Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 5th, 2013
The Love Section is not a very grabbing title if you ask me, but to each his own I suppose. The new film is the latest product coming out of One Village Entertainment; the film does have some things going for it: an absolutely gorgeous leading lady (hubba hubba), a unique pairing of leads, and a very funny supporting character. However, the plot is not swimming in uncharted waters. Ali (Lawrence B. Adisa, Grindin) is a 32-year-old real estate agent and a ladies’ man, bouncing from woman to woman with very little desire for a permanent commitment. His married and porn-addicted best friend, Joel (Brian Hooks, 3 Strikes) thinks it’s time for him to settle down before he becomes the old man in the club. As fate would have it (movie fate, that is) one night out at a comedy club, Ali meets someone: Sandrine (Davetta Sherwood, The Young and The Restless), a drop-dead gorgeous 20-year-old. Age does little to deter Ali, who decides to pursue her, simply for the reason of making her another conquest. However, the more time he spends with Sandrine, no more he finds himself falling deeper and deeper into a commitment with her; not even the news that she is a single mother with a five-year-old son is enough to send him running for the hills.
Despite deep feelings for Sandrine, Ali is still unwilling to dive in with both feet, continuing to see other women on the side. He rationalizes to himself that a complete future may not be possible with Sandrine given the many obstacles in their way such as their age difference and her status as a single mom. Will Ali let a fear that it won’t work out cost him the opportunity to have something he’s never had before, or will he finally ready to let someone into the love section of his heart?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 3rd, 2013
“I’ve changed a lot. I’m not the same woman.”
Early on in Luis Buñuel’s surrealist gem, a mild-mannered older gentleman named Mathieu douses a beautiful, battered woman with a bucket of water as she desperately attempts to board the train he’s riding. His fellow passengers are stunned, but also understandably intrigued. What possible sequence of events could’ve led Mathieu to this cold and cartoonish gesture? It’s an irresistible hook, and Mathieu proceeds to regale the other travelers — and, by extension, the movie’s audience — with the tale of “the foulest woman who ever lived.”
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 31st, 2013
When being handed this title to review I have to admit my expectations were rather low, but as with every other title I was going to give it a chance. It’s not that I don’t enjoy cartoons or kid-friendly television; I was simply more concerned that perhaps I had reached an age where I simply wouldn’t be able to connect to the material I had to watch. By the time the credits to the first episode rolled, I quickly moved on to the next episode. Though the show reminds me a lot of Family Guy, there is nothing in the show parents should find offensive and it is suitable for children’s viewing. Each episode has a running time of about 11 minutes. With 12 episodes, a parent could easily pop in this DVD and keep their kids entertained while taking care of some chores around the house.
As for the show, well, it’s filled with more goofy randomness that is better left to be seen than have described. Gumball after all is a twelve-year-old (Cat???) who has a younger brother who is a goldfish and a father who is a human-sized rabbit. As for the characters that fill out the school there is a tyrannosaurus rex, a piece of toast, and a teacher who is a monkey, as well as a young girl Penny who just so happens to be a peanut with antlers. It doesn’t make sense, and it’s not supposed to; that’s just part of the fun of the show.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2013
Comedy Central is the main access for exposure for most comedians today. They regularly broadcast up and coming comedy specials, and Amy Schumer seems to be one of their latest favorites. She has a new sketch comedy show coming out this spring on Comedy Central called Inside Amy Schumer. She was also featured on the celebrity roasts of Charlie Sheen and Roseanne Barr with a number of better-known performers. Her material is fairly fearless, targeting anyone and everyone. Her material in this comedy special is a good example. When it says mostly sex stuff, it is completely accurate. She leaves very little to the imagination about her sex life. This DVD is clearly NSFW or not safe for children or probably not safe for your mother or grandmother. Funny enough, but Schumer has her mother and sister there while she says lots of bad words about them.
It is pretty much impossible to say too much about what she says in this stand-up concert. It was done for Comedy Central, but you would have to buy this DVD to hear it without hundreds of bleeps. She comes off looking very sweet on stage, and she knows that's part of the appeal. Her uncle is Chuck Schumer, one of the most powerful members of the Senate. I can imagine he is going to want to keep a distance from that wing of the family.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 31st, 2013
No matter how much you hated Prometheus — parts of it were startlingly dumb, but people who seriously talk about it like it’s the worst film of all time need to take a deep breath — Ridley Scott has a pretty strong case to be included on any list of Top 10 Living Directors. His work has helped redefine genres (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) given us indelible images (that final still from Thelma & Louise) and even provided a few smaller-scale delights (Matchstick Men is my favorite of this group). So I’m proposing we take a quick break from trashing his last movie to discuss his very first one.
The Duellists follows a pair of officers in Napoleon’s Army during the early part of the 19th century. The film opens in Strasbourg with the mercurial Lt. Feraud (Harvey Keitel) critically injuring the mayor’s nephew during a duel. An even angrier general orders the dutiful Lt. D’Hubert (Keith Carradine) to place Feraud under arrest. Feraud is an avid duelist and thinks he did nothing wrong, so he feels insulted by D’Hubert's accusation. The fact that Feraud is with a woman when D’Hubert arrives to arrest him only adds to his embarrassment. Naturally, Feraud has no choice but to challenge D’Hubert to a duel.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 30th, 2013
How exactly do you make a superhero movie without the powers? Answer: Have them wake up with their powers being stripped from them. All Superheroes Must Die is a superhero tale that from the title you can tell is fated not to end in the traditional way that superhero films end: with the righteous prospering and the wicked suffering. What the film title doesn’t let you know, however, is how underwhelming the film is. It does have an interesting startup, I’ll give it that. Our heroes: Charge (Jason Trost, writer/director), The Wall (Lee Valmassy, THE FP), Cutthroat (Lucas Till, X-Men First Class), and Shadow (Sophie Merkley) wake up in an abandoned town (I have to be honest; I didn’t understand many of the chosen monikers). Seeing each other comes as a shock to each of the heroes as the once-powerful unit has been separated for what the audience is forced to assume is years. Personal issues forced them apart, and now a common enemy has brought them back together: Rigshaw, a methodical sociopath with an axe to grind against the group, especially Charge, who was thought to be responsible for his supposed downfall.
Rigshaw has created a complex series of trials for the team heroes to go through, the objective for them to experience what it is like to be on the losing side for once; a series he has aptly named Role Reversal. To survive the game and save lives, the heroes will have to get past their differences and work together, but will they be able to let go of the past and work together, or will their past be the deciding factor in their destruction?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 30th, 2013
Do you have what it takes to win a video game championship? That’s the question Noobz asks and the Reign Clan tries to answer. The Reign Clan consists of four guys obsessed with Gears of War 3. There’s Cody (Blake Freeman, also the film’s co-writer and director), the anger-prone leader, and Andy (Jason Mewes of Clerks, Mallrats and pretty much every Kevin Smith movie), who is Cody’s best friend and a game store manager. There’s also the sexually confused Oliver (Matt Shively, TV’s The Troop) and “Hollywood”, who the rest of the clan believes to be Casper Van Dien.
When Cody loses his job and his wife in the same day due to his excessive game playing, he is reluctant to go compete in the CyberBowl, the nation’s premier gaming championship. It takes some doing, but Andy finally convinces him that the $400,000 prize is worth it. From there, they must overcome hilarious obstacles — including other clans, a mace-wielding mom and finding out that “Hollywood” is really a teenager (Moises Arias, TV’s Hannah Montana) — in order to win, not only the prize money, but the respect of the online gaming community.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 28th, 2013
Here’s the thing. Fans of the franchise should be pleased with the latest entry. The series has been a solid October tradition for some time now. When you consider the low cost of creating one of these films with the proven box office numbers, this was all really a no-brainer, to say the least. You’re going to get more of what you are expecting, and the film throws in enough new angles and tricks to keep the idea as fresh as possible. However, there is a flip-side to all of this. I don’t think it’s very likely that you can enjoy this film quite so fully if you have not seen any of the previous films. The history is of vital importance if you’re going to appreciate where all of this is going. That isn’t to say newcomers won’t be entertained. There are enough jumps and shocks to have a relatively good time. Still, if you haven’t gotten yourself caught up in the franchise’s mythology, you might want to make that effort before going to see this film. It was my intention to watch the first three again before I saw this one. I couldn’t find the time. I wish I had. I did see the first three films, and I still feel like I needed to refresh myself before the journey into number four. Alas, that was not meant to be, and this review will suffer somewhat because of that. I very strongly encourage you to take in the story so far before venturing to your local multiplex.
You say you don’t have the time either? Here’s a quick history lesson to get you caught up. You should be warned that here there be SPOILERS of the first three films:
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 28th, 2013
Warwick Davis many may remember as the dwarf that played Wicket the ewok in Return of the Jedi or as the leprechaun in the Leprechaun franchise. The role younger audiences may be more familiar with is that of Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter franchise. In the new HBO series Life’s Too Short, Davis steps away from the fantasy world and into a faux reality show about none other than Warwick Davis. I have to admit Davis is far from the top of my list of celebrities I’d like to see star in their own “reality” show. Seeing the show is produced by and co-stars Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (both also worked together on Extras and The Office) did ignite my interest. I understand Ricky Gervais is not for everyone; after all, he does seem to take pleasure in making his audience feel uncomfortable, but I happen to be a fan and believe he’s one of the most consistently funny comedians working currently.
I didn’t know what to expect coming into the show; sure, I figured Davis would end up the butt of many dwarf jokes, but what I wasn’t ready for is how much I really began to care for the portrayal of Davis in the show. Davis does not simply just play himself in this faux documentary that follows him around. Instead we see a man on a downward spiral as he gradually loses control of his life. We not only watch as he goes through the heart wrenching effects of divorce but also we follow along as he struggles to get work as he tries to avoid being charged for tax evasion. But even beyond these giant hurdles, Davis still has to deal with his day to day life as a dwarf and how it hinders him.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 28th, 2013
“The most important thing about being a drummer is the ability to hit hard.”
Fat Kid Rules the World tells the story of Troy Billings (Jacob Wysocki), a high school student who lives a lonely life because he’s, well, fat. Despite his large size, Troy is pretty much invisible. Unable to stand the monotony of his life, he steps in front of a bus. At the last minute, Marcus (Matt O’Leary, Domestic Disturbance, Brick), a dropout and punk rock musician, knocks him out of the vehicle’s path.
