Revelation Trail
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on September 24th, 2014
The horror western is the genre mash-up that just hasn’t seemed to translate to the big screen. Jonah Hex was a big-budget attempt that simply fell flat. There was the little indie-film gem The Burrowers (2008) that managed to be a fun little film but just never grabbed the audience on a larger scale. But it seems the public is still craving television and film filled with zombies, and since we’ve seen just about every other iteration of the zombie genre, it was inevitable we would see them taking on the Wild West. Revelation Trail doesn’t just dip its toe into zombie western horror; it dives right into this massacre of the undead.
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The Rover (Bluray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 23rd, 2014
“You should never stop thinking about a life you’ve taken. That’s the price you pay for taking it.”
In 2010 David Michod directed his first full-length feature Animal Kingdom. It was a critical success, and he went on to pick up a Best Director award with the Australian Directors’ Guild. Now Michod has completed his sophomore effort, The Rover, which does explore some familiar ground with criminal families, but the film takes a more introspective approach to life and what matters most in the world when you believe you have nothing left to lose.
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Hawaii Five-0: Season 4 (2014)
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2014
“Book ’em Danno.”
It’s been 30 years since we last heard that phrase. Still it persisted in the modern lexicon along with the term Five-0, which is still shouted in high-crime areas in cities all over the country whenever a police presence is felt closing in on the bad guys. Hawaii Five-0 ended in 1980. That’s when Tom Selleck took over the sets and production crew on Hawaii to work as Magnum P.I. until 1988 when it all closed down for good, or did it?
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The Dead 2: India (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 22nd, 2014
Sibling filmmakers Howard J. and Jonathan Ford seem to be huge believers in the “Location, location, location” real estate adage. The duo — collectively known as The Ford Brothers — previously made The Dead, which was billed as “the first zombie road movie set against the spectacular scenery of Africa.” I actually wasn’t a fan of that flick, but saw enough technical skill and enough potential in the concept to make me curious about a follow-up. With The Dead 2: India, the Ford Brothers have once again transplanted old-fashioned zombie thrills to an exotic, under-explored location. Only this time, they brought a story and more engaging performers along for the trip.
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Tusk
Posted in The Reel World by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2014
What if two radio guys sat around and made up a movie on the air? In this case, it actually wasn’t radio guys, because they weren’t broadcasters, but podcasters. I guess the fine distinction between broad and pod is that pod goes out to the world through the internet. It’s kind of like Indie radio. Kevin Smith is a very indie guy and even calls his podcast a smodcast. Smith and his buddy, producer Scott Mosier, were doing their smodcast and talking about a post on GumTree.uk about roommate advertisements. It evolved into crazy talk about what might happen.
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South Park: Season 17 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2014
“Oh boy, zombie apocalypse!”
No, it’s just South Park. But it has invaded pop culture as much as zombies have over its amazing 18-year run. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been walking a tightrope for over 18 years now, and it just doesn’t get old. One of the reasons the show doesn’t grow stale is their ability to make such a quick turnaround on current events.
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Big Bang Theory: Season 7 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 18th, 2014
In case you’ve been hiding beneath a rock the past few years, The Big Bang Theory isn’t just a hit TV show, but instead it’s a show that has ingrained itself into pop culture. You can go out to most major retailers and find shirts with “Bazinga”, and I’m willing to bet at least one of your Facebook friends has posted a GIF on their feed about the show. It’s a show I told myself I wouldn’t get caught up in because I was so sure it was nothing more than a fad.
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Exclusive Interview With The Ford Brothers From The Dead 2: India
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2014
Last week I shared my conversation with Joseph Millson from The Dead 2: India. This week I had the opportunity to talk to the guys who made the film possible. Of course, I’m talking about The Ford Brothers Howard J. and Jon. We go deep inside the film and you get to listen in. I must warn you that Jon’s connection wasn’t so great and it will be harder to hear him speak. I apologize for the sub-par audio. It was the best we could do under the circumstances. Don’t let that stand in the way of helping us celebrate the Sept. 16th release of The Dead 2: India from Anchor Bay. Howard J.’s audio is just fine. Bang it here to drop in on my conversation with The Ford Brothers.
Arrow: Season 2 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2014
“The city still needs saving. But not by the Hood. And not by some vigilante who’s just crossing names off a list. It needs… something more.”
That someone, that something more …that something else is the DC Comics character Green Arrow. Not to be confused with the same-colored Hornet or Lantern. In season 2 Oliver Queen finally sheds the name and reputation of the Hood or Vigilante. He has vowed not to kill, and he no longer has the list to guide him. His job now is to go after any bad guys in Starling City.
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Godzilla (2014) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 17th, 2014
“It’s not the end of the world.”
I still remember the night I walked out of the screening of the Roland Emmerich version of Godzilla. I can’t remember a time I had ever been so angry at a film. It was a film that was an insult to the monster that I had held in such high regard right alongside King Kong. Sure, I had seen the trailers, but when I saw that first reveal of their “Godzilla” I cringed. I hated it.
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Spartacus: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2014
“Spartacus’ mongrel horde has swelled with each passing victory since Glaber’s defeat at Vesuvius. They added thousands to rank liberating the mines of Lucania. Slaves across the Republic, humble and grateful to their masters for so many years, have broken to treachery in the wake of the ever-expanding legend of Spartacus.”
Starz has had a pretty good run with their Spartacus series. Coming off the style of blood and violence that was popularized with Zach Snyder’s 300, Spartacus brought that comic book/graphic novel intensity to television.
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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Season 14
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2014
CSI is one of the longest-running shows on television. There are still a great number of original or early-years cast members still there. But I think it’s actually the changes that have allowed the show to rediscover itself once again. It’s actually been a good thing for the series and the franchise. It’s a family again. That’s no dig on anyone who has left. It’s just that I like this group a lot, and we’ve been able to see stories that just would not have been done in the old days. It has new legs, and I think we just might be in it for the long haul.
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Exclusive Interview With Joseph Millson Of The Dead 2: India
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on September 15th, 2014
Anchor Bay is releasing The Dead 2: India on Tuesday (9/16). We’ve got John Ceballos at work on the review. In the meantime I had a lot of fun talking to the film’s star Joseph Millson last week. We talked about everything from Pop Tarts to working with the Ford Brothers. Millson is also known for playing in Casino Royale and the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. Unfortunately, it was a quick conversation. Here’s your chance to eavesdrop on our conversation. Bang it here to listen to my interview with Joseph Millson.
Monika
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on September 15th, 2014
Writer and director Steven R. Monroe has made a decent career in genre filmmaking and since his remake of I Spit on Your Grave gained some moderate success. Monroe is one of those directors that I feel has a great film in him but the right project just hasn’t crossed his path. Though many of his creative efforts have been on more meager budgets, Monroe still manages to pull together tight little films. Unfortunately with Monika he may have bit off a little more than he should have with his new supernatural revenge film.
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Supernatural: Season 9 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 12th, 2014
“There’s virtually nothing the Winchesters can’t do if they work together.”
But that’s the rub, isn’t it? The tradition has been that each of the last several seasons end up beginning with the brothers separated for one reason or another. Often one of them is trying to escape Hell, purgatory or some fantasy mental land. There are at least two times a year they split up over an argument.
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The World Wars (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2014
“One must regard the 30 years of strife, turmoil and suffering in Europe as part of one story. One story of a 30 years war.” – Winston Churchill
He was exactly correct, and one of only a few people of the time who had the vision to understand that concept. Before the end of World War II the first world war was known as The Great War. The idea of two separate world wars came later.
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Richard Lewis: Bundle of Nerves
Posted in No Huddle by J C on September 11th, 2014
Some of the most iconic stand-up comics of all time have famously wrestled with personal demons while simultaneously mining them for material on stage. Few have done so more successfully — and for a longer period of time — than Richard Lewis. His neurotic, self-flagellating act earned Lewis his “Prince of Pain” nickname, but his longevity is just as impressive. The fact is a lot of great comics don’t last as long as Lewis because they lose that battle with their demons too soon. So it’s great to see that, at age 67, Lewis finally gets his due with a DVD set that covers some of his most seminal work.
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Vampire Diaries: Season 5 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 10th, 2014
“It’s been a long summer.”
And my how things have changed in Mystic Falls. Elena is a vampire, and Katherine is now a human, and doing a pitiful job of that, to be sure. Bonnie is a ghost who only Jeremy can see, and they’re trying to keep it all a big secret from everyone so they all think Bonnie is out globe-hopping and having a great time. Stefan is at the bottom of a lake in a safe where everyone else thinks Silas is.
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Blu-ray)
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2014
“It’s called compartmentalization. No one spills the secrets because no one knows them all.”
I was lucky enough to grow up during Marvel’s wonderful rebirth of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Of all of the comics they produced during that time, I was always least impressed with Captain America. I don’t think I ever read an issue of any of his mags with the notable exception of The Avengers. So how can it be possible that after dozens of Marvel films, and I’m including the Fox and other-studio-produced stuff, that Captain America: The Winter Soldier can end up being my favorite?
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Born to Race: Fast Track (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 9th, 2014
“Drag racing is for fast cars. Road racing…that’s for fast drivers.”
I imagine that distinction — along with one character scolding another for pulling a “Vin Diesel stunt” — is meant to set this straight-to-DVD racing drama apart from the Fast & Furious franchise. That separation is an interesting choice for a couple of reasons. On one hand, I assume it’s been easier to finance any car-centric flick ever since a certain high-octane film series proved there’s an audience for the genre. Then again, the increasingly staggering success of the Fast movies seems to be directly proportional to how ludicrous they’ve become.
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The Forbidden Girl
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on September 9th, 2014
Love can have a strange effect on people and cause them to do things that range from the spectacular to the deranged. The loss of a loved one can not only break a person’s spirit but send them to the depths of depression and despair from which they will never be able to recover, though most people tend to avoid the melodrama and just wallow in their heartbreak with a couple of beers or a pint of their favorite ice cream. But what is one supposed to do when the one that they love and cherish is taken from them and they become the number one suspect in the murder of the one they love?
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Perry Mason Double Features
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2014
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character who has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial.
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Contest: Win Louder than Words On DVD From Arc Entertainment
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2014
Arc Entertainment is on a roll, and our followers are cashing in. The gifts just keep on coming, and it’s not even Christmas yet. This time they’ve given us 3 copies of the DVD Louder Than Words. The X-Files’ own Agent Mulder, David Duchovny stars in this inspiring drama. A couple deals with the death of their young daughter. Their tragic loss becomes hope for other children when they create a special hospital in their daughter’s memory. The film also stars Timothy Hutton and Hope Davis. It’ a heartwarming story based on real life.
To win just follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead tell us – Who has been a source of inspiration in your life?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winners are Lynda Larsen-Baldry, Jim Gardner & Sandi McG
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
Transformers Beast Machines: The Complete Series
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on September 8th, 2014
Shout Factory has yet another Transformers animated series to unleash upon the legions of fans who must not be able to get enough of their robots in disguise. Beast Machines takes place on Cybertron after the Beast Wars. Beast Wars is yet another series about the Transformers that somehow has gotten past me while reviewing the other series. The fact that Beast Wars precedes the events in Beast Machines caused a brief moment of confusion. Thankfully with the target audience being under the age of ten, catching up wasn’t all too difficult.
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Joan Rivers (1933-2014)
Posted in Tribute by J C on September 5th, 2014
“I’ve gone up, I’ve gone down. I’ve been bankrupt, I’ve been broke. But you do it — and you do it because we love it more than anything else. You want a real job, honey? There are a million things you can do, but what we do is not a job. What we do is a calling; we make people happy.”
Joan Rivers never took herself very seriously, as evidenced by the fact that seemed to have a never-ending reservoir of jokes about her own advanced age and propensity for plastic surgery. But the trailblazing entertainer — who died Thursday after going into cardiac arrest during a throat procedure late last month — was always serious about her comedy. The above quote is from a 2011 episode of Louie, and it helps explain why the tireless comic never stopped working up until her death at age 81. For Rivers, comedy was never a job; it was simply what she was meant to do.
Rivers’ most recent high-profile gig was as the host/star of E’s Fashion Police, which debuted in 2010. (This is the part where I pretend I only watched the show because of my girlfriend, but it was actually an ideal vehicle for Rivers’ brand of humor.) Rather than starring alongside celebrities, Rivers was best known for standing on stage — or on a red carpet — and lobbing caustic barbs at them. That being said, Rivers made several memorable screen appearances — and an absorbing, revelatory documentary — during her monumental career. Click below for a quick survey of her work on the UpcomingDiscs archives.
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