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.
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.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2014
Long before Clint Eastwood was making our day as Dirty Harry or even roaming the badlands without a name for Sergio Leone, he was working the cattle drive on Rawhide. Rawhide was created to take advantage of the huge Western film and television wave that Hollywood had been riding for nearly a decade. With huge ratings for Gunsmoke and Bonanza among others, Rawhide was a bit of an unlikely success. Here the show explored the West on an endless cattle drive to get a few thousand steer to market. Along the way the crew would find themselves involved in someone else’s troubles or meet trouble head on themselves.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 3rd, 2014
“I don't know why death still surprises me.”
As someone who's seen every single episode of True Blood, I suppose nothing should surprise me by now. HBO's vampire drama has given us more than its share of head-turning sex scenes and a hearty helping of over-the-top violence. However, the further the series ventured from Bon Temps and its core group of characters, the more it seemed to lose its way, even as a satisfying guilty pleasure. This penultimate season still relied on an overly-crowded cast of supernaturals. But it was ultimately an encouraging sign that the show might get back to basics as it prepares to end its run this summer.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 3rd, 2014
What makes us human? That is the primary theme of Robocop, the remake of the 1987 film of the same name. The 1987 film was a huge blockbuster success, spawning two sequels, and no doubt that is the hope for the remake at the very least. Joel Kinnaman steps into the suit made famous by Peter Weller, and he is not the only big name to grace the film: Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, and Jackie Earle Haley, as well as the great Gary Oldman playing the doctor who made Robocop possible: with such a top-notch cast, how could the project fail?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 2nd, 2014
When Stephen Chow came out with Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle he delivered martial arts in a way like we never had seen before. It’s not just that he blended humor with his action but it was that he was able to manage to make his characters function as you would imagine cartoon characters would in the real world. The road runneresque chase scenes from Kung Fu Hustle are the first visuals that come to mind any time I think of the name Stephen Chow. Now that he has Journey to the West making its way to Blu-ray, does he still have what it takes to make a hit or has he simply returned to the well already?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on June 2nd, 2014
The tagline for Beyond the Trophy definitively states that “Power is the only thing that matters.” Well, having watched this low-budget cops and kingpins crime drama, I humbly disagree. The film strives to tell a story about the violent perils of all-consuming power. Unfortunately, Beyond the Trophy forgot to include some of the stuff that matters to movie-watchers: things like “focused storytelling”, “coherent action sequences”, and “fresh characters.”
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 2nd, 2014
With the clock ticking till the release of Batman vs. Superman, Warner Bros needs to do all it can to get the fans on board for the arrival of the the Justice League. When it comes to the handling of the DC universe, though fans may be divided on the films, it seems just about everyone will agree the animation is about as good as it gets when it comes to comic adaptations. In the case of the Justice League perhaps the only way to get it right is through animation, considering there seems to always be something massive going on that it would seem nearly impossible to translate in a live-action setting.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on May 30th, 2014
With the exception of Blazing Saddles and City Slickers, it’s not easy to come up with a successful western/comedy. But leave to Seth MacFarlane to venture into this territory with his irreverent humor in tow as he looks to beat the odds and make a successful western with his new film A Million Ways to Die in the West. Following the success of Ted, I was looking forward to seeing what MacFarlane would do next; after all, I feel he’s the comedian who speaks to my generation better than anyone else out there. As one of the comedy greats of the time, I had little doubt about his ability to write and direct another hit, but where my concern mainly fell is on how he would fare as the leading man.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on May 30th, 2014
If Christopher Nolan’s take on The Joker isn’t the very best example of modern cinematic villainy, then it’s near the top of the list. Obviously, a tremendous amount of credit goes to Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance in The Dark Knight, but I’d argue the real thrill comes from the character’s arbitrary, inexplicable approach to evil. By having its Joker invent tragic (fake) backstories on the spot, the film made a mockery out of the notion of having to explain a movie monster’s past. Disney’s Maleficent, on the other hand, is the latest misguided attempt to redeem a character who was better off being unredeemable.
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