MaXXXine
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 5th, 2024
“I will not accept a life I do not deserve.”
In 2022 writer and director Ti West gave horror fans the gift of the one/two horror punch of the films X and Pearl. From those two films came the rise of Mia Goth, who has since become horror royalty, and since the rumors began to rumble about a third film in this horror series, it has been hard to not get excited. Ever since the announcement of MaXXXine and hearing the cast of the film, it’s been the horror film I’ve been most looking forward to. I’ve been a big fan of Ti West ever since 2009 when I saw The House of the Devil. I adore that film, to the point where I have a Mondo poster of it hanging in my living room, and then he did The Innkeepers, which for me cemented his awesomeness, and that he wasn’t simply a fluke. When you look at his filmography and you watch his films, you can see the man has talent, but for some reason he’s not a bigger name in the industry. But I feel like that’s going to change soon, and it seems like A24 knows that West can deliver the goods, especially when you consider that they are releasing the film over 4th of July weekend, typically a spot meant for huge tentpole movies … or am I just being delusional?
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Team America: World Police (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 3rd, 2024
In 2004 when Team America: World Police was released, Trey Parker and Matt Stone were already well established in the film industry as the guys who created South Park. They had even dipped their toes into doing live action films like Orgazmo and BASEketball, but what the industry knew them for was their animated series South Park that began back in 1997 and is still going strong on Comedy Central. The duo isn’t afraid to take chances, whether it’s insulting celebrities (after all, part of their charm is being equal opportunity offenders) or creating their musical for the stage, The Book of Mormon, so was it a big surprise they’d want to do an action adventure film entirely with puppets? The film is very much a parody of the action films of the 90’s and early 00’s that were produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. In case you are unfamiliar with his name, he produced the mega hits like Top Gun, The Rock, Con-Air, and Pearl Harbor. But what this film was also tapping into was the over-the-top patriotic attitudes that the media projected. I mean, everything needed to be patriotic in a post 9-11 world.
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Common Law Wife + Jennie, Wife/Child: Backwoods Double Feature (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2024
The films of the 1960’s and 1970’s began an era of what have been called exploitation films. There are many examples of films that pushed the R to X boundaries and have been referred to as Sexploitation films. Today we might call them soft porn, and examples of those early films includes Daughter Of The Sun (1963) and The Twilight Girls (1961). There were also films that took advantage of a certain aspect of black culture in the 70’s and made to appeal to the young, “hip” blacks of the decade but also became quite popular with the mainstream audiences. Films from that genre include iconic movies like the Shaft and Dolemite franchises. There’s another of these kinds of films that hasn’t gotten quite the attention and aren’t as well remembered. That group of films from mainly the 60’s were called Hicksploitation. These films provided heavy stereotyping like the Blacksploitation films did
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Blu-ray)
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on July 2nd, 2024
“I have a ghost to bust.”
When Afterlife was initially announced back in 2021, my thoughts were: why do we keep messing with things instead of preserving them? Ghostbusters was an iconic film franchise that already suffered one failed attempt at reboot. So when I went to see Afterlife, I was expecting the law of diminishing returns to be in effect. However, to my mind, Afterlife, with its homage to the dearly departed Harold Ramis and inclusion of the original crew, was not a reboot, but a continuation. It worked, and brought with it some of the nostalgia from the franchise’s original run. Now as expected, one good turn deserves another, and we now have Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Once again, we were at risk of destroying a good thing, but thankfully we had the right people at the helm who were able to blend the old with the new, which is no surprise given that the film was co-written by the son of the franchise’s original director.
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A Quiet Place: Day One
Posted in The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on June 29th, 2024
It’s the little things I supposed. When forced to confront the prospect of your own death, what will you do with the time you have left. Some fight against their own extinction. Some seek help from a higher power. While some cling to the past and seek comfort in their treasured memories. In a Quiet Place: Day One we see a bit of all three. While Day One marks the third installment in the Quiet Place franchise, it serves as the prequel for the series showcasing how the world went silent after sightless aliens with sharp hearing and impenetrable armor plating take over the planet and attack the human population. For me, this is a welcome addition to the franchise because while watching the first two films, one of my recurring thoughts was I would like to see how the world went quiet. Imagine my excitement when I this movie was announced. In my mind, I figured the prequel would continue to follow the Abbott family. However, Day One is comprised of a predominantly new cast, with the exception of Djimon Hounsou, who was introduced in the second film. While I was initially disappointed, I got over it quickly as new blood provides a new opportunity to expand the story rather than restricting yourself. Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff represent our new additions to the franchise, and they don’t disappoint.
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Matinee – Collector’s Edition (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 29th, 2024
In 1993 when this film came out, 1962 just seemed like another time that as a teenager I just couldn’t wrap my head around. While the kids in Matinee were excited about these giant monster films, I could sort of relate, as I was getting into horror myself, but instead of atomic bugs, I was getting into the slasher heavy hitters like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. So a film about kids spending most of their time at a movie theater was something I could relate to easily, and as I got older I simply continued to appreciate the film more as I consumed more films from the past and grew to appreciate filmmakers like Val Lewton, William Castle, Roger Corman, and Lloyd Kaufman, the guys who knew how to turn a cheap film into an event experience through a variety of marketing gimmicks. The idea of ambulances being staged outside a theater because audience members may faint or having people in costume lunge at unsuspecting guests. These innovators make going to the movie theater an experience even if the movie wasn’t all that great … and now 30 years after the release of Matinee, I find myself bitten by the bug of nostalgia.
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Paramount Presents: Chinatown (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)+ The Two Jakes
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 25th, 2024
“Somebody went to a lot of trouble here, and I want to find out, lawsuit or no lawsuit. I’m not the one who’s supposed to be caught with his pants down.”
The word “classic” gets thrown around a lot. Everybody has their own list. I get that. Whenever someone starts listing films from the last year or so, I just smile and take it with a grain of salt. Because I know they don’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t know how many years it takes to be a classic. Is it 10 … 20 … or even 30 years? Well, how about 50 for a nice round number? The film has certainly stood the test of time. That’s one of those things you can’t say about a film under a decade or two old.
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Hitman
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on June 25th, 2024
It’s been about 10 years since Richard Linklater gave us Boyhood, which for me may not be my personal favorite of his films, but it is the one that certainly got the attention of the Academy Awards. Linklater is a director I’ve always been a fan of. It’s hard to really describe his filmography other than to say it is diverse, but at the heart of all his films they are about the characters. It’s no surprise that his new film Hit Man is once again a film about the characters and definitely has more heart than violence, even if the central character is supposed to be a contract killer. The film is loosely based on a true story and was written by Richard Linklater and Glen Powell, who also stars in the film, and my first reaction is this is immediately shooting to the top of my list of my favorite films I’ve seen this year. Though this film has some familiar tropes, I have to say it is a breath of fresh air. A film without CGI, it isn’t an established IP; it’s just a good story that is carried by great performances and was fun start to finish. The first impression I got from the film as the credits rolled is that it reminded me of the fun and cool crime films of the 90s.
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2024
“For most of human civilization, we believed that we were Earth’s most dominant species. We believed that life could only exist on the surface of the planet. Well, after a certain point of view, you have to wonder what else we were wrong about. In the beginning, Hollow Earth lived in harmony with the surface world. The Titans were the guardians of nature, and the Great Apes became the protectors of humanity. But a great evil threatened the peace. A powerful and ruthless ape desperate to conquer the surface world led his tribe into war against the one they call the Monster Who Ate a Star. The war with the Apes nearly destroyed Godzilla. But after a great battle, he imprisoned the apes in a fiery realm of Hollow Earth. Their false king remains obsessed with reaching the surface. The Iwi call him the Skar King.”
That in a nutshell is the plot of the latest Monsterverse film from Legacy and Warner Brothers. It’s called Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, and we’re told the X is silent. And here I thought it was some kind of a multiplier.
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Bad Boys: Ride Or Die
Posted in The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on June 8th, 2024
“You’re my bad boys. Now clear my name.”
Slipping back into their roles as Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett must be as easy as slipping on their favorite jacket for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence at this point. Their chemistry has been what has sustained this nearly thirty-year franchise, and they continue the trend with the latest installment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. If this is to be the final addition in the franchise, I would be more than satisfied, and Ride or Die would be a very good high note to go out on in my opinion, as it offers a measure of catharsis for both characters. Not to mention paying homage to an O.G. character who was tragically killed (I’m still upset about it) in the previous film. Naturally Smith and Lawrence are the returning vets for the series, but there are also a few other returning faces, such as Paola Nunez, Jacob Scipio, Vanessa Hudgens, and Alex Ludwig, who were introduced in the last film. However, that’s not all, as the film demonstrates excellent character continuity by including characters introduced in the first movie. Characters like Dennis Greene as Reggie, and even better, a surprise cameo from a very tall former criminal that dates to the original film.
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Under Paris
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on June 8th, 2024
It’s summertime, and that means people will of course be flooding the beaches to soak up some rays and enjoy frolicking in the ocean. Because of pop culture and the legacy of Jaws, I’m sure plenty of those beachgoers will have that terrifying thought about what could be lurking beneath the surface, potentially stalking them and ready to strike. The reality is sharks want nothing to do with us; they’d rather feast on a tasty harbor seal or a giant tuna, but that doesn’t change how so many people are afraid of sharks, and Hollywood has happily cashed in on those fears, churning out numerous shark-attack films year after year. Jaws is of course the pinnacle of the genre; then I’d consider The Shallows and Deep Blue Sea to follow behind it. Personally I’m a fan of this sub-genre of creature feature films. No matter how absurd these films may get, if it has a shark turning swimmers into its own little buffet, I have to check it out. To be fair, there have been some duds in the genre, but the only one I wish I could take back and erase from my memory would be last years Black Demon. Yikes, that was a bad one. Right now, though, I’m going to be talking about the new French film that Netflix has released, Under Paris. Is it worth taking the plunge, or does it follow in the footsteps of many previous films from the streaming giant and turn out to be a dud?
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Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2024
“I, Bass Reeves, do solemnly swear that I will execute all lawful precepts directed to the Marshall of The United States for the Western District of Arkansas without malice or partiality, perform the duties of Deputy Marshall and take only my lawful fees. So help me God.”
He was the inspiration for the Lone Ranger. Bass Reeves is one of the biggest icons of the old west and perhaps one of the least remembered. He served for 35 years and managed to bring in over 4000 wanted men for their day in court and likely the noose. It’s a huge story, and the filmmakers of Lawmen: Bass Reeves have taken on the enormous task with just 8 episodes of this limited series with no follow-up planned or on the books. Were they able to meet such a challenge? That’s going to require some explanation. The series was based on the first two of a series of books written by Sidney Thompson, who serves as a consultant on the series.
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Young Woman And The Sea (2024)
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2024
“Seems like a nice day for a swim.”
Walt Disney Studios has struggled of late. It’s been a while since they’ve had much of a hit, and that includes their Marvel and Pixar components. In the years just before the pandemic the studio was outperforming anyone in the industry. One Disney executive once said that actually printing money would be less profitable than the billions the studio was raking in. But something changed around the pandemic, and it had little to do with a virus. The studio started to flex its muscles in the political arena, and those elements started to dominate the on-screen product. It doesn’t really matter if one agrees with them or not. I think it’s tricky when a part of the entertainment industry starts to get too involved with a particular social ideology. Just ask the Dixie Chicks. The who? That’s my point. It’s cost the studio a considerable sum and an over 50% plunge in their stock value over three years or so.
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One From The Heart: Reprise (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 29th, 2024
Francis Ford Coppola is one of those directors that you don’t have to love, but you have to at least appreciate his contribution to cinema. Personally my favorite film of his is Apocalypse Now, and then The Godfather II. I know other film geeks out there will argue with what his ‘best” film is, but I think it’s fair to say he’s one of the greatest film directors out there no matter how you may rank his films. When the chance to review One From The Heart came along I jumped at the opportunity, because, well, it’s a film I had never actually seen or even knew that Coppola had done. In watching the bonus features on the disc, I found it amusing that this was supposed to be a simple film for him to do after the insane task of directing Apocalypse Now. This was supposed to be a simple rom-com with a budget of $2 million, but things got out of hand. Coppola bought a studio for his American Zoetrope company and used all the studios stages to build sets for the film,
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The Beach Boys
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on May 29th, 2024
It was October 8, 1989 at the USF Sun Dome where I first saw The Beach Boys live with Chicago as their opening act. It was my first concert experience, and in my household The Beach Boys were pretty much royalty. Any time the band was on the radio the volume was cranked up and my mom and I would sing along, causing those in neighboring cars to quickly roll up their windows in an attempt to tune out our terrible voices. My parents collected the albums on vinyl, and later I’d get them on cassette and bop my head listening to the surf tunes fantasizing about the beach or staring out at the pool thinking about bikini-clad girls. The Beach Boys will forever have a nostalgic place in my heart. Even as my taste in music has evolved, I still will listen to their albums time to time. Their feel-good music is perfect for a summer afternoon; they’re timeless, and that’s why I’m not surprised that Disney has put out a new documentary about the band that got its start in the early 60s, and you can still see them touring still (at least with some of the surviving members).
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Garfield (2024)
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 28th, 2024
My favorite food has always been lasagna. All those special noodles, layers of cheese and ricotta, beef, sausage, sauce, and more cheese into an absolutely perfect dish. Furthermore, if you let the dish sit overnight in the refrigerator, it was somehow even better than the day before. Unfortunately, lack of true gluten-free options for lasagna noodles (Barilla makes one, but they are hard to find) and nobody to really make it for beside myself (my wife and son are lactose intolerant) have created a situation where I haven’t had a true lasagna in years. But perhaps with today’s film review of Garfield, I can find the inspiration to recreate my favorite dish. Let’s take a look at the movie.
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Furiosa A Mad Max Saga
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on May 24th, 2024
“Ladies and gentlemen! Start your engines.”
Back in 2015 when Mad Max: Fury Road was released, it was a film that I don’t think anyone expected audiences to respond to as they did. It was 30 years since audiences had last been to the Australian Wasteland when they previously saw Max, then played by Mel Gibson, play the title hero in a dystopian trilogy that has a very loyal fan base. Fury Road managed to exceed expectations as it delivered on having over-the-top chases through the desert wasteland, spectacular stunts, a great score, and then there was the character of Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, as a one-armed badass who managed to steal the film from Tom Hardy, who was now starring in the title role of Max. While I do love Fury Road, my major gripe was with the over-simplicity of the film. Basically it is nothing more than one large chase where our heroes spend 2/3 heading in one direction and then in the final portion decide to turn around and continue their chase.
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We Go On
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2024
“A Haunting is a lonely thing. No one else can see what you see. Even the people you love would call you crazy.”
We all have our fears, and that’s a good thing for the folks in the movie-making business. Fright sells, and we all like to be afraid … at least a little bit. From rollercoasters to movies, fear is a business, and going by box office receipts and streaming numbers, business has been good. The nice thing about movies that deal with fears is that they make excellent independent film fodder, because it’s something everyone relates to, and you can do it on a pretty modest budget. But the writing has to be good, and the performances must be compelling, particularly when you don’t have the cash to dazzle them with computer-generated delight. You might not get that box office jackpot, but with streaming and home video, a good movie does indeed have an afterlife. Writers/directors Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton have just that with the Lightyear Entertainment release of their 2015 horror film We Go On. It’s a barebones release that just might be worth a spin after all.
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Dune Part Two (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2024
“Consider what you are about to do.”
I first read Frank Herbert’s initial Dune book back in the mid 1970’s. I was introduced to one of the most complicated and extraordinary universes of literature I have still ever encountered. It’s a masterpiece followed by several more books over the years that have more completely brought this world to life. The material’s cinematic journey has been somewhat less captivating and quite a disappointment. The 1984 David Lynch film was a train wreck and quite possibly one of the greatest film failures in history. Since then a lot has changed. Today computer-generated images have progressed to the point that with enough money and artistic expertise a filmmaker can depict anything the mind can conceive. Images have become photorealistic, and the worlds of Herbert’s Dune universe can finally be brought to the silver screen with almost no limitations.
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The Jester
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on May 17th, 2024
The story for The Jester got its start through a trio of short films that were put on YouTube. The shorts had found success, and fans were rewarded with a feature length film. Shudder grabbed the streaming rights for the film, and now here we are …When it comes to Shudder, I have no shame in admitting it is my favorite of all the streaming services. Not only does it have a solid selection of horror films, but it also has The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, and that alone makes it worth the monthly fee. Now, as a horror service, it is no surprise that they buy a bunch of titles to release over the course of the year, and in the past they’ve put out greats like The Innocents, The Sadness, and Deadstream to name a few. But of course they are going to have some misses, and The Jester is one of those confident purchases that I feel ended up a big miss.
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American Sniper (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 14th, 2024
“The thing that haunts me are all the guys that I couldn’t save.”
I have to admit I was a little skeptical that Clint Eastwood followed up his directing stint on Jersey Boys as quickly as he did to shoot American Sniper. The former was far from one of his better efforts, and he looked increasingly out of his element by the time it was said and done. He jumped into his preparation for American Sniper almost immediately, and the results could have been … underwhelming. Instead Eastwood hit his target with the kind of profound impact I don’t think I’ve seen from him since Unforgiven. Unforgiven won a Best Picture award, and deservedly so. American Sniper was nominated, although Eastwood himself was snubbed in the director category. It didn’t win, of course, but this is one that most certainly deserves your attention.
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Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes
Posted in The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on May 10th, 2024
“In their time, humans were capable of many great things. They could fly, like eagles fly. They could speak across oceans. But now, it is our time … and it is my kingdom. We will learn. Apes will learn. I will learn. And I … will conquer.”
Just as you think that the Planet of the Apes franchise has run out of story to tell, especially following the death of the protagonist in the preceding film, they find a way to bring the story full circle with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the first of a new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films. In the Andy Serkis-led Caesar, we observed apes’ ascendency to becoming the dominant species on the planet. However, with this new franchise, we will get to see if absolute power truly does corrupt absolutely. I have to take my hat off to this franchise, not only for its ten installments, but for its successful execution of long-term storytelling. When the series rebooted back in 2011, I assumed that we were just getting the origin story for the films that came before. Following that logic, I presumed that following apes ascending to the top of the food chain would be the end of the journey.
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Once Upon a Time in the West (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2024
“People scare better when they’re dyin.'”
Mention the name Sergio Leone and you immediately think of Clint Eastwood and their Man With No Name trilogy. The truth is that Leone was the master of the spaghetti western and largely responsible for making Clint what he is today. When the Italian director decided to try his hand at Hollywood, he was welcomed with open arms, except they weren’t interested in anything but an American copy of a spaghetti western. Leone had something else in mind. He had a “been there, done that” attitude about the westerns and wanted to do an epic called Once Upon A Time In America. But Hollywood was hearing none of that. So they compromised. If Leone delivered a stylistic western, the studio would spring for the epic he wanted to make. The result of that parlay turned out to be Once Upon A Time In The West.
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Blue Giant (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 7th, 2024
As many of you know, there isn’t a type of media that I don’t enjoy reviewing. Sure, my film reviews are most numerous, but I have also dabbled in books, video games, and music when it comes to critiquing. Music is really fun, because I’m one of the few people I know that will literally dissect every song whether it is a hit or a throwaway. Needless to say, I almost never hold back. So imagine my excitement when I come upon a new anime that blends an interesting story with the amazing style of jazz music. I honestly don’t even listen to jazz, but the chance to expand my musical repertoire is something I crave to do. Let’s take a look at Blue Giant.
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The Fall Guy (2024)
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2024
“This is the story of one of America’s great unsung heroes. I mean, you’ve seen him, but you never knew who he was. You’ve cheered for him and cried for him, and women have wanted to die for him. But did he ever get any credit, or the girl? No! He’s what we call the “Stuntman”, and the reason I’m talking so fondly about him is, well because it’s me, Colt Seavers. Anyway, picture work isn’t wall-to-wall employment, so maybe you wonder how a guy keeps his head together? Well, one way is to wait by the phone … and wait and wait. The other is to take an occasional job with the court system of the United States of America, where a man is considered innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, sometimes a lot of these people get out of jail on what we call bail and they’d run like hell! … and that’s where I come in. I sometimes pick up rent money trying to find them and bring them back to justice.” – Television series open.
Lee Majors performed a pretty solid television hat trick in his television career.
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