Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 16th, 2012
To be a cannibal or not to be? That seems to be the question we will all have to ask ourselves if we ever go on to live in a post-apocalyptic society. Sure it’s in the name of survival, but can things really get so bad that one day I could be huddled up with a group of survivors and everyone wondering whose the next to keel over and if there are any special recipes someone would like to try out? Remember it’s all in the name of survival, and in the words of Andrew Zimmern, “If it looks good, eat it!”
The Day isn’t just a movie about cannibals; in fact they are simply in the background for the story of five survivors trying to make it day to day in a cruel, unforgiving landscape. It’s never made clear what has happened to the world our survivors live in, but it’s understood that a large portion of society is dead, and those that remain can do nothing more than prepare themselves for the inevitable. These survivalist movies need to be bleak and depressing, because let’s face it, when the world has managed to reach the point of creating a near extinction of the human race, having hope is a bit naïve. And that seems to be what the film makers understood when creating The Day.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2012
"This is your wake-up call."
History is replete with disasters. Some are natural or acts of God. We see them almost every year. It might be a hurricane in the Gulf or an earthquake in South America. Lives are often lost, and damages toll into the millions. We can't completely predict them. All we can do is try to be prepared when the next one strikes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 15th, 2012
Most of you reading this now have probably seen my reviews for part 2 and part 3 of this series. Well, the wonderful people at Shout Factory sent me a compilation disc in blu-ray nevertheless and I am very excited to bring it to the reading public for review. The important medium of digital or motion comics is about to receive its most significant package yet. But enough about an introduction, lets directly dive into the complete collection of Astonishing X-Men or better known as the Joss Whedon run of X-Men.
Gifted (Disc One)
The X-Men prepare for a new year of students. Jean Grey is gone, but Emma Frost has taken her place and Kitty Pryde has returned. The students are promising but still have a lot to prove. However, when a “mutant cure” is announced by Benetech scientist, Dr. Kavita Rao, the students and the team get concerned. The now almost feline Beast pays her a visit to find that her methods might not be ethical. In addition, an alien named Ord has taken a party hostage and it is up to the team to do something a little astonishing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2012
"Nice Greek girls are supposed to do three things: marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone until the day we die."
If ever a movie could be negatively affected by monstrous box office numbers, it’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding. When a five-million-dollar film rides a tsunami of critical buzz and excellent word-of-mouth past the two hundred million dollar box office gross (finally ending somewhere over $230 million), it’s impossible to see it for the first time completely free of expectation. Perhaps this was my mistake, because I went into my first viewing of the king of sleeper hits excited to a super-duper romantic comedy. …I’m not sure exactly what I was hoping for. Was it a hearty helping of belly laughs? This film offers sparse and modest chuckles at best. Perhaps it was some sort of originality within its predictable story arc. Instead, this is a by-the-numbers romcom with by-the-numbers romcom characters. Maybe I was hoping for a film that could at least approach capturing the profundity of love, or the reality of struggles with culturally divergent family values. Whatever it was, I felt pretty unfulfilled by the time it was all over, even though I found the movie reasonably enjoyable.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2012
"Early to rise, early to bed. And in and between I cooked and cleaned and went out of my head."
There was a new girl in town for the 1976 television season. Well, she wasn't exactly new. The whole thing started out as a feature film called Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore starring Ellen Burstyn as the title character Alice Hyatt. The film was one of the first feature films directed by Martin Scorsese. Burstyn won the Oscar for her performance as Alice, and the film achieved a ton of critical acclaim and two years later a sit-com on CBS that lasted nine seasons. It took a long time, but the series has finally come to DVD thanks to Warner's Classic Archive Collection series of manufactured-on-demand discs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2012
"The ancients spoke of it. It is the heart of this fierce land. It is carried in the wind. Born of our legends, and when we are put to the test, it is the one thing that we must always be."
Readers of this site already know that I have a particular fondness for most of the films that have come from Pixar. The studio pretty much invented the computer-animated feature film, and they've been setting the bar higher with each new release. I've always thought it was rather fitting that the studio ended up as part of Disney. After all, it was the Mouse House that invented the animated feature to begin with. It all has a certain poetic destiny feel for me. Pixar is still leading the cutting edge. My favorite to date has been Monsters, Inc., and I am eagerly waiting for the Monsters University prequel, which is now only a year away. In the meantime, the powers that be over at Pixar have tossed us yet another original story: Brave.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2012
"Remember back in the day when things were made by hand and people took pride in their work? My name is Rick Dale, and I bring these things back to life."
If you watch Pawn Stars on History, than Rick Dale really needs no introduction. From time to time the Pawn Stars guys get in something that they want to have restored to increase its value. For most of those projects they go to Rick and his team. Now Rick's gotten his own spinoff series, and it's set up very much like the other show, from the grunge guitar soundtrack to some of the same wheel-and-deal aspects. This is pretty much the same production setup, and it will appeal to the fans of Pawn Stars.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 14th, 2012
There are two films that are on the main disc; an experimental film by Nicholas Ray and a documentary by Susan Ray about the making of said film. They are perfect companions on this release and I feel one is crucial for the other, therefore I'm going to treat neither as simply a “Bonus.”
We Can't Go Home Again
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 13th, 2012
As a moviegoer, I love my share of epics. The bigger the storyline, the bigger the world, the more I probably enjoy it. Oh, it has to be sci fi/fantasy related too. Fantasy worlds in particular are often amazing since the creator is making it up from scratch. Today, we visit the world Aradius, a land where a very special mineral plays a very important part in the story. The story you ask? The story of Hirokin, the Last Samurai. Let’s explore, shall we?
Let’s start with a little back story. Humans came to the planet of Aradius to trade for Aradium. This special mineral allowed massive metal objects the ability to float. Well as with any precious mineral, it was soon depleted and most of the humans left. However, the planet of Aradius was left with its kinfolk succumbing to disease, refuse and infertility. The Arid people (who we could tell the difference from humans from the veins in the palm of their hands) were ruled by humans who wanted them wiped from the planet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 13th, 2012
People make fun of us Floridians for a variety of reasons. (Some of them don’t even involve our performance in presidential elections.) One of the most popular ways out-of-staters in the northern part of the country — as well as our Canadian readers — mock us is by chuckling whenever we dash to our closets and dust off our winter wear as soon as the weather dips below 60 degrees. So I can’t even imagine how we’d handle a full-blown Snowmageddon!
Snowmageddon is the latest disaster — in every sense of the word — courtesy of SyFy Original films, which has already brightened countless Saturday nights with tastefully-titled flicks like Stonehenge Apocalypse, Piranhaconda and Snipers vs. Vipers. (Have fun figuring out which one of those I made up. No Googling allowed!)
