a sketchy portrait of the not-so-well-known relationship between Lincoln and personal bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon.
Lamon, who Lincoln eventually appointed U.S. Marshal of the District of Columbia, was notably absent during the evening of the president’s assassination. (Lincoln had sent Lamon to Richmond as an ambassador promoting Reconstruction.) The film depicts Lamon (Lea Coco) and Lincoln’s (Tom Amandes) first meeting in Illinois — aspiring attorney Lamon looked up to Lincoln — as well as the moment when Lamon names himself the president's bodyguard after the Baltimore Plot to assassinate Lincoln in 1861 is uncovered. The film proceeds to hit the major signposts in the president’s political/persona life, including the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. We also watch Lincoln deal with the death of son Willie (Elijah Nelson) from typhoid fever and the carriage accident that injured First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (Penelope Ann Miller.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2013
"My ears hear what others cannot hear; small faraway things people cannot normally see are visible to me. These senses are the fruits of a lifetime of longing, longing to be rescued, to be completed. Just as the skirt needs the wind to billow, I'm not formed by things that are of myself alone. I wear my father's belt tied around my mother's blouse, and shoes which are from my uncle. This is me. Just as a flower does not choose its color, we are not responsible for what we have come to be. Only once you realize this do you become free, and to become adult is to become free."
If you are a fan of director Chan-wook Park, you are used to the kinds of bizarre images and somewhat enigmatic story elements that dominate the landscape of Stoker. While none of the images here reach quite into the territory of Oldboy, it's hard not to plug into the disturbed nature of the film's themes and story. I left the movie with more questions than answers and a little bit lost as to how exactly I was going to approach this review. I had not seen Oldboy at the time of the viewing or since. I did go out of my way to get some exposure to the film's famous imagery through clips and stills. Even still, I've never been more confused about a film than I am about Stoker.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 25th, 2013
Burned, Recruited, Coerced, Betrayed, and Framed; in the past five seasons of Burn Notice, Michael Westen has been all of these things. The constant fluctuation in his ever-changing status is enough to drive a person mad, but through it all Michael has managed to stay level-headed and remain confident that he would find a way out. That confidence in his abilities is no doubt sustained by the support of his eternally loyal love, Fiona Glenanne. Fiona is Michael’s anchor; she keeps him centered, and as evident in last season when Fiona was framed for a bombing by Anson, Michael will go to any extreme to keep her safe; he needs her. However, when Season 6 opens up, Fiona has turned herself in to FBI to protect him from being used. What will Michael do now that the love of his life may be gone forever?
Season 6 picks right where the last season left off: Fiona turns herself in to the FBI and is taken into custody as Michael watches. Unable to save her, Michael becomes a man on a mission as he enlists the help of Sam, Jesse, and CIA officer Dani Pearce (Lauren Stamile) to find Anson (Jere Burns) and bring him in to clear Fiona’s name. Michael receives word of Anson’s plans to flee Miami as his identity has been compromised and he is being hunted. He catches up with him but is forced to let him go, condemning Fiona to her fate.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 25th, 2013
"The body is the proof. It will tell you everything you need to know if you just have the patience to look."
Body Of Proof was a mid-season entry by the network two years ago; it debuted at the end of March and ran for only nine episodes that year. It was renewed, so it had the opportunity to develop into something better than what it was. After a full season last year, it was decided to retool the show considerably for the third year. It was all an obvious sign that the show with so much potential was having trouble drawing in enough viewers to keep it alive. The end has finally come, and those last episodes are now available on DVD.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 25th, 2013
Every generation since “X” has lionized its slackers and frat boys with films (perhaps earlier if you look to Animal House as the beginning). Workaholics dances between this honouring of the stoner/slacker lifestyle and satirizing it. This show's third season is just like the previous two. Three best friends, Adam, Anders and Blake, spend their work days with pranks, pot and parties on their minds, and each episode showcases their adventures therein.
These three indulge in so much “bro” talk, which entails frequent use of the words “bro,” “dude,” and turning as many words as possible into slang, usually by shortening them to one syllable if possible. A whole scene may go by where their English has been massacred to the point where I feel as if they are speaking an entirely new language. While many times this would seem to be a way of relating to the keg-tapping demographic, it can reach such a preposterous level, such as when Adam talks about getting a girl to put her “H on his D,” that it becomes more of a lampooning.
