Posted in: The Reel World by J C on December 19th, 2018
“Everything is possible…even the impossible.”
To be clear, the fact that Disney has delivered a big-budget, star-studded follow-up to one of the most beloved family films in its staggering catalog is *exceedingly* possible. This is, after all, the age of reboots and live-action remakes of movies we already love. What seems impossible is that Mary Poppins Returns and its sensational leading lady both live up to and (re)capture the spirit of the Walt Disney-produced Julie Andrews classic from more than 50 years ago!
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 19th, 2018
One of the best films of 2018 was Beautiful Boy. Both Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet deliver absolutely stellar performances as a father and his addicted son. That story took us on a father's terrifying journey of dealing with his son's addiction and the toll it takes over a series of years. If you compress that experience down to a single frantic night, you get an idea of what you're in store for when you go to see Ben Is Back. It's another heart-wrenching story of the emotional toll that addiction has not only on the addict but the people who love the addict. It's a Christmas story, but it's not the kind of story that involves miracles and Santa. It's about love, but a tough love that only a parent of an addicted child will ever really know. But this film will take you close enough to the experience, perhaps closer than you will feel comfortable being. For most of us this is as close as we'll get...if we're very lucky.
Ben Burns (Hedges) takes a 24-hour leave from his rehab facility. He wants to visit his mother and family for the Christmas holiday. His mother Holly (Roberts) is glad to see her son, but you can tell immediately she has some concerns as she begins to move things around in her house. She's hiding any pills and any valuables that might be easy to convert into drugs. Her son is an addict, and while she attempts to be hopeful about his visit, she is concerned if it's really a good idea for him or the family. She agrees to let him stay for the night and celebrate Christmas. Holly now has a new husband, Neal (Vance), and they have two young children, so it's not to hard to understand her caution. Plus there is Ben's younger sister, Ivy (Newton). For Ben's part we believe that he's sincere, and he really is. He absolutely understands what his habit has cost him and his family, and he's making a concerted effort to change. He's reluctant to go to places like the attic where he used to stash drugs. He understands his own weakness and desperately avoids the things that might trigger his addiction or expose him to the temptation. Those are all good signs, and the family attempts to make the best of it with a bit of uneasy cheer that even they don't really believe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 19th, 2018
"These young men and women are going on a long journey. One that goes around the globe and back to the foundations of our nation. Once you're in the Corps, you're in the Corps all your days on Earth."
Gene Hackman narrates an IMAX look into what it means to be a United States Marine. He's the perfect choice, and not because he has such a distinctive and authoritarian voice, but because he was also once a Marine. There's an element of pride in the narration that just can't be faked.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 19th, 2018
When Star Trek: Discovery was announced, I was quite happy to hear it. There had been a long gap since Star Trek had been on television, and I figured it was long past time to fly through the galaxy on a starship once again. The show finally aired after some real issues getting off the ground, and before I knew it I was back in a starship having a blast once again. Except it wasn't on Star Trek's Discovery I was having all of this fun. It was aboard Seth MacFarlane's Orville that the true spirit of Gene Roddenberry was exploring space once again. Who would have thunk it? Yes, The Orville is considered a comedy, and there are plenty of silly moments and ideas. But even with all of that spoof atmosphere, MacFarlane manages to capture the real spirit that Trek fans have come to feel for that franchise. Honestly, I'm not sure The Orville would have gotten through its first season if not for Alex Kurtzman destroying yet another beloved franchise. Trek fans turned to this show in droves out of frustration and desperation, and MacFarlane welcomed them aboard with a laugh and some alien adventures. It's a great example of that whole nature-abhors-a-vacuum thing. When Discovery went off the rails The Orville filled the void left behind. If you missed the first season, you can get them now on DVD from Fox.
I'm glad that Fox sent this first season to review. I think I was bound to make my way to the show at some point. It's not only that I try to catch this kind of series, but it was getting the kind of buzz I couldn't resist. When you do this kind of thing you get asked often for your opinion of anything you might have watched. People know how much I'm into Star Trek, so I was asked a lot what I thought of the new show. Just about every time I expressed my disappointment, I would hear "The Orville is so much better". It really has become a safe port for Trek fans. There's no way MacFarlane could have seen that coming, but he obviously figured it out along the way as the episodes became a little more serious and started to live in that social commentary place that Trek occupied for many decades. MacFarlane is a Trek fan. That much is obvious, but I do believe he started to hear the same things that I heard and found a way to solidify that support.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2018
"There's no such thing as luck, but I sure as hell believe in stupid."
We're a visual people, and so most of you will recognize Taylor Sheridan from his role as a chief of police in Sons of Anarchy when the controlled puppet regime had finally left the scene. It's not a remarkable role, and it's not a complete surprise that Sheridan found his calling more recently behind the camera. As a writer his first script did hit it out of the park. Sicario is an awesome film populated with compelling and interesting characters who thrived on a broken system. That theme appears to have stuck with him, because the first season of Yellowstone appears to take us back in time to the days of open frontiers and cattle barons who struggled to keep their land amid lawless communities and raiding parties of American Indians who were portrayed as savage beasts who kill women and children in the middle of the night to become to shadows of nightmares and the stories told to keep children in line. These themes are all there, but it takes place in a modern 2018 setting that does indeed make for an interesting new twist on an old idea. This is the dawning of the modern western where lands still stretch for miles and are still owned by a single family. It's Bonanza in the 21st century, and Kevin Costner thought enough of the idea to star in this television drama series for The Paramount Network.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2018
"My name is Dylan Reinhart. Not long ago, I was an operative in the CIA known as Agent Reinhart. When I left the Agency and started teaching, I became Professor Reinhart. I wrote a book about abnormal behavior and criminals which was so successful a serial killer used it as clues for his murders. That's when the NYPD reached out to me to help catch him, which I did. So they hired me and I became consultant Reinhart. So now I'm working with this woman, Detective Lizzie Needham of the homicide division, catching killers. Looks like I need a new name...Professor Psychopath."
If this is all sounding a little bit familiar, it should be. ABC did the idea with great success in Castle starring Nathan Fillion. This time many of the folks behind The Good Wife have gotten together for their own version of the idea starring Alan Cumming, and the result isn't near as charming, but it has its moments. You'll get a chance to check them out at home, because CBS has released the first 13-episode season on DVD.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2018
The Jerk, released in 1979, is a rags-to-riches-to-rags comedy film of belated self-discovery. This was Steve Martin’s first starring role in a feature film and was also written by him. It's hard to watch the film and quite picture Martin as the unknown he really was at the time. Since then Steve Martin has come and pretty much gone from our collective experience. When this film was released, much of this kind of humor was somewhat unique and clever. Today that is not so much the case, and it looks and feels quite a bit dated.
Carl Reiner directs Steve Martin (who co-wrote the script with Carl Gottlieb) in this gag-laden comedy about an idiotic white man, raised by a poor family of black sharecroppers, who doesn’t realize he’s not black. Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) is told the horrible truth when he finds himself instinctively tapping his f…et to an easy listening tune on the radio, instead of a low-down blues. His mother (Mabel King) tells him he’s white and Navin takes to the road (in a World War II bomber helmet and goggles) to start a new life in St. Louis. A filling station owner, Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason), give Navin his first break, hiring him to pump gas. One day at the station, Navin has a brainstorm, concocting an invention called “The Opti-grab,” a combination handle and nose-brace for eyeglasses. But Navin runs into trouble when a crazed killer (M. Emmet Walsh) picks out his name at random from the telephone book and tries to kill him. Navin escapes to a traveling carnival, where he wrangles a job as the “guess-your-weight” man. At the carnival, he discovers his sexual nature, thanks to stunt rider and S&M enthusiast Patty Bernstein (Catlin Adams). But Navin meets the beautiful Marie (Bernadette Peters) and he quickly falls in love. In the meantime, the “Opti-grab” has taken off, and soon Navin is a millionaire.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2018
"Let me know when the governor gets here."
Well, he's in the house, and I'm going to get a lot of razzing for this review of Last Action Hero. The person who thought I should see a shrink for looking forward to the next Saw film is going to be calling for my outright commitment to an institution dedicated to covering walls with nice padding so we won't hurt ourselves. I know this film is generally considered "bad" by critics and moviegoers alike. It swept the Razzies in 1993 and has since been only the kind of film 10-year-olds would really like to see. Me, I've always simply loved this film. From the first time I saw it at the box office, I was hooked. It was one of the first new laserdiscs I bought back in the day, and I watched the heck out of that disc. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love this movie.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on December 15th, 2018
Aristotle once paraphrased that “Nature abhors a vacuum,” which is the main thing I keep thinking while watching Mortal Engines, another in a long line of books turned movie adaptations. It seems like everyone is trying to fill the hole left behind by Harry Potter and Twilight (love or hate it, you have to admit that it brought in the teeny boppers) franchises. Unfortunately, I do not see this film becoming a worthy successor to the throne. Initially, I was intrigued by the premise: cities mounted on wheels devouring other cities. It had a real Transformers meets Mad Max vibe to it. If only the film lived up to the preview.
The movie is set in a dystopian world, ravaged by an apocalyptic event known as the "Sixty Minute War", which caused massive geological upheaval. To escape the destructions cities have installed huge engines and wheels and been enabled to dismantle (or eat) other cities for resources. This act has become known as "Municipal Darwinism". As a result of the war, much technological and scientific knowledge has been lost. Because scientific progress has almost completely halted, "Old Tech" is highly prized and recovered by scavengers and archaeologists. Europe, some of Asia, North Africa, Antarctica, and the Arctic are dominated by Traction Cities. There is conflict between these cities and a group called the Anti-Traction League, which seeks to keep cities from moving and thus stop the intense consumption of the planet's remaining resources. That should bring those unfamiliar with the series up to speed regarding the film, which is a better intro than I received while watching the movie.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 15th, 2018
Dog Days is your basic ensemble film, with this time the story being dog-centric, as every subplot features a different dog, and some subplots are interconnected via one dog. It is a family-oriented film, so this time you all will not only been treated to a Nalyce stamp of approval, but a Jessica (my wife) stamp of approval as well. The cast is rounded out with a number of familiar faces that includes Nina Dobrev, Tone Bell, Vanessa Hudgens, Eva Longoria, and many, many more. The story tugs on the heartstrings a bit as it addresses several issues plaguing the cast, such as dealing with loss and opening yourself up after heartbreak. Needless to say, the film had the Jessica stamp of approval the second that Chihuahua (which in my opinion is just a bigger member of the rodent family) was found behind the dumpster. And of course, now I find myself fielding requests for a dog just in time for Christmas.
The story is intercut between several characters at different points in their life; Tara is a barista at a local café, recent college graduate trying to figure out her next step, when she finds a dog abandoned behind a dumpster at the café. Being a decent human being, she takes it to the vet, where she meets Dr. Mike (Michael Cassidy), with whom she is instantly smitten. Speaking of smitten, Garrett (Jon Bass) is a patron of the café that Tara works at and owner of a struggling animal rescue. He’s awkward and immediately taken with Tara, who is wrapped up with her doctor infatuation.
On The Web
Sponsors
