Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 8th, 2010
I'm not exactly sure what it is that audiences expected when Splice hit the box offices in June. I will have to admit that the trailers were not all that impressive. But I guess that most people didn't see what I saw when I looked at the early promotion for the film. I was fascinated by the appearance of the "creature", and the overall Frankenstein overtones were too much for me to resist. The movie compelled me from the first images and descriptions. Apparently, that wasn't the case in general. Splice tanked at the box office. It barely made $17 million.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 26th, 2010
"The flamingo is said to be the inspiration for the crimson-winged Phoenix, the ancient symbol of transformation and rebirth. At the end of its life, the Phoenix is consumed by fire. It is then reborn from the ashes."
In one of the more specific full-length documentary features that I've seen in a long time comes Disney Nature's The Crimson Wing. Here the focus is on one species of bird.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 18th, 2010
"I never wanted a war. I just wanted people to know what happened here. 98 men, women, children ... my husband. And yet no one believed. They rebuilt the town. Life went on. But I was already dead inside. I never wanted a war."
In October 2007 30 Days Of Night was unleashed at the box office to less than stellar numbers. In fact, the film took in only $39 million off of a $30 million budget. That's not usually a good sign for any potential franchise. But the film was received very well by the folks who did like it. I was one of those people. I found myself defending the film to a lot of others who were obviously not so impressed with the take on the vampire legend.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 16th, 2010
Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) is going through more than the usual puberty traumas. She pees on the carpet, curses a blue streak, causes objects to fly around the room, and speaks in the voice of Mercedes McCambridge. Her mother Chris (Ellen Burstyn) takes her to every medical professional under the sun, to no avail. With her daughter's life in the balance, she turns to Father Karras (Jason Miller), asking him to perform an exorcism. But not only is he skeptical, he has his own problems, not least of which is losing his faith. Meanwhile, Regan's symptoms of possession grow steadily worse...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2010
Charlie Sheen is an unlikely actor to star in a television sit-com. Even after watching the show, I’m not sure how anyone came up with the idea in the first place. He has little to no comedic timing, and he’s about as funny as a funeral. The thing that works here, however, is that he really doesn’t need to be all that funny to make this show work. Sheen pretty much deadpans his entire performance, which generously enough works rather well teamed with the more manic comedy of Jon Cryer. Throw into the mix a rather extraordinary young child actor in Angus T. Jones
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 10th, 2010
So Troll 2 hits Blu-ray. That fact is as sure a sign of the coming Apocalypse as any I can think of, and, at the very least, must threaten the entire Blu-ray format with destruction, as judgment rains down from the hands of an angry God. If, Gentle Reader, you come to this review without any foreknowledge of the film, and are actually wondering if a movie called Troll 2 might be good, then please run as fast as you can and hide. Or at the very least, please watch the legendary YouTube clip appended below. What, you're still here? Don't say you weren't warned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2010
Open Water:
An over-worked couple (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) whose marriage, while not in danger, has clearly reached some difficult shoals, head off on a diving vacation. A mix-up (which is disturbingly credible) results in the tour ship leaving them behind. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, they float together, hoping against hope for rescue, growing cold and hungry. And then there is the marine life. Like stinging jellyfish. And sharks…
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2010
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest was the first movie I ever saw on HBO. These were the very early days of the cable network. It was before the dawn of any real home video. It was at my Aunt Shirley's house that several members of the extended family gathered in dining room chairs around a 19-inch television to watch a movie uncut and without commercial interruption for the first time in our lives. A lot has changed since that 1970's afternoon at my aunt's house. Today we have hundreds of such choices on our television dials.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 4th, 2010
"1.2 billion TV viewers saw the home-made autopsy film in 1995. Experts have been divided over its authenticity ever since ... until now."
I think we all remember that night in 1995 when Jonathan Frakes from Star Trek: The Next Generation hosted the television event Alien Autopsy: Fact Or Fiction. The media hype surrounding the event was one of the largest I can recall from the time. I was one of the billion-plus viewers who were curious about this allegedly "found" footage of an actual alien autopsy conducted on one of the bodies found in the Roswell crash of 1947.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 24th, 2010
Written by Diane Tillis
If I had to pick two words to describe Ondine, I would pick hauntingly beautiful. Neil Jordon, the popular Irish director and writer, comes up with an unusual modern fairy tale. Ondine is a film about people from different worlds hoping that dreams really can come true. It is a film about redemption and hope, harsh reality versus fantasy. Ondine is a journey of self discovery to be experienced from the darkness back into the light. It reminds us that enchantment and darkness are a part of every story.