Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on November 10th, 2022
I certainly do not want to get political here, but cops as a rule have a certain extent of power that we as common folk typically do not enjoy. It is often a plot point in many thriller movies that we sit and watch the officer harasses suspects or perhaps uses some shady tactics in order to get their man (or woman). It's common, heck it's probably in film school 101 and some might even see it as a bit cliché. Today's film is Unidentified, a Romanian film where a detective enters a very grey area in order to catch the perpetrator. It's also the first film in a trilogy. Yes, you read that right but more on that later. Let's take a look.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 5th, 2022
Many people will agree to disagree on the existence of ghosts. It is probably easier to agree on the point that if those ghosts do exist, they were wronged in some fashion, or there is something left to their story that is unsolved. That mystery is what makes the concept of ghosts so fascinating. Today, we have another GKids anime production, this time by the genius loundraw. It's called Summer Ghost. Let's take a trip into the paranormal.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 4th, 2022
It has been about 36 years since the release of the first Top Gun. This is one of my earliest memories as a kid, seeing the movie on the big screen with my parents at the old Main Street 6 Cinemas. I was a bit obsessed with this movie growing up. I had a copy of the film that I had recorded off of Showtime, and over the years I’d imagine I’ve seen Top Gun at least 100 times. I was obsessed with the movie and its soundtrack. Kenny Loggins and “Danger Zone” lived rent free in my head throughout my childhood. I know I’m not alone on this when saying just how much Top Gun is a movie I just love. It’s not perfect, but I just can’t find anything I dislike about it. Even in my forties, I look at this film as comfort food.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 26th, 2022
"Look at them praying for a miracle that isn't coming. Who knows? Maybe it's my curse to leave one betrayal behind only to find a greater one here amongst the stars. They could have stopped this, but none of them had the strength to do what must be done. But I do."
Crossovers have been big events in the CW Arrowverse shows. They would involve characters from all or most of the current shows, and the episodes would play across the shows themselves. The events were always huge so that they required the combined force of the many DC heroes. Times have changed, and now The Flash is pretty much the only Arrowverse show left on the air. That creates a bit of a logistic problem for the whole crossover event idea. Or does it?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on October 25th, 2022
As many of you are aware, DC League of Super Pets was recently in the theaters (technically it's still in theaters, but at the end of its run) and drew an estimated $93 million with another $110 million worldwide for a total of over $200 million. Certainly a hit on most fronts, I unfortunately was stuck at work while my wife and seven-year-old decided to go to a showing. They both enjoyed it very much, and having caught it later on HBO MAX, I can certainly see the appeal. Little did I know, but about 15 years earlier, a short-lived cartoon series named Krypto the Superdog ran for 39 episodes (72 half episodes and three full length specials). To my amazement, the set showed up on my desk the other day in all of its complete series glory. My son was pleased.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 21st, 2022
“We’re in his territory now.”
Given the film’s premise, this strikes me as the perfect tagline for the film. A family on safari finds themselves trapped and stalked by a lion with a bloodlust. It definitely evokes memories of the Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas-led 1996 film, The Ghost and the Darkness. In this instance, of course, they rely on the acting chops of Idris Elba to keep the film from descending into cliché. And while there are some situations that seem avoidable and unrealistic, the film did a great job of maintaining my interest for the duration. Joining Elba is Sharlto Copley, another talent with an extensive resume. My only gripe about Copley is that he felt underutilized, and I felt there were intriguing developments with his character that if fleshed out would have added a greater degree of depth to his character. However, this of course was out of Copley’s control and in no way negatively impacts his given performance
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2022
"You think we just work at a comic book store for our folks? This is just a cover. We're dedicated to a higher purpose. We're fighters for truth, justice, and the American way."
In the 1980's The Two Corey's became somewhat of a Hollywood fad and worked well to bring the teens out to the movies. They did eight films together, and it all started with The Lost Boys. The guys' paths had crossed several times, with both being up for some of the same parts. But it wasn't until this film that they actually met, became friends, and started a trend. Unfortunately, times would not go well for either Corey. The life would take its toll, and Corey Haim died at a too-young 38 in 2010. Corey Feldman would not do much better. His own experience with sexual abuse in the industry bought him a hard time getting roles for a while, as the industry wasn't too happy that he was opening up these Hollywood closets.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 18th, 2022
“Space … the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.”
Nearly 20 years after the original Star Trek left the network airwaves, Gene Roddenberry set out to discover whether he could catch lightning in a bottle once again. Some say he did an even better job with Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are times I tend to agree. The Star Trek sequel series had a lot more advantages from the moment it was conceived. Star Trek, a series that barely registered on the ratings during its three-year primetime voyage, became a huge sensation in syndication. By the time The Next Generation came on the scene, the original show had been syndicated in over 20 different languages all over the world.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 17th, 2022
1982. I was seven years old, and my mother, who loved horror movies, wanted to take me to see Poltergeist. Unfortunately, around this time, my dad was usually on the road, and so there was no one really there to say maybe we shouldn't. Honestly, even if my father was there and did say no, I doubt my mom would have listened. It was PG; how bad could it be? In the next two hours, I was treated to something that resonates with me to this very day. From the moment I heard "They're Here", I knew I would never see static on televisions the same way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2022
"There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie."
No one knew those rules better than Wes Craven. He helped to create them, after all. Starting in 1972 with the cult favorite The Last House On The Left, he followed that just two years later with The Hills Have Eyes, which led to a sequel. But it wasn't until a decade later that he would deliver his masterpiece and most successful franchise, Nightmare On Elm Street. Wes Craven introduced the world to Freddy Krueger, and our dreams have never been quite the same since. While others attempted to reproduce the same results with many sequels, it was Craven himself who put Freddy to bed with New Nightmare exactly 10 years after his birth. A remake never got much traction, and Wes Craven's place in horror history was assured. In 1996 he decided to take one more stab at the slasher genre and delivered one of the best films to look directly back at the audience and celebrate the genre. Scream was another hit and another franchise staple.
