Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on September 2nd, 2017
Every once in a while a film comes along that not only takes you by surprise but exceeds all expectations and just sticks to you. Last year it was La La Land, and this year for me it is Good Time. Checking out the trailer after the film began to pick up some buzz on the internet, I thought that it looked good, but nothing about the trailer stood out to me to lead me to believe this was anything special. But the thing that the trailer just doesn’t seem to capture is the experience. As you often see the tagline “a thrill ride”, this may be the first time in a long time where I feel this generic tagline actually fits, because that is precisely what this film is. From the moment the film takes off, it doesn’t let up till the closing credits begin.
First off, for all those who see Robert Pattinson in the cast and roll your eyes, let me just say this is the role that will change your opinion of the man. Since doing the Twilight films Pattinson has done just about all that he can do to leave that role in his past and become something more than a pretty-boy actor. He’s had great roles; one of my favorites was a supporting role in the Aussie thriller The Rover, and early this year he took on the role as a grizzled adventurer in The Lost City of Z. Now we get him as the relentless scumbag bank robber Connie in Good Time. He hasn’t been better, and if this role doesn’t have him as an award contender for best actor, then there is something seriously flawed with the system.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 1st, 2017
Everybody has their own group of favorite comics. I got plenty of classics that I always love to watch like Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and so forth. But we all have that one comic that we do not readily talk about in open groups or even with family. However late at night, maybe a drink in, and when nobody is looking (at least your wife anyway) we turn on and laugh our posterior off with. For me, that’s Bobcat Goldthwait. The movie is of course, Shakes the Clown.
We open to a dog enjoying some leftover pizza from the night before. A record is skipping and a young child walks over to it and removes the needle. His next stop is the bathroom as anybody in the male gender will tell you. Unfortunately, he stumbles over our hero, Shakes the Clown (played by Bobcat Goldthwait) who is apparently hanged over from the night before. Shakes soon wakes by the gentle flow of urine on his reeking head.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2017
"Enjoy the trip. It's going to be a bumpy ride."
It has been six months since the second season ended. A herd of creatures and experiments rained down on Gotham City. They were the product of experimentation by Dr. Strange, played by B.D. Wong. This, of course, is Dr. Hugo Strange, mad scientist, and not Marvel's Stephen Sorcerer Supreme. Jim Gordon (McKenzie) is no longer a member of the police force but has found a niche as a bounty hunter rounding up the creatures and bringing them in for cash. Gotham City is in chaos and has fallen into the kind of frontier justice. But this is Gotham City. Where is Batman? This is a question you ask only if you haven't been following along for the first two seasons of Gotham. You can find out more about the show and its setup by checking out our earlier reviews Here. For the rest of us, let's look at what the third season of Gotham has to offer now that it's available on Blu-ray from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 1st, 2017
“The sheer beauty of China manifests itself in so many different ways, in so many remote corners. It sometimes feels like another world.”
To help celebrate Earth Day each year, Disneynature — the independent film unit at the Mouse House dedicated to making nature documentaries — has gotten in the habit of immersing us in a different corner of the animal kingdom. While it's a bit surprising that it took nine movies to finally arrive in China, the wait was absolutely worth it for fans of cuddly critters and breathtaking landscapes. The country's otherworldly beauty makes up for some off-kilter narration and less-than-thrilling (invented) storylines.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2017
"Sometimes it takes a good man to stop bad people."
And sometimes you can have good actors and a rich genre to draw upon with classic characters and still not get the job done. Sadly, that's the big story for Hickok. This one arrived with some rather high expectations. It was being released in 4K, which appeared to signal some confidence from Cinedigm, who are just entering the UHD fray. The cast is also a good sign. Luke Hemsworth plays the titular character with a supporting cast that includes legend Bruce Dern, Trace Adkins, and Kris Kristofferson. You have the built-in interest of a real western frontier icon in Wild Bill Hickok. Everyone knows who he is. His legend is recalled to ever poker player who's holding aces and eights in their hand. But none of that legend is really explored or exploited here. It's merely the name that carries the weight, and poorly at that.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews 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 more important than it is today. Years ago a show's only chance at making money after the original run was through syndication. Today there are less independent stations, and they tend toward the situation comedies more than drama. There are cable networks that once used these shows as their primary material. Remember when TNT might as well have been called The Law & Order Network. But even those times are drying up. Cable networks are churning out more and more of their own scripted shows so that there is less and less space for syndication. Today shows live on in the form of streaming services like Netflix or home video like the latest CBS release of Elementary The Complete 5th Season. 100 episodes continues to be impressive, and it appears there are legs left for more to come.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2017
"When I was a child, my planet Krypton was dying. I was sent to Earth to protect my cousin. But my pod got knocked off course, and by the time I got here, my cousin had already grown up and become... Superman. I hid who I really was until one day when an accident forced me to reveal myself to the world. To most people, I'm a reporter at CatCo Worldwide Media. But in secret, I work with my adoptive sister for the D.E.O. to protect my city from alien life and anyone else that means to cause it harm. I am Supergirl."
A lot of things have changed with the second season of Supergirl. The series spent its first season on CBS but was always considered somewhat a part of the DC Television Universe. That was more than confirmed when the show had an unusual cross-episode/network story that involved The Flash. There must have been complications, and the decision to bring the series over to the CW appears to be a rather natural one. Gotham continues to thrive over at Fox, but it's quite obvious that Gotham lives in a very different place than the four DC shows now living at the CW.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2017
Blue Bloods is the first television drama to capture the best of the police procedural and also the warmth and charm of the family drama. It's like NYPD Blue invaded the set of Brothers & Sisters. The show brings incredibly good writing and production values that do look and feel like a film every week. You hear that a lot from series show runners, but this is one of those rare cases where it is true. It doesn't hurt that the show has a strong cast that includes the like of Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg. It doesn't work unless everyone connected with a show buys into a common goal. That's exactly what you get here, and it shows on the screen.
Tom Selleck is Frank Reagan. He's the police commissioner of the NYPD. He's no stranger to the job. In fact, police is the Reagan family business. His father Henry (Cariou) was the commissioner before him, who was fired for his brutal honesty and straight talk. His father is a constant reminder that the job is not always just about policing the city. There are politics to deal with no matter how hard he tries to avoid them. His son Joe was killed in the line of duty. His elder son Danny (Wahlberg) is one of the force's best detectives. His youngest son Jamie (Estes) is a on the force. He has a Harvard law degree, but he decided to give up the idea of a law practice to go into the family business. Daughter Erin (Moynahan) is not a cop. But that doesn't mean she's out of the loop. She is a lawyer who works for the DA's office. When the Reagans gather for their traditional Sunday dinner, the family chatter often involves dead bodies and hard criminals.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on August 30th, 2017
In the vein established by 21 Jump Street of taking a serious television series and transforming it into a comedy comes Baywatch. I’m sure everyone remembers Baywatch, possibly one of the most watched television series of all time that featured buxom ladies like Pamela Anderson and Yasmine Bleeth in tight swimsuits, running in slow motion. Transplanted for a moderate time period, this film adaptation features this generation’s hard bodies such as Zac Efron, Dwayne Johnson, and Alexandria Daddario (those eyes are hypnotic) taking on the established and iconic roles of Matt Brody, Mitch Buchannon, and Summer Quinn.
In Emerald Bay, an elite squad of lifeguards patrols the beach, going above and beyond to protect the people of the community. Led by Mitch Buchannon, this group finds themselves investigating murder and the increase in drug activity, which leads to businesswoman Victoria Leeds, who has a plan to privatize the beach, and surrounding businesses.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on August 30th, 2017
Alien Covenant is a perfect example of making a plan and sticking with it, because if you don’t you may be infected by an alien organism that will explode out of your chest. Graphic, I know, but informative, right? The latest installment in the Alien franchise picks up sometime after Prometheus and continues to pursue the critical question that was posed in the previous film: who created life? An intergalactic colonial expedition comes to face to face with their worst nightmare. It’s ironic how a mission to preserve life results in so much death.
Fifteen years after the events of Prometheus, a colony ship named Covenant is bound for a remote planet with thousands of colonists and embryos when they are struck by a neutrino burst (think of it as a power space storm) which damages the ship and results in the death of several colonists as well as members of the crew, including the ship’s captain (James Franco). Thrust into the leadership role, Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup) finds himself overwhelmed by his new position and dissent among the crew.
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