That Obscure Object of Desire (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on February 3rd, 2013
“I’ve changed a lot. I’m not the same woman.”
Early on in Luis Buñuel’s surrealist gem, a mild-mannered older gentleman named Mathieu douses a beautiful, battered woman with a bucket of water as she desperately attempts to board the train he’s riding. His fellow passengers are stunned, but also understandably intrigued. What possible sequence of events could’ve led Mathieu to this cold and cartoonish gesture? It’s an irresistible hook, and Mathieu proceeds to regale the other travelers —
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Warm Bodies
Posted in The Reel World by J C on February 1st, 2013
“This is a corpse infected with the plague. It is uncaring, unfeeling.”
When it comes to the overwhelming majority of zombie fiction, it’s all about brains. (Or rather, BRAAAINS!!!) It’s what the undead hunger for, and a well-placed headshot is usually the only way to kill them (again). And that doesn’t even cover the popular device of using the walking dead as an allegory for an increasingly mindless society. Warm Bodies stands out because it’s more concerned with an entirely different bodily organ.
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Bullet to the Head
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 1st, 2013
It’s hard to imagine that Sylvester Stallone and Walter Hill never crossed paths for an action movie in the early days of their careers. Both have established themselves as staples in the action movie genre, and they dominated the 1970’s and 1980’s. It seems like a dream come true that the actor and director have finally joined forces. Unfortunately, some dreams are actually nightmares, and if Bullet To The Head is any indication, the two stars would have been better off had they remained unaligned.
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Amazing World of Gumball – The Mystery
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on January 31st, 2013
When being handed this title to review I have to admit my expectations were rather low, but as with every other title I was going to give it a chance. It’s not that I don’t enjoy cartoons or kid-friendly television; I was simply more concerned that perhaps I had reached an age where I simply wouldn’t be able to connect to the material I had to watch. By the time the credits to the first episode rolled, I quickly moved on to the next episode.
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Amy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2013
Comedy Central is the main access for exposure for most comedians today. They regularly broadcast up and coming comedy specials, and Amy Schumer seems to be one of their latest favorites. She has a new sketch comedy show coming out this spring on Comedy Central called Inside Amy Schumer. She was also featured on the celebrity roasts of Charlie Sheen and Roseanne Barr with a number of better-known performers. Her material is fairly fearless, targeting anyone and everyone.
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The Duellists (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 31st, 2013
No matter how much you hated Prometheus — parts of it were startlingly dumb, but people who seriously talk about it like it’s the worst film of all time need to take a deep breath — Ridley Scott has a pretty strong case to be included on any list of Top 10 Living Directors. His work has helped redefine genres (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) given us indelible images (that final still from Thelma & Louise) and even provided a few smaller-scale delights (Matchstick Men is my favorite of this group). So I’m proposing we take a quick break from trashing his last movie to discuss his very first one.
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All Superheroes Must Die (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 30th, 2013
How exactly do you make a superhero movie without the powers? Answer: Have them wake up with their powers being stripped from them. All Superheroes Must Die is a superhero tale that from the title you can tell is fated not to end in the traditional way that superhero films end: with the righteous prospering and the wicked suffering. What the film title doesn’t let you know, however, is how underwhelming the film is. It does have an interesting startup, I’ll give it that.
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Noobz
Posted in No Huddle by Jonathan Foster on January 30th, 2013
Do you have what it takes to win a video game championship? That’s the question Noobz asks and the Reign Clan tries to answer. The Reign Clan consists of four guys obsessed with Gears of War 3. There’s Cody (Blake Freeman, also the film’s co-writer and director), the anger-prone leader, and Andy (Jason Mewes of Clerks, Mallrats and pretty much every Kevin Smith movie), who is Cody’s best friend and a game store manager. There’s also the sexually confused Oliver (Matt Shively, TV’s The Troop) and “Hollywood”, who the rest of the clan believes to be Casper Van Dien.
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Paranormal Activity 4 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 28th, 2013
Here’s the thing. Fans of the franchise should be pleased with the latest entry. The series has been a solid October tradition for some time now. When you consider the low cost of creating one of these films with the proven box office numbers, this was all really a no-brainer, to say the least. You’re going to get more of what you are expecting, and the film throws in enough new angles and tricks to keep the idea as fresh as possible. However, there is a flip-side to all of this. I don’t think it’s very likely that you can enjoy this film quite so fully if you have not seen any of the previous films.
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Life’s Too Short
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on January 28th, 2013
Warwick Davis many may remember as the dwarf that played Wicket the ewok in Return of the Jedi or as the leprechaun in the Leprechaun franchise. The role younger audiences may be more familiar with is that of Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter franchise. In the new HBO series Life’s Too Short, Davis steps away from the fantasy world and into a faux reality show about none other than Warwick Davis. I have to admit Davis is far from the top of my list of celebrities I’d like to see star in their own “reality” show. Seeing the show is produced by and co-stars Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (both also worked together on Extras and The Office) did ignite my interest.
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Fat Kid Rules the World
Posted in No Huddle by Jonathan Foster on January 28th, 2013
“The most important thing about being a drummer is the ability to hit hard.”
Fat Kid Rules the World tells the story of Troy Billings (Jacob Wysocki), a high school student who lives a lonely life because he’s, well, fat. Despite his large size, Troy is pretty much invisible. Unable to stand the monotony of his life, he steps in front of a bus. At the last minute, Marcus (Matt O’Leary, Domestic Disturbance, Brick), a dropout and punk rock musician, knocks him out of the vehicle’s path.
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Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters
Posted in The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on January 25th, 2013
Hansel and Gretel, everyone has heard of this fairy tale, right? The Brothers Grimm tale about a brother and sister lost in the woods who come across a house made of candy. They go inside and are soon captured by a witch who goes about stuffing them with candy to fatten them up to be slaughtered. Somehow the cunning pair manages to escape their shackles, and while the witch is distracted with the oven, they push her into the oven and destroy her. We have all heard the tale, but what happen afterwards?
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Taken 2 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2013
We’ve seen action films like Taken enough times that we’ve become a little immune to the formula. But then again, Liam Neeson wasn’t your typical action figure, and so the movie was able to take audiences by surprise. It’s not that Neeson hadn’t already established himself as a fine actor. He just didn’t fit the mold we are so used to seeing. Things have changed in the couple of years since Taken had its box office run. Neeson has now done more action films, and he’s started to look more the part.
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30 Nights of Paranormal Activity With the Devil
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on January 25th, 2013
A mouthful of a title but still quite a unique and clever title, if only the movie was that interesting. Is it just me, or does it seem like a parody film is worthless unless the Wayans family is making it? From Craig Moss, the guy that brought you The 41 year old Virgin Who Knocked up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad about it comes another pointless parody with no sense of direction. Parody films reached as far back as the 1940’s with Abbott and Costello;
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Officer Down (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 24th, 2013
I see an Oscar nominee, an Emmy nominee, an actor who has carried two successful TV shows, and the bad guy from the highest-grossing movie of all time. In other words, I see more talent than you would ordinarily expect from a straight-to-DVD drama. Then again, I also see Soulja Boy, but he’s not the problem. Instead, Officer Down squanders a few fine performances and a solid premise due to some seriously (and unnecessarily) muddled storytelling.
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Oppo Opens Up Your 3D Blu Horizons
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2013
Anyone who reads these pages on a regular basis knows that I’m a huge fan of the Oppo line of 3D players. All of the reviews you read that are written by me have been viewed on an Oppo player. They have been our official Blu-ray machines for a few years now. I also want to reiterate that Oppo does not pay me to say that or to publish reviews of their products. They are not advertisers here, and we’ve never gotten a single dime from them. But if you’re as serious about your audio and video quality as I am, and you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t, you owe it to yourself to check out the latest in Oppo players.
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The Possession (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 23rd, 2013
Anytime a horror film is released with a religious element, I can’t help but be a little interested. The film that first won me over for this sub-genre was, of course, The Exorcist, and ever since seeing that film I keep hoping that one day a film will hold up to it in quality, but it seems I’ll be waiting a while. That’s not to say there haven’t been some good films to come out along the way. The Possession is one of those valiant attempts that brings something fresh to the genre but never quite reaches its full potential.
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Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on January 23rd, 2013
Well, it’s not the Marvel version, but it’s still mildly entertaining. A clear attempt to capitalize on the popularity made by the Hemsworth live-action films about the hammer-wielding Norse God of Thunder and Lightning, but hey, isn’t that what filmmaking is all about, making something the audience will actually pay attention to? This time Thor is surrounded by an animated family-friendly shell. Well, though I am much older than this film’s targeted demographic, I still feel that I can objectively say: there are worst ways to kill 90 minutes. Trust me, I know.
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Love Me (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 23rd, 2013
When I first received Love Me, I thought it was going to be just another angsty teen drama. (Something along the lines of Dawson’s Creek.) That notion was quickly disabused, however, when a young girl is stalked and attacked in the opening scene. From there, the film jumps ahead three months, with the town still reeling from her disappearance. While discussing how eerie the case is with her friends, Sylvia Potter (Lindsay Shaw, TV’s Pretty Little Liars) quite literally bumps into rich pretty boy Lucas Green (Jamie Johnston, TV’s Degrassi: The Next Generation) and falls for him instantly.
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The Millennium Bug
Posted in No Huddle by Jonathan Foster on January 22nd, 2013
What do you get when two different kinds of horror movies collide? One answer is The Millennium Bug, which combines your typical monster/alien thrill ride with the increasingly popular “Help! I’ve been abducted by crazed rednecks!” brand of horror movie nightmare. It’s better if you think of this film as Alien meets Wrong Turn.
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Exclusive Interview With Lindsey Shaw From Love Me
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2013
Last week I got a chance to chat with Lindsey Shaw. She’s just celebrated her return to Pretty Little Liars as the fan-favorite Paige. She’s also staring in a nice little thriller out from Anchor Bay. The film is Love Me and you can listen in to what she had to say to me about her career and the film. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Lindsey Shaw
Compliance (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 20th, 2013
If Compliance weren’t based on true events, the film’s plot would immediately be dismissed as implausible and insulting of its audience’s intelligence. (Same with Argo.) As the story of an incredibly committed prank caller and his unwitting prey progresses, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll repeatedly roll your eyes. There’s an even better chance the eye rolling will be followed by a feeling of outrage — definitely toward the caller, but maybe even toward the gullible victims — when you remember this stuff actually happened.
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Spongebob Squarepants – Extreme Kah-Rah-Tay
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 19th, 2013
Spongebob Squarepants, the flagship cartoon for Nickelodeon for the last few years, has been churning out DVD specials inbetween releases of complete seasons. Sometimes these are linked by a theme (such as the Halloween DVD I reviewed in October http://upcomingdiscs.com/2012/10/15/31-nights-of-terror-spongebob-squarepants-ghouls-fools/) and this would mean taking episodes from numerous seasons. This particular special mostly contains more recent episodes, all of which have some sort of “extreme” or somewhat violent/action oriented story. 
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Chris Hardwick – Mandroid
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 19th, 2013
Chris Hardwick is a card carrying, flag-waving nerd. He is very proud of said nerdiness and has devoted the lion’s share of his career expressing this. Probably best known for his various hosting duties, especially for the Nerdist podcasts, Hardwick gets to display his stand-up chops in his first, full-length DVD special and he does not disappoint.
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The Last Stand
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on January 18th, 2013
“You don’t want to take the silver, you take the lead”.
He always told us he’d be back. After spending some years in the real world in the California governor’s mansion, Arnold Schwarzenegger is indeed back…back in the reel world where he belongs. And if The Last Stand is any indication, it appears Arnie hasn’t missed a beat. In fact, he’s showing a bit of maturity in his acting that I honestly never would have believed possible back in the early days. Here Arnie’s more Dirty Harry than Terminator. Throw in a little modern Spaghetti Western and more than a little help from Korean director Jee-woon Kim and you have a pretty tasty treat.
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