Evil Dead (2013)
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on April 5th, 2013
Remakes, reboots, and sequels: these are the trends in Hollywood that seem to make fan boys groan. Some films should be left in the past, and some franchises simply need to come to an end. But every so often a film comes along that dares to show us something new, and the end result manages to capture some of the magic that got us to love the original film to begin with. The new Evil Dead filmmakers managed to succeed in doing just that and deliver a film that has me excited about what is next for the Book of the Dead and all those unfortunate enough to flip through its pages.
Read More
The Frankenstein Theory
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on April 4th, 2013
Many small unheralded horror films are produced, and they easily slip through the cracks. The Frankenstein Theory is one. It has an interesting premise, though. In 2012, Professor Jonathan Venkenheim takes a film crew to the Arctic to document the attempt to prove that Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein was a true story based on his great, great, great grandfather’s letters. Venkenheim is a highly educated, nervous, and nerdy academic who is obsessed with this possibility. The documentary crew and Venkenheim’s own girlfriend think his obsession is driving him a little mad, but they want the job, and Venkenheim will not be deterred.
Read More
The Devil’s in the Details (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 3rd, 2013
This is a review that I’ve been dreading. It’s been a while since a movie has gotten me so worked up over its thoughtless execution that I struggle to find something redeeming out of it. For those unfamiliar with non-linear storytelling, a simple definition would be a story told out of order, for instance Memento or Pulp Fiction. Those two examples are of films that execute non-linear storytelling and use the structural device as a means to further their story. As for the filmmakers involved with The Devil’s in the Details, they took a decent story and then tore it up into shreds, tossed it in the air, and pieced it together however they saw fit.
Read More
Tom Green: Live
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on April 3rd, 2013
It is truly amazing the career that Tom Green has had when you really sit back and think about it. Tom has made a career as an oddball whose antics would either make you laugh hysterically or raise a brow with suspicion of his mental state. His personality has taken him to many heights, from a Canadian Public Access show to MTV, MTV to the silver screen, but it wasn’t until he got in front of the camera and documented his battle with testicular cancer that many people would stand up and take notice of Hollywood’s strangest man.
Read More
Regular Show: Party Pack 3
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on April 2nd, 2013
Just how much appeal can a show have when it’s about two directionless twenty-something’s who are groundskeepers at a local park; oh yeah, and they happen to be a raccoon and a blue jay? It came as more than a little surprise how much this show not only had me laughing but I’m certain will have heavy replay value in this household. For those that believe it’s simply a kids’ show, be warned. Though it may not be filled with the raunch one would expect from Family Guy, Regular Show does dip its paw into indecency but never seems to cross the line.
Read More
Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXVI
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on April 2nd, 2013
Mystery Science Theatre is an acquired taste. For me, I’ve really got to be in that certain mood to watch it. That’s the beauty of these DVDs. You pop them in when you’re ready. The idea is pretty whacked. Depending on the season you’ve got, Joel or Mike is trapped in space on the “Satellite of Love”. Doomed to spend his life watching very bad films, our hero makes the best of a bad situation. He uses his resources to construct a few robot pals. There’s Crow T. Robot (Beaulieu), Tom Servo (Murphy), and Gypsy (Mallon). Part of an experiment together, they watch the films from the front row, constantly ranting throughout.
Read More
Hemingway & Gellhorn (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on April 2nd, 2013
“The important thing for a writer is to tell a good story.”
Martha Gellhorn, considered by some to be the greatest war correspondent of the 20th century, was extremely adamant about not wanting to be a footnote in someone else’s life. So I’m thinking the writer — who died in 1998 — may have had mixed feelings about Hemingway & Gellhorn. On one hand, her life story gets the prestigious (and mostly sympathetic) HBO Films treatment, and Gellhorn is played by Oscar winner Nicole Kidman in a sensational, searing turn. On the other hand
Read More
Contest: Win Lincoln On Blu-ray From Dreamworks
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on April 1st, 2013
Our very good friends over at Dreamworks want to make sure your Spring gets off to a dramatic start. They’ve given us a copy of the award-winning Lincoln on Blu-ray for one lucky reader. One of the best films of the year, this Steven Spielberg movie features wonderful production design and a stellar performance by Daniel Day-Lewis.
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 your favorite American historic figure. Can not use anyone still alive.
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Allyson Becker
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.
Stand Off
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on April 1st, 2013
Timing is everything in life; being in the right place at the right time could mean great fortune. Of course the other side of that coin is that being in the wrong place at the wrong time could mean great misfortune; want to guess on which side the coin landed in Stand Off? (Hopefully you guessed misfortune; otherwise stop reading now.) Brendan Fraser leads the comedy about a botched robbery which eventually transformed to an even bigger mess. I’ve been a Brendan Fraser fan dating all the way back to Encino Man, and I was especially excited when he achieved action hero status with the The Mummy franchise
Read More
The Sandlot: 20th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on April 1st, 2013
When The Sandlot first came out 20 years ago, I connected to the coming-of-age baseball story as strongly as Babe Ruth connected with one of his titanic, 400-foot homers. I grew up in baseball-obsessed Puerto Rico and I happened to be the exact same age as dorky protagonist Scotty Smalls. Though I’ve kept in touch with the film over the years, Fox’s new 20th Anniversary Blu-ray re-release of The Sandlot marked my first time watching it from start to finish in a long while. It surely won’t be the last.
Read More
Easy Money
Posted in No Huddle by Jonathan Foster on March 29th, 2013
“People will always put themselves and money first.”
What do a yuppie business student, an escaped prisoner, and an enforcer for the Serbian mob have in common? They all want Easy Money, and the lives of these three very different men intersect in very unpredictable ways. Unfortunately, this Swedish crime film from director Daniél Espinosa (Safe House) is hard to follow for reasons that go beyond me not understanding a word they’re saying.
Read More
The Host
Posted in The Reel World by J C on March 29th, 2013
When I tell you The Host is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, you’ll probably think I’m exaggerating. There’s a decent chance you don’t know me and that we’ll never meet, so there’s no way for you to know I’m not prone to hyperbole or making “Best Ever/Worst Ever” statements. Obviously, I haven’t watched every movie that’s ever been made, but I feel reasonably confident in saying I’ve seen more than most people. Since I don’t make pronouncements like these lightly, I’m going to do my very best to explain why The Host — a stunningly bad sci-fi/romance that utterly fails as a work of science fiction and as a big-screen love story — is among the most inept films I’ve come across.
Read More
Lincoln (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2013
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
These were strong words, and the man who spoke them was certainly a dominant figure in American history.
Read More
Star Trek: Enterprise – Season One (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2013
“It’s been a long time getting from there to here.”
35 years to be exact. Enterprise is the fourth spinoff from the original 1960’s hopeful series. The Earth is finally ready to send its first starship to explore the vast galaxy. This first starship Enterprise is smaller than the ships we’ve become used to. There are no shields or photon torpedoes. The transporter has only been cleared for inanimate objects. Not that this stands in the way of its occasional “emergency” use.
Read More
Carol Burnett Show: This Time Together
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2013
It’s hard to believe that CBS didn’t want The Carol Burnett Show. Not only didn’t they want it, but they fought hard to keep it from ever happening. It was the result of a 5-year contract the actress had with the network. She had been a popular member of The Gary Moore Show, and they wanted to hold on to her services. So they made her an offer she just couldn’t refuse. They gave her a not-so-standard 5-year contract that gave her the right to activate a special clause at any time in the five years.
Read More
Cyber Stalker
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on March 27th, 2013
It seems that to survive in today’s world everyone has to be at least a little tech-savvy; even grandma has to learn how to text and download images if she cares to see her grandchildren. Unfortunately even stalking has evolved with the times; with social media more and more becoming the way we communicate, the days of peeping toms outside the bedroom window are gone and have moved on to webcam. To some degree I think this should bring a sigh of relief, but then again stalking seems to have gotten easier, allowing more anonymity, and this is what Cyberstalker attempts to delve into.
Read More
Jersey Shore – The Uncensored Final Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 27th, 2013
Jersey Shore finally comes to an end. Of course, there are spinoffs and TV specials and TMZ reports and aaaarggh! We’re never going to escape them are we?! This is an Uncensored version of the season so instead of ‘beeps’ we get to hear the versatility of the f-word and other assorted curse words that are flung across rooms and dance floors as these bronzed oddities continue their bitter stalemate against maturity and class.
Read More
Zulu Dawn (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 26th, 2013
I tend to shy away from films that have come out before I was born. It’s not a rule, just a habit. The reason for that being because not being from the generation that movie was produced in, I fear that there will be a lot of cultural reference that I will be unfamiliar with and I will have to Wikipedia them all. I also feel that because I am from a different era I am not qualified to render a sound opinion of an older film, because I may judge it too harshly due to my growing up within a time of special effect advancement.
Read More
Killing Them Softly
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on March 26th, 2013
“They cry, they plead, they beg, they piss themselves, they cry for their mothers. It gets embarrassing. I like to kill ‘em softly. From a distance.”
Brad Pitt demonstrates that very well during one of his execution scenes. Killing Them Softly is director Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of the 1974 novel, Cogan’s Trade by George V. Higgnins. This film is Dominik’s third go-around serving as both writer and director (the other two times being Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James), and I must say that he seems at home with double the amount of work.
Read More
Veep: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on March 25th, 2013
The great, central joke of Veep — HBO’s sharp, profane political comedy — is that no self-respecting politician aspires to become the Vice President of the United States. (Just like no self-respecting kid dresses up as Robin for Halloween.) It’s no accident the POTUS is completely MIA from the show, leaving his second-in-command and her beleaguered staff to deal with the countless indignities of a job described on “The Making of Veep” featurette as “so close to being important.”
Read More
Bachelorette (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on March 25th, 2013
It’s tradition. The night before a wedding, the groomsmen throw a party for the groom and the bridesmaids do the same for the bride. Usually, the bachelorette parties are tamer than their male counterparts. Unless, of course, the bride has the absolute worst bridesmaids in the history of weddings; like the ones Becky (Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids) chooses for her bridal party in Bachelorette.
Read More
Samson and Delilah
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 25th, 2013
Biblical strongman Samson accomplishes many amazing feats and makes many a powerful enemy along the way. None are able to defeat this champion until his action catch the eye of Delilah, and he becomes the target of her affections. Unbenounced to Samson, Delilah has been tasked to discover the source of his supernatural strength. God granted Samson amazing physical strength, but his heart and mind are weak to the machinations of this sly, deceitful woman and it is only a matter of time before she learns his greatest secret.
Read More
Stoker
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2013
“Sometimes you need to do something bad to stop you from doing something worse.”
If you are a fan of director Chan-wook Park, you are used to the kinds of bizarre images and somewhat enigmatic story elements that dominate the landscape of Stoker. While none of the images here reach quite into the territory of Oldboy, it’s hard not to plug into the disturbed nature of the film’s themes and story. I left the movie with more questions than answers and a little bit lost as to how exactly I was going to approach this review.
Read More
The Croods
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 22nd, 2013
For years it seems DreamWorks Animation has been living in the shadow of Pixar. Sure, DreamWorks has had their success with Shrek and Ice Age, but when you stack the films next to Pixar’s library, you see Pixar just seems to be the best at what they do. That is until The Croods came along; with the new DreamWorks release it would appear the animation studio has stepped up their game and released their best-looking 3D film to date. My expectations were not too high with this release, but I was at least relieved I wouldn’t be watching Ice Age Ten: The Ice is Still Melting.
Read More
Spring Breakers
Posted in The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on March 22nd, 2013
“I’m tired of seeing the same thing. Everybody’s so miserable here because they see the same things every day, they wake up in the same bed, same houses, same depressing streetlights, one gas station, grass, it’s not even green, and it’s brown. Everything is the same and everyone is just sad. I really don’t want to end up like them. I just want to get out of here. There’s more than just spring break. This is our chance to see something different.”
Somehow I really doubt that Gomez’s character’s desire for something different was quite like what she got. You remember Spring Break, right?
Read More