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.
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).
Posted in: The Reel World by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2016
Café Society looks absolutely gorgeous. Every camera setup finds a new authentic location that suggests a time and place long ago. The lighting and cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (Last Tango in Paris, Reds, Apocalypse Now) are sumptuous and delicious. The story is novelistic like an F. Scott Fitzgerald magnum opus. Woody Allen has had a long and very productive career. He is definitely at a stage when he should have slowed down, but he doesn’t. Café Society is not Woody’s magnum opus, but it certainly feels like he is reaching for it. It has depth and complexity. It is funny at times but is generally filled with ache and regret.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 19th, 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.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 19th, 2016
“I remember…”
On the surface, there's nothing particularly remarkable about Paul Dedalus, the French anthropologist at the center of My Golden Days. As he prepares to return to France after an extended work stint in Tajikstan, Paul reflects on a trio of key moments from his childhood and young adulthood. Much of what Paul recalls — the death of a parent, his first love, and the aching of a long-distance relationship — is completely relatable. Yet filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin aims to present Paul's life as the most romantic, tragic story ever told.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 19th, 2016
For a film called Joseph and Mary, the titular characters are little more than a footnote in the overall film in my opinion. Jesus has an even smaller role, which is a notable first for film when it comes to films that reference the character. I give it points for it focusing on less notable people rather than the big three. However, that said, execution of the project was a failure to launch due to predictable storyline and lackluster performances.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on July 19th, 2016
Apparently, the multiplex wasn’t quite big enough to contain this year’s momentous clash between Batman and Superman. In fact, the battle between the iconic superheroes has spilled over onto this week’s Round Up. Warner Bros. was kind enough to send us Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice — Ultimate Edition, which includes about 30 minutes of extra footage and a bunch of bonus features. But wait…there’s more! We’re also going to bring you reviews for the movie’s 4K and 3D editions. On top of that, Warner also proved they can count to The 100: Season 3. Finally, Lionsgate arranges The Perfect Match, while Entertainment One sinks its teeth into Bitten: The Final Season.
You probably know what I'm going to say in this space by now: 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: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 18th, 2016
From the very beginning one can see there was great potential here. The show was based on a collection of books that appear to be quite popular. They're called The Outworld series, written by Canadian author Kelley Armstrong. The show avoided most of the standard clichés. No full moon reference at all here. The werewolves "change" at will or when emotionally charged (“you won't like me when I'm angry”). There are no silver bullets. These guys might be stronger and harder to kill than a human, but severe body trauma or blood loss kills them just like anyone else. No pentagrams or wolfbane to be found in the show. Such potential. After three years, the ride comes to an end with all of that potential unfulfilled. The werewolves might have been hard to kill. Alas, the show was not.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on July 18th, 2016
I have just reviewed The Bible Stories: Jacob in which I may have left people hanging, because I teased the end of the story. Of course that only applies to people who have never read the Bible. The Bible Stories: Joseph will give you some of those answers if you never got to the Good Book. Jacob indeed survives and thrives, so God was good on his word. Jacob had many sons, but in this film he is older and played by Martin Landau, not Matthew Modine. Jacob had 12 sons with two wives and two handmaids who were all involved with the births. Jacob (also known as Israel) entered into a covenant with God to create a new nation of plenty and prosperity.
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