Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 7th, 2012
"Life is like jazz, son; never resolves."
Small-scale Christian (or faith-based) films have found modest-yet-passionate audiences in recent years. They also have a reputation among mainstream moviegoers for being overly earnest. Blue Like Jazz — based on the popular 2003 crisis-of-faith best seller by Donald Miller — curiously circumvents that criticism by employing an overly stylish approach and, more importantly, by not billing itself as a "Christian movie."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 6th, 2012
While I have watched a ton of cartoons, the same really can not be said of anime. Sure, I know my classics like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, or Vampire Hunter D but by and large I am not up on my anime. I certainly like it but when I look the shelves and shelves of television episodes or movies, I’m mostly overwhelmed. However, a little bit ago I saw a commercial for some Marvel Anime on G4, I was instantly interested. Little did I know that a couple of the series would end up on my doorstep.
Wolverine and Mariko overlook the city out on a boat. They are arm and arm and enjoying a peaceful life together. That is until three flying henchmen shoot out of the water and rain gunfire upon them. Wolverine is able to get Mariko out of the way and takes the brunt of the hit. His body is torn up but he is not out of the fight. Wolverine’s healing factor takes over and absorbs the bullets. His claws come out and he screams as we go straight into the opening theme song.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2012
Earth From Above is a French nature documentary series dubbed into English for its American and British Blu-ray release. The host, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, garnered international attention with his renowned photography. He’s best known for his best selling coffee table book, Earth From Above, chronicling his world travels with stunning photos from a bird’s eye view. He then branched into filmmaking, using his unique aerial photographer’s eye to draw attention to world’s conservation and preservation needs. This resulted in an Earth From Above full length feature and eventually this running French series of the same name.
As a staunch environmental activist, Arthus-Bertrand formed a partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and now travels the globe documenting extreme ecological changes, most of which not attributed to the now controversial subject of "climate change" and/or "global warming." This Blu-ray release covers two discs and four programs in the series including So the Great Rivers May Live, Of Forests and Man, 6 Billion People to Feed and Do Wild Animals Still Exist? Each segment is broken into two parts and was aired as two separate episodes in the series.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 6th, 2012
Ever wonder what Herman Melville’s classic tale Moby Dick would have been like if instead of a white whale Ahab was obsessed with but a giant white dragon? Well, then you’re in luck, because that is exactly what Age of Dragons is, a literal remake of the classic but with dragons. At first I found this idea pretty awesome, and heck it even has Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) with Vinnie Jones(X-Men Last Stand); what could possibly go wrong? Sadly, a lot can go wrong.
The story opens with a young Ahab witnessing his sister’s death at the hand (or talon in this case) of the white dragon. Ahab barely escapes with his life as his body is severely burnt whenthe dragon breathes its fire onto him. This reason is as good as any to develop a strong hatred for dragons, and from here the legend of the great dragon hunter is born. It’s at a tavern Ishmael (Corey Sevier) enters with his partner Queequeg (Kepa Kruse) the two adventurers are looking to join Ahab’s crew and slay some dragons. After a harpooning contest with Stubs (Jones) it’s decided they are good enough to join this elite crew of hunters. My first problem came here, so to decide if this guy is good enough to venture out into the wild and slay dragons you simply have him throw a harpoon as though it were a dart into a painting across the room? This is really all it takes to go slay dragons and be able to boast how awesome a hunter you are? Sure, it’s a film with dragons and shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but there was trouble in logic town, and this kind of logic would be the film’s undoing.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 6th, 2012
Going into this film all I really knew was that it was written and directed by Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City) and a vague memory of the trailer I caught on a previous DVD I reviewed. One look at the unappealing cover and it had me thinking I got stuck with a low-budget Step Up knockoff, and I just really wasn’t looking forward to this film, but I do try and stay optimistic, because sometimes you never know when something good may come along. This is one of those films. It’s not great, and it’s hard to even consider putting this in the same league as The Breakfast Club as the DVD cover innocently makes that connection. But of all the high school films that have come out in previous years, in my humble opinion this may be the best one out there as it tackles some very delicate and important issues without coming off like a bad movie of the week.
With prom on the horizon and seniors getting ready for graduation and college, Hendrix (Mandella Van Peebles), a junior, has his mind set on getting a car of his own and asking Cheyenne (Simone Battle) a senior, to the prom. His friends are excited about the prom as well but more so about the prospect of losing their virginity by the night of the dance. They’re so excited that they make a bet to see who of their group will be the first to pop the proverbial cherry. The bad news for Hendrix is that Cheyenne has an overprotective father that just so happens to be a cop (played by Michael Jai White) and he won’t even consider a guy to date his daughter unless he at least has a 3.5 GPA. This minor speed bump doesn’t stop Hendrix from trying, so he asks for her help in tutoring him, and in return Hendrix offers to help her with her graduation video that revolves around the notion of success.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 4th, 2012
- "It's our duty, this is war."
- "Agreed, but even so let's remember our manners."
You know how Citizen Kane is considered by some to be the greatest film of all time? Well, I'm the kind of curious movie nerd who subsequently wonders which film was atop Kane auteur Orson Welles' personal list. Unfortunately, I can't ask him, but there's evidence suggesting the answer was Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion/Grand Illusion.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2012
"It's one thing to see a great white shark on television or from the safe confines of a boat. It's another experience entirely to see the animals in their natural element. There simply is not a single creature on Earth that we're more afraid of."
Man’s always had a rather natural, and healthy, fear of sharks, but it was perhaps the 1975 film Jaws that brought all of those primordial fears bubbling to the surface of our pop culture. Since then sharks have taken an almost mythic position in our culture. They invade our fears, but more importantly they fascinate the heck out of us. Young or old, it doesn’t matter. Sharks are the new dinosaurs, and they aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Come face to face with some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, with a level of clarity and detail that was once reserved only for those who shared their waters.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2012
"You have been summoned to a place beyond this Earth, a place beyond your understanding. A place with laughter and love, safety and happiness for all eternity. A trusted friend will accompany you to this other plain of existence. And your journey will begin. Watch for the signs, my friend. Godspeed and good luck."
The place you are being summoned to is that wacky film study group that is MST3K. Classes are about to begin again thanks to Shout Factory and their continuing release of these classic films and the men who hate them.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 2nd, 2012
The romantic comedy, the genre most guys avoid like the plague unless trying to score some points with the girlfriend. It’s the genre I seem to only like a handful of titles from, though the ones I do like seem to be my fallback films after a breakup. Beautiful Girls and High Fidelity seem to be the go-to films for me. With a triple feature of Rom-Com action heading my way I dug deep into my manly soul and told myself I can do this. If I can survive watching bad Tyler Perry knockoff films, then this lighthearted triple feature should be no trouble at all. Like a film-watching champ I sat back with my bag of Twizzlers, a big soda, and my note pad ready, I rolled the first film, Mumford.
Mumford
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 2nd, 2012
I'll say this about a program that has remained consistant 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 6 years a-runnin' thus far.
James Arness’ Marshall Matt Dillon is still the imposing, yet warm, lawman of Dodge. The tales in season 6 are frequntly violent, more violent than I recall in reviewing the previous seasons. This might not be saying a whole lot about a show whose opening credits are entirely comprised of a scene where the star of the show kills1 a man, but there just seemed to be that much more gun play in this season.
