Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2022
"No one would have believed in the middle of the 20th century that human affairs were being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's. Yet, across the gulf of space on the planet Mars, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic regarded our Earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely joined their plans against us. Mars is more than 140 million miles from the sun, and for centuries has been in the last status of exhaustion. At night, temperatures drop far below zero even at its equator. Inhabitants of this dying planet looked across space with instruments and intelligences that which we have scarcely dreamed, searching for another world to which they could migrate."
War Of The Worlds is perhaps one of the most iconic and often infamous science fiction works in literature history. The book by H.G. Wells was published in 1889 but would not see a feature film version for quite some time. Cecil B. DeMille worked with Paramount to obtain the rights from Wells in the mid 1920's. He appeared to appeal to Wells himself, who was a fan of DeMille's work, and the rights were purchased. But the film fell on hard times. On Halloween in 1938 Orson Welles, no relation, produced his famous radio drama of the story. While there were stories of people killing themselves because they believed it was a real radio broadcast of a Martian invasion, most of those stories are myth. It did cause panic, but only because folks ignored the many times the show announced that it was a radio drama. But interest spiked to do the long-dormant film. DeMille approached Welles to do the film, believing that the hysterics from the radio broadcast would make him a natural for the film. When Welles refused, he turned to Alfred Hitchcock, who also turned down the property. Finally George Pal agreed to do the film in the 1950's but soon ran into trouble. You see, the rights were obtained so long ago that they were exclusively for a silent film. The estate of the author was so pleased with Pal as the choice to produce that they fixed the details, and the film was finally released in 1953. It has become a classic in the decades that followed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 3rd, 2022
In truth, I have never been a "Chuck Norris" type guy. I can get down with many martial artists as previously explained, from Van Damme to Seagal to Jeff Speakman and probably many others in between. Except when it came to the Texas Ranger. Sure, he was an amazing martial artist, but he never had the ability to draw me in, the charisma that could keep me interested when his punches and kicks could not. (But yet I liked Jeff Speakman; go figure.) Anyhow, I think after all this time I finally found the film that could change that. Enter The Octagon.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 28th, 2022
Some of my favorite movies from the 80's and 90's consist of films where very little brain matter needs to be used to consume the action of what's going on the screen. The type of films I'm talking about are films like Bloodsport, Above the Law, the Perfect Weapon, and Rapid Fire. Now, from reading those titles, it might sound like I'm a little "man" heavy so to speak but I also heavily enjoy films like La Femme Nikita or Moon Lee films (Princess Madam or Devil Hunters for example). Today's film is Catch the Heat which stars Tiana Alexandra in a film where she cranks up the kick butt meter to ten. Let's see how it performs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 28th, 2022
"For those of you who are wondering who this fella here is, I am the legendary Colonel Tom Parker. I am the man who gave the world Elvis Presley. Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley. And yet, there are some who'd make me out to be the villain of this here story. No, no, I didn't kill him. I made Elvis Presley. Nothing all those muckrakers said in their books was true. Me and Elvis, we was partners. It was Elvis the Showman and the Colonel the Snowman. I always knew I was destined for greatness. As an orphan, I ran away to the carnival, where I learned the art of the "snow job," of emptying a rube's wallet while leaving them with nothing but a smile on their face. But a carnival act that would get you the most money, the most snow, had great costumes and a unique trick, that gave the audience feelings they weren't sure they should enjoy. But they do. And I knew if I could find such an act, I could create the greatest ... show ... on ... Earth."
Rock bio-pictures have been pretty hot as of late. It really started with the exceptionally done Bohemian Rapsody that chronicled the rise of the band Queen, and more its flamboyant front man, Freddie Mercury. In its wake have come lesser films that have still performed well at the box office, like Elton John's Rocketman, which turned out to be more fantasy than bio-film. With a subject like Elvis, it's really hard to go wrong. He's one of the most successful brands in rock history, and make no mistake. He was a brand. He was also more than just a flash of style. Elvis Presley is often referred to as The King Of Rock And Roll, at least to his fans. There's no denying the impact that he had on the music scene. He was the first rock and roll star, to be sure. Colonel Tom Parker, his long-time manager and partner, created many of the marketing traditions that are commonplace in the industry today. He knew the value of his star, not only as a performer, but as a brand. For the first time, a musician's image and name started to appear on everything from bath towels to women's underwear. Fans are often split on their feelings for the self-styled Colonel, but Elvis would not have become the name brand he still is today without him. That doesn't take away the selfish way that Parker turned Elvis into his private meal ticket, paying attention to his own needs more than those of his star. But no one marketed a brand like Parker did in the days before Elvis. One of those brand expansions tapped into Elvis's own boyhood fantasy. Elvis had worked as an usher at a local movie theater as a teen. He's often related that he would linger in the auditoriums, watching those movies and fantasizing that he was James Dean or Marlon Brando, two of his idols. With the help if Colonel Parker, Elvis would get to see that dream become a reality. The King was to expand his realm to include the movie business and Hollywood. No experience? No problem. After all, if Elvis could go from failing music in high school to becoming the highest paid musician on the planet, he could certainly tackle the world of acting. And he did just that. And that's really the first "issue" with the film. It might be called ELVIS all in caps, but this is really Colonel Tom Parker's story, and in case you have any confusion on that score, it will become clear soon enough. You see, the entire film is narrated by Parker and told from his unique point of view.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 28th, 2022
“Bend, never break.”
Of the DC animated movies, I’d rate this one as quite possibly my favorite of them all. Now when you consider that there are around 47 films created with another five films planned, that is quite the accomplishment. When it comes to Batman: The Long Halloween, the element that I really enjoyed is the mystery portion of it. It felt more like a detective story than a superhero movie. This was also the element that I most enjoyed about the Matt Reeves helmed live action film, The Batman. Not surprising that I identified with this aspect, as the 13-issue limited series that this film was adapted from was also one of the inspirations for the Reeves film. This animated film, like the comic it is adapted from, is centered on Batman efforts to identify and stop a serial killer known as Holiday. Holiday appears to be engaged in a war against the Falcone and Maroni organized crime families. Notably, the film also ties into the events that transform Harvey Dent into Batman's enemy, Two-Face. Contributing to the success of this adaptation, would be the top-notch cast of voice actors, some repeats from another animated films and a couple of fresh faces. Jenson Ackles, who was last voiced Jason Todd for the Under the Red Hood animated film, upgraded to voice Bruce Wayne this time around. Batman staple Alastair Duncan, who has voiced Alfred Pennyworth in at least four other Batman properties, returns to voice the character for a fifth time. Then there is Troy Baker, who has voiced multiple Batman characters to include the bat himself, as well as multiple members of the Dark Knight’s rogue’s gallery across film, television, animation, and video game installments. This outing, he lends his talents to voice the Joker. Rounding the cast are fresh faces: Josh Duhamel as Harvey Kent/Two-Face, Billy Burke as Commissioner James Gordon, Titus Welliver as Carmine Falcone, and most notable the late Naya Rivera as Selina Kyle/Catwoman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 13th, 2022
The people of Taiwan have been searching for an identity for a long time. When martial law was lifted over the People's Republic of China in the 1980's and shifted to a more democratic form, the people have increasingly wanted their own identity and no longer to be known as a part of China. Sure, they might maintain the status quo and appear to work with China (which hasn't been exactly the case lately), but they strive to be known as Taiwanese, separate from the mainland influence. Our film today, Vive L'Amour, takes place in the 1990's Taiwan, where life was extremely hard for the average young adult. So hard that many of them didn't even have a permanent residence.
We open to see a key is left in the door of a dwelling. Nearby a salesman named Hsiao-kang (played by Lee Kang-sheng) finishes up a door-to-door sales call and after a few moments decides to take the key. He goes to the convenience store, grabs a water, and sees a camera where he adjusts his hair. The next scene, he is driving on his motorcycle and arrives at the location where he grabbed the key from. He starts to unlock the door, hears sounds from inside, and quickly leaves.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on September 11th, 2022
My fascination with tennis has come in spots throughout the early part of my life. In the 1980's, I was fascinated by John McEnroe with his brilliant play and fiery emotion. In the 1990's I was smitten with Jennifer Capriati, but also impressed by her tenacity at such a young age. I still remembering listening to the broadcast of Goran Ivanisevic finally winning at Wimbledon in the early 2000's. And that's where I stopped watching, really, still eager to see the amazing game play, but no longer finding the characters I so desperately wanted to look for. Today's film is Final Set, which follows an aging tennis player who has one final shot at becoming the player he always learned to be.
A tennis player serves a ball in slow motion. It takes a couple of minutes, and then it stops.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on September 10th, 2022
A good erotic movie is actually harder than it sounds. Sure, you have to have skin, word play, arousal, and yes, that other kind of play. But the good erotic films like Basic Instinct, 9 1/2 Weeks, and Embrace of the Vampire (You thought I was going to say Fatal Attraction, didn't you?) are very entertaining and have a story that draws you in to keep you there even when the spicy bits aren't on the screen. Today's erotic film is Curiosa, which certainly hits all of the skin elements, but does it have a story that I would want to watch again and again? Let's check it out.
A curiosa is an erotic object, book, or photograph. We start the movie with a little photography as we watch our two main characters, Pierre Louys (played by Niels Schneider), who is taking pictures of Marie de Heredia (played by Noemie Merlant). Marie is set to marry Henri de Regnier (played by Benjamin Lavernhe), but she does not love him. She is actually in love with Pierre, who is Henri's best friend as well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2022
"Space ... the final frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!"
From the moment of the first UHD releases, I have had a wish list of films I wanted to see in 4K. Most of them have finally reached my home theater video shelf, but there remain a few elusive titles that I am still waiting for. Paramount is doing a great job. The Star Trek wait is somewhat over. I say somewhat because this new release from Paramount contains the films not included in the first release: Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Director's Edition, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. But it does not include The Next Generation films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2022
"Nothing had prepared me, no books, no teachers, not even my parents. I heard a thousand stories, but none could describe this place, it must be witnessed, to be understood, and yet I've seen it and understand it even less than before I first cast eyes on this place. Some call it the American dessert, others The Great Plains, but those phrases were invented by professors at universities surrounded by the illusion of order and the fantasy of right and wrong. To know it you must walk it, Bleed into its dirt, drown in its rivers, then its name becomes clear, it is hell, and there are demons everywhere. But if this is hell and I'm in it, then I must be a Demon too and I'm already dead.."
We're a visual people, and so most of you will recognize Taylor Sheridan from his role as a chief of police in Sons of Anarchy when the controlled puppet regime had finally left the scene. It's not a remarkable role, and it's not a complete surprise that Sheridan found his calling more recently behind the camera. As a writer his first script hit it out of the park. Sicario is an awesome film populated with compelling and interesting characters who thrived on a broken system. That theme appears to have stuck with him, because Yellowstone appears to take us back in time to the days of open frontiers and cattle barons who struggled to keep their land amid lawless communities and raiding parties of American Indians who were portrayed as savage beasts who kill women and children in the middle of the night to become to shadows of nightmares and the stories told to keep children in line. These themes were all there, but it takes place in a modern setting that does indeed make for an interesting new twist on an old idea. This is the dawning of the modern western where lands still stretch for miles and are still owned by a single family. It's Bonanza in the 21st century, and Kevin Costner thought enough of the idea to star in this television drama series for The Paramount Network.
