A Necessary Death
Posted in No Huddle by David Annandale on May 29th, 2012
Gilbert (Gilbert John) is a film student with a radical idea: make a documentary about someone who is going to commit suicide. Get to know why, get to know the person, follow the whole process, right up to the very end. Collaborators Valerie (Valerie Hurt) and Michael (Michael Traynor) have deep misgivings about the project, but sign on when the apparently ideal subject is found. This is Matt (Matthew Tilley), who suffers from a brain tumour and simply wants to choose his moment to bow out with dignity before the pain becomes too severe.
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Coriolanus (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on May 29th, 2012
“This Martius is grown from man to dragon. He has wings. He’s more than a creeping thing. There is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger.”
There’s a certain hierarchy when it comes to the amount of cinematic interpretations of William Shakespeare’s plays. At the top tier, we have the endlessly adapted Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth the Scottish Play. A step below that, you’ve probably got your King Lear, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a few more. And about a dozen tiers below that, we finally come across Coriolanus.
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The Adventures of Tintin (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 28th, 2012
Steven Spielberg’s very-long-in-gestation adaptation of Hergé’s Tintin finally came into being over Christmas. The story, very much in keeping with the globe-trotting adventures of the comic books (drawing heavily, in fact, upon The Secret of the Unicorn), has Tintin (voiced by Jaime Bell) become embroiled in a treasure quest after buying a model ship that has one third of the secret concealed in its mast. Captured by nefarious evil-doers who will stop at nothing to find the treasure, he encounters Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), and a legendary friendship is formed.
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Contest: Win Houston Astros 50th Anniversary Collector s Edition From A&E
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on May 28th, 2012
Let A&E Take You Out To The Ball Game. Our wonderful friends at A&E and History have given us a copy of Houston Astros 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition on DVD to give away. This 5 disc collection follows the highlights of the Astros through the essential games and Astros Memories. You get 4 complete games including both television and radio play-by-play options.
To win this DVD collection 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 is your favorite all-time Astros player is.
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is James
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.
Memorial Day (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on May 28th, 2012
“It’s Memorial Day. What am I supposed to remember?”
Happy Memorial Day, everyone! When I saw that I would be reviewing a movie called Memorial Day, I was afraid Garry Marshall had made another one of his awful ensemble romantic comedies — ala Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve — that stars everyone in Hollywood…and Hector Elizondo. Thankfully, this film is simply an (overly) earnest dedication to the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces, as well as their families.
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Men In Black 3
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2012
“I promise you the secrets of the universe, nothing more…”
It’s been an astonishing 15 years since Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones first teamed up as Agents J and K respectively for the intergalactic police force Men In Black. The film was like a breath of fresh air. It combined top flight science fiction fantasy with whimsical humor. It was a hit at the box office, and like most wonderfully original hits it was quickly followed by a sequel that had almost none of the cleverness and freshness of the original film.
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Chernobyl Diaries
Posted in The Reel World by M. W. Phillips on May 25th, 2012
“Aside from the sketchy van situation, if you promise that the tour is safe, I think it could be kinda cool.”
Chernobyl Diaries… so many bad choices to make and so little time. Imagine we are clueless Americans abroad in the Ukraine, so instead of visiting the major metropolitan areas, why not go on a tour of the Pripyat, the ghost town evacuated due to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown in 1987? Nothing says vacation more than exploring the scene of the worst nuclear disaster in history.
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Metal Tornado
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on May 25th, 2012
There is something about the disaster film that I can’t resist, and that something is seeing things get destroyed. I think we all have this in us, where the little Hulk inside us all just wants to smash or see things get smashed. Thankfully we live in an age where CGI and other special effects can allow us to see all kinds of havoc unleashed from the safety of our living room. With Metal Tornado in my hands to review I knew what to expect, so I turned off my brain and let the mayhem ensue.
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G.I. Joe Renegades: Season One, Volume One
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 25th, 2012
Growing up as an only child, I did my share of strange things. I staged wrestling matches with my wrestling figures, ran baseball games with myself (against myself) and also did my share of creating battles with my G.I. Joes. Feel free to call me a nerd or introvert at any time. As a result, every time I see a wrestling match or watch some baseball, I am reminded of those unique moments I shared as a child. Perhaps when I watch the new G.I. Joe Show: Renegades, I can relive some of those moments yet again.
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Exclusive Interview With Filmmaker Joe Dante
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2012
I had the honor to speak to the great Joe Dante. A graduate of the Roger Corman movie machine, Dante has established his place in film history with such films as The Howling, Gremlins 1 & 2, Matinee and the original Piranha. Find out why he’s one of the best. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Joe Dante
You should also take the time to visit him at Trailers From Hell
42nd Street Forever (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on May 24th, 2012
“His name is Samson. He’s big with his cat, with mama and with his stick. Black Samson… he’s mean and clean and rules the scene.”
In the 70s and 80s, filthy little theaters littered New York’s 42nd Street, sandwiched between adult bookstores, porn theaters, and peepshows. These dens of celluloid sin hosted an endless loop of “B” movies affectionately known as grindhouse films. They ran exploitation films, drive-in double features, and European softcore of every subgenre, ranging from Blaxploitation to Sexploitation, from Euro-crime to Sci-Fi and Horror. Some theaters projected these movies 24 hours a day, seven days a week
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The Secret World of Arrietty (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2012
“It’s funny how you wake up each day and never really know if it will be one that will change your life forever. But that’s what this day was. The day I left the city to spend a week in the house where my mother grew up. A day I’ll never forget.”
The Secret World Of Arrietty comes from the collected works of English writer Mary Norton. The first book, The Borrowers, introduced us to the Clock family. They were a race of tiny humans known as Borrowers. They lived beneath the floorboards of normal-sized humans and lived off the things they could “borrow” from the human family.
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95 Miles to Go
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on May 23rd, 2012
This fly on the wall experience follows Ray Romano and his friend and opening act Tom Caltabiano as they engage on an 8-day 7-city stand-up tour while driving from Miami to Atlanta. This candid experience is filmed not with a giant production crew but with one intern Roger Lay Jr. who is just as much a character in this documentary that follows the highs and lows of touring. What could easily have been a forgettable snooze-fest instead turns out to be an eye-opening glimpse into the life of TV star Ray Romano that has more than its fair share of laughs and enjoyable moments of awkwardness.
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The Red House
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on May 23rd, 2012
How many films are lost and forgotten over the years? It would be interesting to know how many films have been made since the advent of the movie industry. It is probably in the millions, and yet most of us would probably have trouble thinking of a thousand. The Red House is probably a film that could be considered lost or forgotten. It stars Edward G. Robinson, who is someone who everyone probably knows and would consider to be a classic American actor. There use to an old expression, “There are 8 million stories in the Naked City, and this is one of them.”
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Simply Red: Live at Montreaux 2003 (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 22nd, 2012
Hi, this is Casey Casem (play along, alright) and welcome to American Top 40. Michael “Mick” Hucknall was often made fun of due to his red locks in Lancashire, England as a young boy. Little did those children know that Mick would use that to propel himself into a music career at just eighteen years old with the Frantic Elevators during the 1970’s. That was the start of a very fruitful music career for Mr. Hucknall. This long distance dedication goes out to Eddie in Tuscaloosa, Mississippi celebrating his 84th birthday today and here is “Holding Back the Years” by the band known as Simply Red.
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Dark Blue: The Complete Second Season
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 22nd, 2012
“LAPD Lt. Carter Shaw and his special undercover task force understand that to collar criminals, one must first get on their level. They also know that going undercover may require cutting ties with those who mean the most. Adrift, isolated, and frequently faced with situations that strain the line between right or wrong, these officers know that all that matters is loyalty to each other and to the task at hand: bringing down the bad guys.”
That pretty much sums up the best part of what makes Dark Blue such a compelling series.
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Haywire (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2012
At first glance Haywire appears a bit out of character for the likes of director Steven Soderbergh. It’s not that he hasn’t delivered action films in the past. It’s that he’s never quite tied himself to such a tried and sometimes true formula before. When you first look at the press for Haywire you’re going to pretty much dismiss it as a standard action-hero film that follows in the mold of a Steven Seagal/Chuck Norris mold with a touch of Bourne Identity thrown in to meet the more recent trends.
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Exclusive Interview With Tom Caltabiano, Director Of 95 Miles To Go
Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2012
On Friday I had a chance to chat with Tom Caltabiano. If you’re a fan of the hit series Everybody Loves Raymond or the stand-up of the show’s star Ray Romano, you should already know who Tom is. He’s been Ray’s buddy, touring partner, show writer and opening act since 1991. His intimate documentary of one of those tours is the subject of the new recently released 95 Miles To Go on DVD. Tom talks about the release and his time with Ray on the road.
Bang it here to listen to my chat with Tom C. Podcast
Battleship
Posted in The Reel World by M. W. Phillips on May 18th, 2012
“My dad said they’d come, said it my whole life. He said one day we’ll find them or they’d find us. Know what else he said? He said, ‘Hope I’m not around when that day comes.’”
Director Peter Berg kneels at the altar of Michael Bay and lovingly creates a clone of his most bombastic, military-fetish, slo-mo obsessed, whiplash-cut-driven movies with Battleship, based on the Hasbro (the same company behind the Transformers movies and yes, it definitely shows) board game of the same name.
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The Kane Files
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on May 17th, 2012
What will a parent do to save the life of their dying son? This is the question that Scott Kane (Drew Fuller) is confronted with in the low-budget action film The Kane Files. In a desperate race against time, Kane needs to get together the money to pay for his son’s heart transplant, and along the way there are plenty of bullets and plot twists to keep the viewer entertained, but the film lacks any real substance to warrant ever mentioning again. Though not the most unique plot device for a film, the idea of parents doing whatever it takes to save their children is rich with potential that it frustrates me is never touched upon.
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Vegas: The Third Season, Volume 1
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2012
By 1978 the television detective model had been nearly complete and possibly already a cliché. Dan Tanna might have well been the complete model as far as the formula goes. It was almost as if you could go down a checklist and, like Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster, check off the necessary elements. The scripts could then almost write themselves, and you let the show fly on autopilot for three seasons or so until someone decides to look behind the curtain.
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Flashpoint: The Fourth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 16th, 2012
As one progresses as a reviewer, we come into contact with a wide variety of television shows. Some shows we even come to appreciate season after season. So, after I reviewed season 1 and 2 of Flashpoint, I was a little disappointed that I missed season 3. Later on, I would catch up obviously, but I was more than delighted to take on Season 4 when it came to my door. Thankfully, I was able to pick right up and continue to watch one of my very favorite shows of the last 5 years.
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The Universe: The Complete Season Six (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 16th, 2012
“In the beginning there was darkness. And then bang, giving birth to an endless expanding existence of time, space, and matter. Every day new discoveries are unlocking the mysterious, the mind-blowing, the deadly secrets of a place we call The Universe.”
The History series has lasted for six seasons to date. The show uses modern space photography, computer-generated images, and demonstrations along with respected scientists to explore the various aspects of our universe.
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The Dictator
Posted in The Reel World by J C on May 16th, 2012
There’s obviously nothing funny about the atrocities committed by some of history’s most notorious tyrants. So why have these men proven to be such a surprisingly fertile source of comedy? Whether it’s (Puppet) Kim Jong-il crooning forlornly about being lonely (actually “ronery”) in Team America: World Police or Adolf Hitler being saluted by a chorus line of high-stepping stormtroopers in The Producers, there’s certainly a precedent for mocking these reviled figures. With The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen appears to be taking his patented inappropriateness to a new level.
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Felicity – Season Two
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on May 15th, 2012
“…So when I walked into the hair cutting place, I was taking a leap. But I wasn’t doing it for a guy — I was doing it for me.”
Season 2 of Felicity features Keri Russell getting one of the most infamous haircuts in TV history. When people think of super-producer J.J. Abrams and his television projects, images from Alias, Fringe and a little show called Lost probably spring to mind. On the other hand, a significantly smaller portion of weirdos the TV-watching population may think of the relationship dramedies Abrams has produced, such as What About Brian, Six Degrees and Felicity, by far the best of this latter group.
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