Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 22nd, 2011
One of the most commonly asked what if questions, is the question about superpowers. If you were a superhero, what would be your superpower? My initial reaction is X-Ray vision because I am after all a dirty old man. After some thoughtful moments, I do however come up with the ability to instantly adapt. There are many moments where I might feel out of place or unable to help. But with that power, I could change that. Or maybe I will just wear a green amulet and fight bad guys like Callan in the film: Cross.
The movie opens to the pages of a comic book flipping. Wait, is this a Marvel Comics presentation? Okay, not exactly. They mention that amulets are some of the most powerful source of power in the universe. The strongest amulet, that would be the Cross of the Isles. It is green, it glows a lot. Hey, was that Machete (Danny Trejo)? Doesn’t matter, he isn’t in the rest of the movie. We also learn about the Staff of Sekhmet which has the potential to kill the whole word.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 16th, 2011
It is that time again boys and girls for the movie of the week. This week, we visit a genre that is staler than your grandmother Edna’s cookies: the romantic comedy. *boo* *hiss*. Okay, okay before you start throwing those almond cookies, I think I need to let you know that there is a $5 bill in it for each of you. *whisper from editor* “Do we have that in our budget?” “No silly, just go with it.”. Audience – “What was that?” Why, our movie today is the Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston picture: Just Go With It. Roll the film!
Twenty years ago, Danny Maccabee (played by Adam Sandler) ended his wedding day with a big broken heart and an even bigger nose. Man, was that thing huge. Be sure to never invite him to a coke party. Coke party? Yes, this review is brought to you by Cherry Coca-cola. No, you can’t have any because I drank it all. Anyway, Danny goes off to a local bar to drink the night away (not Cherry Coca-Cola) and strikes up a conversation with a hot girl who notices his wedding ring.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2011
"What I do requires a certain mindset. I do assignments, designated targets. Some jobs need to look like accidents. Others must cast suspicion on someone else. A select few need to send a clear message. Pulling a trigger is easy. The best jobs are the ones nobody even knows you were there."
Arthur Bishop (Stratham) is an accomplished mechanic. But you don't want to bring your Toyota to him, unless you intend to use the car to get rid of a pesky spouse. You see, he's the kind of mechanic that fixes a different kind of problem. He removes unwanted people from your life. That's the basic set-up for this Simon West remake of the 1972 film that starred Charles Bronson as Bishop. That movie is a kind of classic, at least to Bronson fans. It's noted for a rather unique beginning where there is no dialog for the first 15 minutes of the movie. No such effect here. What you will find is an action-packed film to watch with the guys while you send the ladies off to watch the latest romantic comedy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 29th, 2011
All eyes are on Angelina Jolie; okay, so that's not much of a surprise, is it? But, I'm talking about the opening scenes of Jolie's partnership with Johnny Depp in the remake of the French spy thriller Anthony Zimmer, retitled for the American audience, The Tourist. Her character Elise is attracting a lot of attention from men hidden away in vans with surveillance equipment trained on her every move and from every angle. No, it's not the paparazzi this time. Elise is being followed because the intelligence community believes she will lead them to their real target, an elusive master criminal named Alex. Instead Elise merely receives a letter which she proceeds to burn and walk away. The agents swarm on the smoldering paper, convinced it's a message from Alex and a clue to his whereabouts. It seems he's gotten away with a ton of money, and sources say he has used some of those riches to alter his appearance, and Elise is the only clue they have left.
The note has instructed her to take a specific train and locate a random person that approximates his size. The idea is to convince the agents that the rube is Alex, thus distracting them from their true quarry whom she is to meet in Venice. On the train, Elise chooses math teacher Frank Tupelo (Depp) for the ruse. She develops an odd attraction for the man and invites him to stay with her in her lavish hotel suite. A series of mistaken identity gags gives Depp a chance to shine in the role, while Jolie offers the window dressing and emotional attachment for the team. Expect plenty of misdirection and red herrings.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 8th, 2011
"Detroit ain't so bad, in fact it's kind of charming."
Director Benny Boom decided to move the S.W.A.T. franchise away from L.A. and bring it to Detroit. But he's not going to be winning any accolades from the Detroit Chamber of Commerce anytime soon. He openly admits that he picked the city because he was attempting to create an environment with a lot of decay. He jokes that by filming in Detroit there was no need to create those conditions because they were free for the taking in the city. The main character begins the film by insulting the city. It'll be interesting to see if Boom is invited back for a future project.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 24th, 2011
Underwater tremors open up a cave that has been sealed off from the rest of Lake Victoria for millions of years, unleashing a ravenous school of giant piranha. Making short work of a cameoing Richard Dreyfuss (in his Matt Hooper clothes), the fish descend on a resort town in the middle of Spring Break celebrations and so, naturally, the financially-minded authorities Won't Close The Beaches. As Sheriff Elizabeth Shue tries to find out what's going on with all the bodies showing up, her son (Adam Scott) unwisely volunteers to act as location guide for Jerry O'Connell (sleazing it up as the director of a Girls Gone Wild clone production), and winds up far from help when the fish launch their attack in earnest.
Alexandre (High Tension) Aja's remake is nowhere near as clever as the original, but it is highly entertaining, at least once the rampage is properly underway. This is easily the goriest summer movie in recent memory, and everyone involved seems determined to deliver on the trash value as thoroughly as possible. And while I have plenty of fondness for the retro-grindhouse trend, there is something going a little awry when the supposedly arch, self-conscious, post-modern films are more exploitive than the movies they're echoing. So while Piranha does boast one of the best severed penis gags I've seen in ages (one that loses some of its awesomeness by being reduced back to 2D), the endless parade of naked breasts, the obsessive need to mutilate them, and the clear expectation that the audience laugh at the result, is more than a little off-putting coming from filmmakers who surely know better but decide to indulge themselves all the same. In the end, what Piranha does well, it does very well indeed, but its lapses in judgment are pretty noticeable, too.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 7th, 2011
Westerns are typically fun movies to review because they usually don’t deviate much from a basic formula. There is usually a criminal, and there is usually a good guy out there to shoot that varmint. Technically, that is all there is to it. Furthermore, the budget (unless big stars are involved) is small, making for some creative storytelling. Today, we get to review an Australian western: Red Hill. Let’s see if it differs from the typical American one.
We overlook a lush Australian landscape (aren’t they all this way?) and pause to look at some horses. Suddenly, there is a disturbance in the distance and the horses run. Dun dun dun. Scene shift. Shane Cooper (played by Ryan Kwanten) is up and getting ready for first day of work. His wife, Alice (yes…Alice Cooper, played by Claire van der Boom) who apparently got her Frankenstein fed, is very pregnant. They talk about his first day, and soon he goes off to work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2011
When a film is successful enough, it’s a relatively natural assumption today that a sequel will follow. In that sequel we expect more of the same and hopefully something new as well. Unfortunately, there is a disturbing sideline for the animation sequel. Because the actors aren’t really on camera at all, there is the temptation to replace them so that you can do a much cheaper, often direct-to-video sequel. The folks who did Madagascar didn’t go that route, but the folks who did Open Season did. Gone are the likes of Martin Lawrence, Gary Sinise, Ashton Kutcher, and Debra Messing. These voices are replaced by Matthew W. Taylor, Diedrich Bader and Kirk Baily.The result is a decidedly inferior film that was relegated to the Wal-Mart bins instead of the box office.
Boog is upset because no one wants to join him for guy's trip. Even Elliott has backed out of the annual camping trip. So he sets off on his own. He sees a sign for a circus that is coming to town and decides to check it out. There he runs into a circus bear Doug, who is looking to get out of the circus and live with the animals in the woods as the king of the forest. When Boog encounters Doug, he gets conned into switching places with the bear. Of course, both discover the grass really isn't always greener on the other side.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 29th, 2011
Westerns are fun movies to typically review because they usually don't deviate much from a basic formula. There is usually a criminal and there is usually a good guy out there to shoot that varmint. Technically, that is all there is to it. Furthermore, the budget (unless big stars are involved) is small, making for some creative storytelling. Today, we get to review an Australian western: Red Hill. Let's see if it differs from the typical American one.
We overlook a lush Australian landscape (aren't they all this way?) and pause to look at some horses. Suddenly, there is a disturbance in the distance and the horses run. Dun dun dun. Scene shift. Shane Cooper (played by Ryan Kwanten) is up and getting ready for first day of work. His wife, Alice (yes...Alice Cooper, played by Claire van der Boom) who apparently got her Frankenstein fed is very pregnant. They talk about his first day and soon he goes off to work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 6th, 2011
In one of Stephen King's most popular stories, at least of those translated into films, a prison inmate sits in his cell and dreams of escape. His fantasy is to escape into the welcoming arms of Rita Hayworth. While that particular element wasn't to be found in the film, it was important enough in the original story to warrant mention in the original title, which was Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption. It was a nod to the pin-up status that the actress had in early younger days. In my generation it was Farrah, but for most adolescent boys and World War II soldiers it was the red-headed come-hither smile of Rita Hayworth.
Hayworth first trained as a dancer. The instruction would certainly pay off in her film career where she would trade steps with some of the great dancers in cinema history including Fred Astaire. She was just a young teenager when she managed to be cast in Dante's Inferno and five other films that year. She left films at the peak of her popularity in a Grace Kelly-like marriage to foreign royalty. She wedded the Prince Aly Kahn, who would also die in a car accident, much as Kelly did. Fortunately for the movie-going public, Hayworth had divorced the prince 7 years earlier in 1953 and returned to the silver screen.
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![The Mechanic [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-mechanic-blu-ray-large.jpg)
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![Red Hill [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/red-hill-blu-ray-large.jpg)
