Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on June 12th, 2026
“If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?”
This movie marks the 30th collaboration between Steven Spielberg and John Williams. Their first was The Sugarland Express, over 50 years prior. This is even more noteworthy, given that when Spielberg initially approached Williams about making the score, Williams first suggested four other composers take the job, since Williams had retired from film scoring. Spielberg insisted Williams score the film himself, and Williams finally agreed. This film also marks a personal achievement for Steven Spielberg, directing at least one sci-fi movie in each decade of his career: Firelight (1964), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Minority Report (2002), War of the Worlds (2005) and Ready Player One (2018).
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2026
"It's funny how much training I've had in taking a life. Years with the 3rd Calvary, the Regiment, Special Ops. A lifetime of experience. I can tell you to the exact second how long it will take you to bleed out if I make an inch-long incision in your carotid artery. Tactics. Weapons. Munitions. Covert ops. Black ops. Battlefield triage. The logistics of death. I've studied it all in great depth and detail. I've been taught all there is to know about taking a life."
If any of this sounds like something you've heard before, you're not too far off. It calls back to Liam Neeson talking to the guys who are in the process of kidnapping his daughter. He's telling him all about that "specific" set of skills he happens to have to make their brief remaining lives pretty brutal. That's what we get from Milla Jovovich. She's a highly trained killer, and now some bad guys have kidnapped her daughter. She gets there almost in time to stop it, but just not quick enough, and you don't have to read this or any film synopsis. You don't need to read any spoilers to know you're about to go through 90 minutes of this one-woman army trying to save her daughter and leaving a lot of gory destruction in her wake.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on June 10th, 2026
“Hello, Sidney. Did you miss me? Nice little town you found, you and your pretty daughter. Reminds me of where we grew up.”
Honestly, after the last film, in which the creators broke the tradition that the three O.G. characters (Sidney, Gale, and Dewey) always made it to the final credits, I thought was going to be the end for the franchise after all. Because if there was one thing I knew, which had held true for five films, was that those three were not to be touched. So when the powers that be made the decision to kill off David Arquette’s character (I know I shouldn't be revealing spoilers; however, if you haven’t seen the previous film, you shouldn't be reading a review for its sequel, so sorry not sorry), I was of the opinion that there was nowhere else for the story to go.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2026
"We're not rock stars. We're human jukeboxes."
A little bit of quick background. I'm a recording artist with eight albums under my belt, so I likely approached this film a little differently than most folks. I wasn't really all that enthused about seeing the film. You see, I tend to hate when songwriters write songs about writing songs. I think it's pretentious. So what have I done? Written at least a handful of songs about writing songs, so I don't do a lot of practicing what I preach. That's the mindset I had going into the screening. It turned out maybe I do like songs about songwriting and just haven't had the guts to admit it. There aren't any maybes about one thing. I can tell you for certain that Power Ballad turned out to be one of the best films I've seen in the first half of 2026. Who knew? I think that director/writer John Carney knew. It's possible that Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas did. Now I know, and in a minute, so will you.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 29th, 2026
Let's just get this out of the way from the jump. I very much doubt that any film or filmmaker is going to ever come close to giving us the D-Day invasion of France in any better detail or realism than Stephen Spielberg did with Saving Private Ryan. There have already been countless documentaries. There have been enough films on the subject to make just about anyone a "Hollywood" expert on what is likely the greatest military campaign in the history of warfare. The only way you're going to get anyone's attention or leave any kind of mark on the cinematic history of D-Day is to find an angle that no one else has found. Good luck with that... or maybe there is an aspect that hasn't yet been mined. I didn't think so before I saw director Anthony Maras's latest film Pressure. The approach is so simple it's almost crazy that it hasn't been covered before. What is it everyone always complains about but no one ever does anything about? The weather.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2026
“So, you wanna give that thing to a good person so they can save the world. I understand. But in order to save that good person, you’re gonna have to give it to a really bad person. In all my years, I've only ever seen one man come out on top in Vegas. We go to do it like he did. He rigged the game.”
I know what you might be thinking. It was going through my mind as well. It sounds a little bit like "Save the cheerleader. Save the world." Admit it, that's exactly where you were going with this thing. Even at its best ... or worst, Heroes was never as intense or dark as the video game television series adaptation of Fallout on Prime. With all respect to Zachary Quinto and his portrayal of Syler, Syler would be running home cryin' to mama if he ever came across Walton Goggins as The Ghoul in Fallout. Don't believe me? Now's your chance to find out, because Alliance and Prime have teamed up to bring the second season of Fallout to home video.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2026
Lucille Ball was originally a radio personality starring in a popular comedy, My Favorite Husband. It was here that she began to develop the character she would continue to play for decades in television through several shows, all bearing her name in one form or another: I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life With Lucy. See the pattern? Anyone who was a fan of the radio show would instantly recognize the red-haired actress even though they had never actually seen her on the radio. That exaggerated cry was already a staple of her physical comedy, even when she couldn't be seen. She had also toured for many years with her real-life husband Desi Arnaz. When they could not convince a network to film a pilot of a show featuring both of them, they made it on their own dime. CBS was so impressed with the pilot that they reimbursed the couple, and in 1951 I Love Lucy hit the airwaves.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2026
"Jack Shindo has made it back alive from Mars. but his reappearance will raise more questions than it answers. He has a secret that cannot be shared. He can tell no one that he is Ultraman, a savior from the stars."
Ultraman is a huge part of Japanese culture and pretty much has been since the original live-action show in 1966. Perhaps Godzilla started the ball rolling, but Ultraman brought us these monsters on a regular basis. In Japan, Ultraman is like our Superman. He’s an iconic hero and a huge part of the pop culture. Since the 60’s he has appeared in many forms, most of them animated. But it is this 1966 series that made a ton of us kids fall in love with him and an entire genre. Yes, there were many from the era: Space Giants featured a giant fighting robot who fought monsters and sometimes converted into a spaceship
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on May 9th, 2026
“I'm warning you. I got a Saturn Award for Best Fight in a Feature Film, so don't mess with me.”
So, it goes without saying the success or failure of this movie rested solely on Karl Urban’s portrayal of Johnny Cage. Johnny Cage is among the most popular characters in the video game franchise. Not to mention, he was my favorite character back in my Sega days. For me, while I still enjoyed the first film, his absence was felt. I was thrilled when I heard that he was going to be featured in the second film. I will admit when I heard that Urban would be playing the role, I was mildly skeptical. While I know Urban to be a fantastic actor and hilarious, the physicality of the role, I initially thought would be too much for him. Luckily, it proved me wrong. It’s been five years since the reboot, and yet for the most part, the sequel feels like no time has passed at all. Especially given that everyone member of the cast from the reboot returned for the sequel, including a few that I wasn’t expecting. This of course includes some new additions as well as a bit of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina reunion.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 5th, 2026
"Welcome to Derry, home of Paul Bunyan."
I can still remember the It miniseries from a few decades ago. I thought Gary Oldman was just wonderful as Pennywise the clown at the center of Stephen King's novel of the same name. What I really never took into account was that being wonderful really wasn't the point of the character at all. With much love to Oldman and the many characters he's brought to life over the years, I never realized until 2017 was who Pennywise the clown was truly meant to be. Andy Muschietti and his sister Barbara went to work on a two-film attempt to bring It back to life, this time on the big screen. Like most people I was pretty skeptical of the whole thing, and a lifetime of failed Stephen King films that never lived up to his written word was the evidence I cited. Can't be done, I said. They'll only run it into the ground to be resurrected badly as if it had been buried in King's Pet Semetary.
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