Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 3rd, 2017
“My persona's very, like, witty yet narcissistic.”
These self-aware words are spoken by Hannah Horvath, the on-screen alter ego of Girls star/creator Lena Dunham during the premiere of the show's final season. Of course, anyone who's watched Girls knows the “witty yet narcissistic” label applies to practically every character in Dunham's often flawed (and even-more-often brilliant) HBO dramedy. So while this final batch of episodes includes some superb moments, it's not a total surprise that this polarizing series concludes its run with a frustrating finale that is more satisfying for the show's creators than it is for its fans.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 31st, 2017
Ever since Lionsgate acquired the Vestron Video collection and has been re-releasing these remastered titles, I have to say I’ve been in nostalgia heaven. I remember seeing these VHS boxes in the horror section at my nearby video store and renting many of these to get my weekly horror fix. Waxwork was always a box cover I always appreciated, but one of the most memorable was Warlock, because in the sea of black VHS boxes with gory box art, Warlock was this white box with the mysterious Julian Sands and this menacing shadow in red. I even remember seeing the trailer attached to my VHS copy of The Monster Squad, and I always dug the trailer for the film, but it took forever for me to finally get to see the film. Now jumping ahead two decades later, I’m getting to review this trilogy. I have to say this is the title from the Vestron series I’ve been the most looking forward to.
Director Steve Miner (Friday the 13th 2 & 3) helms the first film in the series from a script by David Twohy, who would go on to create the little sci-fi gem Pitch Black. Despite how the cover art may look for this film, and even though it is about a warlock (Julian Sands) hoping to eradicate all existence, the film really doesn’t play out as a horror film. In many ways the film feels more so like The Terminator or Highlander. Not that this is a bad thing, but the trailers are a bit misleading.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 26th, 2017
“I'm done with crazy.”
When it comes to movies about psychotically wronged women, the crazier things get, the better. Unfortunately, the makers of Unforgettable — a dull domestic drama/wannabe thriller — never got the memo. It's a shame because the movie had some of the ingredients to be a deliciously pulpy thriller, including an amusingly unhinged turn from one of its stars. But in the end, this comes off as a Lifetime movie that slipped through the cracks, fell upwards, and was accidentally released in theaters.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 20th, 2017
We here at UpcomingDiscs strive to provide our beloved readers with the most informative and well-thought-out reviews, regardless of the movie or TV show genre that comes flying through the door. Collectively, our awesome little staff covers a wide range of interests. But when swing dancing documentary Alive and Kicking arrived at UpcomingDiscs HQ…there was only one man for the job. The toe-tapping doc is equal parts enlightening and entertaining, whether you’re a swing dancing novice (like my wife/occasional movie-watching partner) or — like me — a guy who’s been into this stuff for the last 15 years.
“Swing dancing is the pursuit of happiness.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 19th, 2017
Every year it seems the “summer” movie season seems to start sooner than the year before. Here we are, the second Friday of March, and already we’ve seen the huge box office weekend for Logan, and now this weekend we have the release of Kong: Skull Island. Ever since Kong first graced the big screen back in 1933, every film that followed was a mega-event. Personally it wasn’t till 2005 that theatergoers got to fully experience the massive beast in all his glory as he became worthy of the title “the 8th wonder of the world”. Now we have Legendary Entertainment playing in the giant monster movie sandbox with plans to set up a series of monster films. All this leads up to the inevitable clash of the kaiju monsters where we will finally see the showdown of Godzilla vs. King Kong. Before we begin to get too excited, how does our current trip to Skull Island fare?
It doesn’t take long for us to get to Skull Island; in fact, the film opens up on the shore of the island in 1944. Two soldiers are shot down and crash on the island, and their fight to the death continues as they pursue one another into the heart of the island. Their fight is quickly interrupted by none other than Kong, and the pair realizes they seriously have bigger things to worry about on the island. OK, I’m fine with not drawing out the reveal of Kong, but really, the first five minutes? Where’s the tension to build to his massive 300-ft-plus reveal? Sure, we’ve all seen the trailers for about a year now, so seeing Kong should be no surprise, but come on; he deserves at least some kind of a buildup.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 14th, 2017
"Freedom has a price. I died 7 years ago. Left behind a brother, a wife, a son, but the dead talk if you listen. They're there with you. Reaching out. Trying to tell us something. Because not all deaths are the same. Some are real. Some are a story. Question is: do you believe the story? Was the man who died who you thought he was? The dead talk. If you listen..."
The same can be said for dead series. Fox has been riding a wave of series revivals that have brought shows back from the dead in a limited-run event series format, and it has actually been doing well for the network. 24 was revived a couple of times. These episodes were used to take us from one lead character into another it was hoped could lead the way for a renewed franchise. While the series worked, the full revival did not. Perhaps the best example of Fox's event series is the six-episode return of The X-Files after so many years. It was a bit inconsistent, and six episodes were too few to tell a real good X-Files story arc. The series will return again with a slightly longer run. The most recent event series at Fox was Prison Break. At nine episodes it turned out to be just the right fit to tell another story of the brothers and their cohorts. It's now available on Blu-ray, and it's worth a look, but only if you have watched the first four seasons of the show's regular run. Otherwise things can get a bit confusing, and some of the nice subtle nods won't really pay off for you at all. But if you're a fan, it's worth the space on your video shelf.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 13th, 2017
In 2003, a commercial director named Sandy Collora made an 8-minute short film called Batman: Dead End, in which the Caped Crusader does battle with the Joker…along with Alien and Predator! While this sounds like a heavy dose of fanboy wish-granting, the film was Collora’s very serious attempt to show Hollywood big wigs what he could do. The mini-movie turned heads among the Comic Con crowd due to its gritty tone and impressive production values on a shoestring budget. Not surprisingly, this overlong Behind the Mask documentary is at its very best when it chronicles the making of what is widely-regarded as one of the best fan films ever made.
“Every kid in America knows what Batman should be.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 12th, 2017
Family is everything to Dominic Toretto. He has said as much in Furious 7, “I don’t have friends, I have family.” Over the course of seven films, we have seen him undertake impossible tasks including driving a car off a plane or through a building in order to rescue or avenge a member of said family. So what would make him make him betray that very family? In The Fate of the Furious, the team will face the biggest challenge they have ever faced when they find themselves working against their very leader. The long-running film franchise continues to up the ante with the action, producing its most action-packed film to date. Every time I think that there is no way the series can top itself, they add a tank or drive off a plane. This time, they got a submarine, y’all.
When we pick up with the team, Dominic and Letty are enjoying their honeymoon in Havana, Cuba. Their bliss is cut short when Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) has to call on Dom and his team to help him recover a stolen WMD. The heist is a success, and the team is on their way back to the rendezvous when Dom throws a curveball, stealing the weapon and disappearing. This betrayal hits everyone hard, especially Letty, who finds it impossible to believe. Adding to the shock is the return of Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) with a junior associate (Scott Eastwood) in tow, or Lil’ Nobody as Roman and Tej like to call him. Nobody informs the team that Dom stole the weapon at the request of Cipher (Charlize Theron) and that the two are working together.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 6th, 2017
“There are only two things wrong with money: too much or too little.”
This devastatingly simple yet endlessly revealing quote by poet Charles Bukowski appears at the start of Money, a lean, mean, low-budget thriller filled with well-to-do characters who nevertheless feel the need to steal millions of dollars. To be clear, there are more than two things wrong with Money — particularly in the movie's latter half, after the promising set-up starts to unravel — but the film still works as a brisk and entertaining game of cat-and-mouse mice.
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.
