Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 27th, 2014
Adam Sandler took a bit of a beating with Blended. His previous, non-Grown Ups outing (That’s My Boy) was Sandler’s first comedy in a while to severely underperform at the box office, suggesting audiences might be tiring of the comic’s (critic-proof) brand of humor. Then came Sandler’s pre-release admission that he makes movies based on where he’d like to get paid to vacation. Blended went on to underwhelm at the box office, at least by the reliable standards of Sandler comedies. (It brought in $123 million worldwide on a reported $40 million budget, though only $46 million of that came from the U.S.) Maybe it was the lowered expectations, but I kinda liked Blended.
“Love is a many blended thing.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 30th, 2014
No matter how far removed you may be from Sunday school — or even if you never attended in the first place — chances are you know that God spoke to Noah. You also know He told him to build an ark in anticipation of a catastrophic flood meant to wipe out mankind. What you may not have realized (or remembered) is that, in the Bible, Noah himself doesn't speak at all until well after that rain starts. So in adapting the famous Book of Genesis story to the screen, any filmmaker is going to have to take a certain amount of liberties. And when that filmmaker is Darren Aronofsky, the result is a strange, uncommonly thoughtful blockbuster that is as flawed as the hero it presents.
“In the beginning, there was nothing...”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 22nd, 2014
- “Are you some kind of big deal?”
- “Yeah, I’ve been around.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2014
There is nothing wrong with your monitor. Jonathan Glazer controls all that you see and hear. That tiny speck of light you see is just the beginning. The beginning of an experience you will not soon forget. The light appears distant...cold... foreboding. It's coming closer to us, or we are coming closer to it. The distant star grows while you are assaulted with some of the most bizarre sounds you have ever heard. It's somewhat uncomfortable. You squirm in your seat. The light grows; its alien forms finally settles into an unexpected familiar form. Still, it's all rather unsettling. Jonathan Glazer controls more than all you see and hear. For the next two hours he controls your sanity... your very humanity.
Your introduction to Under The Skin explains little. There are some general ideas you'll begin to assemble. You'll figure out rather quickly that Scarlett Johansson is an alien. The characters you'll encounter have no names. Many of them will not speak. After the first sensory experience, the film fools you into believing you're back on solid ground. Scarlett Johansson drives about the streets of Scotland talking to strange men. She asks directions and inquires about any family or friends they might have. It doesn't take us long to understand that she's hunting, attempting to separate a single prey from the pack. Before she snares her first victim, we know exactly what she's doing, even if we never understand completely why.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2014
"A mouse can only be friends with a bear in a fairy tale."
And that's exactly what we have here. Ernest And Celestine is a charming little tale told through a wonderful watercolor world of animation. It certainly looks very much like the storybooks I remember reading from as a small child. Indeed, the film is based on a series of book from Belgian artist Gabrielle Vincent. The first book appeared in 1981 and continued for 20 years, delighting children the world over. As an artist it makes some sense that the books had a very unique visual style. The stories were brought to life as much if not more by the images than the words of the stories themselves. It's a world that is captured perfectly by the feature film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 9th, 2014
After dating an endless string of duds and dolts, Jessica Stein has finally found someone smart, funny, kind, compassionate and attractive enough to meet her impossibly high standards. Much to Jessica's chagrin, however, it turns out her ideal match is a woman. Kissing Jessica Stein, the 2001 independent romantic comedy created by stars Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, is equal parts insightful and frustrating. You have a new chance to see for yourself now that the film has made its Blu-ray debut.
Jessica (Westfeldt) is 28 years old, which (in her mind) is basically 30. She's a harried copy editor for the New York Tribune who hasn't had a date in a year. Jessica is constantly reminded of her romantic futility by her mother Judy (Tovah Feldshuh) — who is always trying to fix her up with a nice Jewish boy — and her jerky boss/ex-boyfriend Josh (Scott Cohen).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 5th, 2014
Did you know The Birdcage is the all-time, highest-grossing movie in the U.S. that features a gay lead character? It’s true! Given the drastically increased pop culture visibility of the LGBT community in the 18 years since its release, it’s a bit of a surprise the film still holds that distinction. On the other hand, I’m not too shocked because I’ve been laughing at this funny farce since it first came out in 1996. So I was delighted to see it finally make its long-overdue Blu-ray debut.
We’ll get to the Blu-ray particulars in a bit, but I really do want to spend a fair amount of time talking about this deeply silly, deeply fascinating project. For starters, how about the fact that Robin Williams’ first “straight man” role in a comedy didn’t come until he was cast as a gay nightclub owner?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 4th, 2014
Following in the footsteps of Taken Gina Carano (Haywire) goes on a revenge rampage in order to discover what has happened to her injured and missing husband in a foreign land. It’s not the most original jumping off point for a revenge film, but as is the case with most revenge films, the motivation is usually always the same, but it’s the journey to the fulfillment of their blood-lust that keeps us in our seats. Coming off of the latest installment in the Fast and the Furious series, Carano has started to make a name for herself ever since she emerged in Steven Soderbergh’s action/thriller Haywire. Many women have tried to step in the role of leading lady and bad-ass fighter, but Gina Carano seems to be the woman who seems right at home in the role of breaking bones and smashing faces, and it doesn’t hurt that she looks good while doing it.
On an island in the Carribean, Ava (Carano) and her new husband Derek (Cam Gigandet) celebrate their honeymoon together. The beautiful beach locations are offset by the ghettos that house the islanders who call this vacation spot home. And it would seem as though Manny (Ismael Cruz Cordova), is nothing more than a hospitable islander showing the newlyweds a good time, that is until he takes them on a breathtaking zip line tour. Unfortunately an accident occurs, causing Derek to be taken immediately to the hospital (all I could think about was the opening sequence of Cliffhanger here), and it is on the way to the ER as Ava tries to follow behind but eventually loses the ambulance in traffic. Not only does Ava have to suffer through the possibility of her husband dying, but when she finally arrives to the hospital, she is told her husband never was brought in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 26th, 2014
Christian Slater has managed to make a decent career lately by simply appearing in numerous direct-to-DVD productions for several years now. It seems as though every month the former 80s-90s heartthrob is slumming his way through productions as though he never once looked at the script and instead was just adding another lackluster credit to his IMDB profile. As a longtime fan of the actor from the days of Heathers, True Romance, and Pump Up the Volume, I can’t help but hope the guy will make a resurgence (though appearing in Lars Von Triers Nymphomaniac is a good start to that career revival).
As for Slater’s new release Way of the Wicked, he somewhat takes the back seat on this film despite appearing on the Blu-ray box art. Henry (Slater) is a priest who seems to have an obsession with a young boy who is held responsible for the murder of a classmate even though there was no physical evidence to show for it. Several years later Robbie (Jake Croker) returns to the small town, and as he returns to school he immediately seems to embrace the role of outcast.
