Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on March 9th, 2017
Contemporary horror films are in a really strange position. Gone are the days of the formulaic slasher flick or creature feature. Today we have filmmakers who only seem interested in breaking genre conventions in order to try something new and be deemed “relevant.” As a result, we are treated to an intellectually-driven horror renaissance with films such as It Follows or The Babadook, or we must sit through the onslaught of torture-porn-infused sequels to 70’s and 80’s classics such as Evil Dead (2013), I Spit on Your Grave (2010), or The Last House on the Left (2009). If the filmmaker is trying to break genre conventions, it is important to note that they do not always succeed, as is the case with Slasher.com.
Opening the film with what seems to be a great social commentary regarding modern dating apps such as Tinder, Slasher.com offers a reasonable plot: some deviant is prowling the net, preying on the helpless women of St. Louis, Missouri. Then that concept just sort of changes. After about five minutes of news stories, the film clumsily takes you away from that concept via a blossoming relationship between a young couple who just met. In an effort to make it a “first date to remember,” they rent a cabin somewhere in the backwoods of Missouri. Their experience becomes more and more disturbing as you learn more about their creepy hosts. But what of the online dating killer? He comes back, but in a way that fails to surprise.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on March 7th, 2017
Resistance to our weekly Tuesday Round Up is futile. Resistance, courtesy of Omnibus Entertainment, is also one of the titles we'll be reviewing in the next week or so. Be sure to check back soon for our take on the World War II drama. Meanwhile, Speakeasy Pictures serves up Bloodrunners, a Prohibition-era vampire thriller starring Ice-T. Film Detective introduces us to Joe Bullet, while Cinedigm logs onto Slasher.com. Finally, our week is set to end with a visit from a certain iconic movie monster when Kong: Skull Island swings into theaters.
Now it's time for your weekly reminder before signing off: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2017
"I always know who you are. It's just that sometimes I don't recognize you."
Logan is perhaps one of the most interesting, endearing and popular characters in the Marvel universe. Wolverine has the distinction of having been created by someone other than Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While they invented the X-Men team from which the adamantium-clawed warrior was born, he was actually created by the team of Len Wein and John Romita, Sr. in the mid 1970's. Since that time the character has taken on a life of his own, a life that is as much owed to actor Hugh Jackman as anyone else. The funny thing is that Jackman is really nothing at all like the comic book character, who was actually quite short. But it's Jackman who has come to personify the wirily Cannuck. He's appeared, if only briefly, in each of the X-Men films except for one and two less-than-stellar Wolverine films. It all comes to a rather fitting close with one of the best Marvel-character films to date. Logan is pure comic book film noir and an emotional ride from start to finish.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2017
Brad Pitt appears to be making this World War II thing a bit of a niche. In recent years he went from Inglourious Basterds to the superior Fury and now to Allied. I wish I could say that he's getting better, but Allied marks a step backwards for the actor in more ways than just the performance. It's an unfortunate aspect of Hollywood that sexy rumors and scandals sell more theater tickets than a good movie. Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have called it quits, and the scuttlebutt is that it was Pitt's fling with Allied co-star Marion Cotillard that caused the split. I don't know if any of that is true and honestly wouldn't care a hill of beans if it were. I only bring it up because if Pitt was having some kind of on-set torrid romance, it's a shame that none of that passion ever made it to the screen. These two have about as much romantic chemistry as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. (Too soon?) If only that were all there was to sink this period drama.
Max Vatan (Pitt) is a member of military intelligence during World War II. He's dropped into French Morocco to take down a high-priority target. The inside contact for the mission is the famous French liberation legend Marianne Beausejour (Cotillard), who poses as his wife. Together they complete their mission and return to England where their fake romance has blossomed into a real one. They are soon married with a child. Both are enjoying a break from the spy world as the war continues to rage about them. It's wedded bliss until Vatan is told that his wife might not be who she says she is. She might be a plant and a German spy. Needless to say his world tumbles down around him as he tries to stay one step ahead of his superiors to discover the truth.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on March 2nd, 2017
“I don't know what it is with this place. I don't want to call it voodoo because that's so cliché and you guys probably hate that down here...but there's definitely a feel.”
To say that a certain city is “almost like another character” in a movie has become somewhat commonplace. The phrase is usually applied to films where directors have placed an inordinate emphasis on the background and setting of their stories. By that standard, The King of New Orleans doesn't simply cast The Big Easy as “almost like another character”...the city gets a starring role.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on February 28th, 2017
How well do you really know the person you're married to? That's the provocative question at the center of Allied, the stylish World War II drama from Robert Zemeckis. (Of course, the question becomes even trickier to answer when both people in the marriage are well-trained spies.) Thanks to Paramount, you can find out for yourself by grabbing a copy of Allied in 4K...and we'll have a review of the spiffy new disc very soon. And be sure to come back later this week to see if our claws come out when we review Logan.
One last reminder before signing off for the week (and for February): if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on February 24th, 2017
“Sometimes...if there's too many white people, I get nervous.”
Some of the very best horror films/psychological thrillers succeed by taking a relatable source of anxiety and cranking it to 11. For example, The Exorcist can be viewed as the worst-case scenario for anyone suffering a crisis of faith, while The Shining taps into the madness of being cooped up with your family for too long. Get Out works because it uses the nerve-wracking experience of meeting your significant other's parents for the first time as a jumping-off point to tell a subversive, insightful, and entertaining story that mashes together Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and The Stepford Wives.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 23rd, 2017
Before there was South Park, in 1993 MTV released the coolest cartoon that was out there when they began to air Beavis and Butt-Head. When it came to animated shows, there really wasn’t much out there that appealed to the average teenage boy, but MTV understood their audience and took a chance on creator Mike Judge’s little series that was virtually an overnight sensation. The blend of having a short animated series mixed in with music videos that the show’s characters would deliver their commentary from the torn up sofa was the perfect blend for what would be an unexpected pop-culture movement. Looking back at the series with older eyes, I can understand why my parents rolled their eyes about my urgency to get home to watch the new episode of Beavis and Butt-Head. They were crass, they were stupid, and their only goals in life were to get laid and eat nachos; basically they were not so different from my friends in high school, only an exaggerated version. Now it’s 2017, and MTV has put out a massive 12-disc set that contains all the episodes, a variety of music videos, behind-the-scenes features, and even the feature-length film. After taking my trip down memory lane and feeling as though my brain has melted into a pile of nacho cheese, I’m here to deliver the verdict.
For those who somehow have never heard of the show, Beavis (blond Metalica t-shirt-wearing teen) and Butt-Head (brown-haired AC/DC t-shirt-wearing teen), are a pair of teens who lack intelligence and ambition but manage to plod along through life and get into some crazy situations. Despite the many faults of the duo, for the most part they are your typical teenagers who just want to have a good time. In a strange way I almost could say the two and their attitude on life is something so basic that perhaps their key to happiness is simply not thinking about their actions and just doing. We see them get bullied by the town trouble maker Todd; they are rejected by their peers, they live in terrible conditions with no parents in sight, but together the two seem to manage to get through any situation.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2017
He's back. I'm talking about author Robert Matzen. I spoke to Robert at Christmas about his amazing book Mission: Jimmy Stewart And The Fight For Europe. You can catch up on that interview Here. Now he has released a new edition of his book Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 which tells the story of the fiery plane crash that took the life of Carole Lombard, her mother, and Otto Winkler, who was Clark Gable's assistant and best friend, on January 16, 1942. The plane was also carrying American servicemen who were an important part of the World War II effort. This new edition contains brand new material and has been released for the 75th anniversary of the tragic crash. I can tell you that it's a page-turner that you'll find hard to put down. (Of course, that could have to do with the sticky stuff they put all over the cover. Just kidding.) All the while as I was reading the book I was looking forward to another conversation with the author. We finally got to talk again. Now you can hear every word. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Robert Matzen.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on February 22nd, 2017
“I'm not as comfortable as you are with the notion of killing other human beings.”
Remember that time about six months ago when NFL star Colin Kaepernick set off a firestorm of controversy by repeatedly kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest? A big part of the outrage was tied to the notion that Kaepernick's actions were disrespectful to members of the U.S. military. One of the most striking things about Quarry — Cinemax's compelling, well-rounded Vietnam War-era drama — is how it depicts a period not that long ago in our country's history when veterans were openly treated with venom and vitriol that went way beyond someone taking a knee.
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