Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2014
"What I am about to tell you sounds crazy. But you have to listen to me. Your very lives depend on it. You see, this isn't the first time."
No, this isn't the first time. Tom Cruise seems to be making a habit of these science fiction action movies of late. There was Oblivion and War Of The Worlds, and quite frankly Edge Of Tomorrow looked to be pretty much more of the same. But there's a huge difference between this film and the previous two. Edge Of Tomorrow is actually good. What looks on the surface to be just Groundhog Day with futuristic toys turns out to be a redemption story that I actually never saw coming.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on June 6th, 2014
“I believe we have a choice in this world about how to tell sad stories. On the one hand, you can sugarcoat it. Nothing is too messed up that can't be fixed with a Peter Gabriel song. I like that version as much as the next girl does. It's just not the truth.”
With its beautiful leads and an impossibly romantic European interlude, I wouldn't exactly say The Fault in Our Stars gets at the truth either. But the film has enough authentic touches — and, more importantly, treats its characters with enough unvarnished affection — to make it one of the most effective tearjerkers in recent years.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 5th, 2014
When something is successful, it doesn't take long for everyone else to try to find out just what those secret spices are and attempt to cash in on the wave. In 1963 NBC started one of those waves with The Virginian. While it wasn't exactly the start of the western television tsunami, it was one of the longer-lasting ratings winners after the big two (Gunsmoke and Bonanza). By 1968 CBS was looking for a way to copy that success. One of The Virginian's unique qualities was its 90-minute running time. Many westerns ran just 30 minutes with plenty of hour-long shows. CBS decided that perhaps it was the more-is-better model that worked so well for The Virginian and came out with their own 90-minute western. That was The Cimarron Strip. It was good, but it was no Virginian, and the timing couldn't have been worse. Westerns were making way for the cop and detective shows, and The Cimarron Strip lasted but a season.
Marshal Jim Crown (Whitman) was a lawman in the untamed territory between the Kansas Territory and the wild Indian lands. It was a narrow strip of land that had been widely neglected by the law until Crown's arrival. He arrived to find the jailhouse had been taken over by Scotsman MacGreger (Herbert) who was using it for his still which had just blown to pieces, taking the jailhouse with it. MacGreger was part owner in the local pub/hotel/restaurant. Also newly arrived in town was Dulcey Coopersmith, who was from England by way of Rhode Island. She was searching for the father she never met. Unfortunately, she was too late. He was once also the co-owner of The Wayfarer Inn with MacGreger, but he had died. Dulcey quickly settled in as co-owner, and Marshall Crown ended up setting up shop there as well because of the blown-up jail.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on June 5th, 2014
By Zach Abati
“Welcome To My Nightmare”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 5th, 2014
Did you know The Birdcage is the all-time, highest-grossing movie in the U.S. that features a gay lead character? It’s true! Given the drastically increased pop culture visibility of the LGBT community in the 18 years since its release, it’s a bit of a surprise the film still holds that distinction. On the other hand, I’m not too shocked because I’ve been laughing at this funny farce since it first came out in 1996. So I was delighted to see it finally make its long-overdue Blu-ray debut.
We’ll get to the Blu-ray particulars in a bit, but I really do want to spend a fair amount of time talking about this deeply silly, deeply fascinating project. For starters, how about the fact that Robin Williams’ first “straight man” role in a comedy didn’t come until he was cast as a gay nightclub owner?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 5th, 2014
“Our planet, our war.”
Those four words neatly summarize the overriding theme for the third season of Falling Skies, TNT’s earnest alien invasion drama. While the show still takes its broad thematic cues from the American Revolutionary War, this batch of episodes directly references some of the uneasy alliances formed during World War II. So in between the numerous instances of human characters shooting at aliens — and at each other — the show explored the question of whether the enemy of my enemy really is my friend.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2014
We first came to know Paul Hogan as the "Shrimp On The Barbie" guy. He was doing television and radio ads for Australian tourism. A smart fellow, he saw that the ad character was popular and rode an enormous wave of an Australian fad that hit America in the 1980's.. Suddenly there were Australian bands like Men At Work teaching us about vegemite sandwiches on the top of the music charts. We got steak, not shrimp, on our barbie with a chain of Australian-themed steakhouses appropriately called Outback "no rules, just right" started up by a Florida group. Pop culture became inundated with catch phrases like "no worries" and "G'Day". Australia was cool, and we even had an "Australian" neighbor we all later found out was faking it for years. No doubt anything Aussie was considered cool. It was in that light that Hogan parlayed his tourism ads into an over-the-top Aussie character named Michael J. "Crocodile” Dundee.
The film was an almost instant hit. It pulled in a rather sweet $175 million at the domestic box office. Remember, this was a 1987 comedy with no real known American stars. Of course there was going to be a sequel. That film pulled in considerably less, but still a respectable $110 million. Those two films have now been brought to Blu-ray as a two-disc set from Paramount. The third film was called Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles and tanked big time with an embarrassing $25 million box office total. That was 2001, and the Aussie fad has long since passed. It's no surprise that the collection only includes the first two films. These are absolutely worth watching and having.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2014
"Senior year is supposed to be the best year of your life. Did you know that? Yeah, if you survive it."
It's a new season, and the girls face new dangers. You have to give the writers some credit here. While the whole A thing can get a little old, they do a good job of changing the dynamics between the Liars’ relationships both inside and outside their group. Foes can become friends, and friends often turn out to be foes. There is a lot more turmoil inside of the group as each of the Liars takes a turn being a bit of an outsider for a short while.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 4th, 2014
Following in the footsteps of Taken Gina Carano (Haywire) goes on a revenge rampage in order to discover what has happened to her injured and missing husband in a foreign land. It’s not the most original jumping off point for a revenge film, but as is the case with most revenge films, the motivation is usually always the same, but it’s the journey to the fulfillment of their blood-lust that keeps us in our seats. Coming off of the latest installment in the Fast and the Furious series, Carano has started to make a name for herself ever since she emerged in Steven Soderbergh’s action/thriller Haywire. Many women have tried to step in the role of leading lady and bad-ass fighter, but Gina Carano seems to be the woman who seems right at home in the role of breaking bones and smashing faces, and it doesn’t hurt that she looks good while doing it.
On an island in the Carribean, Ava (Carano) and her new husband Derek (Cam Gigandet) celebrate their honeymoon together. The beautiful beach locations are offset by the ghettos that house the islanders who call this vacation spot home. And it would seem as though Manny (Ismael Cruz Cordova), is nothing more than a hospitable islander showing the newlyweds a good time, that is until he takes them on a breathtaking zip line tour. Unfortunately an accident occurs, causing Derek to be taken immediately to the hospital (all I could think about was the opening sequence of Cliffhanger here), and it is on the way to the ER as Ava tries to follow behind but eventually loses the ambulance in traffic. Not only does Ava have to suffer through the possibility of her husband dying, but when she finally arrives to the hospital, she is told her husband never was brought in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 4th, 2014
Before getting this season to review, my exposure to the show was fairly limited; I had seen a few episodes on Comedy Central, but that was about it. Now that I’ve had a chance to kick back and take in the shenanigans of Blake (Blake Anderson), Adam (Adam DeVine) and Anders (Anders Holm) I can say it was a disservice to myself to hold out for so long. For those that are unaware of the show, I see it as a bit of a hybrid between It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Office Space, as it follows three friends who live together and work together at a telemarketing company. Thankfully this is a show that doesn’t require seeing the previous seasons and can be picked up and watched at any point.
Picking a favorite episode is an easy one for me; not that the other episodes are not funny, but “Beer Heist” is a solid standalone episode that brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. The guys run into a group of sorority girls who are on a beer run. The guys concoct a plan to impress them, and it involves hopping in the back of a semi-truck to steal beer. Their plan quickly unravels as the truck takes off with Blake and Adam still in the truck. As their troubles escalate, the rationale a character uses to explain why his friend doesn’t understand their actions because he’s simply not horny enough is just the right kind of explanation for this show.
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