Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2019
The youth of today don't appear to understand that movies and pictures used to be taken on a physical medium called film. The problem, of course, was that you didn't get to see your masterpieces immediately. You had to take the film to be developed. So perhaps that little generational disconnect explains why some filmmakers don't get that plots, like old film stock, also need to be developed. We live in a world of instant gratification, but the only trouble with instant gratification is that it takes too dang long. The same can be said for film plots. Today there are writers and directors who begin and end that process by throwing in some trending words and concepts from Google, and you have an instant plot that's sure to bring in an audience. At least that's what it appears happened with Crypto, directed by John Stalberg, Jr. What amazes me is that it took three writers to do the Google searches. Let's see... you punch in crypto-currency, Russia, and corporate greed, throw it into your computer word processor, and out comes a script. Let's call it, I know, Crypto. You have to have a mysterious-sounding one-word title.
Beau Knapp is terribly in over his head playing Marty. Both character and actor have taken on more than they bargained for. Marty is a compliance officer for a huge corporate bank called Omni. He discovers some stuff that ends up not very convenient for the suits and gets sent into exile to his small home town of Elba. He makes the comparison that a certain short French general was once exiled to a place with the same name and came back to conquer France. It's no surprise that he doesn't want to go back to Elba. He's estranged from his stubborn farmer father, played by Kurt Russell, who I'm sure made a mad dash to his own bank to make sure the deposit cleared before he showed up on the set. His brother (Hemsworth) is suffering from PTSD (another Google search?) and is trying to help his father with a failing potato farm. It's also no surprise that Marty uncovers some "irregularities" at the local Omni branch having to do with an art gallery. He also reconnects with his high school friend Earl Harris, who owns a small liquor store but has a backroom that looks like it could serve as mission control for the next Mars mission. He uses the setup to track and investigate crypto-currency like bitcoin. Wouldn't you know it? He finds out Omni might be trying to manipulate and dominate the system, and he helps Marty hack into some restricted files.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 26th, 2019
I think it’s safe to say that television has never been better. With so many channels and streaming services, everyone is trying to get viewers, and to do so they know the quality has to be at a certain level. The problem is, with so many options, there is no doubt that occasionally a gem is going to get past us. Patrick Melrose was almost that gem I could have missed if not for a last-minute switch at Upcomingdiscs headquarters. Despite how much quality entertainment is out there, I can say with full confidence that this is not just one of the best limited series of 2018, but this is easily one of the best in the past decade. It’s only five episodes long, but in those five episodes, from start to finish, it is exceptional television.
Patrick Melrose is an adaptation from the novels by Edward St Aubyn. Though I’ve never read any of the books, after seeing this I eagerly want to read one of these books. There are five books that he has written about the title character Patrick Melrose (Benedict Cumberbatch), and each episode of the series is based on one of the books. This immediately makes this show unique, because each episode tells us a unique story that revolves around Patrick from the 1960’s to the early 2000’s. The show even bounces around in its timeline to tell us this story of an unlikeable drug addict to a family man attempting to redeem himself. It’s a character arc that is so well fleshed out and performed so well by Cumberbatch that I’m surprised to say he manages to outshine all his previous performances.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 21st, 2019
"You know kids lose their toys every day. Sometimes they get put in the wrong box, and that box gets taken away."
In 1995 Pixar didn't just put themselves on the computer animated feature film map. They completely created a new map. Yes, there were works before Toy Story, but that was the film that changed everything in an entire industry. It also began a push-and-pull relationship between the independent studio and its distribution partner, Walt Disney Studios. It was a disagreement over Toy Story sequels that found Pixar shopping for a new partner for their future output, and before you know it Disney wrote a check, and Pixar was a part of Disney. The small studio's chief, John Lassiter, ended up in charge of the Mouse House animation department, and those disputed Toy Story sequels became box office gold and examples of the right way to continue a film franchise. Now, a lot's changed in that 25 year interval. John Lassiter is gone because of his penchant for "full body hugs", and Disney has perfected the model of writing a check and turning it into a virtual printing press printing out hundred-dollar bills like they were prom flyers. Marvel, Lucasfilm, and now Fox have fallen like dominoes in the Disney march to global domination of the entertainment industry. It's actually amazing how many times they've gotten it right. The Marvel films represent one of the strongest collections of franchise films in movie history. The Star Wars films might have been hit-or-miss, but even the misses printed out money. It's gotten to the point where, in the Disney Empire, a worldwide haul of a half a billion bucks is considered a failure. And now we come to the fourth installment in the beloved Toy Story journey, and I have to say the film packs as much heart as the original did 25 years ago.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 21st, 2019
With the 50th anniversary of the murders committed by Charles Manson’s followers coming up in August, it’s no big surprise that we’re seeing films that focus on those events popping up on the big screen. Hollywood has always had a fascination with the crimes. After all, it involved a rising starlet, Sharon Tate, and director Roman Polanski was making a name for himself in the states after the success of Rosemary’s Baby. We all know what happened with Manson and his followers and the unfortunate fall Polanski took, despite managing to maintain a directing career long after the child rape accusations first percolated. It’s a tragic story all around, and it’s no surprise why it continues to fascinate people. Already there has been the film Charlie Says from Mary Harron (American Psycho), and next month we’ll be getting the long anticipated Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from Quentin Tarantino, whose film takes place around the time of the murders. But right now, the focus is on The Haunting of Sharon Tate, a film that takes the approach that Tate had predicted her murder because of dreams she had of the massacre long before they took place. It’s a film that poses the “what if?” question that if she had known what was going to happen, could she have changed the outcome. It’s not a bad idea, and it opens plenty of possibilities, but how does it turn out?
First let me say I’m all for films that attempt the alternate reality direction, playing with the notion of how things could have gone. I went into this film with an open mind and really just was hoping for something unique, something that could balance between horrific and entertaining. Considering this IS a true story, to go for a fun, campy slasher would just be in poor taste. Well, unfortunately, that’s sort of what this aimed to be, and it just fails miserably.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on June 17th, 2019
"There are thousands of miles of tunnels beneath the continental United States. Abandoned subway systems, unused routes and deserted mine shafts. Many have no known purpose at all."
A very creepy, violent, and disturbing film, Us, enters theaters, and it’s probably going to be there for some time. Not only is the plot haunting and filled with terror; the acting that makes it work is superb under the guidance of Jordan Peele who gave us the film Get Out. Adding more to the potentially Oscar-worthy film is the dank and fear-inducing cinematography with a soundtrack to match. If you like your horror nonstop, then Us is for you.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 17th, 2019
Let me begin by saying that I was a child of the 1970’s, which tends to make me approach these era shows with some caution. After such shows as That 70’s Show, to name the likely most popular, I find myself not recognizing the setting as the same 70’s I remember living. Granted I was pretty young, so the subject of swingers and sexual revolution were not exactly part of my everyday culture. So, I might be a little more forgiving if Swingtown doesn’t exactly hit on all of my memory circuits. I was 15 in 1976, living near Philadelphia, where we were all pretty much obsessed with that whole Bicentennial thing. The last thing on my mind was whether the neighbors, or, God forbid, my parents, were doing the bump and tickle with rotating partners. I’m pretty sure I’ll leave that question unanswered. Even with all of that said, about the only solid piece of nostalgia I got from Swingtown was the often sweet 70’s soundtrack. To the credit of whoever picked the music, all aspects of the 70’s music scene are represented. You get a good dose of folk, rock, summer pop, and even disco, which any self respecting child of the 70’s considers the death of what was otherwise a fine decade of music. Props to the music guy for not falling into the disco all of the time trap that these shows so often do. One minor complaint, however. Fleetwood Mac didn’t release their famous Rumors LP until Feb of 1977…Ooops. Outside of the music, it really could have been any time, any place.
It’s July 4th weekend, 1976 and Bruce Miller (Davenport) and his family are movin’ on up. Money’s been good at his options trading job, so he’s packing up his wife Susan (Parker), teen daughter Laurie (Collins) and young son BJ (Howles) and moving a few blocks over to a bigger house in a better neighborhood. For Susan, it’s a bittersweet time because she’s leaving her friend of 10 years, Janet (Shor) and her husband Roger (Hopkins) and their son for a new neighborhood. Friends, it turns out, won’t be a problem. The first night they are introduced to new neighbors Trina (Parrilla) and Tom Decker (Snow). They’re invited to a party that turns out to be a swinger’s event. The two end up swapping spouses for the night. It’s an exciting, somewhat dangerous thrill for the Millers. From then on they try to balance their new lives and friends with their old. Janet is good for most of the laughs as this super conservative girl is exposed to her old friend’s new friends. As if that wasn’t enough, Laurie Miller is in love with her 24 year old high school teacher, and BJ’s hung up on a cute little girl with a drugged out lush for a single mom. Every week’s episode features a new party. You’ll get everything from a surprise birthday party for Janet, to a night out at the Playboy Club. There’s even a Tupperware party. I do remember my Mom had those. Before it’s done everybody’s spouse is falling for somebody else, and you never know who’s going to end up with who. It all ends in a cliffhanger that is not likely to ever be resolved. The jury’s still out on next summer, but ratings are marginal, so I wouldn’t hold my breath for a second Summer Of Love.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 17th, 2019
Short stories and films are often great ways to focus in on a singular theme. Whether you get yourself down to a few pages or fifteen minutes, you really get your message across instead of being misinterpreted across a longer medium. Disney and Pixar have done this for a number of years, and even though many have dismissed them as simple shorts or cartoons, it's often the part of the movie that holds the viewer in the strongest way. Japanese studios such as Studio Ghibli have done this as well. Studio Ponoc, founded in 2015 and fronted by Yoshiaki Nishimura, released the smash film, Mary & the Witch's Flower in 2017. Then last year, they came out with a trio of shorts for all of us to enjoy. Let's take a look.
Kanini & Kanino by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
There are birds singing and fairies flying. Streams are bubbling, and we are introduced to a family of crabs (who are depicted as tiny humans who can swim and breathe on land and in sea). There is the brother, Kanini, and the sister, Kanino. The mother is very pregnant and has gone away to the surface to give birth. Their father has stayed with the brother and sister to help them get food and protect them from threats of the sea. However, one day something sinister takes away the father, and it's up to the two kids to find and save him.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 17th, 2019
"You are a diversity hire. The important part is that you're here now."
Mindy Kaling knows a little bit about diversity hiring in the television industry and attempts to spread her wings a bit wider by staring in Late Night, an "inside baseball" look at the workings of a late-night talk show television program. Kaling not only stars in the independent film but was the writer as well. She certainly knows a thing or two about life behind the scenes on a television show. Her The Mindy Project has provided her with firsthand experience on that score. The film pulls in heavy hitters like Emma Thompson and John Lithgow, so there is no lack of star power to surround the young actress/writer in her first real chance at a prominent role in a feature film. So why does Late Night feel somewhat unfocused and incomplete? The answer might just lie at the feet of Mindy Kaling.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 16th, 2019
It was the summer of 1997 when audiences were first introduced to the Men in Black. Will Smith was on the fast track to being a box office star, and Tommy Lee Jones, well, he’s always been awesome to watch on the screen, and he seemed to be having fun in this popcorn blockbuster. It was no surprise that the film became a hit. As for the sequels that followed, for me they just never could touch the fun energy that the first one had. I always loved the potential the first film had, as it gave us a world filled with an array of aliens and worlds the Men in Black could venture too, but instead the films that followed played it safe, and really, that’s a shame. Now over twenty years later and in the fourth installment, we get a soft reboot/sequel that gives us some fresh new faces and new aliens for them to pursue, but is it too little to late, or is this the jolt the franchise needed?
The film opens up and wastes no time introducing us to MIB agents Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and his superior, Agent High T (Liam Neeson). Here we see the duo setting up to intercept an alien group known as The Hive. This opening sequence is a bit lackluster, and then the film oddly does a flashback to 1996, where we meet a young girl named Molly. We get to see her first interaction with an alien as well as her witnessing the MIB in action (erasing her parents’ memories of their alien experience). What kind of sucks is this is all the time we spend with Molly as a young girl. Instead the film jumps to present day and shows us Molly (now Tessa Thompson) is now obsessed with finding evidence to prove the existence of aliens as well as becoming a covert agent with the government that specializes in dealing with aliens. It’s those in-between years where I feel there is a great story that could have been told, but there is no sense in crying over missed opportunities.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on June 15th, 2019
So, the announcement of this film was of particular interest of me. Of course, I have familiarity with the character of Shaft from childhood. Not to mention the remake that wasn’t really a remake that premiered in 2000 starring Samuel L Jackson. The most interesting thing about the film is that it brings three generations of the character under the umbrella of one film, with Richard Roundtree and Samuel L Jackson reprising their roles as the titular character and introducing Jesse T Usher into the franchise as the latest addition to pick up the mantle. Another interesting thing is that despite it being a sequel it shares the same name as the 2000 version. Though this does introduce a certain level of confusion, it just proves just how bad a mother- shut-your-mouth Shaft is; he can name his movies whatever he wants.
The film follows John Shaft Jr. (Usher), a data analyst with the FBI. When we meet him, it is clear that he lacks the swagger that we are used to associating with the character. He is afraid to assert himself to his boss, who undervalues him. He hates guns, and most importantly he struggles talking to women. I don’t know about you, but that is not the offspring I would have envisioned for the great John Shaft. Part of that may be the fact that the two haven’t laid eyes on one another for 25 years.
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