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).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 13th, 2014
“Whoever tells the best story wins.”
This bit of lawyerly wisdom is given by John Quincy Adams in Amistad, Steven Spielberg’s account of a real-life 19th century slave revolt. President Adams is offering advice on how to mount the most effective case on the slaves’ behalf, but his words ring true well beyond the courtroom. Spielberg has been telling some of the best stories since the 1970s. Amistad may not be top-tier Spielberg, but the film — making its Blu-ray debut — is an absorbing historical drama in its own right.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 13th, 2014
Her is someone you could fall in love with. Her is full of wonderful qualities. Her is elusive and unattainable as well as enticing and satisfying. Her is the awkward title of the new Spike Jonze film starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson (though not all of her), Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde and Chris Pratt. It does not star Samantha Morton, Carey Mulligan or Chris Cooper. It might have, but the project evolved so much that they dropped by the wayside. It grew out of the third collaboration between Jonze and Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) but Charlie Kaufman also dropped out, and this became a written-by-Spike Jonze project.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 12th, 2014
“You are not to leave this building. America is closed.”
That's certainly a far cry from “give me your tired, your poor...your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” It's also the predicament faced by Viktor Navorski, an accidental refugee who falls through a proverbial crack in the system and winds up trapped at JFK International Airport. The harsh, sobering command comes early on in The Terminal, a large-scale, feel-good parable. Even 10 years ago, a tonally-tricky studio movie like this one could only find its way to multiplexes if someone with the clout of a Steven Spielberg or Tom Hanks decided to make it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2014
If anything, the third part of the Godfather series of films is symbolic of when too many sequels are greenlighted, and consequently, the film is doomed to fail. More often than not, the reason why these films crash and burn is because of major studios acting like Adelphia executives and wanting more money, and in using the previous films’ successes as leverage, they lose sight of things like quality. It’s happened to other trilogies. And if you put together previous films with the reputation that the first two Godfather films have, the only question left to answer is whether or not the third film would be a minor or major letdown.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 8th, 2014
Well, considering that there were so many different strange film ideas in the 1980s, it was only a matter of time before someone would write and produce a film about a dead guy, right? Well, you’re in luck, as two names from the period (Andrew McCarthy, St. Elmo’s Fire, and Jonathan Silverman, Brighton Beach Memoirs) fulfill your wish as Weekend at Bernie’s returns to Blu-ray.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 8th, 2014
Revenge of the Nerds is an 80's cult classic making its way to Blu-ray. Basically you get a standard catalog release and a handful of features thrown at you. I remember seeing this movie about ten years back. I found it amusing then, so I was looking forward to being able to watch it again; maybe this time I'd get more of the jokes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 8th, 2014
Anyone who is a parent of a teenage boy is very familiar with the film Napoleon Dynamite. Released in theaters in 2004, this film rapidly developed a cult following and continues to be popular among the high school and middle school crowd. Napoleon Dynamite is a very charming and witty film about a tall and lanky teenage nerd (played by Jon Herder) who lives with his older brother and grandmother in Preston, Idaho. His brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) is 32 and unemployed and how spends most of the day at home on the internet on chat rooms trolling for women.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 8th, 2014
“A week from this Saturday, I turn in my amateur standing and go pro.”
Tom Hanks has been starring in movies for exactly 30 years. He burst onto the big screen with 1984's Splash, the romantic-comedy hit that also marked the start of a fruitful creative relationship with Ron Howard. A few months later, Hanks headlined Bachelor Party, which probably just seemed like the latest in a long line of silly, raunchy, sex comedies that were extremely popular at the box office. Of course, that was before anyone could possibly realize the movie would eventually serve as the spiritual godfather to comedic blockbusters like Wedding Crashers and The Hangover.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 7th, 2014
Craig Morrison was in his late 80’s the first time he got in trouble with the law. Still Mine tells the real-life story of the Canadian octogenarian who found himself in court facing the prospect of jail time. In case you’re wondering, Morrison didn’t rob a bank or cheat on his taxes. He merely wanted to build a modest house on his own property that could better accommodate his ailing wife. And he insisted on doing it himself.
