Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 7th, 2019
I’m constantly told that streaming services like Netflix are the way of the future. But it appears that to build that future it is necessary to look to the past with a television series from the 1960’s that looked to the future, but itself was based on material from the past. If you’re becoming a […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 7th, 2018
“They destroyed the man I was, but then I was reborn. And this time I came out breathing fire.” Season 1 of Westworld — HBO’s mega-budget adaptation of Michael Crichton’s 1973 film of the same name — spent a lot of time exploring the nature of reality and humanity through a high-tech theme park’s robotic […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 26th, 2018
“Is there life out there? Good heavens! To doubt it is a failure of more than the imagination. It is a failure to recognize the limits of our own stupidity. The nascency of our science. The rudiment of our tools. We listen. We search. We hope for a sign, as if our eyes and ears […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 26th, 2018
Are you feeling a little déjà vu when you turn on a television or live stream these days? It seems like almost half the shows on television today are either revivals or reboots of shows that have aired before. Recently there have been revivals of The X-Files, 24, Prison Break, Growing Pains, Roseanne, and even […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on August 28th, 2018
NCIS is about to enter into its 16th season in just a short time. That in itself is a remarkable accomplishment in the days of short attention spans and hundreds of shows to keep that attention. What is more remarkable is that it continues to be the number one drama in the world. What could […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on August 20th, 2018
“We take a look back at the films that helped shape, change, and innovate the world of documentary.” Between the rise of streaming services like Netflix and the growing number of nonfiction films making noise at the box office, documentaries have never been hotter…or more accessible. At the very least, they certainly don’t feel like […]
Posted in No Huddle by J C on June 4th, 2018
“Look, all funny guys are damaged.” It’s no secret that some of the greatest and most memorable stand-up comics of all time — Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and Robin Williams, to name a few — were as troubled as they were talented. Of course, turning their inner turmoil into comedy was a big part of […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on March 5th, 2018
“Keeping the country safe is big business now. It’s getting bigger.” Much of this sixth season of Homeland is spent exploring the notion that the CIA’s cloak-and-dagger activities in the Middle East might have outlived their usefulness and a new course of action is required. But considering that Showtime’s previously white-hot spy drama — a […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 19th, 2017
“There is only one war that matters. The Great War…and it is here.” Ever since Game of Thrones premiered in 2011, viewers have been tantalized by the notion that “winter is coming.” (And it’s been a *much* longer wait for book readers who fell in love with the first installment in George R.R. Martin’s “A […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 8th, 2017
“Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality.” As things in our world become exponentially more chaotic and inexplicable by the day, the theory that we’re all living in a computer simulation becomes a little harder to completely dismiss. The idea that our reality is an illusion dates back to the 17th century but […]
Posted in No Huddle by J C on October 19th, 2017
“How many more people will you sacrifice?” When it premiered in 2013, Reign was an effective bit of counterprogramming for the CW, which continues to be ruled by superheroes, vampires, and other Supernatural beings. Even as Reign appalled historians, the series quickly established itself as a campy and compulsively watchable take on the saga of […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 6th, 2017
In 2008 Taken first exploded on the big screen and not only created an action franchise but also took Liam Neeson from being a respected dramatic actor and transformed him into an action star. It’s been nearly a decade, but now the action franchise is getting the television treatment where we get to see the […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2017
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The saying’s as true of the human body as it is of a washing machine or a blender. A good surgeon knows that if you go screwing around with something that doesn’t need screwing, you are the one who is liable to end up screwed.” One of those […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 22nd, 2017
“I don’t want to be just guys in a house.” Since its debut, Silicon Valley has brilliantly lampooned the tech industry by showing us both the proverbial “guys in a garage” and the self-important, aggressively eccentric billionaires obsessed with staying ahead of the curve. The show’s central tension (and cruel joke) is that the ultimate […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2017
There have been a lot of changes at NCIS over its 14 season run to date. Over time people have come and gone, but rarely has the series had to deal with so much change going into a new season. The most obvious of these has been the departure of Michael Weatherly as beloved character […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2017
“My name is Sherlock, and I’m an addict.” Elementary is one of those shows that rather quietly continues to do what it does without drawing a ton of attention, but yet enough fans that the series has been able to reach the 100-episode milestone here in its fifth season. That used to be a little […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 10th, 2017
Season 1 of From Dusk Till Dawn gave us a ten-episode remake of the hit original movie while setting up a mythology to stretch its story over numerous seasons. Season 2 took us deeper into the culebra syndicate, and we got to see how they operate in their world as Carlos (Wilmer Valderrama) searched for […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 11th, 2017
“I don’t want to be in this relationship anymore, and I don’t know how to get out.” A TV show’s fifth season is around the time it starts to feel like you have to see things through to the bitter end. I mean, it seems downright irresponsible to ditch a series after five years of […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2016
“Book ’em, Danno.” It’s been 30 years since we first 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 […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2016
“When we strike that match, we like to think we can control the burn. We like to think we have any control at all. But fire is wildly difficult to contain. And just when you think you’ve extinguished the blaze… it reignites. It sucks in air, and it burns hotter and brighter than ever.” Grey’s […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 6th, 2016
NCIS: LA differs in several ways from NCIS or JAG. While LA is still a military show, that angle is downplayed here. The atmosphere for the team is more civilian-looking all the way around. There are seldom folks walking around in uniforms. The operations utilize more of the standard surveillance and undercover work. There’s a […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2016
Modernizing Sherlock Holmes has been a popular trend in film and television lately. We have seen two slick action film adaptations courtesy of Guy Ritchie, a contemporary BBC adaptation (Sherlock), and now there is Elementary, which transplants Sherlock Holmes and his loyal companion Watson from Victorian Era England to modern New York. We might be a […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on August 28th, 2016
NCIS continues to be one of the top dramas on television. After 13 years, that’s a hard trick to pull off. With two spinoffs enjoying a pretty nice run, there are nearly 500 episodes of the franchise. The show just received a rare two-year extension and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The show has […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on August 17th, 2016
“Put your game face on.” When you have the highest-rated drama on television, there is a temptation to milk it for all that you can. We’ve seen it happen with both the Law & Order and CSI franchises. The results tend to be mixed, with some capturing and even exceeding the popularity of the original. […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2016
“When people see that red cape, they expect to see a certain someone. Someone they know. But this isn’t his story. It’s mine.” Of course, that “someone” they know is Superman. This is the story of Supergirl. We’ve seen her story on both the big and small screen, as well. Helen Slater put on the […]
