Posted in: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2019
Our friends over at Walt Disney Studios are going to be keeping us very busy over the next few weeks. They've decided that our faithful followers deserve some free stuff and I couldn't agree more. First up we have the Disney classic The Little Mermaid: The 30th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray. We can resist the wonderful animation and those great songs? It's perfect for kids of all ages and you should absolutely let us treat you to a copy on us and Disney.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on February 20th, 2019
Kirk Taylor is an artist with many talents. He's an actor who can be found on such films as Oliver Stone's Full Metal Jacket and television shows ranging from Law & Order to Chicago Hope. He's an acting coach, musician and composer. He's living proof that an actor of faith can still make his mark in the entertainment industry. His latest appearance is as Cephas (Peter) in the film Revival! along with Chaka Khan and Mali Music. It's a retelling of The Gospel According To John that's part Jesus Christ Superstar and part classical stage production. It's a film that's hard to nail down. But I decided to give it a try and that led to an interesting conversation with Kirk Taylor. There's a passion for his art and faith that is very evident in his conversation. You don't have to take my word for it. Bang it hear to listen in on my conversation with Kirk Taylor.
Find out more about the film here: Revival: The Movie
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2019
Steve McQueen has established himself as a rather talented director. 12 Years A Slave was one of the better films of 2013 and one of the few times I happened to agree with the Oscars’ choice for Best Picture. When he tackled the heist format, I expected something unique, and I wasn't at all disappointed. McQueen managed to put a clever spin on a tired genre and provide us with a superior and inspired cast. It wasn't all completely his idea, of course. The film is based on a Canadian miniseries that goes back to the 1980's. That doesn't mean he hasn't found a way to imprint the material with his own style and bold choices. There's a lot to love about Widows, but I have pretty low expectations for this film at the box office. More on that later. Let's get down to it, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 11th, 2018
Bigger is not always better, and more is not always better. If the holiday season release of Dr. Seuss's The Grinch is a testament to anything, it is that those two ideas are absolutely true. The Grinch has everything that the 1966 How The Grinch Stole Christmas could never hoped to have had. The film delivers on some of the best computer-generated animation that Hollywood studio money can buy. It had a $75 million budget. It will get a wide release with millions of more dollars put into a global marketing campaign. And it will make a ton of money. After all, the Grinch is the modern age Scrooge from Dickens' classic story. These are the kind of stories that are timeless and popular. Still, the one thing this film doesn't have over the 1966 television short is that it's heart is two sizes too small.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 27th, 2018
Haunted houses and Halloween seem to go together like turkey and Thanksgiving, but over the years the haunted house experience has evolved to keep up with those who have grown numb to your typical jump scares. Sure, there are still the standard haunted houses that you’ll come across when visiting the carnival, or mazes put together by school groups for fundraisers. But for those who are really looking to be scared, you either have to fork over the big bucks to get into Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, or you have to scour the internet to find a haunt nearby. 2017’s Haunters: The Art of the Scare is a documentary that takes us behind the curtain to what goes on at these attractions and explores how a sub-culture that has evolved of haunted houses that have been created to push the boundaries mentally and physically.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 23rd, 2018
I’m going to say from the start that Slice isn’t for everyone, but those who come across this film and give it a chance will come away having a good time with this film. It’s a new release from A 24, which quickly got my attention considering the numerous films the company has been releasing that I’ve enjoyed. While it’s a horror-comedy, there is more going on in this little film, as it injects a sociopolitical message in it. I like a film that can function on several levels, but I never expected to find it in a film about pizza delivery guys being killed by monsters.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2018
As the summer winds down from the season's requisite anchor film blockbusters, there will be increasing room for a few independent films that will make their way from the festival circuit to fill the newly vacated screens at your local multiplex. For some it will be to attain eligibility for the year-end award season. For others it will be a short window to turn a profit from what was conceived more as a work of art. For others it's a chance to become a sleeper hit. And for others yet, it's an opportunity to deliver a social message on the larger soapbox of the big screens. Blindspotting appears to be on the cusp of all of these things.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 21st, 2018
“There are two kinds of pain in this world. Pain that hurts and pain that alters. Today you get to choose.”
Denzel is back as Robert McCall, offering the bad guys a chance to do the right thing. Well, he offers that opportunity to a select few of them, I should say. When a group of highly trained operatives kill his friend, he’s out for blood. Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer 2 keeps all of the themes that made the first one great in this sequel. Though it is a sequel, I would say that it follows a very different path than the original.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on May 23rd, 2018
“Don’t give them all of you, Dominika. Hold something back. That is how you will survive.”
There appears to be nothing Jennifer Lawrence can’t do. She is an Oscar winner, the face of a successful movie franchise, and now she is a Russian spy who specializes in seduction techniques. Now in the looks department, there are scores of men that would gladly hand over their social security number for the opportunity to be seduced by J Law, so her casting was a no-brainer. But she went much deeper than that, showing an unparalleled intellect and natural aptitude for the world of espionage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on April 16th, 2018
Offbeat, heavy-handed characters, bleak outcast situations, and moody, it’s a marvelous adventure for those who like Wes Anderson movies. This one, however, shows his range with an animated film that’s worthy of most Japanese greats. From the opening drum introduction of Isle of Dogs to the heartfelt finale, Anderson captures a cold, disturbing environment from which his characters can rise up. If you like offbeat stories produced in stop-motion animation in the vein of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, then this film should not be missed.
