Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2019
“Everything is possible…even the impossible.”
To be clear, the fact that Disney has delivered a big-budget, star-studded follow-up to one of the most beloved family films in its staggering catalog is *exceedingly* possible. This is, after all, the age of reboots and live-action remakes of movies we already love. What seems impossible is that Mary Poppins Returns and its sensational leading lady both live up to and (re)capture the spirit of the Walt Disney-produced Julie Andrews classic from more than 50 years ago!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 22nd, 2019
"60 minutes is all it took for the ancients to bring humanity to the brink of destruction."
It only took Peter Jackson's crew along with director Christian Rivers 128 minutes to bring their audience to the bring of falling asleep with their Star Wars rip-off of Mortal Engines based on a series of books by Philip Reeve. Universal was likely looking for a franchise hit here. Hugo Weaving couldn't save it. Impressive visual f/x couldn't save it. When I discovered the film had been in some kind of production phase since 2008, it all started to make a little sense. Sometimes the harder you work on something, the more you lose sight of the simple aspects of the film. Most importantly, you lose the connection to emotional characters, and you stop telling their story, but force them into telling yours.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2019
Foreigner was one of those bands that managed to bridge the sounds of the 1970's and 80's. They had that solid classic rock sound but managed to work in some legendary hooks that gave the band life beyond most of the members themselves. Eagle Rock Entertainment has unearthed quite a little unpolished gem from the archives here. The band hit pretty well with their first self-titled album moving around four million copies with an almost instant hit in Cold As Ice. That song established the band's best moments of synth pop and edgy vocals and lyrics. So with just one album under their belt the band set out on the road and managed a successful tour. But they didn't just lean on that one album. They were already putting the final touches on their peak album Double Vision with the hit title track and Hot Blooded. The band’s moment in time was secure, and they were able to treat this lucky 1978 crowd to a taste of what was to be. The release is called Foreigner: Live At The Rainbow '78, and you'll get to see past and future come together for a musical milestone moment in time.
Foreigner was pretty much the brainchild of Mick Jones, who brought together a unique blend of American and British musicians to create a different kind of vibe for the time. That original lineup is on display here, with Lou Gramm on vocals and percussion, Ian McDonald on keyboards, guitars, sax, flute, and vocals, Al Greenwood on keyboards, Ed Gagliardi on bass, and Dennis Elliott on drums. What makes this such a special release is that the band's members changed fast and often. I was lucky enough to catch the lineup in Philly, and this release certainly brings back memories.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 19th, 2019
This is one of those films where the cast had me equally excited and concerned with how the film would turn out. On one hand it has Harvey Keitel; the guy is a living legend between his roles in Reservoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, and countless others. Keitel is one of those actors who elevates just about any film he’s in, and he’s in several films I’d even call classics. Then on the other end of the spectrum there is Hayden Christensen, one of the most lifeless performers to ever grace the screen in my opinion. I still have bouts of anger when I see him as Anakin Skywalker. But I’m always ready to have an actor surprise me, and I always go into a film with an open mind once I sit down and start watching it. Unfortunately The Last Man is a dud and was a film I struggled with so many of you won’t have to.
The film opens up with a dream sequence that looks more like a first person shooter scene in a video game. Apparently this is a dream that Kurt (Christensen) has been having quite often. This is told to us through the film’s narration, and I’d just like to come out and say I really hated the voice-over work on this film. I get that they were trying to go for a neo-noir style, but the narration is delivered with such a monotone delivery it felt more like a voice track someone would listen to while trying to sleep. Another issue with this narration is that it is so on-the-nose with the information that it is telling us things we can obviously see and figure out for ourselves. It was fine when giving us a little back story, telling us how the western civilization collapsed, but as you continue watching, everything you hear just begins to seem redundant.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 15th, 2019
A femme fatale who predicted her own demise -- now that is the stuff good noir films are made of. And what better person to play the role of said femme fatale than Amber Heard, fresh off her performance in the popular DC Comics film Aquaman? Granted this movie was filmed before the DC film, but delayed due to lawsuits, which only goes to add further intrigue to the movie. Originally screened at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival, London Fields features a cast of well-knowns including Jim Sturgess, Theo James, Billy Bob Thornton, and perhaps most notably Heard’s ex-husband, Johnny Depp. One can only imagine the effect this film would have had if it had not been for a few setbacks. As it stands, London Fields is laced with intrigue, and Amber is compelling, but the film amounts to very little substance.
Nicola Six (Heard) has always possessed the ability of premonition, capable of seeing others’ deaths as well as predicting her own on her 30th birthday, which is rapidly approaching. Intertwined in her demise are three men who find themselves drawn to her beauty and mysterious demeanor: Keith Talent (Sturgess), a local degenerate who dreams of fame and is in debt up to his eyeballs to a loan shark (Depp) eager to take him apart; Guy Clinch (James), a local sophisticate trapped in a loveless marriage; and Samson Young (Thornton), a writer suffering from crippling writer’s block and in dire need of a muse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 15th, 2019
Green Book represents an historical milestone for me as a critic. In my decades of reviewing and more decades following films, I have never selected a personal Oscar Best Picture two years in a row. I tend to be somewhat out of touch with the voting members of the Academy or even my fellow SEFCA (Southeastern Film Critics Association) members. But it finally happened. Last year my selection was The Shape Of Water, and it took the top prize. This year I went against the grain of the SEFCA members who chose Roma as the best film, and Green Book meandered to # 7 on their list. Fortunately, the Academy saw it my way for the second consecutive year, and Green Book took home the statue. Spike Lee threw a temper tantrum, and I'll talk about that in my conclusion. Take it from me, Green Book was the Best Picture of 2018, and now Universal has released the film in all of its newly-minted glory in UHD Blu-ray in 4K. You shouldn't even be waiting to read the rest of my review. Let me summarize it for you here. Click on the "purchase at Amazon" link to your right and order the disc now. Finished? Good. Now while you're waiting for that shipment, you can read on and find out why you just bought the best film of the year.
Lord of the Rings alumnus Viggo Mortensen plays Tony Lip. He's a bouncer at the legendary Copacabana night club in New York in the early 1960's. He's a typical son of Italian immigrants and fancies himself a kind of tough guy who just skirts the world of mafia mobsters and their like. We early learn that he's a product of his age and a racist. When two black plumbers drink water from glasses at his home, he throws out the "tainted" glasses. His life fits him well until a disagreement with a mobster to which he was a party gets the iconic night club closed for two months "for repairs". He's looking for an opportunity when he's recommended as a driver for a "doctor" making some kind of tour that coincidentally will last two months.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 15th, 2019
"The wizarding and non-wizarding worlds have been at peace for over a century. Grindelwald wants to see that peace destroyed."
Back in the early days of the internet before videos went "viral", there was a Thanksgiving cartoon about a chef who needed to serve too many people with a small turkey. So to compensate, he kept stuffing that sucker until it eventually exploded. Watching the latest entry in the J.K. Rowling Wizarding World, I was very much reminded of that early video. There's an attempt to make the running time a bit leaner than we've typically seen with these films. It's just barely over two hours, making it one of the shortest running times in the series when you include the Harry Potter films. But it doesn't appear as if there was an accompanying cut of "stuff" going on. Rowling and director David Yates have crammed so much into the film that it gets very difficult to really keep up with it all. I left with a feeling that I had been overwhelmed. It's a semester college course in three days. Of course it's loaded down with exciting visuals and larger-than-life characters that have become a staple in the franchise and have incidentally made Rowling the richest woman on the entire planet. She'll add a few shekels to the bank account, to be sure. The film will score huge with the box office take. But it serves little else but to set up a game board. Its purpose is to identify the players and which side of the good vs. evil battle they will be playing for. It might just be the most expensive trailer ever filmed. But it's one people will pay hundreds of millions to have a chance to see. Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of the Gindelwald is a Thanksgiving feast of truly monstrous proportions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 15th, 2019
“The people that take in foster kids are really special. They are the kind of people that volunteer when it’s not even a holiday. We don’t even volunteer on a holiday.”
This film really helped me to gain an understanding into the world of adoption. Beforehand my knowledge was basic. I had no idea of the real challenges that come with opening your doors and hearts to a child in the foster care system. This film also has the added benefit of being one of my favorite films of 2018, as it was a film that my wife insisted on seeing, and I was just indulging her, but I ended up loving it more than she did. Which is saying something, as she really loved the film. Loosely based on writer/director Sean Anders’ own experience, Instant Family gives a voice to the ups and downs of the foster care system as well as the adoption process.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2019
"I love a comedy. Is there cake?"
The Favourite is a somewhat awkward film. Director Yorgos Lanthimos took on a rather brave but dangerous task when he decided to create a farce. Most audience members don't understand the term. They use it rather synonymously with comedy or spoof, but it is truly something very different. A comedy is meant to deliver as many laughs as possible. You get pratfalls, one-liners, slapstick, and other over-the-top methods to bring about those laughs. Spoofs take a specific subject or genre and expose some of the more innate aspects of the material, all in good fun. Leslie Nielsen was a master of the spoof with his Airplane and Naked Gun films. All of these are popular and understood forms of entertainment. The farce is a totally different thing altogether. While there might be laughs to be had, the primary directive of a farce isn't to actually be funny. The farce is a world of the absurd. It's a ridiculous portrayal in which everyone involved plays it completely straight. The actors/characters don't know they are in a farce, so there aren't any clever one-liners or overt attempts at humor. The film is presented as a serious attempt, and there is no one winking at the audience. It's a difficult thing to pull off, and The Favourite pulls it off wonderfully, but the unfortunate result is that most people merely shook their heads, not knowing what to make of the entire thing. So the film is misunderstood, and that in itself is a bit of a tragedy. It's somewhat appropriate, I suppose, because Shakespeare was a master of both farce and tragedy. Go figure.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2019
"Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? And if so, what if there were clues left behind, something hiding in plain sight? What if we could find that evidence?"
Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory, the idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA. These believers point to a world of evidence to support their claims. There are tons of images from earlier civilizations that could certainly be interpreted as depicting modern devices, concepts, or even spacemen. There is plenty of speculation that some of the knowledge and accomplishments of these peoples could not have been possible without some outside interference. There are even those who believe that aliens best explain our religious beliefs and that God himself was/is an extraterrestrial being. Whatever your own beliefs on the subject, there are certainly some fascinating points to be made. There is no question that the speculations and observations bring up some interesting queries that deserve our attention. This series attempts to document much of this evidence and the beliefs these findings have inspired.
