Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on August 11th, 2015
I’ve heard whispers about this series for quite some time but never really knew much about it. Given that Hallmark is not really a channel I frequent, I suppose not being knowledgeable about it is understandable. I was slightly confused when this disc came across my desk; I was sure if it was a television series or if it was a made-for-television special. Turns out it’s a series which follows a city girl from a prominent family that relocates to a small town and accepts a position as a schoolteacher. Upon her relocation, she catches the eye of a young Mountie. Now given that I’m coming in at the middle of the story, I’m going to ask the readers to bear with me as I get my bearings with this series.
If you don’t watch the series from the beginning, it may take you a while to get your bearings, as from the moment I pressed play, I was thrust into the story. As a new audience member, this was a bit disorienting and off-putting for me, as I was not required to play catch-up and try to familiarize myself with the already established story. Now, admittedly, not all that responsibility falls on the series; however, a brief recap at the beginning could be beneficial on two fronts: first, it will allow anyone new to the show a better understanding at what has already happened as well as the characters within the universe. Second, it could serve as a hook to bring in more people. No one likes being brought in at the middle of the story, so a brief recap would have definitely helped me get comfortable as I watched the show.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on August 11th, 2015
It’s great being back in the saddle for the latest Tuesday Round Up. Gino was kind enough to jump in these last couple of weeks, but I know there’s gonna be hell to pay for my having slacked off. That reminds me…keep an eye out for our review of Entertainment One’s Hell on Wheels: Season 4. There must be something in the air this week with TV shows and fourth seasons because Warner Bros. sent us Person of Interest: Season 4 and 2 Broke Girls: Season 4. The studio also gave us a chance to catch up with Hot Pursuit, one of its big-screen offerings.
We like to think of ourselves as a curious, adventurous staff, so keep your eyes peeled for our takes on Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters: Collection 13 and Shark Week: Dominating the Deep. On top of that, we’ll check into HBO’s The Knick: Season 1, take a peek behind the feathers with Cinedigm’s I Am Big Bird, strive to keep the peace during CBS/Paramount’s The Dovekeepers, and bundle up for Anchor Bay’s Northmen: A Viking Saga. (You can already hear more about Northmen by clicking here.) Last but not least is the debut of Shout! Factory’s Maude: Season 2.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 11th, 2015
I realized Hot Pursuit was in big trouble during the sequence when intensely by-the-book Officer Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) accidentally ingests cocaine. The joke is supposed to be that the drug sends Cooper into a comically manic, frenzied state; the problem is the way Witherspoon behaves during this sequence isn't all that different from the way she's played Cooper up to that point. And that's the problem with Hot Pursuit: it's the movie equivalent of someone who types in ALL CAPS all the time. Even worse, it's an unholy (and unfunny) mash-up of Midnight Run and Thelma & Louise that shines a blazing spotlight on its leading ladies' worst qualities.
As I mentioned before, Witherspoon stars as Cooper, who idolized her legendary cop father and always dreamed of following in his footsteps. When we meet Cooper, however, she's comically disgraced her father's good name — we're meant to believe no one ever told her what “calling shotgun” meant — and is stuck working as a glorified secretary in the evidence room of her Texas police department. She gets a stab at redemption when her captain (John Carroll Lynch) assigns her to accompany a U.S. Marshal (Richard T. Jones) to escort and protect a drug cartel informant and his wife Daniella (Sofia Vergara).
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2015
Anchor Bay is raiding video stores this week with Northmen: A Viking Saga on DVD. The film sports a special cameo by metal rocker Johan Hegg. It was his first film and he's seems pretty excited about it all. I had the opportunity to talk with him about the film. Fans of his band Amon Amarth know he relishes Vikings history. One of the band's songs is even included in the end credits. It's a perfect match. You can hear it all here. Just bang it here to listen to my chat with Johan Hegg
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 10th, 2015
“What's this? The Comeback comeback?”
The most unlikely program to air on HBO over the last year didn't feature dragons or detectives...it was the story of a diva. Obviously, The Comeback — the rare HBO show that wasn't granted a second season — isn't as lavish as Game of Thrones or as ambitious as True Detective. But even for a network with a sterling reputation for taking chances and thinking outside the box, the return of The Comeback as an 8-episode “limited series” was somewhat of a shock.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 10th, 2015
“Sometimes the truth isn't believable. That doesn't mean that it's not true.”
Talk about truth being stranger than fiction! That proverb absolutely applies to the real-life story of Mike Finkel and Christian Longo, two men from seemingly disparate backgrounds who were thrust together by extraordinary circumstances. Their relationship is the basis for True Story, a drama about duality and deception. But while the truth is often stranger than fiction, that doesn't necessarily mean it's more entertaining.
Posted in: The Reel World by Archive Authors on August 8th, 2015
I'm going to start by listing a number of names that make up a kind of extended family. The names don't have a lot in common at first, and it seems like a hodgepodge. I'm sure I'm going to leave someone out, but let's start with Kevin Kline, Johnathan Demme, Diablo Cody, Sebastian Stan, Mamie Gummer, Audra McDonald, Joe Vitale, Rick Springfield, Bill Erwin, Bernie Worrell, Rick Rosas, and Charlotte Rae. I'm forgetting someone. Oh yeah, Meryl Streep. It's that kind of a movie which is being sold as a star vehicle for the most praised and beloved actress of the modern era, but is really an ensemble piece. We can debate who is as beloved as Meryl Streep in the history of cinema, but let's not, because Ricki and the Flash is not that kind of movie. It really isn't about the star turn by Meryl, but a collective, communal experience by all involved. All the names I mentioned are part of this experience, more so than in most movies. It's about the connections we try to make and the ones we fail at. It's about reaching for things and not getting them but doing it anyway. It's about failure and celebration, often within a breath of each other. It's about moving on but not forgetting the past. It's about loving someone when they are far from perfect. It's about forgiving and accepting.
I'm going to start with Rick Rosas. He died before the film was released and plays the bassist in Ricki's band, the Flash. In real life, he played in three bands with Neil Young (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Crazy Horse, and Buffalo Springfield) as well as with Joe Walsh, Ron Wood, Etta James, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Rivers. Bernie Worrell who plays the keyboardist was a founding member of Funkadelic and Parliament as well as playing with The Talking Heads. Joe Vitale is the drummer; he has played with The Eagles, Joe Walsh, Ted Nugent, Dan Fogelberg, Crosby, Stills and Nash and many others. Rikki and her band play to a few die-hard faithfuls in Tarzana every night, as well as doing her day job as a cashier at Whole Foods. I should mention that her frazzled boyfriend and lead guitarist is Rick Springfield. I should also mention Streep is 66 years old and is singing Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on August 7th, 2015
I have been hearing buzz about this film for pretty much a year. My first response after hearing about it was confusion. Now, I’m sure that I’m going to lose points for saying this, but I didn’t find the original Fantastic Four film to be that bad. I’m not proclaiming it as the best, but for the time period, I found it to be an acceptable film. Now, I’m sure I lost of a lot of readers after that declaration, but if you if have remained with me, let’s talk about the latest installment in the Marvel universe, shall we?
The film starts with Reed Richards (Miles Teller), a clear child prodigy who aspires to create a teleportation device. It is through this motivation that he meets Ben Grimm, after rummaging through Ben’s family salvage yard for parts in order to test his prototype. Agreeing to help, the two perform the first beta test of Reed’s device, which proves successful despite that it causes city-wide blackout. Fast forward several years. Reed’s device has improved to the point that he can actually bring the object he teleports back, catching the attention of scientist Franklin Storm as well as his adopted daughter Sue (Kate Mara). They inform Reed that he has not just built a simple teleportation device, but a device with the ability of interdimensional travel. They offer Reed a scholarship to the Baxter Institute, an institution for young geniuses on the forefront of scientific discovery.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 7th, 2015
"There can be no murder in paradise."
That was the stand of the Soviet Union's ruling party during the Cold War. They believed that murder was a capitalist crime. So what happens when a serial killer is killing young boys up and down the railway? That's the premise of Lionsgate's Child 44. It's based on the Tom Rob Smith novel which is part of a trilogy based on the character Leo Demidov. The story itself was based on an actual Soviet Union serial killer named Andrei Chikatilo, who is suspected of killing over 50 children in the 1970's. To set the story apart from other "true crime" entries, the facts were fictionalized and moved deeper into the Cold War era of the 1950's and a post-war Soviet Union at the peak of its power and world influence. It was their own "great experiment", and it was considered fatal to admit to the world that such base crimes and instincts existed in such a utopia.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on August 7th, 2015
Petty crime and literature: makes you wonder how often the two coexist. In the case of Phantom Halo, the two coexist quite often and very successfully. The introduction of the literature through the guise of street theater sets the stage for the criminal activity and provides elegance to what would possible been a dull story. However, in my opinion, the two need one another to provide a compelling story. Though admittedly there are times when one aspect seems farfetched or pulls focus from the other, in the long run it is these two themes together that make the overall film exceptional.
Beckett and Samuel are brothers and petty thieves; Samuel is the distraction, acting as a street performer and delivering famous monologues that captivate an unsuspecting audience while Beckett moves within the crowd and pilfers whatever he can. Now, I know what you are thinking: these don’t’ seem like good people; however, this is simply what is required of these two characters to survive. Their father, a drunk and a degenerate gambler, rules over the two despite the fact that he provides no stability for them, forcing them to commit these crimes in order to keep a roof over their head while he takes whatever they earn (even resorting to stealing money that they attempt to save) to maintain his own habits.
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