Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 18th, 2017
“Seems like a new boatload of expatriates gets dumped here every day.”
In The Moderns, “here” happens to be 1926 Paris, a time and place that immediately conjures joie de vivre images of lavish parties and complete artistic freedom. And while both of those things are technically on display in filmmaker Alan Rudolph's 1988 drama, the movie turns down the volume on the Roaring Twenties to explore the tricky and transactional connection between art and commerce...and how it can extend to personal relationships.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 15th, 2017
“What can you tell me about African Americans and science?”
Anyone who even halfway paid attention in their high school science class knows that a polio vaccine was developed in the 1950s. And if you were especially attentive, you even know the vaccine was developed by American researcher Jonas Salk. Unfortunately, the story that is far less commonly told in classrooms is that of Henrietta Lacks, the poor black woman whose “immortalized” HeLa cell line gave birth to the biomedical industry. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks takes a curious approach: instead of merely shining a light on its worthy subject, this powerful (and overstuffed) HBO film is about *the quest* to bring Henrietta back to life.
Posted in: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2017
Upcomingdiscs HQ in Florida was visited by a rather nasty lady who called herself Irma.
She left the place with no power and the staff scattered to the 75 MPH winds to be safe.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on September 9th, 2017
In case you’ve been living beneath a rock and out of contact with any and all social media, this weekend the long-awaited film adaption of Stephen King’s It releases. Some of my friends look at the trailer for the new film and instantly reject what they see; they immediately cling to their memories of how the original mini-series scared them. One thing you’ll hear them all saying is how Tim Curry made such an impact on their lives and to this day gave them reason to fear clowns. While I respect their opinions, when you revisit the film, you can’t help but notice how dated the film is, and really, if you’re over the age of 10, it just isn’t scary.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 9th, 2017
What happens when a group of friends decide they want to get together and make a horror movie? I’d imagine the result would be something close to Granny of the Dead. I’m not sure what kind of budget they had to make the film, but I’d imagine it wasn’t very much, and the talent on the screen doesn’t really scream the next box office star, but the film has charm, the kind of charm that they did the film not because of the paycheck but instead they just wanted to have fun and make a movie. I’m hoping that is the case with the film; if so, then I can forgive a lot. For instance, have you ever seen the fan film that is a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark? Is it great?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews 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 Tony DiNozzo. Tony was one of the still many remaining characters from the show's premier season a decade and a half ago. He's the kind of character who couldn't be replaced by just one new character. NCIS starts the 14th season with three new characters on board. But Weatherly wasn't the only big loss to the series. The unexpected death of showrunner Gary Glasberg hit the cast and crew pretty hard.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2017
"It's a beautiful day outside. The streets are all packed with tourists. They're drinking beers. They're chasing beads, headed out on the vampire walking tour of New Orleans. They think it's just a myth, just part of the city's charm. Well... we know better. Just like we know there's a storm coming..."
Are you ready to do the Time Warp again? Ready or not here it comes. It's been five years since we last left the New Orleans setting for The Originals. Klaus (Morgan) has been locked up in the catacombs by Marcel (Davis), who is once again ruling as the supernatural king of New Orleans. Hayley (Tonkin) is taking care of her growing daughter Hope by never staying in the same place twice
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2017
I grew up on the Peanuts creations of Charles M. Schulz. Most of us have, in some way or another. His newspaper comic strip is one of the longest running and most successful strips of all time. The work has been translated into every language currently spoken on the planet. The images of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and the rest of the Peanuts gang have appeared on just about any kind of product imaginable. Our pop culture contains too many references to the strip to mention briefly.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on September 8th, 2017
A Blast just might be one of the ‘smartest’ movies I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I am not the smartest person to watch it. Heavily soaked in allegories about Greece’s recent financial crisis, the film begs to be understood, but if you do not have any background knowledge about the crisis, you are lost from the start. The film feels it was made specifically for Greek viewers, as all of the allegorical elements feel poignant and intentional, but not knowing anything about contemporary Greek society leaves you with the feeling of “this means something; I just don’t know what it is.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 7th, 2017
“Rebels have friends always rushing to the rescue.”
The Star Wars universe is famously vast, and that’s before even going down the Expanded Universe rabbit hole. Though it's been precisely 40 years since the fourth first Star Wars film premiered, the army of artists who have taken on George Lucas’ iconic creations haven’t even come close to running out of material to explore. Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels debuted three years ago as an engaging, thoroughly zippy, kid-friendly contribution that has blossomed into a thoughtful, vibrant, and vital part of Star Wars lore.







