Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2010
"In the early 1930's Adolph Hitler and his inner circle became obsessed with the occult, believing that the black arts were the key to their plan for world domination. Nazi agents traveled the globe in search of ancient Nordic relics known as rune stones. They believed if they harnessed the power of these stones, nothing could stop the march of the master race. The symbols inscribed in these stones were said to describe the path to immortality. Almost a century later, the nightmare has awakened."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2010
"The price of love is to expect the pain of loss. Maybe it's some kind of divine punishment to have the ones we love pay the cost of our own sins. The real punishment is being alone the rest of our days hoping to forget and praying for change to come again."
We've all seen our share of film heroes whose journeys are hard-fought paths to redemption. There's nothing particularly original in the concept. Writers from Homer to Shakespeare have explored the material. There's no shame in not being terribly original. There is shame, however, in being terribly tedious. The real punishment, as it turns out, is in having to watch Breaking Pont.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2009
"Hello, there. I bet you're already saying to yourself, 'Oh, I've already seen this one. Another holiday special narrated by some new teen star between takes on their oh-so-popular new sitcom series. Well, I'm here to tell you, not this time, because I'm not a star. Well, not yet at least. And, this ain't about how so and so saved Christmas for all the good boys and girls..."
I would have loved to have been in this meeting. Someone walks into a studio executive's office to pitch his idea. After describing his new Christmas special concept, he pauses, just for a second, just for the right amount of anticipation. "Here's the clincher", he says manically. "William Shatner will be the voice of Santa Claus."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 25th, 2009
In early-20th-Century Dublin, a winter's musical gathering is being held. The first two-thirds of the film takes us through the course of the evening, from the arrival of the guests, to the musical entertainment, to the dinner and its discussions (and arguments), and finally the departures. During the party, one is aware of a certain tension or distance between one couple: Donal McCann (nephew to the hostesses) and his wife (Anjelica Huston). As they prepare to leave, Huston hears one of the guests sing, and is rooted to the spot. Later, McCann asks her why the song affected her so much, and a painful memory from her past comes out.
John Huston's last film is suitably elegiac. Based on the James Joyce's short story of the same name, the movie is itself in short story form, barely clocking in at 73 minutes, and that's including the credits. The running time is just right, though, as this is a compact, moving tale, whose title does not become clear until the closing minutes. Were the film any longer, audiences would likely become restive at the apparent lack of story during the first two acts, but everything is present for good reason, working in unity towards a powerful conclusion. In all of this, the film is deeply faithful to the Joyce story. But the story also presents an enormous challenge: its conclusion relies on the thoughts of its protagonist, not on dialogue or action, the bread and butter of cinema. What to do? Huston takes what is probably the only path open to him, and goes for a voice-over as the camera gazes at mournful scenes of snow falling in the Irish night. The voice-over, having been absent until this very moment, is a bit jarring, even as its necessity is understandable. So the film might not be flawless, but it is a heartbreakingly moving valedictory gesture from one of cinema's greatest directors.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2009
All aboard. The midnight train bound for Hell and parts unknown is now boarding, with brief stops in Hostel, Saw, and Turistas by way of the Terror Train line, we welcome you aboard. For your riding pleasure you’ll be entertained along the way by a group of college wrestlers who have just become unofficial organ donors, if you know what I mean. They’re just dying to make this ride as enjoyable as possible. There’s plenty of blood and gore for your riding comfort. Sit back and enjoy the fine Bulgarian countryside. Out of courtesy for your fellow travelers please turn off all cell phones for the duration of your voyage. There’s a pause button located conveniently on your remote control should you require an unscheduled stop. Please place food trays and any additional spare body parts you’ve brought with you securely under your seats. Should your film stop suddenly or begin to act in an erratic manner, try pushing buttons on your remote in a furious and random fashion. It won’t actually help, but studies have shown it will limit your discomfort and feeling of helplessness. Our estimated travel time is 94 minutes. Finally, please remember not to cover the ventilation slots of your equipment with the empty DVD case while the film is in motion.
The Indiana wrestling team is on an Eastern Europe tournament tour. Unfortunately, they’re not doing so well on the mats. When five of the players decide to break curfew and spend the night partying and brawling, they miss the train out to the next stop on the tour. The rest of the team has gone on ahead, and the coach has to buy tickets on an independent railway to get the five tardy players to the next stop. It looks like the five party animals weren’t the only ones making bad choices. Coach has booked his stragglers on a train ride to Hell. You know immediately that these aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed when they willingly give up their passports on the train to two pretty gnarly looking guys who claim they’ll keep them safe from thieves. Looks like another case of college co-eds with an average IQ somewhere south of Beavis and Butthead. Now they’re going to be taken on the ride of their lives … a very short ride at that. Nothing like a little clickety clack to go along with those screams and gurgles. This train has everything: food, booze, gambling, and fun with sharp objects as Dr. Velislava (Ruseva) runs a black market organ shop on rails.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on November 8th, 2009
As explained by many authors in this site, remakes are becoming far too common. In fact, they are so many of these that we aren’t sure of the source material. An obscure movie comes out and apparently in 1953, there was a similar movie made. This movie also probably made the equivalent of $100 American Dollars at the box office. Well, perhaps not that bad. I received one of these movies to review recently and it was titled Angel and the Badman. Let’s see how this one fares.
Quirt Evans (played by Lou Diamond Phillips) is riding along on his horse. He stops when he sees that there is a dead body near a secluded cabin. He inspects the body and all of the sudden three men appear out of the shadows. It’s a trap. Thanks to his quickdraw skills, Quirt is able to put down the three men. He is also able to put down the dead body in its rightful place as he was just acting to set up the ambush.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 2nd, 2009
There have been a couple of releases of Stargate. Mostly it’s been reissues of the same transfer. This time it really is an improvement. The Blu-ray contains a director’s cut which is about 16 minutes longer than the original. If you like the original better, you get that one as well. This was Devlin and Emmerich’s first real blockbuster. I found Independence Day and The Patriot to be better films, but Stargate has its moments. It’s a little hard for me to accept Kurt Russell as Jack O’Neal after 7 years of Richard Dean Anderson. I did gain a new appreciation for how closely James Spader and Michael Shanks portray the pivotal character of Daniel Jackson.
A whole franchise of Stargate has spawned from this 1994 motion picture, and over a dozen years later the franchise still remains successful. This film was originally intended to be a franchise of pictures but instead found its way onto television and writings, with a fair sized fan base. If people still like the concept thirteen years later, then it must be pretty appealing; myself, I have never seen this picture and am pleased that I finally have the opportunity.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on November 2nd, 2009
There are lots of people out there who watch cheesy horror films. Some blame it on boredom, some actually admit to liking a few of them. My personal feelings are about the same as any cheesefest, if there is something redeeming in the film; I can usually find a few nice things to say about it. However when it comes to films like the Beast Within, my momma always told me to just keep my mouth shut. Good for you, I never listened much.
Professor Bergen (played by Joost Siedhoff) is a world renowned scientist. His specialty is his work around bird flu or the H5N1 virus. He studies how it affects human kind and conducts various tests. However, his tests are not exactly fitting of normal research and his mental health isn’t the brightest. One day as he is reading and scribing notes, he is suddenly attacked by a large group of birds and dies in a pool of his own blood.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 15th, 2009
If Santa’s making a list, he won’t have to check it twice when it comes to these cheerful little tykes. Lionsgate brings back their popular Ghost House Underground series from last October. The series title likely borrows a bit from the old Grind House Theater that Quentin Tarantino brought back to fashion in the last couple of years. I assume it is intended to denote a horror film that skirts the art house scene. So, how does The Children fit into that mold?
It’s Christmas time in the English countryside. A family has gathered to share some eggnog and Christmas cheer. It’s the typical normal slightly dysfunctional family, and they’re staying in the nice little house in the woods with the children. They definitely drink a lot as the bottle count climbs higher than the bodies after a chainsaw party in Texas. There’s the uncle who wants to get into the pants of his 15 year old niece. Another guy is trying to con his relatives into joining him in a pyramid scheme to smuggle illegal Chinese medicines into the country. But at least the kids are a cheerful bunch. That is, until they appear to contract some kind of a disease that has them spitting up tons of creamy green mucus. Soon the children begin to exhibit aggressive behavior, and before you know it they’re slicin’ and dicin’ their way through the paper mulch snow.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2009
“What is sacrifice? What does it mean to make a real difference?”
What do Al Gore and horror films have in common? To begin with both have been making money trying to scare the crap out of you. The second is that the plot of The Thaw sounds like it could have been penned by Captain Al himself. Lionsgate brings back their popular Ghost House Underground series from last October. The series title likely borrows a bit from the old Grind House Theater that Quentin Tarantino brought back to fashion in the last couple of years. I assume it is intended to denote a horror film that skirts the art house scene. So, how does The Thaw fit into that mold?
![Stargate 15th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/stargate-15th-anniversary-edition--large.jpg)
![The Children [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-children-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Thaw [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-thaw-blu-ray-large.jpg)
