Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2018
Remember when Eddie Murphy was funny? You know, before the fat suites and fart jokes. I guess many of you hadn’t even been born yet. Ronald Reagan was still president of these United States. CD’s were the latest thing. VHS was just catching on. The Rams were still in L.A., and it was the Cardinals that were playing in St. Louis. No one had ever heard about DVD, Blu-ray, 4K, MP3, or Wi-fi. It was 1988 and Eddie Murphy was staring in Coming To America. This is the second of 2 classic 80's Eddie Murphy films that Paramount is delivering on Blu-ray this week. They happen to be 2 of his best films in 40 years.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2018
"Look at 'em. Every day people are buying more and more of them Amazon and Google thingies while we just sit here and lose our jobs. It ain't right. Automated personal assistants and self-driving trucks. Whatever happened to people jobs?"
Not sure machines will ever take over writing good television. With the release of season 21, the one-year experiment South Park had with the year-long story arc has come to an end. I think it's more than fair to say that the vehicle just doesn't work on a show that has always flipped off the idea of continuity.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 29th, 2018
The film is based on a series of books that I had never read, and from what I understand the film takes many liberties with the storyline and characters. As his sophomore effort behind the camera, there were high expectations for what Garland would do, and the result I believe is one of the most divisive films I’ve seen in a while. This is the kind of film that gets me excited for the future of cinema, not just because I loved the film, but I love the conversation it can provoke with other filmgoers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 22nd, 2018
"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."
After nearly 20 years, it's hard not to already consider Ridley Scott's Gladiator a classic. But not in the same way we think of Blade Runner, which has become more of a cult classic, or Alien, which has all the trappings of a genre film, blending horror and science fiction into a nice little package
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 16th, 2018
"I shall tell you of William Wallace. Historians from England will say I am a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes. The king of Scotland had died without a son, and the king of England, a cruel pagan known as Edward the Longshanks, claimed the throne of Scotland for himself. Scotland's nobles fought him, and fought each other, over the crown..."
Mel Gibson had a bit of a rollercoaster life for a while there.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2018
"Someday we might look back on this and decide that saving Private Ryan was the one decent thing we were able to pull out of this whole godawful, shitty mess."
There are movies that only come along once a decade, sometimes only once a generation. There have certainly been tons of films made about World War II, and some of them have been among those special kinds of films. But there's something different about Saving Private Ryan, and I've yet to encounter someone who hasn't been touched in some way by viewing the movie. I have been fortunate enough in my life to have lived without experiencing the horrors of war firsthand.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 20th, 2018
“Wonder what he's been smoking.”
When it comes to Cheech and Chong, you hardly have to wonder. What better way to celebrate 420 today than by revisiting Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke, the OG stoner comedy? The film is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, which Paramount has commemorated with this new edition. But how well does this high-larious comedy classic hold up in 2018?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 15th, 2018
Girlfriends was a sitcom that ran from 2000 to 2008 back when The CW was known as UPN. It will also probably surprise people to learn that the series was executive produced by Kelsey Grammar, as the show is quite different from Frasier. Girlfriends was not the best comedy around, but it was a very important one for several reasons; every so often it tackled real world issues such as HIV, mental illness, miscarriages, and same-sex relationships. The series, as the title suggests, also featured a predominantly female-oriented cast.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2018
It was just two years after the release of the first Tomb Raider film that the second one reached the big screens. The film came with a ton of expectations not only from fans of the first one but fans of the video game who either loved the first movie or were disappointed and had hopes that their particular quirks would be addressed. To be sure, some of them were. Without the need to establish character and settings, Cradle Of Life wastes no time getting to the action at the heart of the video game experience. Gone were the rather laughable inflatable breasts as new director Jan de Bont wanted a more natural look for the character, abandoning the prominent look of the video game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2018
"It's begun."
It's been nearly 15 years since the last Tomb Raider movie was released. The franchise continues to be a popular video game series, and another film was inevitable. 2018 finally sees the release of a reboot of the title with a new actress playing the iconic Lara Croft. There's a lot of anticipation and box office potential here. What better time for Paramount to shake the dust off of their own relics and see if a UHD release in 4K could both create some new interest and ride along a little on the coattails of the big-budget reboot. It's good timing, and these are certainly two films that might benefit from the 4K upgrade. So now you have a little excuse to look backwards before you buy your ticket for the next chapter in the Tomb Raider franchise.
