Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 2nd, 2021
The first thing you should know about The Walking Dead franchise is that it's unlike any television series you have ever seen before. The images here are intense, and the crew has been given a blank check to create this vision without the burden of censors looking over their shoulders. There are plenty of blood-and-gore effects that rival any of the Hollywood zombie films you've seen in the last few years. The makeup effects are handled by the very capable hands of KNB and supervised personally by Greg Nicotero (the N from KNB). KNB isn't treating this like a television production, and while I personally get tired of the cliché about making a movie each week, this one lives up to the hype. They aren't doing anything different here than they would do for a big-budget film. The zombies look incredible, and the effects are completely first-rate.
"It's all right. I know you've been through a lot."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 25th, 2021
It continues to amaze me how well Warner Brothers does with their DC products in the television universe but manage to execute so poorly with their films. Despite being a bit formulaic, the CW DC shows are still a blast to watch but it’s the more adult oriented shows Titans, Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing that have left me most impressed. Now they have released Pennyworth for the Starz Network, despite the confidence I have in the other shows I went into this one with cautious optimism. The biggest question that bothered me was do we need another series that delves into the Batman universe? Gotham recently wrapped up, there’s a Batwoman series, Joker was only 2 years ago and a new Batman film coming next year, not to forget all the other incarnations of the Dark Knight. What had me interested though is the notion of finally getting to see Alfred Pennyworth as the former SAS officer in his prime and the chance to see how he became entangled with the Wayne family. Was the series a letdown or yet another success for the DC television universe?
The series was brought to life by Bruno Heller, a writer with experience in this universe since coming off from writing for Gotham. Now if you’re thinking you enjoyed Gotham and perhaps this is a prequel you can enjoy with the kids let me stop you for a moment and say, this one is not for the kids. This series embraces its adult content with its over the top violence, an abundance of sex, drugs and profanity that more closely resembles a Quentin Tarantino film than a comic book series, and I love it for that. Season one was a fun little romp that sets up the story of how Thomas Wayne, Martha Kane and Alfred Pennyworth all met. Season 2 delves deeper into the development of their friendships and relationships and in the process shows how Lucius Fox was brought into the fold. This is all done while a battle is taking place between London and the Raven Union which is led by Lord Harwood (Jason Flemyng) whom we met in the first season. Season two, while it does continue the story I’m a little disappointed with the direction it goes with this so much focus on a war and take over by the Raven Union, my disappointment is with how little most of it doesn’t involve Alfred at all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 20th, 2021
Bigger doesn’t always mean better. Eight years following the success of the first 48 Hrs film and the rise of Eddie Murphy’s stardom, Murphy came to the studio proposing to do a sequel, and they happily obliged him, allowing him to also produce it under his budding production company. Walter Hill had gone on to direct some successful films, but nothing like the box office success of 48 Hrs. Brewster’s Millions, Streets of Fire, and Red Heat are just of few of the films that stood out during this time for Hill, but the potential of another big moneymaker that could give him the clout to go on and direct more of the films that he wanted was the draw he needed. It was a paycheck movie that could have had potential, but with a rumored 30 minutes cut from the film just before its release on top of the 20-plus minutes cut down from the first cut followed by a rushed script to get the film into production, well, it’s no surprise that the film falls short of the first film.
This time around Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) is after this elusive criminal he’s dubbed “The Iceman”. He’s working on a theory that has this elusive criminal connected into some high-stakes drug deals. Unfortunately he has no proof this guy even exists. Just when he thinks he’s close, one of his cases points him into the direction of his old buddy Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), who is recently a free man. Reggie happens to have a target on his back with Ganz’s brother, Cherry (Andrew Divoff), who is out for revenge and also Reggie’s money. Cates is also feeling the heat from an Internal Affairs officer played by the recognizable Kevin Tighe. The setup for the film isn’t bad; honestly, the film had some good potential, but everything just falls apart.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 20th, 2021
In 1982 when production was getting started on 48 Hrs, Walter Hill had plenty pf success with The Warriors, The Long Riders, and Southern Comfort, and many would think he was taking a bit of a risk by casting Eddie Murphy as the second lead of his film. Sure, Murphy would go on to be a giant success, but at the time of this film all he had was being a cast member of SNL. The gamble would of course be a success for not just Walter Hill and the film, but 48 Hrs would be the film that lit the fuse to a successful career that would launch Eddie Murphy into superstardom. The movie is a classic for more than just making a career for Eddie Murphy; it’s also the movie that remolded what the “buddy action” film can be by having the leads at one another’s throats while the bullets and fists fly. While this isn’t my favorite Walter Hill film (that number one slot will always be The Warriors), 48 Hrs. is a staple film of his career that I feel is required viewing for those who love 80s action films, or simply good films, period.
The film opens up with a fun “jail break”, Ganz (James Remar) is working a chain gang when his partner Billy Bear (Sonny Landham) comes to break him free. The big plan is for the two to make it to San Francisco, where they want to collect money that’s owed from a deal that went wrong, and then they will live happily on the lam.While these two may not be the smartest of criminals, they definitely rank pretty high when it comes to being vicious and lacking a moral compass when it comes to who they put a bullet into. It’s the trail of bodies that gets Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) onto the case, especially when cops end up dead and Ganz nearly kills Cates with his own pistol.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 9th, 2021
“Bueller … Bueller …”
When it comes to the 80’s teen comedies, I think we can all agree John Hughes is the king, and I feel just about every kid who grew up during that time has a strong opinion on what the “BEST” John Hughes movie is. The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles are pretty much all classics that he wrote and directed, but that doesn’t count the numerous others that he just wrote. When I heard John Hughes died, it was a sad day, even though he hadn’t directed a film since 1991’s Curly Sue. I think we all were kind of holding out hope he’d be able to step back behind the camera one more time. As for my favorite film from Hughes, it’s without a doubt Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This was a film for which I had a VHS copy I had that watched just about every time I was home sick from school or faking sick (this seemed to happen more often). The film is basically the cinematic equivalent to mac-n-cheese comfort food for me. I know I’m not in the minority when it comes to being able to quote this film at random, and perhaps I can possibly blame it for wanting to jump onto a parade float and serenade the masses with some classic tune. But the film does, oddly enough, hit me a little deeper than all that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2021
I remember when The Golden Compass came to theaters. I know I saw it because I was a projectionist and had to screen the print, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember anything about the film. Perhaps that’s why that when I first heard about HBO doing a TV series adaption of the beloved book series His Dark Materials, I wasn’t all that thrilled. I’d never read the young adult series, and considering the amount of awful YA film and TV adaptations that have bombarded us for nearly two decades, it too played a role in squashing any excitement I might have had in different circumstances. I was definitely pessimistic about watching the , but when I finished Season 1, I was excited about where the next season would take us. I loved the characters, the daemons, and the worlds that the show took us to. Not since Stranger Things had I been more excited about a new series. Season 2’s can be a make-or-break for a lot of shows. Expectations have been made by the audience, and sometimes things just fall apart, but sometimes there is the rare occasion where Season 2 manages to only get better. I’m happy to say in the case of His Dark Materials, things definitely improve.
Season 1 left us off with a bit of a cliffhanger as we see Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) stepping through portals from their worlds, and we’re just not sure where they’ll end up. Well, the pair end up in a city called Cittagazze, a place where there are no adults. Only a few children are living in hiding in the town because of these wraithlike figures called Spectres that basically suck the “dust” or human life-force from adults. The set design for this new world is impressive, which is a good thing because a lot of time is spent at this location over the stretch of Season 2. Lyra’s daemon, Pan (voiced by Kit Conner) is still going through multiple changes and remains one of my favorite aspects of the show, though thankfully daemons are not in constant peril this season. Instead more focus is placed in the importance of Lyra and Will and how the pair fit into a prophecy that of course will impact the world and all its multiverses.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 1st, 2021
"We're 10 years in now. I was a little kid. I can barely remember the Night The Sky Fell, let alone what the world was like before. We still live behind walls, and the dead still have this world. And I think that with everything that went away, with everything we lost, with everyone we lost, some people think it can happen again. Some people think that what we have can't last. Some people can't believe. But I'm certain of our home city and our alliance with Portland, with the Civic Republic, and I'm certain what's ahead. We are monuments to the past, but everyone here, all of you, you are the future. We are the future. I'm sure of it."
There is life after death. For The Walking Dead that life has a pretty solid run. What started with a graphic novel turned into one of the most unique television shows in years. The series has now become a franchise. The original show has 10 seasons behind it. The first spin-off was Fear The Living Dead, which took us across the country to the West Coast and has now run six seasons of its own. The franchise has just recently branched out again. This time it's The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and it covers a different aspect of this post-zombie-apocalypse world. This time it's not so much a change in location, which it is, but a change in perspective. This time it's, in the words of my old late friend Conrad Brooks, for the kids.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 29th, 2021
Long before super-hero films became the rage of American cinema, the Western was the original bread and butter that would draw in its audiences to flock to the silver screen. Hollywood cranked out so many Westerns I seriously doubt anyone knows just how many of these films were shot by the studios, not to mention the others that were re-cut with scenes inserted with new stock footage just to re-title a film and put it back out onto the screen. There are some directors that elevated the genre, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Clint Eastwood, Sam Peckinpah, and then there’s John Sturges who is mostly famous for helming The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. Sturges had a strong 30 year career directing and though he had a few misses when his films were good they were really good so when the offer came along to review one of his Westerns I hadn’t seen I was happy to jump aboard to review the Last Train From Gun Hill.
When Last Train From Gun Hill was made, Paramount studios had created a new style of film called Vista Vision, a flashy name and style to attract audiences to the cinemas. Basically it was 35 mm film shot horizontally, this was a method that would later be used in 70mm to create IMAX film. The quality of the picture when using the Vista Vision is incredible and it was pretty much the first thing I noticed while watching this films, the sweeping landscapes look more impressive and just about every shot looks fantastic here, cinematographer Charles Lang who had a successful run of films shooting for Billy Wilder does a incredible job with this smaller scaled western. Sure the Vista Vision may have been nothing more than a gimmick but the look of this film is what immediately jumps out at me and reminds me of what audiences are missing from movies shot on genuine film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 1st, 2021
When I was in grade school, I remember reading High King, the fifth book in the Prydain Chronicles, as part of a reading assignment (since it was a Newbery Award winner). I also at some point watched Black Cauldron in my youth, but I'm pretty sure it was on a crummy VHS tape. Anyhow, many years later, with an old friend, I was gifted a treasured copy of Prydain Chronicles (all five books in a hardback format). Being much older, I took the time to read the entire hardback collection, and ever since then I've been tracking down related items including the Black Cauldron movie from Disney to revisit. It might not be the wonderful series of books, but it's still an excellent movie on its own accord. Let's explore the recent release from the Disney Movie Club.
In the mystic land of Prydain, there was once a king so evil and cruel that even the gods feared him. He was imprisoned in a crucible of molten iron since no prison could hold him. His demonic spirit was harnessed in the form of a great black cauldron. That Black Cauldron lay hidden while evil men tried to find it. The one man who did would be able to harness a power to resurrect an evil army which would then rule the world.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2021
"I can see it now... Supernatural: The End. And the cover is just a grave stone that says 'Winchester'. Fans are gonna love it. Welcome to the end"
The brothers made an emotional announcement during the airing of the previous season that the 15th year would be the final season of the show. It's hard to believe that we'll soon know a television landscape without the Winchester brothers. It's the last show that goes back to the original WB Network that eventually lead to the current CW Network that has become more and more the home of the Warner Brothers-owned DC Comics television universe. But in the middle of speedsters, archers, aliens, and time travelers, there was always room for the Winchesters. It'll be a bit of a culture shock to have them gone. Hard to imagine, but if you were a young 15-year-old kid when you started to watch the show, you're now 30, likely with kids of your own. You live in an entirely different world than you did when you first came aboard. How will you feel without it? We'll always have over 300 hours and 15 seasons to watch whenever we want thanks to these wonderful releases on Blu-ray from Warner Home Entertainment. So let's give the boys one hell of a sendoff. If you have no idea who these guys are, you are in for one sweet treat, I can tell you that much. But you can't start here. You'll never understand what's going on, and it will taint your experience. You have a lot of watching to do to be ready for this release. Check out our long list of reviews here and start binge-watching fast. Once you're caught up, continue on. Caught up? Excellent. On to the final season.
