Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on July 8th, 2012
“Come on Ryan! These are big existential questions, best left for boring Russian novelists and teenagers on acid. Real people don't think about this shit!”
As Wilfred: The Complete First Season begins, Ryan Newman (Elijah Wood), a miserably depressed out of work lawyer, just reached the end of his rope. One night, after meticulously composing the final draft of his suicide note, he downs a handful of pills, chugs them back with a bottle of NyQuil and heads off to bed. Nothing happens. He can’t even fall asleep. The following morning his hot next-door neighbor, Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann), shows up at his door asking if he would watch her dog Wilfred for the day. Thing is, where everyone else sees a big, shaggy mutt, Ryan sees a scruffy Australian man (Jason Gann) in a furry dog suit… a wisecracking, pot-smoking, frequently profane man who stands upright and seemingly has opposable thumbs under his costume.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 7th, 2012
An aimless slacker named Jeff shambles out of his mother's basement (where he lives, hence the movie title), tasked with a chore, but is sidetracked by a theory that he is being given signs. What are these “signs” meant to mean? Not even Jeff knows as he runs into his brother and mother along his seemingly random path. The films asks, is said path truly random? Or is he finally on a journey to find true meaning in his life?
This film is essentially about people who are dissatisfied about their placement in life and are in need of something drastic to shake them out of it. Jeff, played by Jason Segal, seems to focused on fruitless theories and journeys to ever make something of himself. His brother, played by Ed Helms, suspects his wife of infidelity after she blows up at him over buying a new Porsche without consulting her. Their mother, played by Susan Sarandon, is a widow who has not had excitement in her life since her husband passed on. When an anonymous love note arrives, she takes the chance of discovery who her “admirer” is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews, No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 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: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 7th, 2012
Any movie that features one man flying through the air before slicing another guy's face clean off within the first three minutes and concludes with a swordsman using his female companion as a bow to launch himself in the air like a human arrow so he can rip straight through a bad guy's body pretty much defies criticism. (And I didn't even mention the part where the bad guy comes back a few minutes later, despite the fact that he'd also been decapitated.) Believe me when I say I haven't even scratched the surface of the insanity that is Butterfly Swords.
I mean, this 1993 movie can't even decide if it wants to be called Butterfly and Sword (the title that appears during the opening credits and on the film's IMDb page) or Butterfly Swords (which is what's plastered on the latest DVD release, out July 10), not to mention the fact that the confusing description on the back of the new DVD case gives away the entire movie!
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 6th, 2012
I’m not sure if it’s a case of morbid curiosity, but I ended up somewhat liking the show. At about 21 minutes an episode, it’s just the right length. Even if I did find this stuff entertaining, there was only so much of Gene’s family I could take in one sitting. The premise is simple and has been done to death by now. Cameras follow some famous person or family in the hopes of providing compelling drama for millions of viewers. OK, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but so is the idea that we’re going to get an intimate inside look at these folks while the cameras are rolling. It’s a lot like wrestling. If you don’t buy into that what you’re seeing is actually real, you can get a few laughs out of the whole thing. I will also admit this show destroyed a lot of the Gene Simmons mystique for me. Let’s face it. Can you ever watch the stage persona in the same light again after watching Gene scoop kitty litter or wash his dog by throwing him in the pool? Let’s not even talk about an attempt to get semen from a bull. Still, Gene turns out to be an interesting character very much removed from the one we’re so used to seeing. While Gene dominates the show, there is plenty of time given to wife Shannon Tweed, from Playboy and soft-porn films.
This season was pretty hard for me to get through. The show usually has a bit of variety, and I do enjoy watching Gene's business genius at work. But this season is all about the relationship problems between Gene and Shannon. She walks out on him twice and is suddenly fed up with his womanizing life-style and unwillingness to get married.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 6th, 2012
"In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad. These are their stories."
Dick Wolf used to pretty much own NBC and prime-time drama. His flagship series Law & Order lasted 20 years, tying the record held by Gunsmoke for the longest-running scripted drama. It was his wish to break the record, but by season 20 the franchise had lost some steam and was axed by NBC. It wasn't a total loss for Wolf, who had two other Law & Order shows still running at the time. Law & Order: SVU has been the more successful, but Law & Order: Criminal Intent had a pretty good run, as well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
It’s a little hard for me to realize it really has been 20 years since Stone Temple Pilots emerged out of the grunge scene with their album Core. I remember hanging out at my friends house playing Sega Genesis while listening to this tape (yes, cassette tape) over and over with some Pearl Jam and Nirvana thrown in as well. For me these guys are like moments of time from my past that I’ll always look fondly upon. Whether it was my first mosh pit or first house party, this was the music that surrounded me. I feel the need to divulge this simply because no matter how impartial I may try to be, it’s hard to be critical and removed with every review that comes along.
With that being said, I’m going to come out and say I love this performance. Once I put this in my player, I cranked up the volume and just allowed my ears to ingest this musical delight. Sure my neighbors may not have been happy after all the sound hits like a punch, but this is what I’ve come to expect from STP.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
We’ve all heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”; well ,in this case it should be extended to not judging it by its title either. I read the title for Some Guy Who Kills People and thought it was a clever ominous title, but the movie that followed didn’t live up to the title but instead pulled a bit hard at the heartstrings. I came into this one expecting horror and instead got pleasantly surprised by this sweet horror (very loosely fits in this case) comedy about a relationship between a father and daughter.
When we first meet Ken Boyd (Kevin Corrigan) we find him working behind the counter at the local ice cream shop, and with his quiet, creepy demeanor he couldn’t seem more out of place. It’s soon revealed that he’s been recently released from the local mental institute and is simply trying to start a new life for himself in the world, though it seems he lacks most social skills with anyone he encounters. In flashbacks we witness the beating he took in high school that has understandably traumatized him through adulthood, but could it be enough to unhinge him to the point of murder?
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
When I first saw the trailer for Savages I was more than a little unimpressed; in fact I was beginning to accept that there were no more great films to come from one of the directors I believe was in the top five working directors of the 80s and the 90s. Over the past decade he’s managed to churn out some decent films, but nothing that can measure up to Platoon, JFK, The Doors, Natural Born Killers or Nixon. With Alexander he took a big gamble and it was a commercial bomb, and since then it seems he’s been playing it safe. What I always respected about Stone was that he never used to play it safe; he took bold chances whether it be with the topic of the film or with the style of the film, but it seemed the commercial failure of Alexander took its toll.
One piece missing from Stone’s crew that I feel has made an impact over the years has been the absence of cinematographer Robert Richardson. Could this be the key ingredient missing all this time? Richardson has done some great work with other directors most notably with Tarantino (Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds) as well as Scorsese (Hugo). But for me when I look at some of the great director and cinematographer relationships over the years, the one with Stone and Richardson seems to be the perfect marriage of talent put to the screen. After working on several films without Richardson at his side, I feel Stone has found a suitable fit for him with Daniel Mindel (Domino, Star Trek) as his shooter this time around.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 5th, 2012
Even though by many standards, I am probably considered old, I would like to think I can still experience new music, especially when it comes to me for review. Of course, you are also reading the guy who loves to annoy others driving down the street with Whitesnake and Motley Crue. Anyway, I was definitely interested to take a gander at this blu-ray that showcased the talents of a band called Kasabian who performed in late 2011 at the O2 Arena in London. Let's take a look.
In 1997, Tom Meighan (vocalist), Sergio Pizzorno (guitarist), Chris Edwards (bassist), and Christopher Karloff (lead guitarist) formed the band Saracuse. They all resided from England (Countesthorpe and Blaby) and put out their first demo EP in 1998. It only had three songs: "What's Going On", "Life of Luxury" and "Shine On" and they were recorded live. However, it helped to launch a band who was struggling to finds its mark.
