Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 10th, 2016
Since The Conjuring was released back in 2013, I can’t help but love what James Wan brought to the film; it’s that perfect film to put on during a stormy night. Whether you are a believer in the paranormal or not, the life story of Ed and Lorraine Warren is interesting I’d imagine for skeptics, and for us believers, well, their day-to-day life seems downright terrifying. Hearing how The Conjuring was going to be James Wan’s last horror film (after all he went on to do Furious 7) this seemed criminal to me, because he seemed like the one working director who had seemed to master the craft of creating a horror film. Now Wan has come back to tell the next terrifying tale from the Warren’s case files with The Conjuring 2, and in the process has I believe has left his mark on the horror genre with perhaps the best haunted house film to date.
For fans of the first film, you may remember that it ended with Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) getting a call to investigate the Amityville house. This is where the new film picks up as the Warrens with other investigators are investigating the home to see if there was something paranormal inside. (For those unfamiliar with the Amityville story, I highly recommend spending some time on YouTube and checking out some of the documentaries about not just the mass murder that took place but also about the Lutz family that moved in after.) During the investigation Lorraine has an encounter with an evil entity that delivers an ominous warning to her. Following this investigation, the Warrens become worldwide celebrities as experts in the field of paranormal investigation. It’s with this attention that accusations are made against them for being frauds.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 10th, 2016
“I don’t know what kind of trouble he can get into in a day.”
At first glance, those words — spoken by a father in the midst of a particularly eventful weekend with his estranged son — sound like a filmmaker giving himself permission to put his characters in the most outrageous situations possible. But The Confirmation actually shines by keeping things simple. The movie is a low-key, thoroughly affecting story of a father and son forging an unexpected connection.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 9th, 2016
For the horror fans out there, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there have been a lot of horror anthologies being pumped out. It’s a concept that I can appreciate, but even as a fan, enough is enough already. It’s great to see talented people coming together to film a handful of short films, all with a collective theme, and seeing how the filmmakers use the platform to tell the story. For me the VHS series is my favorite of the bunch; not every story will be everyone’s cup of tea, but there are at least one or two stories per DVD that people can enjoy. When it comes to Monsterland, I feel this is a film that somewhat cheats the rules of a true anthology, because it’s really just a collection of short films made independently of one another that seem to have been purchased for this one release. The problem isn’t with putting a bunch of short films together to release for one DVD release; instead what bothers me is that of all the short films that are out there, these are the ones that were picked. Not all of them are bad, but for the amount of talented upcoming filmmakers out there, it’s hard for me to believe that this is the best that could be found for this release.
We are brought into the story as we see a movie theater that is under attack by monsters. Bodies and blood are everywhere, but one guy armed with only a baseball bat decides to stay and watch the movie that is playing; the movie just happens to be Monsterland.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
"Roots: The Saga of an American Family literally blazed across this nation's screens."
In 1977 the entire country became Africans for eight consecutive nights. The name Kunta Kinte would become a household name. It was unprecedented on so many levels that even the ABC executives that made the decision to air it believed it was going to be a ratings disaster. The decision to run it on so many consecutive nights was made to avoid the ratings collapse from lasting more than a week. But by the time the final episode aired, Roots had become the most-watched television mini-series of all time. The final episode was the most-watched episode of television of all time. The mini-series record stands 40 years later. The episode record has been broken only twice since then. First it was the "Who shot JR" cliffhanger on Dallas, and eventually the final episode of M*A*S*H would take and continue to retain the record. If only those executives had known, it would have been a sweeps event instead of the usually dead January slot in which it aired. It was one of the first examples of event television. Businesses closed early. Vegas shows were cancelled because everyone was in their hotel room watching Roots. Before it was over 130 million people saw at least part of the mini-series. At the time there were just under 200 million people alive in the country. The only question I have is what were the other 70 million people doing?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
“Who you gonna call?”
By now everyone knows the answer. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson are the Ghostbusters. As their ad proclaims, they’re ready to believe you. Ghostbusters was originally conceived by Aykroyd as a vehicle for John Belushi and himself. When Belushi died, reportedly from a drug overdose, the project sat on the shelf a few years. Harold Ramis would eventually team up with Aykroyd and finish the script. It’s been said that “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Leave it to these …two knuckleheads to combine the two and create a phenomenon. Like pretty much anyone else, I’ve seen Ghostbusters many times in the last 20 years. And just like all of you, I’m still not tired of it. I am, however, done with the repetitive theme song.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
"Who you gonna call?"
This time?
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
Our friends at Lionsgate have given us a copy of The Confirmation on Blu-ray to give to one of our lucky followers. A father and his estranged son are suddenly thrown together when his ex-wife is away on a retreat with her new husband. It stars Clive Owen. It's a story of a father and son bonding and it can be yours for free.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2016
"I started at the bottom working every club in New York City. I mopped floors. Swabbed ashtrays. Hauled kegs. You think you work hard? Try scraping Chubby Checker's vomit off the inside of a toilet stall."
Martin Scorsese is a man who has worked very hard over the years. His list of film accomplishments is too big to list here. On television his recent teaming with Terrance Winter produced Boardwalk Empire. It's not much of a surprise the two would team up again for another HBO series. The unlikely partner in this trio is Rolling Stones front-man Mick Jagger. Together these guys have given us another quality HBO series and another compelling anti-hero.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on June 7th, 2016
If there’s something strange…in your neighborhood…who you gonna call?! If you don’t know the answer to that question, you are most definitely *not* a god. You’ve also been living under a rock for more than 30 years, which is how long Ghostbusters has been a bona fide comedy classic. Both the original movie and its sequel that I absolutely enjoy a lot more than I probably should arrive in 4K this week, courtesy of Sony. And those are just two offerings in what is shaping up to be a very busy week, so be sure to check our site early and often.
You can already read our reviews for Paramount’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and HBO’s Steelbook redux of Game of Thrones: Seasons 3 and 4. Shout! Factory blasts off with a Journey to Space (3D & 4K) and has a bloody good time with The Funhouse Massacre, while Magnolia Home Entertainment enlists in A War, and RLJ Entertainment visits Monsterland. Warner Bros. rediscovers its Roots and buddies up to Rizzoli & Isles: Season 6, while Lionsgate engages in some Casual Encounters and repents before The Confirmation. MTV dives into The Shannara Chronicles: Season 1, Adult Swim spends some quality time with Rick and Morty: Season 2, and Comedy Central returns with Kroll Show: Season 3. Finally, HBO travels back to the '70s to spin some Vinyl: Season 1.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2016
"We began as wanderers, and are wanderers still. We have lingered enough on the shores of the Cosmic Ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars" - Carl Sagan
The Shout Factory documentary Journey To Space is the kind of release that the 4K market was made to serve. Most of this material was filmed in 65mm or with digital cameras in as high as 10K resolution. It was made for screens that are up to three stories tall and still show off the wonders of the images presented. That makes it the perfect kind of item to put on a 4K disc. It was created to be seen with this kind of resolution and color clarity. The material isn't completely original. There is footage here from several other films: The Dream Is Alive, Destiny In Space, Mission To Mir, Space Station 3D, and Hubble 3D. All are created for IMAX theaters. Call it a space odyssey of greatest hits.
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