Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2015
Finally a situation comedy for geeks. Ever since Urkel went from being a one-off character on Family Matters to the star of the show, the geeks have been looking for their own series. With The Big Bang Theory you get plenty of geek factor with a healthy dose of laughter. I honestly haven’t laughed this much at a situation comedy in decades. Meet Sheldon Cooper (Parsons). He’s a brilliant young scientist working at a Pasadena university. His field was string theory but now he's shifted to dark matter. He’s one of those young prodigy guys who likely graduated from college and then went home to get his diapers changed. Sheldon insists on tight structure and is uncomfortable outside of a highly structured environment. He’s insecure and can’t stand confrontation. He also, of course, believes he’s the smartest guy on the planet. He’s a huge comic and science fiction fan who envisions himself a young Lex Luthor. His girlfriend Amy (Bialik) is a behavior scientist. The two have a relationship based on a contract and have to negotiate even when they can kiss.
His roommate Leonard (Galecki) is also a gifted member of the school’s staff. Leonard is about the most normal one of the group and actually has a steady girl in next-door neighbor Penny (Cuoco). Penny now works as a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company and finds she's doing well. Unfortunately, they cut her hair off this year, and it isn't a good look at all. She’s not the sharpest tool in the box, but she can often teach the boys a thing or two about the real world.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 23rd, 2015
“Did you consider yourself to be a New York City cop or a drug trafficker?”
For the handful of police officers profiled in The Seven Five — a lively and incendiary documentary about a spectacularly corrupt Brooklyn precinct — the distinction between cop and crook was virtually nonexistent. (At best, it was negligible.) Their stories are told here in a breakneck pace that eventually becomes draining. But it’s only because director Tiller Russell was able to gain amazing access to the colorful characters who were actually there.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 23rd, 2015
Closer to the Moon has quite an intriguing premise behind it. Six people pull off a daylight bank car robbery in the highlight of the socialist era, which we all recognize as a time when crime was believed to be a capitalist byproduct. Mark Strong and Vera Farmiga headline the cast as two members of the convicted six who are scheduled for the crime; however, before they stand before the firing squad, they are ordered to star in a real-life film adaptation of their crime to serve as an educational video.
Despite the gloomy premise, the film is actually very upbeat with the condemned men and one woman essentially making the most of the time they have left rather than spending their time dreading their fate. At one point, Strong’s character actually commandeers the director spot (in the fictional film) for the film due to the director’s inebriation. The film also develops in an interesting way with the details of how the plan for the heist came about as well as the actual heist itself being a mystery until midway through the film. There is further intrigue due to the primary antagonist’s belief of a deeper conspiracy being in the works and his dedication to attempting to unearth it by any means necessary.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on September 23rd, 2015
by Dustin P. Anderson
Our story follows Luke, the son of a wildlife protection advocate, who is left to his own devices while his mother is off doing her job. During his night of freedom, Luke has a chance encounter with a mother polar bear raiding his shed. The police have been tracking this polar bear and take her away. Shortly after the polar bear is taken, Luke finds the mother polar bear’s son and starts his journey trying to get this cub home. With the help of an ex-friend of the family, MukTuk, the two try braving the harsh ice surrounding their home in order to reunite the bears at a far off retreat.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on September 22nd, 2015
Time flies when you’re having as much fun as we are cranking out our patented TV and movie reviews for you. But it still doesn’t move quite as fast as a certain superhero making his home video debut this week. We’ll be catching you up on The Flash: Season 1 courtesy of Warner Bros., which is also right on target with Arrow: Season 3. Fox introduces us to The Last Man on Earth: Season 1, Anchor Bay travels The Red Road: Season 2, Image Entertainment embarks on The Journey Home, and Shout! Factory leaves us in charge of The Nanny: Season 4. Meanwhile, Cinedigm lives the Pop Life, Lionsgate follows the Chain of Command, and Docurama reminds us that Kindness is Contagious.
A couple of quick notes before signing off for the week. Remember that once a month we’re going to give away a free DVD title from among the comments in our weekly Round-Up posts. All you have to do is comment on a Round-Up post — like this one! — and tell us which of these titles you’re most excited to watch or read about. The winners and their prizes will be announced the first week of every month right here in our Tuesday Round-Up post. You can’t win if you don’t comment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 21st, 2015
“Have courage and be kind.”
Those words — repeated many times in this newest version of Cinderella — serve as both the title character’s mantra and the film’s unofficial tagline. The message is elegant in its simplicity in a way that mirrors this refreshingly old-fashioned adaptation, which resists the prevailing urge to modernize and/or revise a classic story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 21st, 2015
"'Tis the season for Demon Dean."
It's almost like some twisted holiday season. Each season finds the Winchester Brothers in some way divided following an apocalyptic event. The world might be saved once again, but Either Dean or Sam is in Hell or Purgatory. One might be living in an alternate reality or just in a coma. This season starts with the tradition very much alive as the Mark of Cain has finally turned Dean into a demon, albeit one who loves to do bad karaoke. His partner in crime isn't his brother Sam, but the King Of Hell himself, Crowley. What a jolly mess this has turned out to be. Now we have another full season on Blu-ray to try and work this thing out. But can Dean be returned to human form, and can the Mark of Cain be removed without... you know... starting another apocalypse? Probably not, but at least the ride ought to be a blast...sometimes literally. It's Supernatural, and it's a milestone 10th season, and it's available now.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 19th, 2015
“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: The Reel World by Archive Authors on September 18th, 2015
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials causes a great deal of confusion for me. First, I have to figure out how it is different from two other YA (Young Adult) phenomenons, Divergent and The Hunger Games. It's not that it's that hard to tell the difference between them, but there are so many nagging similarities for me that watching the three series in succession would become a difficult experience. It doesn't help that Maze Runner II has so many tropes from so many different movies that it is somewhat overwhelming. More than overwhelming, it is absolutely confusing. Adding to the confusion, this new installment of Maze Runner no longer has a maze.
In the first film, our young protagonists were trapped in an isolated meadow surrounded by gigantic walls. The walls could be mechanically manipulated to allow access to deep mazes. By the end of the first film, many of the clueless teenagers had escaped out into a barren and harrowing dystopian landscape. That's where the second film picks up. It is derived from a series of books which promise future editions such as The Death Cure, The Kill Order, and The Fever Code.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2015
"The wilds of Sri Lanka, land of myth and legend where rocky pinnacles overlook cast tropical forests. And an abandoned city lies shrouded in the jungle. The kings who once reigned here are long gone. These days, there's a new dynasty in residence. But this one is governed by the law of the jungle."
From such a majestic intro told against a backdrop of beautiful vistas we find our tranquility broken by an invasion of primates rushing across the landscape to the voice of Micky Dolenz singing the theme song to the 1960's comedy classic The Monkees. Hey, Hey, it's Disney Nature's latest adventure into the life of a family of animals. Enter Monkey Kingdom.
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