Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 19th, 2016
“...Be like we were when we were 28. I think that would be awesome, right?”
It certainly seems awesome to the four main characters in Togetherness, who are each dealing with their own set of anxieties as they hover around 40. If that previous sentence doesn't exactly sound like a recipe for laugh-out-loud comedy, then you're on the same wavelength as this impressive HBO dramedy. Togetherness takes a bittersweet, refreshingly humane approach to portraying marriage and friendship.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 19th, 2016
Ever since Narc and Training Day became critical and financial successes, it seems everyone has tried to follow the formula of corrupt cops and their partners trying to do the right thing. Factor in the society outlook on dirty cops; Badge of Honor at first glance would appear to be a sure-fire hit. Unfortunately, it’s a misfire that never seemed to have much of a chance. When we first meet Jessica (Mena Suvari), she is a beat cop who is called in with her partner checking in \on a domestic disturbance report. Things get out of hand, and her partner overreacts with extreme force and beats a suspect. The story jumps ahead, and we now see Jessica working for internal affairs. It’s her first case that the film wraps around in a sadly predictable way. Two narcotics officers, Mike (Jesse Bradford) and David (Lochlyn Munro) move in on a bust that goes bad, and in the process an innocent teenager is killed. David seems well-intentioned when he tries to help cover it up for his partner, but things quickly get out of hand.
Even with Suvari as one of the leads, it’s unfortunate we don’t get to see more of her and the life she leads outside of being a cop. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Suvari in a solid leading role, and for the screen time she has here she does a great job at selling the part of being a cop who can handle her own. It’s this execution of the role that has me wishing there was more of her, because everything else just seemed like we’ve seen it all before.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on February 19th, 2016
“Tonight’s special is LEG OF LAMB”
I absolutely love stand-up comedy. It is by far one of my favorite forms of entertainment. I would much rather watch a comic’s one-hour special than watch Hollywood’s latest zany summer comedy. I firmly believe that stand-up comedians are a group of modern day philosophers who have taken their analyses of social interactions and created a highly entertaining and intellectual form of art. While I appreciate all comics, currently my favorites are Tom Segura, Todd Glass, Greg Proops, Bo Burnham, and of course, Brian Regan.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 18th, 2016
I was a little hesitant with picking up this film. I wasn’t sure if a film about a grandmother spending the day raising money to pay for her granddaughter’s abortion was a film I could find the humor in. Well, I’m glad I took a chance on this film; not only does this film have so many layers beneath its overall plot, but it never once attempts to have an agenda towards its audience. Considering the potentially heavy subject matter, the film instead keeps its attention on what matters most, the people who come in and out of our lives whether they are friends or family; in the end it’s how we treat them that make us who we are.
Elle (Lily Tomlin) is about as feminist as they come; she’s a proud lesbian who is independent and at one time was a successful poet who wrote about feminist themes. When we first meet her, it is in the middle of her and her girlfriend calling it quits. Like any breakup, it’s ugly and filled with emotion. Despite the tough exterior we see Elle trying to hold up, we know it is all an act, and we understand she is still hurt after the loss of her true love of 30-plus years.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 18th, 2016
“Take hope from the heart of a man, and you make him a beast or prey. And the beast eats away at you if you’re not careful. The beast will eat it all, and you will have nothing, and you are nothing.”
Patrick Swayze stars as Charles Barker, an FBI undercover specialist. He handles the deep cover missions, the kind that require a total commitment to the mission. He’s the kind of agent whoknows where the line is so that he knows where to cross it. He’s a grizzled veteran. His new partner is young Agent Ellis Dove, played by Australian actor Travis Fimmel. Ellis is a bit uncomfortable with Barker’s all-in approach. Still, he’s a loyal student and will do what it takes to catch the bad guys. The two agents are handled by an agent named simply Conrad. Conrad is played by everyone’s favorite comedy relief from the new Mummy films, Kevin J. O’Connor. He was the cowardly rascal Beni in those first two films. Each episode brings us a special set of circumstances where the FBI feels Barker’s special brand of work ethic might work. Still, the feds are a bit worried about just how far he has gone over that line. They try to get Ellis to snitch on his new partner to no avail. Larry Gilliard, Jr. plays Ray, the persistent internal affairs agent who wants the goods on Barker.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 17th, 2016
"Will you follow me, one last time?"
It's time to say goodbye to Middle Earth, at least from a cinematic perspective. The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies marks the last time we shall see Peter Jackson's version of Middle Earth. Sure, Ian McKellen has told us he wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of a return. I would. There is certainly enough work from Tolkien to support future adventures, but the rights to anything beyond these books belongs to the Tolkien estate. To say they are not very fond of Jackson, New Line, Warner, or the six films themselves would be an understatement. There is great animosity there, and no amount of money is going to change that.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 17th, 2016
"I will talk to you of Art, for there is nothing else to talk about, for there is nothing else... Life is an obscure hobo bumming a ride on the omnibus of Art. Burn gas, buggies, and whip your sour cream of circumstance and hope, and go ahead and sleep your bloody heads off. Creation is, all else is not."
Enter The Film Detective. Founded by Philip Hopkins, the organization has made it something of a mission to re-master old cult favorite films for broadcast and the high-definition video market. They have a working library of about 3,000 titles. Now some of those films are making their way to Blu-ray, many for the first time. Recently two titles joined the high-definition treatment: Roger Corman's cult classic Bucket Of Blood and Vincent Price's ode to the haunted house of classic film, The Bat. Both films were originally released in 1959.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 17th, 2016
“Before we start, I want you to know something...I'm not a rat.”
I could get into *a lot* of trouble if anybody found out I was talking to you. After all, there is absolutely, positively nothing worse than a rat, a point that is made crystal clear in Black Mass. But I'm putting my neck on the line here because I figured you'd want to know this fact-based crime drama marks the welcome return of Johnny Depp, who has spent the better part of the past decade in the Magic Kingdom loony wilderness.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 17th, 2016
On the surface MI-5 looks to be a mundane direct-to-video film attempting to cash in on a couple of things. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is the fifth in the series and often referred to as MI:5. The new James Bond film has a plot involving the head of MI-5 attempting to take down the MI-6 department and our beloved 007. None of these would contribute to the fortuitous name. Rather it’s the difference in racial sensitivity between Britain and the United States. MI-5 is actually a feature-film version of the long-running British series Spooks. The film’s original title happens to be Spooks: The Greater Good. It seems that even foreign nations have noticed we can be offended by words that have completely innocent meanings so long as someone out there can find an offensive albeit completely unintended meaning. Don’t believe me? Just check in with how many sports media refer to the Washington Redskins these days. It’s unfortunate, because I like the original title. It’s more original. MI-5 is so generic these days.
If you’re up on the show, you already know the Intelligence Chief of MI-5, Harry Pearce, still played by Peter Firth. After 10 years he’s now a disgraced agent and on the run after terrorist Adam Qasim (Gabel) escapes from a prisoner transport that Pearce was in charge of conducting. Some inside the agency think that Pearce was a part of the escape plan.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 17th, 2016
“I earn money…I meet people…I can pay my debts…I can buy nice things for myself.”
Taken at face value, all of those pursuits sound totally admirable, especially when you consider that the person earning that money, meeting those new people, and buying those nice things is a bitter old woman who slowly comes out of her caustic shell. I mean, the only minor hiccup here is that Paulette — the title character in this wacky, soufflé-light French comedy — turns her miserable life around by selling drugs.
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