Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 3rd, 2020
"Over the next two days you little critters will get to experience some of the things that the mighty German army goes through every day, and even though it would appear our country's on the back foot and there really isn't much hope in us winning this war, apparently we're doing just fine."
The book Caging Skies was written in 2000 by Christine Leunens. The book became more the inspiration for the film JoJo Rabbit rather than the source material, as they are very different animals indeed. The book is a rather sober look at the indoctrination of a young generation of boys and girls in Hitler's infamous Hitler's Youth organization. It was pretty much like the Boy Scouts of America, except, you know, for young Nazis. When director Taika Waititi got his hands on the material, it became somewhat a dark or black comedy with entire concepts added to the storytelling that were not a part of the original novel. Waititi is pretty much known as a comic director who has managed to intertwine his particular sense of comedy with other genre films with relative success. A prime example, of course, is his foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Thor: Ragnarok, which became one of the oddest entry in that film franchise. Expect more when we get to see his work again with that old God of Thunder when the next Thor installment Thor: Love And Thunder is released soon.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on February 29th, 2020
It wasn’t all that long ago that Universal was seriously attempting to develop a Dark Universe for their classic monsters. Things changed after the releases of Dracula Untold and The Mummy after their poor box office showings, but having seen those two films, I feel fans were spared in the long run from a disaster that could have been. Then in 2019 word got out that Blumhouse was going to be doing The Invisible Man, and this somewhat reignited the talks of a Dark Universe project. When I first heard Blumhouse was backing the film, I was cautiously optimistic about the project; where the company does have its hits like Happy Death Day and Get Out, there are plenty of duds as well. It’s when Leigh Whannell got attached and I had some hope for the film. For those unfamiliar with the name, Whannell is the writer responsible for the Saw franchise as well as the Insidious franchise. Now the wait is over and the film has been seen; how does it turn out?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 29th, 2020
It's been six years since Frozen became somewhat of a surprise hit out of Walt Disney Studios in 2013. No one was surprised it made a good haul at the box office, but I suspect that even the masterminds at Disney never saw this billion-dollar baby when it was first being born. It's become the biggest original hit out of Disney since the original Lion King set animated feature records in the 90's. I'll give the studio credit. They didn't rush out and try to cash in on the momentum as quickly as other studios would have. They took their time and assembled the same team of directors and songwriters and allowed the process to follow a six-year process with the intent of doing it right rather than doing it fast. For the most part I think that strategy paid off, and while this film will never be the classic the original has become, it will fit rather snugly into the franchise and will delight children, while possibly cursing the adults who are fated to watch the film over and over again. This is absolutely one of those kinds of movies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on February 26th, 2020
by John Delia, Jr.
"There's a point at 7,000 RPM... where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless. Just disappears. And all that's left is a body moving through space and time. 7,000 RPM. That's where you meet it. You feel it coming. It creeps up on you, close in your ear. Asks you a question. The only question that matters. Who are you?"
The film is based on the competition created between Ford and Ferrari during the years from 1959 till 1969, and is centered on the 24 hours of Le Mans race. The 24 hours of Le Mans, started in 1923, is a car race in France that occurs during the month of June and consists of part permanent track and part public roads. After Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) won the 1959 Le Mans race, becoming the second American to ever win the race, he retired from racing. He then begins to invest in all types of cars and forms his own racing team. He also starts a sports car dealership with his friend and mechanic, Phil Remington (Ray McKinnon). Carroll has always been intrigued with fellow racer Ken Miles (Christian Bale) because of his determination to always find a way to win, which creates an interesting friendship.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 25th, 2020
You can argue that the teen slasher genre is mostly a cautionary tale about premarital sex and using drugs and alcohol. After all, a majority of the time the “final” girl was typically the “good girl”. In a lot of ways, the horror genre is basically a cautionary tale for the viewers, though many of us fans of the genre seem to take delight in seeing the bad decisions people make and the consequences that follow. Teeth and It Follows are a pair of my favorite cautionary-tale horror films that deal with sex and the consequences in a fun and unique way. Snatchers I was hoping would follow and be a welcome addition to these modern cult favorites, but for me, it didn’t quite stick the landing. Sara (Mary Nepi) is doing what she can to keep up with her popular friends in high school, which means she’s willing to do what she can to hold onto her jock boyfriend, Skyler (Austin Fryberger), even if it means losing her virginity with him. Unfortunately the consequences arrive swiftly as she discovers she is pregnant. Things only get worse when two days later Sara wakes up with a bulging pregnant belly and no one to turn to. Feeling as though she has no other option and no one to talk to, she reaches out to her former best friend, Haley (Gabrielle Elyse). The chemistry between Nepi and Elyse is a big factor as to why this film works, and this chemistry is what will keep many viewers engaged when normally they would have given up on the film.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2020
Jack London’s 1903 novel The Call Of The Wild has become a great American classic that hasn’t been out of print ever in over 100 years. There have currently been over 1000 editions in every major language of the world. One of the aspects of its endurance is that it has such wild appeal. I read the book first when I was around 10 years old, and the imagery has remained throughout my entire life. I still consider it one of the best novels I have ever read. The novel also has great appeal among older readers because of the story’s engaging adventure elements, and, of course, the story is about a dog. London managed to bring the canine character alive with wonderfully visceral accounts of the dog, Buck’s life of adventure that includes both tragedy and triumph. The story has been to the screen both large and small several times to date including a classic 1935 film staring Hollywood legend Clark Gable. Every generation before and since (there was an earlier 1923 version) has witnessed at least one new version of the film. The most recent was a 2009 3D release that made it a kid film with Christopher Lloyd and Timothy Bottoms. Now The Call Of The Wild returns to the big screen as the first Disney release under the newly acquired Fox purchase to sport the entity’s new name, which drops the Fox name and is now merely 20th Century Studios. It’s somewhat the perfect film to bridge the old Fox with Disney, as this is very much a family film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 21st, 2020
"This is a mental institution, Marshal. For the criminally insane. Usual isn't a big part of our day."
When I first saw Shutter Island ten years ago, I thought it was a good movie. I didn't think it was a great movie. Like many Martin Scorsese fans out there, I have developed certain expectations from his films. It isn't at all fair, but as I've said here many times, expectations are killers. I bathed too often in Scorsese's modern mob mythology that I think it took seeing The Irishman and being royally disappointed and then getting to see Shutter Island again thanks to this wonderful new steelbook 10th anniversary release on UHD Blu-ray in 4K. I also never thought Shutter Island could ever improve with age. It's got a wicked twist that occupies the final 40 minutes of the film, and no matter how good the performances might be, how could it possibly get better when you know what's coming? But again, I recall it being a good movie, so I welcomed the opportunity to revisit it after 10 years in 4K. Why not, right? I'm glad I did, and no matter how good you thought it was the first time, it's better the second time through. And I was absolutely wrong in my first evaluation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 20th, 2020
“We got twenty-one bridges in and out of Manhattan. Shut them down. Three rivers. Close them. Four tunnels. Block them. Stop every train and loop the subways. Then, we flood the island with blue.”
Chadwick Boseman looks to be trying to bring back the days of Dirty Harry in this film as a cop known to kill cop killers. 21 Bridges is an action-packed film where nothing is really what it seems. Also featuring Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, J.K. Simmons, and Keith David, I have to admit that some of these cast members’ appearances were more like cameos, as the action primarily focused on Boseman as he attempted to hunt down his target by any means necessary. Sorry, I just always wanted to say that, but for the context of this movie it rings true, as from the quote above, you can see the extent he was willing to go to.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 20th, 2020
"You're traveling through another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of the mind. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. And it lies between the pit of one's fears and the summit of one's knowledge. You are now traveling through a dimension of imagination. You've just crossed over into The Twilight Zone."
It would be very hard, indeed, to argue against the impact that The Twilight Zone has had on television. To say that the series was a milestone in that medium would be an understatement of the worst kind. When Rod Serling brought his landmark series to CBS in October of 1959, television was still very new. No one was quite sure what the future held for that magical box. But that box was part of an invasion. The television set would change the face of the world. It would become the social center of our homes. It would influence who we choose as our leaders. In 1959 those fortunate enough to already have television sets in their homes would become the first to see that future.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 19th, 2020
It only took Warner Brothers five days to pull the plug on this series after it debuted the first episode on their streaming service. This was crushing news for fans who had been looking forward to the series that had seemed to be a promising adaptation of the comic material and bringing it to life. I was one of those fans. I’m a fan of Swamp Thing, even the cheesy Wes Craven film from back in the early 80’s to the short lived series in the early 90’s. It’s a character that has struggled to find life and longevity over the years, mostly because the finances and the technology were never really there to make it as good as it could be, but when James Wan came along with his lofty idea to bring this series to life and keep it true to the comics and keep it geared to adults, well, I had hope. Already the Warner Brothers/ DC Universe streaming service has delivered with their iterations of Titans and Doom Patrol, and if Swamp Thing was to follow in their footsteps, then this was going to be a show to get excited about. Now that I’ve seen Season 1 and all the plot threads that had been set up to extend the series for future seasons, all I can think is that the cancellation of this series is an undeserved gut punch to fans of the comic and those that will watch this first season, because it builds something that could have been so great but will not be brought to fruition.
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