Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2026
“We just did what we're programmed to do. Human or AI. We all make mistakes ... and we learn.”
This film feels like what would happen if Minority Report and Source Code had a baby. Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson give it their all, and while the film can be exhilarating at times, it wasn’t a mind-blowing experience. The premise is as follows: in the not so distant future (2029 to be exact), Los Angeles establishes Mercy Capital Court in response to a surge in crime using artificial intelligence (AI) judges to try defendants for violent offenses. To assemble evidence, all devices are registered to the municipal cloud to allow the AI judge to pass judgement. The AI judge also gives the defendants all available resources to find and provide all the evidence needed to prove their innocence in 90 minutes or be executed via a sonic blast. Pratt’s character finds himself in that very predicament, facing execution for the alleged murder of his wife. Rounding out the cast is Rebecca Ferguson as the A.I. judge passing judgement, Annabelle Wallis as Pratt’s character’s deceased wife, Kenneth Choi, and Chris Sullivan.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 23rd, 2025
"If you carry a 00 number it means you're licensed to kill ... not get killed."
1961 was a pretty big year for many of us. In the NFL one of the new teams entering the league was one in Minnesota called the Vikings, and they would draft a quarterback named Fran Tarkenton as one of their first acts. I was born that June, and a couple of weeks later one of the most important deals ever made in Hollywood was consummated. EON Productions had just been formed as the partnership between Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and their partnership started off with a bang when they acquired the film rights to Ian Fleming's British secret agent, James Bond. Fleming's first choice to play his spy was Roger Moore, who later did take over the role, but long after Fleming had died. Sean Connery would fill that role nicely, and within a short period of time Fleming was on board with Connery in the title role.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 25th, 2019
It was 1962, and Ursula Andress emerged from the tropical island surf sporting a provocative swimsuit, and a tradition was born. The seductive scene would become the first iconic image in a line that has lasted a half a century and counting. Fifty years; 23 movies makes it the longest running film franchise in motion picture history. He had many faces over those 50 years: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby, and even David Niven, Peter Sellers, and Woody Allen in a 1967 spoof. For the last three films, he's been played by Daniel Craig. They all had somewhat different styles. They all had a line of beautiful women. They all faced different challenges and foes. But they all shared the same name: Bond...James Bond.
James Bond first appeared in the pages of Ian Fleming’s novel, Casino Royale. Fleming was himself a former British Intelligence Officer and had been engaged in what he liked to call “shenanigans” in that role. He admits that many of Bond’s tastes are lifted from his own preferences. It can be safe to say that Ian Fleming was as much James Bond as any of the men who have played him. The books were written one a year during his two-month vacation as a news writer. He would escape to his vacation home in Jamaica during those 6-8 weeks and in short order produce a Bond adventure. It’s likely not a small coincidence that the first Bond film would feature the island location predominately as its setting. For most of the 1960's and into the 1970's, the films were taken directly from his Bond novels. Eventually the film series surpassed the novels and has been operating as original scripts for most of the last 30+ years. In those days the end credits always revealed the name of the next Bond film. Now we merely get a blanket statement that James Bond will return.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2019
"Did you say Chucky?"
The 70’s and 80’s were fertile ground for horror films. It was a new era of iconic monsters. Starting with Michael Myers and Jason, the trend that gave us Freddy seemed to be at the end of its run by the late 1980’s. Certainly sequels were still being churned out, but it seemed like we’d seen the last of these maniacal monsters, at least for a while. But before it petered out, the cycle would supply our nightmares with one more notable denizen…Chucky. Later Chucky would pace the sidelines here in Tampa as the head coach of the local NFL franchise, but for the last 20 years it was the darkest alleyways of our dreams that Chucky prowled. Inhabited by the soul of a killer, Chucky was truly one of the “Good Guys”. Child’s Play was the brainchild of writer Don Mancini. Mancini’s original story Batteries Not Included was changed because of the impending Spielberg film to Blood Buddies. The title and many aspects of the story would evolve over time. Eventually the title Child’s Play took over, and Chucky was born.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 16th, 2019
“You know, the first time we met, I really didn’t like you that much.”
I didn’t become acquainted with When Harry Met Sally… until well after the Billy Crystal/Meg Ryan flick had established itself as a bona fide romantic comedy classic. (I was 7 when the film came out in 1989.) So when I finally got around to watching it in my late teens, the “I’ll have what she’s having” punchlines and general set-up involving an unlikely romantic pairing felt overly familiar. I enjoyed it just fine, I definitely appreciated it, but I wouldn’t quite call what we had love. Shout Select, an imprint of Shout! Factory, has released a 30th anniversary Blu-ray of When Harry Met Sally… And after revisiting this film years later, I’m asking myself the same question that Harry and Sally ponder after being friendly for years: is this love?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 14th, 2018
“I'm sorry there is so much pain in this story. I'm sorry it's in fragments, like a body caught in crossfire, pulled apart by force, but there is nothing I can do to change it.”
To say there is pain in The Handmaid’s Tale might be the biggest understatement of 2018. The series is set in a dystopian near-future in which women — even the ones who are supposedly part of the ruling class — are enslaved and tortured in a variety of heinous ways. Handmaid’s Tale immediately became Hulu’s flagship show and picked up an Emmy for Best Drama Series last year. So expectations were high for this second season, which too often proves to be torturous for viewers as well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 20th, 2018
Cinematically speaking, the name Eli Roth has been synonymous with murder and mayhem. The director is best known for his work in the horror genre, bursting on the scene with 2002’s Cabin Fever and upping the ante with Hostel and Hostel: Part II a few years later. So it was a bit surprising to hear he’d be taking on a remake of Death Wish — the iconic 1974 Charles Bronson revenge flick — until I started thinking about the bloody possibilities. If the Hostel films gained notoriety as prime examples of “torture porn,” then it seems like Roth has graduated to “revenge porn” with this slick and (intentionally) silly re-imagining.
“People rely on the police to keep them safe. That’s the problem.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 22nd, 2018
“Now I’m awake to the world. I was asleep before. That’s how we let it happen...nothing changes instantaneously. In a gradually heating bathtub, you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.”
The most amazing thing about The Handmaid’s Tale — other than a powerhouse lead performance from the best actress working in television right now — is that this harrowing, suddenly timely cautionary tale about what happens when society falls asleep at the wheel is based on a story that was published more than 30 years ago. Of course, the show has a lot more going for it than impeccable timing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 5th, 2017
When a film like The Belko Experiment comes along there is a part of me that wonders, how far off is the film from reality? Films like Death Race 2000, The Running Man, The Purge, and Battle Royale have all flirted with the idea of the government using murder as a form of entertainment while also using it as a way to control the public. You look at the violence in the world and how numb we’ve all seemed to have gotten towards violence in the news and our favorite TV shows. I can’t help but wonder, would it be so crazy to see murder on our television screens? Looking back at history and the gladiator times, there was murder for entertainment, where families would cheer on the bloodshed and carnage. So when I look at film like The Belko Experiment, it’s something that frightens me, more so than any creature feature Hollywood can concoct. After all, how well do we really know how governments around the world function? Perhaps a film like this wouldn’t become a reality in the states, but in places like North Korea or Russia or even South America, is it really out of the question for a game like this to go on? In a building with no windows in the middle of nowhere, is it a crime if no one is around to hear the screams? James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) pens a script that takes a harsh look at what people will do to survive under the harshest conditions, and at the helm we have Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) directing the action. Are you ready to take part in the experiment?
In Bogota, Columbia, Mike (John Gallagher Jr.) is heading into work. He works for Belko Industries which has an office building just outside of the city. On this day, it’s evident that it is not like any other normal day at the office. All the locals at the office have been sent home for the day due to a security threat to the building. All that remain at the office are its 80 American employees that are all led by Barry Norris (Tony Goldwyn). We spend a little time getting to know the employees, Wendell (John C. McGinley) who seems to have an innocent crush or is possibly stalking Adria (Leandra Florez) who is Mike’s girlfriend. There is the new girl at the office, Melonie (Dany Wilkins) and there are also a few familiar faces like Michael Rooker, who plays a maintenance worker in the building, and Sean Gunn, who is the paranoid pot smoker Marty. As you watch the film, there are plenty of faces that look familiar, and that is one of the immediate impressive things about the film: how great the cast is. Sometimes you don’t need A-listers to be a hit; you just need to fill it with the right talent. What works with the casting as well is how believable everyone is in the part. This is one of the first times in a while where an ensemble cast was put together and I could believe everyone fit the part. Whether you’ve worked in an office environment or just in a business with a variety of personalities, right from the get go you can identify with this group, and that is what is so crucial here, because when tough decisions come up and people are about to die, the decisions matter, and several of the kills and darker moments in the film are a punch to the gut.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 16th, 2014
“They’re gonna laugh at you. They’re all gonna laugh at you.”
The idea of remaking/reimagining/refurbishing a horror classic may have been laughable at one point, but now it’s just business as usual. Then again, I happen to think this is an especially good time to revisit 1976’s Carrie. With all the attention bullying has gotten in the media these last few years, the supernatural story of a high school outsider pushed to her violent breaking point seems particularly timely. I just wish the new movie had more going for it beyond decent timing and a pair of impressive leading ladies.
