Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 8th, 2023
For me it’s crazy to see that The Truman Show is turning 25 years old. I was graduating high school when this had come out, and television was just an entirely different landscape back then. In 1998 when this film came out, the only reality shows were pretty much COPS and then The Real World on MTV, I really don’t believe anyone could have expected just how big reality TV would become. The same year in competition for box office dollars was Ed TV. Oddly enough, Ed TV would be a little closer to the mark on what the reality TV landscape would look like, taking a regular guy and making him a star overnight because he was on TV. The Truman Show I always felt was the superior film in just about every aspect. In many ways it is what I had hoped reality TV could be, but unfortunately it seems what viewers wanted in their reality programming was something more scandalous and absurd, more akin to a Jerry Springer episode than someone living in an idyllic world that was out of an episode of Ozzie and Harriet or Leave It To Beaver.
Jim Carrey stars as Truman Burbank, an insurance salesman who lives in an idyllic white-picket-fence town and is just living his life. The only the problem is, the world he lives in is not real; it’s all manufactured, and he’s really living in the world’s largest television studio, and everyone around him is acting, all because the reality is Truman is unknowingly the star of the world’s biggest reality show. This was such a departure for Jim Carrey. At the time he was the biggest comedy star on the screen and was known for being over the top and playing larger-than-life characters, but the role of Truman required him to be toned and down and seem even boring. The result is perhaps his most enduring performance to date (or at least tied with his massively underappreciated film, The Majestic).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 29th, 2023
Back in 2013 the remake for Evil Dead came out. I enjoyed the film, but it just didn’t feel right not having Bruce Campbell on the screen fighting off the deadites in that crazy cabin in the middle of the woods. But I could still appreciate the gore, and I felt the filmmakers did a decent job at capturing the tone of the franchise. The film has kind of grown on me over the years. Then fans got hit with the Ash Vs. The Evil Dead series, which was three seasons of bliss that really did a fantastic job honoring the trilogy that Sam Raimi had created. Now in 2023 we have a new film, Evil Dead Rise, a film that ignores pretty much everything fans of the franchise have known and loved for 40 years. It did great at the box office, but where does the film stand on its own and in relation to the legacy before it?
The film shifts its location from the middle of the woods to an apartment in the city. This was a nice, refreshing change in my opinion, kind of like how Scream decided to leave the small town of Woodsboro this year and move things to the Big Apple. The location shift simply opens up so many new possibilities, and when you consider the havoc that some deadites can bring to this new setting, it is something worth getting excited about. Instead of a group of friends, this time the film is centered on a family. There’s the newly single mom of three, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), her youngest daughter, Kassie (Nell Fisher), and then the other two siblings, Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) and Danny (Morgan Davies). As an unexpected surprise to the family, they get a visit from Ellie’s sister, Beth (Lily Sullivan), who has to stepped away from her rock-star life after discovering that she is pregnant. There are other people who share the same floor as Ellie, but the film’s focus is on this family, and for the most part just this floor, which is one of my problems with the film. It offers so much potential with a bigger location, but chooses to isolate itself, which defeats the whole purpose of leaving the cabin.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2023
"All right, men, now here's the play we're gonna use. I don't think the guards know this formation. It's called 'incidental punishment after the ball is blown dead.' Remember, any man you tackle gets an elbow, knee, or kick in the mouth."
In 1972 Albert S. Ruddy made motion picture history. He went from the writer of a television sit-com to landing a producer job at Paramount with almost no credentials but his nerve. Once there, this inexperienced producer delivered one of the most iconic films in history. That film was The Godfather, and it would shatter records at the Oscars and is considered one of the best films ever made. In my opinion it is the best film ever made. When the film was finished, it was a no-brainer that there would be a sequel. Sequels weren't quite so common then, but there was a lot of material in the best-selling novel to continue the story. Ruddy was offered the job of producer once again. He turned it down. He had another movie, one in which he wrote the story, that he wanted to do instead. Paramount gave him the nod, and The Godfather Part II. without Ruddy or Marlon Brando would go on to shatter records for sequels at all of the awards shows. But what happened to that passion project that Ruddy decided to do instead? That film never came close to hauling in the awards and cash that The Godfather Part II would rake in, but we do still remember that film today. You recall it, don't you? Well, in case it slipped your mind, it was a little football/prison hybrid called The Longest Yard, and while it can't compare to The Godfather in all of those mentioned metrics, it did accomplish something The Godfather never did, and never should do. It was remade twice since then. More on that later, and Kino Lorber has released it on UHD Blu-ray in 4K just in case you need a little help in remembering.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 27th, 2023
“How everyone thinks we can solve any problem with magic. There are limits! This isn’t some bedtime story; this is the real world!”
Well not quite, but still very sound advice. Which is what our heroes find out in this adaptation of the popular tabletop game. I’m becoming convinced that there is no such thing as a truly great cinematic adaptation for a tabletop or role-playing games. Think about it? Warcraft, Battleship, the previous Dungeons and Dragons adaptation. All of them failed to hit the mark. When you think about it, it’s not surprising. These games are incredibly nuisance and detailed, it would be more surprising if their entirely was actually able to be encompassed in a matter of hours. In the case of the latest Dungeons and Dragons adaptation, Honor Amongst Thieves, I think it is a case of good movie/decent adaptation. Based on the Forgotten Realms settings, the film follows Chris Pine as Edgin Darvis, a former Harper turned thief. While I do claim to be an expert in the world of D&D, Darvis does appear to have some basis in the game itself. Backing Pine up, we have Michelle Rodriguez as barbarian Holga, Hugh Grant as conman Forge Fitzwilliam, Justice Smith as a fledgling elf sorcerer Simon Aumar, Sophia Lillis as druid Doric, and Rege-Jean Page as paladin Xenk Yendar. I was expecting Page to have a bigger role as he was featured prominently in the film’s promotional materials, but I will go into further detail about that down the road.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on May 24th, 2023
I think all of us want to be on stage, at least in theory. For me, it started with some plays in high school. But from there, those aspirations were cut short due to my father telling me that I needed a real job (which was his favorite thing to tell me in high school and college). I don't think the decade I spent in karaoke bars (and actually singing) really counts for anything either. So I've always been fascinated with theater, particularly when it comes to comedy. When I saw King of Laughter as a possible review title, I took a peek at the trailer and decided to give it a shot. After all, what's not to like about a story featuring the famous actor/playwright Eduardo Scarpetta in a battle with the courts over the concept of parody? Let's take a look.
We are at a showing of the play Poverty and Nobility. At the backstage area, we see actors eating pizza. Then we move across to the box office area where everyone seems to be trying to get a ticket, only to be told that it is sold out. Eduardo Scarpetta (played by Toni Servillo) puts on his makeup while members of his family watch. Nearby, a table has two men seated. The proceeds from tonight's play are counted over and over again while they try to figure out the payout for each crew member. Finally, we reach the point in the play where Eduardo Scarpetta makes his appearance to a sea of thunderous applause.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on May 24th, 2023
I know that we all know that the DC universe is going through a bit of a revamp right now. I’m sure we’ve all seen it, with the cancellation of the Batgirl movie and the getting our hopes up over the prospect of Henry Cavill’s return to the fold, only to be crushed when it was announced that the studio was going in a different direction. We all have our feelings about it. That said, if there was a franchise that I would recommend keeping around, it would be the Shazam films. I know, I know, I’m surprised by this revelation too, but the thing is, this franchise of them all was the one that took me by the most surprise. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it. Prior to the release of the first film, the character of Shazam (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) had been nothing more than a background character that I’d observed in the animated films and shows. I even questioned the wisdom of introducing a character like this when DC was behind the curve in comparison to Marvel. I thought they should focus on building up the main Justice League heroes so they could get back in the race. Then in 2019, I went and saw this, and it won me over. It gave the DC universe a dose of lightheartedness. Zachary Levi was a fantastic choice for the character, because all the quirks and awkwardness that made NBC’s Chuck a gem were on display in our plucky hero. And now with Shazam: Fury of the Gods, DC just keeps that train rolling. The addition of Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu as the antagonists, the Daughters of Atlas, was a bold and interesting gamble, given that they do not appear in the comics, and are actually original characters created for the film. Yes, I did a bit of research.
When we last left off, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) had finally become a member of a family after a lifetime running away from them in order to find his birth mother. Solidifying his bond with his new family, he elected to share his power with them and create the Shazam family. Picking up years later, Billy, who is on the verge of aging out of foster care, worries as everyone begins drifting apart due to them all growing older and developing their own personal interests. This drifting also affects their heroism, as despite having the best of intentions, they begin doing more harm than good, causing the public to view them negatively even though they save countless lives.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2023
"He was here before Christ, before civilization. He was king here! Rawhead, that's what they called him! Rawhead!"
Rawhead Rex started life as one of many stories in a young Clive Barker’s published collection called The Books Of Blood. As a story it has been hailed by the likes of Stephen King as one of the best horror stories ever written. I'm not sure I would go anywhere near that far, but there's little doubt it's a well-crafted horror tale. I read it years ago and recall that I was quite impressed. The movie version of the story is something else entirely. It fails on really one important element, and that's the design of Rawhead himself. It's one of the worst-looking film monsters I've ever seen. It's a cross between an ape and a clown without the colorful make-up, and the young actor that brought him to life did anything but. Still, there's some atmosphere to be found here, and a few good performances. It's one of those films where it might be so bad that it will always find something of a cult following. That's exactly what Kino Lorber Studio Classics is counting on with a UHD Blu-ray release in 4K. You heard that correctly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 24th, 2023
When Superman was first introduced to us, it was in Action Comics #1 back in 1938 from the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster. Since then the character has become a cultural phenomenon that’s been featured in just about every form of media from radio shows, TV shows, cartoons, movies, and everything else in between. The character has evolved quite a bit since those early comic book days, and one of the characters biggest evolutions came with the Max Fleischer cartoon series. It was 17 animated short films that played in theaters before the feature film began, but these short films would draw in audiences that wanted to see this caped hero and his amazing adventures.
The collection contains 17 animated shorts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on May 23rd, 2023
I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t address the elephant in the room first. For the first time in the nearly 50-year history of this franchise, Sylvester Stallone was not featured in the film as Rocky Balboa. We could delve into the reasons behind why he elected not to take part in this installment, but that would be a review in itself and take away from this film. I mention it off the bat, so we can all process it and view the film with clarity. Long story short, I will say that his absence was noticed, and he was missed. I think his absence is notable due to the lack of an explanation as to his absence. I suppose the film being set in Los Angeles instead of Rocky’s native Philadelphia is meant to serve as a workaround, but still, I’d hope for some kind of explanation or at least a casual mentioning of the character. The lack thereof is what really drew attention to it. To be fair, the case can be made that that the previous film provided a pretty good conclusion for the Rocky chapters of the franchise. His finally making the trip to meet his grandchild was good catharsis for the character. What this means for the future of the franchise now I will not speculate; only to say that there is nothing saying that we’ve seen the last of Rocky. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can concentrate on fairly assessing Creed III.
Of significance, this film signifies Michael B. Jordan, our titular character, stepping behind the camera to make his directorial debut. But who better to take the helm than the man who brought the character to life. This in my opinion was a solid debut for Jordan and showcased his abilities both in front of the camera and behind it. Returning to back Jordan up on the screen are Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Wood Harris. However, if there was one person who outshone this cast of Creed veterans, it was the man who was making a debut of his own via his introduction into the Rocky franchise. A man who has been making quite the name for himself. Creed III introduced us to Adonis’ rival, Damian “Dame” Anderson, known as Mr. Jonathan Majors.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 22nd, 2023
I’ll admit it; when it comes to Netflix, I’m a fan of the shows that they put out, but their movies rarely impress me. I kind of look at Netflix films as the modern version of direct-to-video releases. They have big stars, but the quality just isn’t up to par with the big releases you’ll see in the theater. Even big name stuff like The Irishman -- it was good, but not the masterpiece I was expecting. Honestly, my favorite films on Netflix are The Babysitter films with Samara Weaving, just a fun little film, that is basically the kind of expectations I have for a Netflix film, and even the more recent release of We Have a Ghost I thought was charming and may have done well on the big screen. As for Knives Out 2, fun but forgettable. So when I see films from the streaming service get Oscar nominations and even win, I can’t but feel the need to pull the wax out of my ears and make sure I heard that right. This is also why we’re in May and I’m just now watching the adaption of the film All Quiet on the Western Front. This is the third time the film has been made, but this is the only version I have seen, and, well, I have to admit not only is this a good film, but it is a great film, and I feel it deserves every bit of recognition it has received.
One of the most impressive moments in this film comes early on in a brief battle sequence, but it is the aftermath of the battle that matters here. We get to see the journey of a uniform as it is stripped off the corpse of a soldier and then is shipped away to be washed up, sewn up, and prepared for the next soldier to call it their own. It’s an effective moment early on to remind us that not only is war unkind, but that it is a machine that is always working and churning out the next shooter and inevitably the next unfortunate soul to watch a bullet, a stab wound, or a random bit of shrapnel, and then the cycle starts all over again. Then for an added touch of inhumanity to it all, when a name tag on a uniform is ripped away and discarded with many other discarded name tags on the floor, that visual reminder that these boys are nothing more than bodies of flesh, and who they really are doesn’t even matter.
