Posted in: The Reel World by Archive Authors on March 28th, 2014
Jason Bateman was born in 1969. He was working as an actor in 1982 on Little House on the Prairie. Then he went on to Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family (also known as Valerie). His sister, Justine, was doing well on Family Ties. Jason went on to become an adult. He grew up and became well liked on Arrested Development. That is always the hard part in the career of a child actor; making the transition to becoming a successful adult actor. He has been careful with his career, taking good supporting roles in films rather than stupid and unconvincing starring roles. Some of the roles he has done recently include Horrible Bosses (and Horrible Bosses 2), Juno, The Switch, The Kingdom, The Break-up, Hancock, Couples Retreat, Extract, The Change-Up, Paul and Identity Thief. It's a good run which has led up to what he really wants to do: direct.
Bad Words is the first film Jason Bateman has directed. He also stars, but he did that because that's how he gets the movie made. It is, actually, one of his best performances. He had a good director.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 28th, 2014
When you get a film from Troma to watch, you have to view it differently than you would view just about any other film. After all, Troma is the VHS and DVD equivalent to the days of Roger Corman and the B-movie fanfare he could travel from one Cineplex to the next. Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman has been writing and directing B-cinema schlock for 40 years and has managed to make money off it, so for those naysayers out there, keep in mind he still is responsible for The Toxic Avenger as well as Tromeo & Juliet.
With Return to Nuke’em High, Kaufman seems to be taking on his most ambitious project yet. The film is broken up into two separate volumes, and volume one sets up the epic gross-out satire wonderfully. The opening sequence narrated by none other than Peter Parker himself (Stan Lee) about the previous events that took place in the 1986 cult classic Class of Nuke’em High. With the viewer now caught up, we meet Chrissy (Asta Paredes); she hangs with her crew of misfit friends, though she secretly blogs about the health and safety issues going on at the school all while keeping her boyfriend Eugene (Clay von Carlowitz) at bay from his sexual advances. But the boat gets rocked when rich new girl, Lauren (Catherine Corcoran) arrives and Chrissy sets her vengeful/lustful sights upon her.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 27th, 2014
“…I’m the f---ing Vice President of the United States, and I have something to say.”
If you’ve seen Veep, you know it’s almost impossible to quote the show without including an f-bomb or any of the show’s crassly creative put-downs. The sitcom’s central joke remains that the vice presidency might be the most high-profile unimportant job in the world. As a result, the second season of HBO’s caustic comedy sees VP Selina Meyer making moves to improve her political standing. Of course, she and her harried staff can’t avoid the humiliations and indignities that come with the job.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2014
The cool folks down at Arc Entertainment have a treat for some lucky Upcomingdiscs readers. They've given us 3 copies of the touching film Angels In The Stardust. William Robert Carey directs Alicia Silverstone and AJ Michalka in a tale of a girl with big dreams who finds them at an enchanted drive-in. This heart-warming family drama is now available on DVD.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 27th, 2014
It’s spring break, and you know what that means, college co-eds are taking a break from hitting the books and are up for getting into reckless debauchery, heavy drinking and plenty of things they hope their parents never find out about. It’s not as though horror films ever need an excuse to make mincemeat of bikini-clad girls, and for fans of the genre, the more bikini clad girls the better. Along with the pretty faces, though, we horror and gore hounds do enjoy a good story tacked on for good measure.
Horror fans can excuse a film for some bad acting or cheesy effects so long as a story is there. In the case of Machine Head, it starts off by hitting the right stereotypical notes but then quickly falls apart.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 25th, 2014
Sometimes a horror movie comes along that is rich in originality and ideas. Dark House certainly fits into that category. There are some truly scary moments and seriously frightening images to be found here. For a low-budget affair, the movie sports pretty solid acting and an atmospheric production design. Writer/director Victor Salva knows how to get the most out of the resources at his command. That doesn't mean there isn't a serious flaw to be found here. This is a movie that is often a little too clever and more than a little enigmatic at times. It won't allow itself to be contained into any particular style or sub-genre, and that's a good thing. If only all of this didn't also get in the way of telling a tight story, this could have become the next cult classic. If wishes were horses....
Nick (Kleintank) is searching for answers about who he is. His mother has spent the last several years in an insane asylum, and he's visiting her for the first time in years. He's hoping she'll tell him who his father was. It's his 23rd birthday, and apparently that's a magical number in nature. As it turns out, Mom's promised to tell him this day. No, she hadn't promised Nick. She's talking to something inside the walls. Unfortunately, a breakdown nixes the big reveal, and a disastrous fire at the asylum later that night forever seals Mom's lips.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 25th, 2014
Besides the fact that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and that it’s essentially a white collar gloss on Goodfellas, you’d be forgiven for thinking somebody other than Martin Scorsese directed The Wolf of Wall Street. I don’t mean to suggest Scorsese has lost his masterful touch or his passion for filmmaking, both of which were on display as recently as two years ago in the wonderful Hugo. It’s more that after spending the better part of the 21st century making strong, serious dramas, I didn’t necessarily expect Scorsese to make his funniest, loosest and most audacious picture in decades.
“I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich.”
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2014
Our good buddies over at Well Go USA have given us 2 copies of Commitment, the Korean action thrill staring Choi Seung-Hyun the Korean Rap and Pop star. For Asian action addicts this one's a keeper. It's all in high definition Blu-ray.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on March 24th, 2014
“In my experience, people just aren't that interested in what happens to the help.”
Lifetime viewers and Devious Maids creator Marc Cherry beg to differ. After debuting to modest ratings last summer, the show steadily gained viewers and hit a series high in viewership with its finale. (Not surprisingly, it was promptly renewed for a second season.) Cherry previously struck eight seasons worth of gold with Desperate Housewives on ABC. As someone who enjoyed watched more Housewives episodes than I care to admit, I can appreciate both the positive and negative ways this show echoes Cherry's previous smash success.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 23rd, 2014
Last time I covered the multi-lingual adventures of Dora, she was reimagining Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. This time around we see her take on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Like that other special, this episode is twice the length of a normal episode. But unlike that other special, this one features a noteworthy lineup of guest voices such as Mel Brooks, Jewel, and Alan Cumming.
This tale shares similarities to the original book in settings and character names only. There is no menace facing Dora, only animals that are politely asked to move aside. Aside from stretching things out to a longer length with some additional story, and a few musical numbers, this special would seamlessly fit amongst other Dora episodes for it contains none of the psychedelic spirit found in Carroll's original story. Fans will not be turned off by it whatsoever (and by fans I mean children around the age of 2) and parents can rely on it for 55 minutes of distraction.
This particular DVD comes with a Dora paper-doll that your youngling can smear crayon all over and eventually lose a week after playing with it.
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