Posted in: Disc Reviews by John Delia on February 22nd, 2019
"Three months ago, I was cutting grass on my front yard. The mailman shows up with a letter from the army. Now I'm here, and no idea where I'm going to end up."
Wow, another gut-wrenching action-packed war film that takes on an ominous shroud of terror. It’s perfect for war buffs and horror fans who just can’t seem to get enough. The film Overlord from J.J. Abrams, the producer of the Cloverfield series, takes off in five minutes of absolute madness; then turns its guns on the Nazis as a squad of paratroopers look to complete a battalion saving mission. I loved every minute of the fast-moving film, and it brought back memories of the recent Trench 11 (2017). If you like this one, check that one out for the fun of it.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 22nd, 2019
It was 1985 when The Key to Rebecca first aired. It was a made-for-TV film based on the novel by Ken Follett. I had never heard of the film until a couple of days ago and had no knowledge of the book, so I was pretty much going into this with nothing more than the blurb you can read off the back of the DVD box. The one thing that jumped out at me was the running time on the film: 3 hours and 14 minutes, so one thing I knew was it would be a film I’d be spending a decent amount of time with. I have nothing against long film. I don’t care what the runtime is on a film, just so long as the film is good, and unfortunately The Key to Rebecca didn’t turn out to be the suspense-filled spy film I had hoped it would be.
The film takes place during the 2nd World War and is set in Cairo, Egypt. It’s in the middle of the desert; where the film opens up and we see Alex Wolff (David Soul) is being rescued. It doesn’t take long before we discover that Wolff is working as a spy whose purpose is to supply information to the Nazis as they prepare to advance into Egypt and seize control. This is where Maj. Vandam (Cliff Robertson) comes in. Basically he is a spy hunter, and after it is discovered that a spy is responsible for the murder of a British soldier, he is put to task to find the spy and uncover his mission. It’s a fun setup, but with a 3-hour-plus running time, there is so much padding to this story that it loses its punch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 20th, 2019
When I first heard that Bradley Cooper would be making his directing debut with A Star is Born, honestly, I kind of groaned. It’s not because I didn’t believe he’d have the chops; after all, he’s worked with many successful directors over the span of his career. I groaned because I believed the world didn’t need yet another remake of the film. This will be the fourth incarnation of the film, and while many can debate on which version is their favorite, the film was pretty much a relic I felt should have stayed in the past. I mention this and want to also put it out there that even after some of the trailers I had caught for the film, my excitement level was pretty low going into this. Well, this turned out to be the sleeper hit of the year for me. Sure, many could have told me this would be a hit, and because of the cast I wouldn’t dispute it, but when I walked out of the auditorium I felt like I had experienced something special (even if it had been made three times before).
The film opens with Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) taking the stage and performing for a large crowd. After his show he’s looking to get a drink and stops off at the closest bar; as it turns out it is one that caters to drag queens. Jackson doesn’t care about the location; all he’s interested in is getting some drinks, but that all changes when he sees Ally (Lady Gaga) perform on stage. As the night stretches on and the two continue to get to know one another, one thing is undeniable; the chemistry between Cooper and Gaga is phenomenal. The flow of the first act of this film is perfect, and by the time Maine has Ally convinced to go on tour with him, I was convinced this movie would be a box office smash.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on February 20th, 2019
If you look at the box office rankings for last week, you will undoubtably see Alita: Battle Angel occupying the number one slot, and with good reason. I know what you are thinking: last week is being heralded as one of the worst box office performances for a Presidents’ Day weekend, but that does not damper my opinion of the film. Though it took a second for me to gain traction with the series, as I was unfamiliar with the original source material, I found myself treated to a unique action-packed experience. Alita is unquestionably one of the top action films of 2019. I know it’s early, but I have no reason to doubt that my claim will be just as true as the year continues. I would have liked it a bit more if they expanded on the universe slightly more, but it was still a solid opening for the inevitable franchise.
By the year 2563, the world has been ravaged by a catastrophic war known as “The Fall,” dividing the population, high-born members of society reside in a sky city known as Zalem, while low-born people live underneath in the junkyard metropolis known as Iron City. Many low-born people have cybernetic limbs and enhancements. One day cyborg surgeon Dr. Dyson Ido discovers a disembodied female cyborg with a fully intact human brain. Providing it with a body, the cyborg returns to life but does not remember her former life or her own name. Naming it Alita, Ido takes the cyborg and raises it like a daughter.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 20th, 2019
American Vandal is a mockumentary series that premiered on Netflix back in 2017. For those unfamiliar with the term “mockumentary,” it is a parody film or television series in the format of a documentary. This particular series is a parody of the Netflix series Making a Murderer and a investigative podcast called Serial. American Vandal has been on my radar for quite some time thanks to a friend of mine that sang its praise for weeks, trying to convince me of the show’s merit. My buddy’s recommendation had me intrigued, but as you can imagine my queue of media content is a long one, and I was waiting for inspiration to strike to push the series to the front of the queue (thank you, Upcomingdiscs). First thing I did after watching the series is call up my friend and let him deliver his “I told you so” speech.
The series follows two student investigative reporters, Peter Maldonado and Sam Ecklund, as they begin to investigate an act of vandalism that left 27 faculty cars defaced with phallic images. Following the incident, class clown Dylan Maxwell is quickly deemed to be responsible and promptly expelled. Dylan is a notorious prankster, and his prior history of drawing phallic images makes his guilt a forgone conclusion. However, as Peter and Sam begin to examine the evidence more closely, Dylan’s culpability becomes less clear.
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: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2019
"The math is right. Something else must be wrong."
Remember math class back when you were in grade school? Yeah, I know. Talk about your horror and nightmares. There used to be this thing called a Venn diagram. I imagine it was named after a guy named Venn. The idea was you had two circles. Inside the circles you had stuff. There were the things in circle A, the things in circle B, and then there were the things in a shaded area where the circles intersected like the Olympic rings. That's the only way I can really describe the experience I had watching Happy Death Day 2 U. I had not seen the first film, so I borrowed a copy and watched it literally hours before I attended the screening for the new movie. I thought it was shaving things a bit close, but it turned out to be the most fortunate circumstances that could have happened. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen Happy Death Day. You need to watch these films as closely together as you can, because this isn't a sequel, it's a lateral move to another angle. And these two films are intersecting like crazy. These would have been Venn's kind of movies.
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?
Harry Rawlings (Neeson) is a career criminal. His wife Veronica (Davis) knows where the money comes from, but she's willing to feign a great deal of ignorance to the fact, because she has become used to the comfortable style in which they live. But it all comes crumbling down when Harry's latest heist appears to go horribly wrong and Harry perishes in an explosive encounter with the police along with his entire crew. Now Veronica is feeling the grief that comes with the death of a spouse, but there's more to deal with than that. The man Harry and his crew took down was a gangster by the name of Jamal Manning (Henry), who has taken a dip into politics. He's going up against the corrupt Jack Mulligan (Farrell), who is running to take his father's alderman seat. Manning's $2 million war chest was Harry's target, and the money appears to have been destroyed in the explosion that took down the crew. Now Manning has gone to Veronica and has given her one month to refund his money.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2019
"They have assembled here from the four corners of the earth. Fifty-five warships, among them the newest and most sophisticated ever produced. The United States is here. Great Britain, India, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany. Twenty-six nations together; each will introduce the latest in naval technology in their arsenals."
And this is actually the true subject and focus of the latest IMAX/4K release from Shout Factory. If you came strictly to spend 45 minutes on an aircraft carrier, you went away a little disappointed. But now that you can have it at home to watch in UHD whenever the mood strikes you, there's less to be disappointed in here.
Posted in: The Reel World by John Delia on February 15th, 2019
I’m sure many of you reading this review have seen documentaries about war that have run on cable TV. The most prevalent is World at War that covers World War II and other American conflicts. Digging through archives of war museums could be a very difficult task and one that would have to be approved by the powers that be. Most of you also know Peter Jackson for his films, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy. He also released the recent Mortal Engines that is currently in theaters. Well, put him in a room filled with British war movie film taken during World War I and he’ll come up with They Shall Not Grow Old, a documentary that shows the gritty battles of the Great War and the men who fought it. And It’s Utterly Amazing!
The film opens in theaters on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. It’s a fitting tribute and reminder of the men who fought hard to end tyranny during that time of history. But more importantly it shows the trauma, squalor, and pressure the ill-equipped British Army was under and the awful foe they had to face.
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