Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 28th, 2016
"It's time for the biggest gladiator match of all time. Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham."
In a summer chock full of blockbusters that are expected to defy box office records, dare I say this may be the most anticipated one of them all? When news about this film was first released, opposition rang out on both sides of the spectrum. Some argued that films that feature two characters facing off rarely work, especially when it comes to two heroes. I have to admit that I found myself agreeing with this argument. In my defense, this appeared to me as a clear strategic ploy to fast-track the introduction of the much-anticipated Justice League franchise. Now, albeit true, my resistance did waver upon watching the trailer. So as I sat in my seat, anxiously awaiting the lights to dim and the screen to illuminate, one question dawned (pun intended) on me: can the film live up to the hype?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on July 28th, 2016
They really don’t make horror films like they used to. I understand that each decade graces us with new, unique genre mechanics, but there is just something to be said about the horror elements found in 1980’s cinema. While Hellhole does not have any supernatural or modern science fiction qualities, it does carry the classic “mad scientist” narrative quite well. The film also boasts one of the silliest, yet terrifying, villains I have seen to date. Hellhole is a film that gracefully slips below the radar, but for the cult cinema connoisseur, the strong writing is really what makes this film a great find.
The film opens with Susan (Judy Landers) escaping from a home invasion: Her mother has stolen implicating bank statements from the doctor she works for, and a goon is attempting to get them back. The goon is none other than “Silk” (Ray Sharkey), a rather flamboyant hitman, clad in a studded leather suit, a long red scarf, and a silly hairdo. Susan knocks herself out and finds herself in an all-woman insane asylum, suffering from amnesia. Silk attains an orderly position at the hospital to wait for her memory to return. To my pleasant surprise, the plot did not end here. In fact, the film includes a parallel storyline to Silk: the board of medicine has hired a private investigator (Richard Cox) to take a position as an orderly in an effort to find incriminating evidence against the mad psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Mary Woronov).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 27th, 2016
If there was a show I could recommend to someone who is looking for a smart thriller that doesn’t talk down to its audience, I couldn’t point to Person of Interest fast enough. It’s a show that may be labeled sci-fi for some, yet its science and technology may not be so far off. The idea of our government or private agencies using security cameras or our phones to monitor us is no longer just a rumor muttered around in circles of conspiracy theorists, but is quickly becoming a reality of day-to-day life. I kind of saw the show as a riff on the Batman story, subtract the cape and cowl and exchange it for a suit, then throw in a dash of George Orwell’s 1984, and you can see where the show got its start. For those who have never seen the show, you are doing yourself a great disservice by not watching the show, and to step in during its fifth and final season, I believe it’s safe to say you’d be more than a little lost. So what does creator Jonathan Nolan have to offer us in these final 13 episodes? To get straight to the point, this might be one of the best final seasons for a show (at least since Justified) that I can recall seeing.
When we last saw John Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), they were struggling to compress and protect The Machine that they were able to code into a briefcase and onto several drives. All this is while Samaritan has become fully functional as an artificially intelligent program that seems to be able to track anyone, anywhere with the aid of a secret government task force. Not only does our team have to go underground, but now they are constantly in danger with targets on their back; their only protection is their manufactured identities The Machine created for them. (Still with me?)
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on July 26th, 2016
It's been well over a year since we started this Tuesday Round Up, so I like to think we're beyond certain formalities. For example, I hope you all know that you're welcome to stop by our fair site anytime you want. No RSVP necessary. That being said, Drafthouse Films was still kind enough to drop off The Invitation this week. Shout! Factory tumbles down a Hellhole while offering a howling good time with The Boy Who Cried Werewolf. Finally, Lionsgate unleashes the John Travolta actioner I Am Wrath.
One last reminder before signing off for the week (and for July): 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: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on July 25th, 2016
The first rule of Fight Club is you never talk about Fight Club. So it's a good thing we're talking about Fight Valley instead. I got to hang out on the phone with Rob Hawk who both wrote and directed Fight Valley and the upcoming Fight Valley 2: Lockdown and we had a lot to talk about. The New Jersey native gives us an idea of what it was like to grow up on the tough streets of Jersey. Fight Valley tells the story of one woman who enters the underground female fight game to find out how her sister died. It's lady's night at the fights. You talkin' to me? Rob Hawk did and it's all here. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Rob Hawk.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 25th, 2016
“You talk dreams to those kids, you better follow through.”
There's a (not-so) grand cinematic tradition of white knights riding into rough neighborhoods and inspiring the disadvantaged kids who are seemingly stuck there. We've seen this plot applied in everything from Hardball and McFarland USA to Sister Act 2. (Hey...no one said the white knight *has* to be white). For the most part, these movies are as formulaic as they are enjoyable. So one of the many wonderful things about New Zealand chess drama The Dark Horse is that its white knight hero is a complex, damaged, well-meaning figure who's actually in worse shape than the kids he's trying to help.
Posted in: Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on July 25th, 2016
That's right. We're heading back to The All American Bikini Car Wash once again. Seems my car keeps getting dirty these days. This time we're talking to the guy who started it all (in the film). Tom McLaren plays Professor Dugan. He's the one who offers the extra credit if Jack can turn a profit with his car wash. Obviously, the prof. wasn't expecting this... I had the opportunity to spend some time talking with Tom. He was also involved in the marketing which has driven this little title into the top 15 in home video sales. He talks about that and his many other projects. He's got a wonderful book out with classic continuity pictures from the Fox vaults. It's co-written with Angela Cartwright. You're going to want to hear this. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Tom McLaren
Want to learn more about Tom?:
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on July 24th, 2016
“Everyone is afraid of the dark…and that’s what she feeds on.”
Despite rumors to the contrary, I am a full-grown adult. That means I can’t in good conscience admit to being afraid of the dark. The most I’ll concede is a sense of uneasiness if I’m in a dark space because I might bump into something. And if I hear a strange noise in the middle of the night, my mind might start creating sinister shapes out of shadows. (Hold on…am I afraid of the dark?!) Either way, that primal and unshakable fear of what could be hiding just out of sight is what powers Lights Out, one of the leaner, nimbler, and flat-out most enjoyable low-budget horror flicks in recent years.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 23rd, 2016
"Space... The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before."
Every Star Trek fan knows the words by heart. For 50 years they've heralded the promise of something special. From the television show that couldn't but did anyway to 12 feature films. Would #13 be the lucky one? The trailers left many of us worried that it would more than likely be unlucky. And we needed so much for this one to be great. Since the last film we lost Leonard Nimoy, who was most certainly the heart of the franchise on the screen. He was also the gateway between the two incarnations. That loss was eventually expected. Then we tragically lost Anton Yelchin, who was one of the industry’s rising stars. It's the 50th anniversary, and with all this we really needed something good. Trailers said we were out of luck. They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I'm here to tell you that you can't judge a film by its trailers. Star Trek Beyond turns out to be not only what the fans wanted... but what we desperately needed.
Posted in: The Reel World by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2016
Captain Fantastic has nothing to do with Elton John. (It turns out that’s not entirely true, because director/writer/actor Matt Ross (Big Love, Silicon Valley) found out his mother played Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy all the time, and it must have imbedded itself in his subconscious). The story in the movie starts in a very Lord of the Flies way, with camouflaged faces hidden amongst the leaves of the woods. They are children, and one of them leaps from the bush with a knife and cuts a deer’s neck. There are seven children and they all belong to Ben (Viggo Mortensen, Lord of the Rings). The oldest boy has killed the deer, and Ben baptizes him in blood and says he is now a man. This would lead one to think this is some kind of radical cult. Anything dangerous and deranged is soon dispelled. It is simply a father teaching his children survival skills. It is a father holding his family together and bonding with them and loving them and passing on knowledge. Ben’s form of home schooling is extremely rigorous and intellectual. This has been a lifestyle for a very long time. His wife has recently gotten very ill and is not with them anymore, living in the woods. Then she dies. Her father, Jack (Frank Langella, The Americans) hates Ben and says he will have Ben arrested if he comes to the funeral, but Jack’s wife, Abigail (Ann Dowd, The Leftovers, The Masters of Sex), hopes a compromise can be formed. Ben decides he won’t go to the funeral, but the children are furious and sad about this. Eventually Ben relents, and they take an old converted bus and hit the road.
The movie is absolutely beautiful. It is a celebration of both nature and a way of life that has almost disappeared. The family is like no family you are likely to know. This becomes especially apparent when they visit family members on the way. Harper (Kathryn Hahn, Transparent, Parks and Recreation), Dave (Steve Zahn, Treme, Modern Family) and their two boys are a typical American family, and they couldn’t be more different than Ben’s brood. In fact, Ben’s philosophies and methods might be considered controversial, so I won’t reveal much about them and let you discover for yourself. If you go see this film, you can decide if it’s a good family or not. Ben is mostly a very reasonable and civilized person, but it is not to say he compromises his principles in any way.
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