Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 29th, 2014
As the spookiest holiday of the year draws closer, we're all probably a little more sensitive to anything that goes bump in the night. Almost every creature associated with Halloween is meant to terrify us, but what if some of those horrific-looking monsters were actually tasked with watching over us? In the Japanese animated drama A Letter to Momo, a young girl encounters a trio of mischievous spirits that only she can see and hear. The monster shenanigans, however, were merely one aspect in what turned out to be one of the more affecting family films I've seen this year.
Momo (voice of Karen Miyama) is a grief-stricken girl who recently lost her father. Her mother Ikuko (Yuka) decides to uproot Momo from their Tokyo home and move to the island of Shio, the sleepy seaside community where Ikuko grew up. In addition to the grief Momo feels over losing her father, she is also overwhelmed by guilt; Momo had been cruel to her father prior to his unexpected death. As a result, Momo clings tightly the last memento her father left behind: an unfinished letter that started with the words, “Dear Momo.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2014
"It was the gang that ran amok. You have people who were being extorted, who talked of having a shotgun barrel stuck in their mouths or machine guns pointed at their groin. Body bags were shown by Bulger as he shakes them down. It was absolute terror."
It amazes me that I really had very little idea who James J. Bulger was before I watched this film by director Joe Berlinger. How could I have missed this guy? On the run for over 16 years, Bulger was once #2 on the FBI's most wanted list. Who was #1? That was Osama Bin Laden. So who was this man that came in second only to the world's most infamous terrorist? That's what I set out to discover, and Whitey: The United States of America vs. James J. Bulger filled in all of those blanks. When the film is finally over you'll be asking yourself, "How is it possible I didn't know this stuff?" One possible reason and the focus of this documentary lies in the fact that the FBI might not have wanted you to know much about this case. Joe Berlinger corrects that oversight with one of the more compelling documentary films I've seen in years. In the end, it asks as many questions as it answers. But those questions are powerful ones indeed.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 29th, 2014
For a while now it has been accepted that cartoons are no longer for kids, and it can be argued that most of the popular animated shows now are more geared towards adults rather than kids these days. I’ve grown up with The Simpsons, and I’ve enjoyed the run that Family Guy has had, but really these have been the only animated shows I’d consider myself loyal to. Upon seeing some ads promoting Rick and Morty as well as hearing my friends talk about the show, I couldn’t help but think perhaps this could possibly be a new animated series I could get excited about.
At first glance Rick and Morty seems like the perfected animated blend of Family Guy and The Simpsons, and for the other-worldly locations even Futurama. The comparisons are hard to look past; after all, the family dynamic is just about the same, and the shows both are filled with their pop-culture references throughout, so what is that makes Rick and Morty stand out from the other shows?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 28th, 2014
Here we have a film that knows all the rules and stereotypes of horror films, but instead of twisting things around and turning the genre on its side, we get a convoluted mess that actually had some real potential. The film is stacked with some solid B-list actors who actually put in performances that remind the viewer why at one point these actors had relatively successful careers. Brian Austin Green (90210), Mena Suvari (American Pie and American Beauty), Zack Ward (A Christmas Story and Postal), and Joanne Kelly (Warehouse 13) are some of the actors that fill this cast, all with solid resumes such that you’d expect at any point they could make the leap to the A-list.
A group of friends decide to plan a trip to a secluded resort where they plan to not just have a little fun, but a few of the characters have some big secrets that they plan to reveal. This isn’t anything scandalous, but instead we are talking about wedding proposals as well as certain characters becoming parents in the not too distant future. This should be a happy and memorable trip, but things quickly spiral out of control when the caravan of friends arrive at the resort and discover no one else is around. All the group can discern is that it appears the guests and employees at the resort must have left in a hurry; after all, meals were left behind, pans still on the stove, as well as baths drawn but never taken. But what the group finds more ominous is the lack of wildlife to be seen or heard; it’s as though they are the only living souls in the area.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2014
Our friends at Arc Entertainment have more than horror on their minds this October. The 28th sees the DVD release of Plastic. A very young gang of criminals runs against a mob boss who has an offer they can't refuse...or can they. They've got to come up with $2 million or else. Arc Entertainment gave us an offer we just couldn't refuse. We have 3 copies of Plastic on DVD and we're going to shoot them out to 3 lucky winners.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: The Reel World by Archive Authors on October 28th, 2014
Wow! OMG! WTH! This is a towering achievement in every way. It is staggering. It is literally staggering; you will leave the theater drained because all your adrenaline will have been used up. Fragmentary, flowing, electric, and it shows the disintegrating of a man's mind in a vibrant phantasmagoria. Any director in the world who sees this will slap himself in the face and say, “Why didn't I do this!” It is a technical tour de force, and everyone in it delivers at full throttle. It is breathless and exhilarating and your mind will be blown. It's a waste of time to compare this to anything else, since this is incomparable. There is nothing to compare it to. It stands alone. Sure, it's a comedy. Yeah, it's a drama, but what it really is is a whirlwind, a tornado, a cyclone, a tsunami of insanity. Everyone involved is fantastic, but Michael Keaton is front and center. Let me say, Batman is back! Wait, I mean Birdman.
Birdman is about an aging actor who refuses to reprise his big blockbuster franchise by making Birdman 4. Instead he has gone for broke and bet everything on a Broadway show that he has written, directs and stars in. It is based on a Raymond Carver short story, and nothing could be farther away from blockbuster. It is about integrity, but is he in over his head? He's a movie star, and he has never done Broadway. He's going to have to refinance the Malibu house even though his franchise has made billions. There are direct references to Iron Man and The Avengers as real world competition on entertainment news shows. Everyone is circling around him: mistress, girlfriend, ex-wife and daughter. None of them has every really connected with him, or he failed them all in some way. If one were to try and compare it to something it would be All That Jazz and Nine (or 8 ½ if you prefer the black and white non-musical). The difference is that the style of this movie is a new industry standard. It plays out as one handheld shot from beginning to end. It should be noted that it does not actually take place in real time, but the transitions are so seamless that you barely notice.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 28th, 2014
“That man brings hell with him wherever he goes.”
The “man” is supposed to be Paul Brennan (Jason Patric), a retired mob enforcer-turned-unassuming auto mechanic who reluctantly returns to his violent ways after his daughter goes missing. But the real culprit might be director Brian A. Miller. With The Prince and this year’s The Outsider, the director has made two consecutive sub-Taken crime dramas that lack the cohesion, refinement or energy to work even as satisfyingly junky action movies.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 27th, 2014
31 Nights Of Terror is coming to an end this week. We have one more giveaway make this the most prizes we've ever given in October. Oscillascope offers Whitewash staring Thomas Haden Church. "Hell can be a cold dark place". An accidental death leads to terror in this DVD. One lucky winner gets to find out for free.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 26th, 2014
“Inspired by the actual accounts of an NYPD sergeant.”
Deliver Us From Evil comes attached with what may be the most flowery variation yet of the “Based on a True Story” tag I'm always wary of. The deliberately-worded phrase is designed to lend an air of verisimilitude to the inherently supernatural demonic possession genre. (Not unlike what The Conjuring did with its real-life paranormal investigators on its way to becoming a smash.) While Deliver Us From Evil has a few decent jolts, it doesn't come close to capitalizing on the promise of its unique source material.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on October 25th, 2014
Most of you know Sarah Butler from her strong performance in I Spit On Your Grave. The remake might have gotten mixed reviews but Butler's strong showing has helped to create a promising career. In Free Fall she gets to work with Halloween producer Malek Akkad and screen legend Malcolm McDowell. I had a chance to chat with Sarah about the new film coming October 28th from Anchor Bay. She's got tons of energy and our time together was far too short to ask everything I had hoped. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Sarah Butler.
On The Web
Sponsors
