Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2018
"Do you remember the first time you saw a dinosaur? The first time you see them, it's like a miracle. You read about them in books, you see the bones in museums, but you don't really believe it. They're like myths. And then you see the first one alive."
By the time you get to the fourth sequel of a film, the results are usually not very good. Even a groundbreaking film like Jurassic Park has been followed by at least one terrible sequel. The problem with these kinds of things is pretty easy to figure out. You can't please all of any film's diehard fans, and it's hard to continue to deliver on the formula's expectations, all the while breaking new ground without the result feeling more contrived than original. That's certainly all been true of this franchise. When Jurassic World set all kinds of box office records three years ago, it appeared that those entrusted with this franchise had found a way to turn it around. Now the expectations have jumped even higher. There appears no place to go but down, and for the first hour of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, that's exactly what appears was going to happen. But then somewhere around the third act, the film took a turn that suddenly sent the franchise into an entirely new genre. The last third of Fallen Kingdom accomplishes something that should have always been where this whole ride headed. Fallen Kingdom is a rehash of the previous films in many ways. There are the iconic poses and the regurgitated scenes. But before the credits start to roll on this one, it becomes something terribly wonderful. It is genuinely scary. Now, certainly, the previous films had some scary moments. There was some of it in the first film's kitchen chase. But for all of its scares, it was really just more dinosaurs chasing people. Now don't get me wrong. I'm really cool with that, but been there, seen that. You see, Fallen Kingdom takes that fright to an entirely new level. Science fiction and horror haven't combined this well since Alien.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 21st, 2018
"It's not just for profit. It's for revenge. It's a twofer."
Hollywood has been making a greater effort these days to add some diversity to their film casts. From minorities to women, this has been a year of unprecedented changes in the makeup of so many films. One of the new trends in this effort is to remake/re-imagine/reboot an already established franchise with a gender-switched cast. The results have been somewhat mixed. The female Ghostbusters film was a complete disappointment. And while it might be easy to blame the female cast, the issues go much deeper than that. Now the Ocean's franchise has decided to play in that territory, with better results. Ocean's 8 delivers the familiar formula of the Steven Soderbergh remake trilogy of the original Rat-Pack film, but with an all-girl heist crew. The film is still a bit of a disappointment in some ways, but it's a much better ride than Ghostbusters by a long mile, and again the flaws have little to do with the cast or the gender-swapped model.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 3rd, 2018
Amazon Prime Video is beginning to offer new scripted drama shows on their streaming service. One of the more recently acclaimed is a Jack Ryan series. That gives Paramount a great opportunity to take advantage of the situation and release the five Jack Ryan films on UHD/4K. Whatever the excuse, I'm happy to see these films get the UHD treatment. The release includes The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, The Sum Of All Fears and Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit. It's a chance to see Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine all take the Tom Clancy CIA analyst to the big screen. You don't have to pick your favorite, because they're all here.
This is the film that literally started a trend. Within a decade, submarine films would make a huge comeback in the big-budget film industry. Titles like Crimson Tide, U-571, and K-19: The Widowmaker all took a little from Red October. Maybe the Cold War is over, but our fascination with that modern version of cowboys and Indians doesn’t seemed to have waned much in the last nearly 20 years. While our relationship with Russia might be up and down over the last two decades, there is still a part of our culture that can’t seem to let go of that classic game of good guys and bad guys. It’s not unique to the former Soviet Union by any means. World War II has been over for more than 60 years, but the occasional Nazi bad guys still make their presence known from time to time. Maybe it’s those accents. Whatever the reason, the seemingly dated subject matter of Red October is never a liability to the film. When Red October came out, the Soviet Union had just fallen a mere two years earlier, and there were some who suggested the film was an inappropriate reminder of those recent bygone days and might even be considered a slap in the face to the new regime in Russia. Fortunately this was not one of those instances where Hollywood let its often hypocritical sense of political correctness get in the way of a great film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2018
"So dark. You sure you're not from the DC universe?”
I've said many times in these pages that expectations can kill. That might have been more true for Deadpool 2 than any other film I've seen since the re-launch of Star Wars. The first movie didn't push boundaries. It obliterated the boundaries and kept on going. Fans had certainly been ripe for a raunchy R-rated superhero film, and the box office for Deadpool certainly proved that out by bringing in nearly a half a billion bucks. For a superhero film that might seem like small change, but for what was essentially a comedy, it was awesome money and demanded a sequel before the first run was over at the multiplexes. The problem is that raunchy comedies, like superhero films, share the deadly expectation curse. Rarely does a comedy film sequel live up to those expectations, and if you're anybody but Marvel, it doesn't happen often in the superhero genre either. If all of this sounds like it's leading up to a death knell for Deadpool 2, you're right. It does sound that way. Fortunately for us Deadpool 2 manages to escape its fated demise and not only work as well as the first film; Deadpool 2 is better.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2018
In September there is going to be a new film in The Predator franchise called The Predator. It's directed by Shane Black, who actually starred in the 1987 original film and soon after went on to develop the Lethal Weapon series and make a bit of a name for himself in the buddy-cop genre. It's no surprise that Fox wants to capitalize on the release by giving us UHD/4K releases for the other three films in the franchise. Let's try to forget those Alien vs. Predator disasters and focus on the three films of this particular franchise. I don't yet know what to expect from the upcoming film. I was glad to take a journey back in time with the other films, and this 4K release is just the ticket for you to upgrade those nasty DNR crapfests that were the original Blu-ray releases and see these films once again as they were originally meant to be seen.
This was the film that brought together two tough guys who both made it into acting after having big careers in athletics. The two would also share a bit of an odd future, as both would eventually serve as governors in the real world. Of course, I'm talking about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura. No one knew about their political futures then, but the reality puts Predator in a lost of historically significant films as well as the beginning of a new franchise.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2018
"Every bridge, every building grows from an engineers imagination."
Dream Big: Engineering Our World is the second of Shout Factory's latest collection of IMAX films to be brought into the capable arms of the UHD/4K format. And while this film doesn't take us so much into the natural beauty of some picturesque place on our planet or deep into the darkness of space, it does deliver a rather grand look at some of the wonders of the man-made world. Both films were directed by Greg MacGillivray, which binds them together in a somewhat nice little bow.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2018
"Wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must, and we will" - Teddy Roosevelt.
Actually they do speak for themselves, and Shout Factory's UHD/4K release of National Parks Adventure gives that wildlife plenty of grand opportunities to speak to us through the grandeur of the American National Park system. Last year Shout Factory showed us what the UHD/4K format could really deliver by releasing a series of IMAX films in the new format. It was a bold move that has really paid off. IMAX cameras utilize 65 and 70mm film, which offers source material that is actually much higher resolution than 4K. Unlike many recent digitally shot films which tend to be done in the neighborhood of 2K, these films have a film element as high as 8K. There's been a gap in the Shout Factory IMAX releases, but I'm happy to report that they're back with two new films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 26th, 2018
Like so many others, when I read the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline I simply fell in love with the nostalgic ride through the 80’s, all thanks to a virtual reality world called The Oasis. From start to finish it was a book filled with pop culture references that would make film and video game geeks squeal with delight, and it was no surprise that the book was a hit and would be turned into a film. There were only two names I could think of that could ever come close to making this film a reality: Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. With Spielberg involved, he was the only person I could imagine who had the clout to get all the licensing rights needed to pull this adaption, but still the biggest question I had was, does Spielberg still have it in him? I’m not questioning the man’s talent, but instead it’s the magic and wonder he would bring to his films, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, to Jurassic Park, where he could get us to believe the fantastic and impossible was real while we sat in a dark auditorium watching his film.
The Oasis is an open virtual reality world like nothing we have ever seen before, but with how our technology is developing it is quickly becoming a possibility for things to come. There are worlds and planets within The Oasis where you can be in constant battles to win coins, or go to exotic places for a vacation. It’s a world where you can be whatever you want and experience just about anything you want. Basically think about Westworld, but on steroids. The creator of this world is Halliday (Mark Rylance) who before dying announced to all of The Oasis that he created an Easter Egg hidden somewhere in The Oasis, and whoever was to find it would gain sole control of The Oasis and all of Halliday’s fortune.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on July 18th, 2018
by Ian Delia
Another one of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s movies is now raising the bar. This new motion picture is filled with intense action. There isn't only shooting and fighting, but there are also new, but unusual, animals. From smaller, slightly lethal, animals into giants of terror with their mission is to take over the world to please their master. All the power of endless destruction is controlled by Claire Wyden, who is played by Malin Akerman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 13th, 2018
“This may very well be our last mission, Ethan…make it count.”
You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but Tom Cruise was 53 years old when he did this film. So it’s only natural to wonder how many more Missions the indomitable superstar has left in him. Well, if Rogue Nation is any indication, the above quote is meant to be more winking than prophetic. Just like its tireless star, the fifth installment of the 19-year-old Mission: Impossible film franchise is spryer, tighter, and more energetic than its age might suggest with the sixth just about to drop at the box office.
