Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 19th, 2019
This is one of those films where the cast had me equally excited and concerned with how the film would turn out. On one hand it has Harvey Keitel; the guy is a living legend between his roles in Reservoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, and countless others. Keitel is one of those actors who elevates just about any film he’s in, and he’s in several films I’d even call classics. Then on the other end of the spectrum there is Hayden Christensen, one of the most lifeless performers to ever grace the screen in my opinion. I still have bouts of anger when I see him as Anakin Skywalker. But I’m always ready to have an actor surprise me, and I always go into a film with an open mind once I sit down and start watching it. Unfortunately The Last Man is a dud and was a film I struggled with so many of you won’t have to.
The film opens up with a dream sequence that looks more like a first person shooter scene in a video game. Apparently this is a dream that Kurt (Christensen) has been having quite often. This is told to us through the film’s narration, and I’d just like to come out and say I really hated the voice-over work on this film. I get that they were trying to go for a neo-noir style, but the narration is delivered with such a monotone delivery it felt more like a voice track someone would listen to while trying to sleep. Another issue with this narration is that it is so on-the-nose with the information that it is telling us things we can obviously see and figure out for ourselves. It was fine when giving us a little back story, telling us how the western civilization collapsed, but as you continue watching, everything you hear just begins to seem redundant.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 15th, 2019
A femme fatale who predicted her own demise -- now that is the stuff good noir films are made of. And what better person to play the role of said femme fatale than Amber Heard, fresh off her performance in the popular DC Comics film Aquaman? Granted this movie was filmed before the DC film, but delayed due to lawsuits, which only goes to add further intrigue to the movie. Originally screened at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival, London Fields features a cast of well-knowns including Jim Sturgess, Theo James, Billy Bob Thornton, and perhaps most notably Heard’s ex-husband, Johnny Depp. One can only imagine the effect this film would have had if it had not been for a few setbacks. As it stands, London Fields is laced with intrigue, and Amber is compelling, but the film amounts to very little substance.
Nicola Six (Heard) has always possessed the ability of premonition, capable of seeing others’ deaths as well as predicting her own on her 30th birthday, which is rapidly approaching. Intertwined in her demise are three men who find themselves drawn to her beauty and mysterious demeanor: Keith Talent (Sturgess), a local degenerate who dreams of fame and is in debt up to his eyeballs to a loan shark (Depp) eager to take him apart; Guy Clinch (James), a local sophisticate trapped in a loveless marriage; and Samson Young (Thornton), a writer suffering from crippling writer’s block and in dire need of a muse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 15th, 2019
Green Book represents an historical milestone for me as a critic. In my decades of reviewing and more decades following films, I have never selected a personal Oscar Best Picture two years in a row. I tend to be somewhat out of touch with the voting members of the Academy or even my fellow SEFCA (Southeastern Film Critics Association) members. But it finally happened. Last year my selection was The Shape Of Water, and it took the top prize. This year I went against the grain of the SEFCA members who chose Roma as the best film, and Green Book meandered to # 7 on their list. Fortunately, the Academy saw it my way for the second consecutive year, and Green Book took home the statue. Spike Lee threw a temper tantrum, and I'll talk about that in my conclusion. Take it from me, Green Book was the Best Picture of 2018, and now Universal has released the film in all of its newly-minted glory in UHD Blu-ray in 4K. You shouldn't even be waiting to read the rest of my review. Let me summarize it for you here. Click on the "purchase at Amazon" link to your right and order the disc now. Finished? Good. Now while you're waiting for that shipment, you can read on and find out why you just bought the best film of the year.
Lord of the Rings alumnus Viggo Mortensen plays Tony Lip. He's a bouncer at the legendary Copacabana night club in New York in the early 1960's. He's a typical son of Italian immigrants and fancies himself a kind of tough guy who just skirts the world of mafia mobsters and their like. We early learn that he's a product of his age and a racist. When two black plumbers drink water from glasses at his home, he throws out the "tainted" glasses. His life fits him well until a disagreement with a mobster to which he was a party gets the iconic night club closed for two months "for repairs". He's looking for an opportunity when he's recommended as a driver for a "doctor" making some kind of tour that coincidentally will last two months.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 15th, 2019
"The wizarding and non-wizarding worlds have been at peace for over a century. Grindelwald wants to see that peace destroyed."
Back in the early days of the internet before videos went "viral", there was a Thanksgiving cartoon about a chef who needed to serve too many people with a small turkey. So to compensate, he kept stuffing that sucker until it eventually exploded. Watching the latest entry in the J.K. Rowling Wizarding World, I was very much reminded of that early video. There's an attempt to make the running time a bit leaner than we've typically seen with these films. It's just barely over two hours, making it one of the shortest running times in the series when you include the Harry Potter films. But it doesn't appear as if there was an accompanying cut of "stuff" going on. Rowling and director David Yates have crammed so much into the film that it gets very difficult to really keep up with it all. I left with a feeling that I had been overwhelmed. It's a semester college course in three days. Of course it's loaded down with exciting visuals and larger-than-life characters that have become a staple in the franchise and have incidentally made Rowling the richest woman on the entire planet. She'll add a few shekels to the bank account, to be sure. The film will score huge with the box office take. But it serves little else but to set up a game board. Its purpose is to identify the players and which side of the good vs. evil battle they will be playing for. It might just be the most expensive trailer ever filmed. But it's one people will pay hundreds of millions to have a chance to see. Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of the Gindelwald is a Thanksgiving feast of truly monstrous proportions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 15th, 2019
“The people that take in foster kids are really special. They are the kind of people that volunteer when it’s not even a holiday. We don’t even volunteer on a holiday.”
This film really helped me to gain an understanding into the world of adoption. Beforehand my knowledge was basic. I had no idea of the real challenges that come with opening your doors and hearts to a child in the foster care system. This film also has the added benefit of being one of my favorite films of 2018, as it was a film that my wife insisted on seeing, and I was just indulging her, but I ended up loving it more than she did. Which is saying something, as she really loved the film. Loosely based on writer/director Sean Anders’ own experience, Instant Family gives a voice to the ups and downs of the foster care system as well as the adoption process.
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: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2019
"I love a comedy. Is there cake?"
The Favourite is a somewhat awkward film. Director Yorgos Lanthimos took on a rather brave but dangerous task when he decided to create a farce. Most audience members don't understand the term. They use it rather synonymously with comedy or spoof, but it is truly something very different. A comedy is meant to deliver as many laughs as possible. You get pratfalls, one-liners, slapstick, and other over-the-top methods to bring about those laughs. Spoofs take a specific subject or genre and expose some of the more innate aspects of the material, all in good fun. Leslie Nielsen was a master of the spoof with his Airplane and Naked Gun films. All of these are popular and understood forms of entertainment. The farce is a totally different thing altogether. While there might be laughs to be had, the primary directive of a farce isn't to actually be funny. The farce is a world of the absurd. It's a ridiculous portrayal in which everyone involved plays it completely straight. The actors/characters don't know they are in a farce, so there aren't any clever one-liners or overt attempts at humor. The film is presented as a serious attempt, and there is no one winking at the audience. It's a difficult thing to pull off, and The Favourite pulls it off wonderfully, but the unfortunate result is that most people merely shook their heads, not knowing what to make of the entire thing. So the film is misunderstood, and that in itself is a bit of a tragedy. It's somewhat appropriate, I suppose, because Shakespeare was a master of both farce and tragedy. Go figure.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2019
"Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? And if so, what if there were clues left behind, something hiding in plain sight? What if we could find that evidence?"
Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory, the idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA. These believers point to a world of evidence to support their claims. There are tons of images from earlier civilizations that could certainly be interpreted as depicting modern devices, concepts, or even spacemen. There is plenty of speculation that some of the knowledge and accomplishments of these peoples could not have been possible without some outside interference. There are even those who believe that aliens best explain our religious beliefs and that God himself was/is an extraterrestrial being. Whatever your own beliefs on the subject, there are certainly some fascinating points to be made. There is no question that the speculations and observations bring up some interesting queries that deserve our attention. This series attempts to document much of this evidence and the beliefs these findings have inspired.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 14th, 2019
In life, we all fall down; it’s a fundamental fact of life. This is a story about how we get back up. 100 Yards is about Rich Porter, an NFL prospect who loses his way after suffering tragedy. With a potentially great opportunity in front of him, he cuts himself off from the world. The hits just keep on coming as he is diagnosed with cancer. Instead of battling his disease, he is resigned to his fate until his meets a young boy with the same condition as well as a compassionate nurse that try their best to bring Rich back to the light and get him to hope again. 100 Yards is a story about regaining faith that no situation is completely lost, and it is about how we approach it.
This is an emotional tale; that is made evident early on as we watch Rich Porter sacrifice an opportunity of a lifetime, going from a number one NFL draft pick to relocating to the Philippines to search for his missing mother. He is not the only person suffering in this story, but he is the engine that drives forward the plot, and you can’t help but feel for him. His loss is significant, making him very relatable. Honestly, I would mostly likely respond in a similar way if I was in his shoes.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2019
Patrick Kilpatrick may be one of the biggest stars you don't necessarily know. He's a prolific actor with over 14 project already in various stages of pre-release. His credits go all the way back to Tocix Avenger and include televisions shows like Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman, Matlock, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine & Voyager, The X-Files CSI & NCIS: New Orleans. His film credits include Minority Report, the under-appreciated Parasomnia, The Presidio and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. What is more impressive than his over 150 roles is the life he's led off-screen. The book Dying for a Living: Sins & Confessions of a Hollywood Villain & Libertine Patriot documents the first half of that journey. It's has a unique narrative style and a visceral storytelling that will certainly keep your attention. I got to do more than read the book. I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time talking to Patrick. He's just as interesting in person. Now you can share that experience and eavesdrop on our conversation. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Patrick Kilpatrick.
You can visit his home page by banging your cursor here: Patrick Kilpatrick Home Page
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