Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 10th, 2012
"December 7, 1972: Apollo 17, the final official lunar mission, lands on the moon. In 2011 eighty-four hours of classified footage is uploaded to www.lunartruth.com. This film was edited from that footage."
Yes, you get the picture. Apollo 18 is another "found footage" film that has populated the movie landscape since the time of The Blair Witch Project. Unlike that famed film, this movie did not go on to make any kind of box office history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 14th, 2011
“Here's the thing, I... I live my life a certain way. And that is that I like to think that if you put your trust out there, I mean, if you really give people the benefit of the doubt, see their best intentions, they're gonna want to live up to it. It doesn't always work out, clearly, but, more often than not, I think that if you do, people will rise to the occasion. I really believe that.”
In a deck of Tarot cards there is a major arcana card called The Fool. It depicts a young man wearing colorful motley clothes and carrying all his possessions in a bag on his back.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 21st, 2011
“10,000 people crammed… no bed, no toilets and little water.”
Julia Jarmond (Kristin Scott Thomas) is an American journalist living in Paris covering the anniversary of the 1942 Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, a horrific atrocity when occupied France bowed to the will of the Nazis and rounded up over 13,000 Jews to ship them off to concentration camps. As she investigates the story she discovers a dark secret in her French husband’s family directly connecting them to the event.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 15th, 2011
Animation is traditionally geared towards kids. From Bugs Bunny to Monsters, Inc, cartoons have been a staple of kid’s viewing experience for decades. However, as time wore on, more and more adults have craved for animated experiences that not only are kid friendly but have adult nods so that the older audience can enjoy it. Shrek is probably the most famous of these types of pictures. Perhaps the sequel to Hoodwinked! can provide an equal passion to please both audiences.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2011
"In America we give our lives to our jobs. It's time to take them back."
It was only a matter of time before the current economic situation made its way into our theaters and finally our homes with a movie like The Company Men. Certainly the economy has influenced many films in the last five years. There have even been other movies to explore many of the current issues. But it's this film that makes those issues, particularly corporate raiding and downsizing, its sole reason for being.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 25th, 2011
Every year when the Academy Awards have been given out, I look over the winners in each category, and more often than not I scratch my head at the ultimate winners. I find myself wondering if they saw the same movie I saw. I start to ponder if there might be an alternate-universe version of these movies that somehow find themselves in the hands of the Academy jury. Sure, once in a while they get it right.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2010
"Nothing worse than an old hippie, man."
When I think of Cheech & Chong, I am brought back to the 1970’s. It was then that the pair had their first success with an iconic brand of “stoner” comedy. Their LPs sold millions across the country. You didn’t have to be a stoner to appreciate the jokes. I was about as straight as they come, but I really loved listening to Cheech & Chong. The material was about more than just getting high. It was timely, at least it was then. It mirrored the culture that we could see from our own windows, and like all inspired comedy, it was relevant.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 15th, 2009
Janky is a term that means shady or dishonest. An adjective that is anything but tasteful. Throw that in with the noun promoters and what you have is possibly the biggest revelation since somebody discovered Jon & Kate would have marital issues with eight children & a camera crew running around. Oh really? So, when I received Janky Promoters in the mail with Ice Cube and Mike Epps smiling ear to ear, all I could think was “Janky Promoters indeed.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 15th, 2009
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name: Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame . ‘Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she with silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The inscription above can be found inside the pedestal of The Statue Of Liberty,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 9th, 2009
“You’ve gotta know what you’re doing when you go in. You gotta have it figured out. Those are the rules. How you get in. How you get out. How many shots you’re gonna need. Make sure you know where everybody is. Make sure nobody sees you. Don’t hang around. Don’t get interested. Then you don’t make mistakes.”
How many times have we seen some criminal looking to do that one last job that can get them out of the business forever?