Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 3rd, 2014
Right now in the martial arts world I don’t believe there is a bigger star than Donnie Yen. From his work in Iron Monkey to his modern classic Ip Man, Yen shows he is nearly an unstoppable force in the martial arts world, and when his name is involved with a project, you should be ready for a spectacle. His fight choreography is stunning to say the least, and despite the genre of film, he’s able to keep his fight scenes grounded in reality. Now teamed with director Daniel Lee who brought us Black Mask, 14 Blades is on first glance the kind of movie martial arts fans should get excited about.
I’m not too sure about the historical accuracy of this film, but during the Ming Dynasty the Emperor created his own special security team by finding orphaned kids and training them to be his personal guards. These special guards were called Jinyiwei; basically think about the President’s Secret Service agents, only extremely skilled in martial arts. The one who would oversee the Jinyiwei would be the most skilled of the group and called Qinglong. What made this Qinglong even more threatening is this special box he would carry with him, and inside are an array of bladed instruments, the 14 blades.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 3rd, 2014
Three-time widower Ben Cartwright (Greene) runs his famous Ponderosa Ranch with the aid of his three grown sons from three different mothers. There’s Little Joe (Landon), Adam (Roberts) and Hoss (Blocker). Set some time in the mid 1800’s, this long-running series followed the family’s many exploits. In the late 1950’s, westerns accounted for six of the top ten programs on TV. Only Gunsmoke had a longer run than Bonanza. From 1959 to 1973, Ben Cartwright and his boys rode across the small screen. Years later in syndication the series re-emerged as Ponderosa, and a handful of TV movies continued the tale into the 90’s.We never have grown tired of the genre that gave us such heroes as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.
Unlike many of the 1960's Western television shows, Bonanza was all about the characters. You rarely saw a gunfight. There was often a bit of fisticuffs, but usually it ended with a lesson that violence never pays. The show prided itself on using the Western genre to deliver a family kind of show, and it's no surprise that series star Michael Landon would use many of the same kinds of stories and lessons on his own Little House On The Prairie. The Cartwrights are always helping widows, the wrongly accused, and the local Indian population. That help often lands them in hot water.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 3rd, 2014
“It’s kind of a corny, romantic comedy-type story.”
Even those of us who actually enjoy a good romantic comedy have rolled our eyes or groaned about some overused cliche in the genre. Well David Wain and Michael Showalter — who last teamed up to satirize summer camp movies in 2001's Wet Hot American Summer — have gathered many of their famous, funny friends to make They Came Together, an alternately hilarious and uneven spoof that lovingly skewers rom-com tropes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 2nd, 2014
"My siblings and I are the first vampires in all of history. The Original Family. Three centuries ago, we helped build a town called New Orleans. Now a plot by witches has lured me back, hoping that I will defeat a tyrant, a vampire I created. My brother hopes I will find redemption through the power of family, a miracle child, part werewolf, part vampire, a hybrid. My sister is doubtful; she thinks I am beyond redemption. Despite my brother's best efforts, I have a plan of my own. I will take back my home and reclaim what was mine. I will be king."
If you're a fan of The Vampire Diaries, you need no introduction to Klaus Mikaelson and his family of original vampires. They were cursed by a powerful witch, their mother, to live forever as vampires. Klaus was her bastard son and also a werewolf. His cruelty and brutality are a millennium-long Grand Guignol of the most graphic kind. Can you build a spinoff show around a creature who has pretty much been the vicious villain of the mother show? That was my biggest question going in. The answer was a very resounding yes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 1st, 2014
The backwoods flesh-eating disease film Cabin Fever was writer/ director Eli Roth’s first dip into horror and helped establish Roth as one of the “it” guys of the industry despite having a limited film catalog. The film’s cringe-worthy deaths, not to mention the memorable bathtub sequence, made the film an overnight sensation, and when talk of a potential sequel came out, I was more than a little excited. Picking up the reins for Roth would be another young rising star of the horror genre, Ti West. The film made a valiant attempt at capitalizing on the fame of the original, but it just never made the connection with audiences. Now we have the third entry in the Cabin Fever saga, Cabin Fever: Patient Zero. This time the film trades in its familiar backwoods local on a tropical paradise in the Caribbean.
When you see the title Patient Zero, you go into this with the hopes that this would be the film to have the big reveal as to how the virus managed to make its way to a lake in the middle of the woods in the outskirts of a small mountain town. Or you would be like me and have your fingers crossed for more fun from the party guy himself, Deputy Winston. Unfortunately, we get no familiar faces, but instead two separate storylines that we know inevitably will cross over.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on September 1st, 2014
by Normandy D. Piccolo
What happens when you mix the movies Stand By Me and Star Wars? You end up with a family-friendly flick called The Stream that benefits the Boys & Girls Club of America. In addition to watching a great movie, you are supporting a great cause too. I dig that. The Stream was created by Estlin Feigley and written by Colin Costello. It stars Mario Lopez (Saved By The Bell, Nip/Tuck), Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs, Ugly Betty), Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl, Melrose Place), Rainn Wilson (The Office, Six Feet Under) and a cast of upcoming child actors; Jacob M Williams, Michael Capperella, Noura Jost, CJ Diehl and Sabrina D. Carter.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2014
If you've had a chance to catch the film Sanctuary: Quite A Conundrum you know the name Thomas L. Phillips. The film has taken a heap of awards on the film festival circuit and is finally available on DVD for the fans. It's more black comedy than horror but Phillips takes delight in one critic calling it Clerks meets Scream. I had the opportunity to chat with Phillips on Friday. Bang it hear to sit in on my chat with Thomas L. Phillips
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2014
75 Years Of WWII is a collection of episodes from A&E/History's various war programs that have aired on the networks and have already been released in full sets of their own. It's intended to be somewhat of a greatest-hits DVD collection. If you're not inclined to pick up any of the full sets, this might make a nice addition to your collection, but I believe the full sets are far more worth your time.
Disc one contains a three hour two-part excerpt from WWII In HD on D-Day.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 1st, 2014
Oregon may have been the 33rd state to join our union — and Portland may be its most populous city — but Portlandia is a (beet-eating, Bigot Parade-hosting, 3D printer-buying) state of mind. And four seasons into lovingly mocking upper middle class indulgence along with the denizens of the Pacific Northwest, the show — created by stars Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and director Jonathan Krisel — continues to feel more like a fully-realized destination than ever.
Armisen actually picked up a Best Supporting Actor Emmy nomination for his work this season. It was great for the show because it marked Portlandia's first nod in a major category, but it was also strange to see him slotted into the "Supporting" race given that he and Brownstein appear in almost every scene of every episode. Armisen keeps on finding genuine shades of weirdness in every character he plays, but I continue to be impressed by Brownstein's work as a comedic actress. (The former Sleater-Kinney singer/guitarist isn't an actress by trade.) Her subtler goofiness is a great match for — and no less funny than — what Armisen does.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 29th, 2014
The first thing you should know about The Walking Dead is that it's unlike any television series you have ever seen before. The images here are intense, and the crew has been given a blank check to create this vision without the burden of censors looking over their shoulders. There are plenty of blood-and-gore effects that rival any of the Hollywood zombie films you've seen in the last few years. The makeup effects are handled by the very capable hands of KNB and supervised personally by Greg Nicotero (the N from KNB). KNB isn't treating this like a television production, and while I personally get tired of the cliché about making a movie each week, this one lives up to the hype. They aren't doing anything different here than they would do for a big-budget film. The zombies look incredible, and the effects are completely first-rate.
If you need to know more before considering the fourth season, you need to go back to the beginning. It will be well worth the time and money to do so. You can check out our reviews of the previous seasons by banging it here: Walking Dead Reviews. These will quickly get you hungry for the first three seasons and get you caught up with the rest of us and into the breach with Season 4.
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