Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 9th, 2015
“What an interesting girl.”
Four against one, hardly fair odds. Then again, that is how this group prefers it. Little do they know that their latest prey is much more than she appears. Abigail Breslin is every predator’s nightmare in this action thriller about a group of boys who like to lure unwitting girls into the woods to hunt for sport. This film had style, a bit of noir, making it difficult to the determine the time period it is meant to be portraying, but all the same, this was one of my favorites of movies I’ve reviewed this year.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 8th, 2015
“They’re hee-eere”
That instantly-iconic horror movie line — delivered in a cheery, chilling, sing-songy voice by the late Heather O’Rourke — signaled the arrival of malevolent spirits in 1982’s Poltergeist. In 2015, “they’re hee-eere” could just as easily refer to the latest glut of horror remakes. (Thankfully, there’s still at least one *sacred* cow.) That list now includes a new version of Poltergeist, which features some solid thrills and (for better and for worse) sticks pretty closely to the original.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2015
"Listen, my friend. This is going to be very hard to comprehend, but none of what you are seeing is real."
Of course it's not real. It's not really that hard to comprehend at all. This is an animated show, after all. And the figures look like cut-out pieces of construction paper. Of course, we're talking about South Park. What is hard to comprehend, however, is that we're talking about the 18th season of South Park. Few television shows last this long, and only The Simpsons has been around longer when it comes to scripted animated shows running today. That's rare air, indeed.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 8th, 2015
At one point or another, every kid dreams of being a superhero. For me, those flights of fancy took place at age 6 or 7, when I'd put on my Batman pajamas — the ones with the detachable velcro cape — and leap off the staircase inside our home. (When I really wanted to give my mom agita, I'd jump off the third step from the bottom.) Miles Scott — a California boy whose evil nemesis is leukemia — got to live out his superhero fantasy on the grandest scale at age 5. Batkid Begins isn't a great documentary by any means, but it's a cheerful, good-hearted (if saccharine) look at the making of a dream.
The film quickly introduces us to Miles and the rest of his photogenic family. The boy was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia at 18 months old, and the movie chronicles his battle with the disease, which included chemotherapy sessions for several years. One of the things that kept Miles upbeat throughout this ordeal was his unabashed love for superheros. He was particularly fond of Batman because of his ability to do extraordinary things without superpowers. So when his family found out that Miles was eligible to have a request granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation upon completion of his chemo treatments, the boy immediately knew what to ask for.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 7th, 2015
The last decade hasn’t been too kind to Al Pacino. The man is only one of our greatest living actors, but he’s mostly been stuck appearing in forgettable tripe (88 Minutes) or out-and-out atrocities (Jack and Jill) for the last 10 years. So it’s easy to overlook the fact that Pacino is quietly doing really good work again. I say “quietly” because the actor has recently eschewed the “hoo-ah!” tics that turned him into a caricature. This affecting, engaged, and more subdued version of Pacino can be seen in Danny Collins, and he is also front-and-center in Manglehorn, a whimsical, uneven drama that is grounded by its star’s strong work.
Pacino plays A.J. Manglehorn, a shabby, solitary locksmith whose biggest personal connection is with his beloved cat Fanny. As we watch Manglehorn shuffle through each day — which includes hopping in his rickety van to help clients who have locked themselves out of various places — his life starts to come into focus.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2015
by Dustin P. Anderson
Scholastic presents the audience with a collection of Halloween themed children’s books to prepare the little ones for a night of fun, junk food, and terror. In this DVD the creators have compiled a slew of short books that range from educational to moralistic, from scary to lighthearted. These books represent different parts of the world and seek to bring such classics as Where the Wild Things Are to life. The first thing I noticed about this DVD was that it needs a different type of review style. In the interest of time and space I shouldn’t go through 20 different stories and give someone a quick review on each while trying to give my overall impression of the DVD as a whole. I also can’t treat this as one big concurrent collection due to changing themes, animation speeds, art styles, the decade in which it was made, etc. So I decided to give you my opinion on a couple of stories that should be appropriate for whatever you want for your child, then give my good and bad about the DVD in the closing paragraphs.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2015
Anchor Bay has a new science fiction film out this week. It's called The Anomaly and it stars everyone's favorite vampire Ian Somerhalder. It also stars Dr. Who and Star Trek veteran Noel Clarke. Clarke also directed and co-wrote the film about a man who lives life in just under 10 minute segments before everything gets reset. He has to solve a life and death problem before he runs out of time completely. I got to spend over 10 minutes with Clarke and we talked about Dr. Who, Star Trek and his latest film The Anomaly. He managed to last more than 10 minutes and you'll want to hear what he said. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Noel Clarke. He might have even let slip some interesting news about The Vampire Diaries.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 7th, 2015
“Man, they killed my brother…you think I’m gonna let that slide?”
Even if you haven’t sat through a ton of revenge-minded pulp, you won't be surprised to hear the answer to the above question is a resounding, “No!” The good(ish) news is that Chain of Command manages to stand out from a pretty crowded straight-to-DVD action pack. The disastrous news is that this laughably bad, shoddily-made debacle is likely to stick in your memory for all the wrong reasons.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2015
"Meet the Robertson clan. They turned duck calls into a multi-million-dollar empire. But running a family business is tough when the family just wants to run wild."
The Robertson family is quickly becoming the most recognizable family on TV, considering they are flooding the stores with their books, DVD’s, and many other products you can find at Wal-Mart. I can’t help but think this is a family that is doing everything right, and good for them for the success they’ve managed.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on October 6th, 2015
I can't think of a more fitting way to kick off the first Tuesday Round Up of October than with the monster mayhem of Paramount's Penny Dreadful: Season 2. And speaking of mayhem, the Showtime series is part of a whopping 26(!) titles making their debut today that we'll be reviewing on this site very soon. Ok, fine...Disney's Avengers: Age of Ultron technically premiered last Friday, but I felt it was a good idea to mention one of the biggest movies of the year. Warner Bros. shows us where Batkid Begins, offers the royal treatment with Reign: Season 2, and serves up The Leftovers: Season 1. In addition to Penny Dreadful, Paramount is feeling Happyish: Season 1, goes down to South Park: Season 18, digs into the life of Tut, and studies the Greatest Heroes of the Bible. Meanwhile, Cinedigm serves up laughs with Bossip Comedy Series: Part 2, visits Paranormal Island, goes head over heels for The Falling, and keeps 4Got10 in mind. (Be on the look out for an interview or two with the cast and crew of 4Got10.)
We'll also be chatting with Noel Clarke of The Anomaly courtesy of Anchor Bay, which also drops Earthfall. And since you can already win a copy of June from Image Entertainment (which will also release The Invoking 2), why not keep your eyes peeled for our review? Lionsgate takes aim at The Target, gets heated with Ardor, and dines out with Eaters. A&E Home Video quacks up with Duck Dynasty: Season 8 and is out for Blood & Glory: The Civil War in Color. Hallmark gets into the holiday spirit early with Christmas at the Cartwrights and the Best Christmas Party Ever. Finally, MPI Home Video keys in on Manglehorn and Nasser closes things out with Final Girl.
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