Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 16th, 2023
It's a genuinely rewarding experience when you find a new director that you find intriguing. Mostly because as the consumer, it's then a research project to find everything that person has ever done and then dissect which films you can go find to watch immediately. When I watched Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, I had that experience instantly. I wanted to see more of Rysuke Hamaguchi's films. So I bought a Criterion Blu-ray copy of Drive My Car back in July. Shortly after that, I saw that his student film, Passion, was going to be released by Film Movement on Blu-ray, and I was eager to get a copy. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long, because the opportunity to review presented itself even before the release date. Let's dive into this film and see the early workings of a true master of the conversation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2023
"Jack, we have done our jobs and done them well. This fight was passed down to us and will continue with or without us. But we will always be better than the institutions we serve, and that is what matters when it matters most. There are no heroes in our profession. But occasionally there are good men. Men who act on what is right, not simply doing what they are told to do. I have not always lived my life with honor. But perhaps I have done enough to die with it. I hope the same for you."
Witness the birth of -- actually make that rebirth of --one of the most popular action heroes in literature. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has been a character of many jobs and many faces over the years. Baldwin, Ford, Pine, and Affleck have all stepped into the role of the man who has been a soldier, an analyst, an operative, and a president. What might appear as a clear advantage for this Amazon Prime streaming television show can be just as much a liability. When you throw in the Tom Clancy novels, comic books, and fan fiction, there is a ton of Jack Ryan history that pretty much gives us a story arc from his humble beginnings to extraordinary exploits
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2023
"I met him fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding, even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and the blackest eyes ... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply ... evil."
Blumhouse and David Gordon Green recently finished a sequel/reboot of John Carpenter's Halloween with mixed results. He got Jamie Lee Curtis to return for all three films in the trilogy. Most of the various sequels and reboots did not include the original film's star, but Green was not the first one to get her to return to the role of Laurie Strode.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2023
When it comes to watching films at the theater, often I will want to see a movie sometimes three, four weeks into their release. The crowds have quieted down, and I can often focus on the movie rather than the person next to me who might be munching on their popcorn a little too loudly or on their cell phone. However, with many films not sticking around as they should, it can often be difficult to make that work. This past Sunday, I was fortunate enough to see A Haunting In Venice, a film that opened in mid-September to honestly rather tepid box office earnings. I had seen Murder on the Orient Express on 4K disc and Death on the Nile with my wife in theaters, so I certainly wanted to see the third film in the Kenneth Branagh's version of Hercule Poirot. So quality time aside, was this film actually worth our matinee dollar, or was it better spent at the local sandwich shop? Let's take a look.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2023
"What do you think evil is? I'll tell you what I think evil is..."
It's sequels/reboots made by filmmakers who haven't got one single clue what made the original such a classic. The Exorcist was a masterpiece of filmmaking and is truly one of the most compelling horror films even 50 years later. There are a lot of reasons for that. Unfortunately, David Gordon Green couldn't name a single one if you gave him a cheat sheet in one hand and William Friedkin's complete notes in the other. Blum House took a huge risk after they finished their Halloween trilogy. The films were hit and miss with some good moments. But most fans of the original never could completely bond with the films. So Blum House decided they liked this 3 film reboot/sequel idea and took a chance on committing $400 million for a trilogy of The Exorcist. Like the Halloween trilogy it would ignore all but the original film and take it's story directly from that moment onward.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on October 7th, 2023
It’s October, so that means all the studios and streaming services are going to be unleashing some spooky new releases to please their viewers who are attempting to get into the Halloween spirit. This weekend Amazon Prime is releasing Totally Killer, a Blumhouse production that continues to ride the wave of 80s nostalgia with a time travel slasher film. The trailers looked fun and with Kiernan Shipka (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) in the lead, and I’m always in the mood for a new slasher with franchise potential. Does the film deliver the goods, or is this one dead on arrival? It’s time to strap in and travel back to 1987 and see what this is all about. In 1987 the town of North Vernon was terrorized by the “the Sweet 16 Killer” after he killed three high school girls, stabbing them sixteen times each. 35 years later, Pam (Julie Bowen) still hasn’t gotten over the murder of her three friends and has become very protective of her teenage daughter, Jamie (Kiernan Shipka).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2023
"My Mamma told me to pick the right one."
In 1982, Cheers first broke on the network sitcom circuit. It was a small Boston bar owned by a has-been baseball player living on the glory years he didn't really have. It was the bar where everyone knows your name. Behind the bar there was Woody. Woody was pretty much a kid who looked up to the owner in an almost hero-like way. He was naive and was easily and often taken for a rube. But he was kind, and no matter how out of it he might be, there wasn't an evil bone in that character's body. It was all an act. Of course, it was a television show where Woody was played by Woody Harrelson.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 6th, 2023
Paul Schrader is one of my cinematic heroes and despite his numerous accolades I feel he’s one of the most underappreciated artists to work in film. He has a way of capturing the underbelly of society through his writing and visuals that very few can equal. When he and Martin Scorsese worked together on Taxi Driver that was such a perfect pairing, it’s Schrader’s best screenplay he’s ever produced, and I know this is a controversial take but I feel it’s also Scorsese’s best film. Hardcore would be the second film that Schrader would go on to direct, eventually he’d end up with 27 directing credits, but Hardcore for me is his standout film where he worked as both writer and director. This film isn’t for everyone and despite it being released in 1979 the subject matter remains provocative but for those willing to take a walk into some seedy areas this is film that will take you for a ride you won’t soon forget.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2023
"Here comes Gordy."
In the 1950's Gordon McLendon owned a series of radio stations throughout Texas along with a string of drive-in movie locations. Those drive-ins needed films to draw crowds, and Gordy wasn't happy with the cost of some of the distribution deals that came to him. So he decided to team up with a couple of guys and try his hand at making his own movies. The first guy he teamed with would become well known to television audiences, but not for the movies he helped produce with Gordy. Ken Curtis would become the beloved Gunsmoke character Festus, a deputy who had more in common with Don Knotts than Marshal Dillon. He may not have been the sharpest point on a tin star, but America loved him. They might have thought twice if they knew about this partnership. The third leg of this tripod was Gordy’s father, B.R. McLendon. Together they would make Hollywood history, or is that Hollywood infamy? That's for you to decide. They made three movies in total, but the first two are where that history was made.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2023
"That's the most important thing. Just have fun."
You shouldn't need a primer on the NCIS franchise by now. Unless you've been living under a rock for the last decade or longer, you're up to speed on these guys. If not, you still could have some fun and enjoy the CBS DVD release of NCIS: L.A., but NCIS has been around for over 20 years, and this particular version has been around for 14 seasons now. That's a lot of characterizations under the bridge and a ton of character evolution and stories that can't help but give you maximum mileage out of the release. If you aren't up to speed, you can check out over 30 seasons of various NCIS reviews by just banging it here: NCIS Reviews. That should keep you busy long enough to get you to the point that we're here talking about Season 13. So hopefully you are up to speed, and we can get on with it. Shall we?
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