Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 26th, 2019
Just imagine for a moment that a 12-year-old version of yourself was taking a little stroll and you came across a sword that was protruding from a slab of concrete. We’ve seen plenty of versions of the King Arthur story. Some have been good (Excalibur and First Knight) but many have been not so good. In the case of The Kid Who Would Be King, it’s not a story about King Arthur but more an adventure that asks what would happen if a boy were to find the sword in today’s world. The film didn’t do so well at the box office, which isn’t a big surprise considering the film was made in the UK and not the States, but is the film one to be overlooked and forgotten, or is this a gem worth checking out? Simply put, this is perhaps the best “kids’” film I’ve seen in years, and this is a film that I’m willing to bet will garner a cult status in the years to come.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 19th, 2019
I don't scare. As a lucid dreamer, I am incapable of having nightmares. That might be one of the reasons I have always been attracted to horror, both in film and television. In my entire life I've only been frightened by one film, and that was the final segment of Trilogy Of Terror. There was something about that manic little doll that actually scared me. Of course, I was 10 when I saw it, and hiding behind a chair in our living room because I was supposed to be in bed. For whatever reason, that vivid memory remains. Around the same time I saw the first Night Stalker films, and I wanted to a writer just like Carl Kolchak, and yet another vivid memory remains. Yet a third memory was having our sitter pick me up from school. Often she'd volunteer to buy us ice cream or candy on the way home. I always declined. What would make a little kid refuse free sweets? It was a half-hour soap opera, of all things. Of course, I'm talking about Dark Shadows, and the thing that Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker and Trilogy Of Terror all have in common beyond the vivid memories is that they each came from Dan Curtis. For this once pre-teen kid, Dan Curtis pulled a hat-trick in the late 60's and early 70's, and I'll never forget it.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on April 19th, 2019
It is uncanny; I swear any time anyone mentions Kim Possible, I instantly start to hear the theme song in my hand. It’s like as soon as her name is mention, all I hear is, “Call me, Beep me, if you wanna reach me.” It’s been well over a decade since I’ve seen an episode, but that theme song is just as catchy now as it was back then. Kim Possible was from an era on the Disney Channel that produced some of the best original television content and movies in my humble opinion. An animated cartoon about a high school student who is also a secret agent, who didn’t want to be that back then. So I was extremely excited to be able to share the live-action movie version with my daughter, but the sad reality is that the live action version is a cheesy and generic shadow of the series that I was so fond of during my childhood.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 19th, 2019
One of 2019’s most anticipated releases is M. Night Shyamalan’s conclusion to his superhero trilogy with Glass. This has been a trilogy 19 years in the making, following the release of Unbreakable and then 2016’s Split. When I first saw Unbreakable, I was a projectionist, and I had to screen it the night before it was released to make sure everything was spliced together and the film played properly, and I just remember not really liking the movie at first. I ended up giving the film another try, and I found I liked it a little more. Now over the years I’ve seen it several times, and the film has grown on me. I’ve grown to appreciate the film to the point that when that final scene in Split plays and we got the reveal of David Dunn (Bruce Willis) I was extremely excited at the prospect of seeing this character revisited. Before I get much further, if you haven’t seen Unbreakable or Split, if you plan on seeing Glass, do yourself a favor and watch the previous films first, and even if you have seen them, it wouldn’t hurt re-watching them just so the films are fresh in your mind while experiencing the conclusion of this trilogy. With all that out of the way, how was the film? It’s time to suit up and find out.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2019
The Donovan family has been a prominent part of the Showtime lineup for six years now. What started as a series about a fixer didn't quite remain that way for long. The stories very quickly focused on this rather dysfunctional family, and we appear to love our dysfunctional families in movies and television. Most are awkwardly dysfunctional without a lot of heart, and Ray Donovan was certainly heading in that direction before the fifth season took us on one of the best emotional rollercoaster rides in the business. For me that season and the death of the family matriarch changed the stakes and the center for each of the characters. Abby was the thing that held this family together no matter how twisted things got. So we ended up with what I consider the best season of the show to date. So where did we go from there, you might ask. You don't have to. Showtime has released the complete 6th season of Ray Donovan on DVD, and now you can find out for yourself. Here's my take.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 16th, 2019
When it comes to Robert Zemeckis films, you never know what you’re going to get. Like most, I’m a fan of his Back to the Future trilogy, and then there is Who Framed Roger Rabbit that to this day I feel is his best work. While he’s churned out many good films, there are films of his that I’m simply not a fan of. Forrest Gump happens to be one of those films. For the most part he makes audience-friendly films, but what I’ve always admired about the guy is how he’s always attempting to integrate new technology into his films. Zemeckis has become one of the pioneers of motion-capture technology. Ever since The Polar Express (2004), he’s been making improvements with the technology, and now with Welcome to Marwen, it is stunning to see just how far he has come.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2019
Ever since I was a kid I used to love to hear and read stories about the iconic filmmakers from the days before I was born. I soaked up material on John Ford and Hitchcock. Fritz Lang and James Whale were superhuman, it seemed. Meeting Robert Wise was a dream come true, and getting an invitation by Ray Harryhausen himself to attend his Hollywood star ceremony was an honor. But all of these folks were either already gone or at the end of their careers by the time I got to this planet. Since that time there have been plenty of great talents, but the only one in my lifetime who ever seemed to live up in that rarified air was Clint Eastwood. As both an actor and director, I'm not sure anyone has made more of a mark during my generation. Clint's approaching 90, and reality dictates that his days of directing movies are coming to a close.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on April 4th, 2019
by John Delia, Jr.
The world of the Transformers is back with more action, adventure, and science fiction fun for everyone. The most-loved Autobot from this world has a history that explains where these troubled characters all began. As the battle of Cybertron comes to a conclusion, the Autobots make their move to flee from the Decepticons to an unknown location to later meet up and regroup. Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) tells B-127/Bumble Bee (Dylan O’Brien) that he must flee and head to Earth and hide until it is safe to meet up again. Once on Earth, Bumble Bee must find a place to be unnoticed. He must find a secure safe location for his fellow Autobots and defend Earth until Optimus Prime returns. During his landing on Earth, he encounters a team of soldiers training for battle called Sector 7. This team, led by Agent Jack Burns (John Cena), fear for their lives when the capsule transporting B-127 crashes in the forest nearly on top of his team.
Posted in: Blu Ray, No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2019
"One night will remind you how we touched and went our separate ways"
There's a Chinese proverb that says a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. In rock "n" roll history that proverb is a little different, and it goes something like, “A Journey into the Rock "n" Roll Hall Of Fame starts with a dozen hit songs.” And that's exactly where Journey landed in 2017 after kicking the year off with a return to one of the first arenas to hear those hits 35 years earlier. In 2017 Journey was inducted into that Hall Of Fame and played two sold-out nights at the Budokan in Japan where the band first debuted the hit songs from their 8th and first hit album, Escape. Eagle Rock Entertainment was there for the band's triumphant return where the band played both the albums Escape and Frontiers in their entirety for the first and only time in the band's history. If you're a Journey fan, you're going to want to get your hands on this one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 2nd, 2019
As one might guess from my film reviewing resume, I watch a lot of Asian movies. Unfortunately, judging by the same resume, it would appear that most of that is anime and drama. But in my spare time, I do watch a lot of popular Asian cinema, especially with the likes of Donnie Yen or Jing Wu. In addition to contemporary favorites, I certainly have not forgotten the roots of martial art cinema in the likes of Bruce Lee and others. Well, today I received a box set featuring one of the legends of Asian cinema: Shin'ichi Chiba, better known to most American audiences as the one and only Sonny Chiba. That set of films would be of course, The Street Fighter Collection. Let us take a look.
