Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 5th, 2014
The key to making any good romance work is that you have to be able to root for the couple, that no matter what these characters may face, you have to be on board and believe this cinematic love affair is meant to be. In the case of Twice Born, I have to say it does such a good job at getting me to root for this couple that I want to punch the film in the face for what it puts them through. Yes, you read that correctly. This film managed to get me so wrapped up in the characters that I found myself cursing at the screen simply because what Gemma (Penelope Cruz) and Diego (Emile Hirsch) endure is heart-wrenching to the extremes. This isn’t simply a love story but a brutal example of what it is to endure tragedy for the love of a soulmate.
When we first meet Gemma, she is a caring mother of a teenager whom she wishes to take back home to Sarajevo so he can see where he was born. This is an understandable experience she’d like to share with her son, Pietro (Pietro Castellitto). The story then jumps into the past, when we see a younger Gemma setting off to travel, and it is in her travels she meets Diego, a charming American freelance photographer. Though back home Gemma has a relationship, it doesn’t prevent her from her brief yet torrid romance with Diego which in turn brings about her first pregnancy, though the child never comes to full term.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 5th, 2014
There’s a pretty good, southern gothic tale buried somewhere in Wicked Blood. Unfortunately, writer/director Mark Young isn’t quite able to extract it. Instead, we get a somewhat overqualified cast acting out Young’s down-and-dirty story of meth, chess and bikers that is exactly as messy, baffling and oddly intriguing as that description makes it sound. The film opens with a literal bang: we see the explosion of a shabby trailer. We don’t know who is inside, but we see a young girl stoically watching the flames from the outside.
Hannah (Abigail Breslin) is a teenage chess enthusiast and an orphan living with her older sister Amber (Alexa Vega) and her meth-addicted Uncle Donny (Lew Temple). The three of them live under the thumb of Uncle Frank (Sean Bean), a powerful local crime boss. (You can tell Uncle Frank is powerful because he barely gets out of his seat before the film’s final act; Bean projects menace by simply sitting behind a desk or a dining room table.) There’s also Uncle Frank’s unstable brother Bobby (Jake Busey), who seems to have an uncomfortable fondness for his niece, Amber.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 3rd, 2014
"His name is Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald."
Before November 22, 1963, that name was an obscure one, known only to a few people in the intelligence community who had him under surveillance for his communist leanings. But by a little after noon on that date in Dallas, Lee Harvey Oswald was suddenly one of the most infamous names in American history. He would share the stage with the likes of John Wilkes Booth. This last November saw the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, and it passed with surprisingly less hype than I expected there would be. We weren't inundated with documentaries and History Channel specials on the many conspiracy theories surrounding the event. There were some, certainly, but the date passed in the more solemn manner appropriate to the event.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 3rd, 2014
“The Sistine Chapel. The masterpiece of a sculptor who did not want to paint.”
Remember when Michael Jordan quit basketball, tried his hand at baseball, and then returned to the NBA less than two years later? Well, imagine if Jordan had actually made it to the majors with the Chicago White Sox and put up a .375/50 HR/50 SB mark on his way to winning the American League Rookie of the Year/MVP awards, along with a World Series ring. The artistic equivalent of that was Michelangelo — one of the most significant figures of the Italian Renaissance, but a sculptor by trade — painting the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 3rd, 2014
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Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 2nd, 2014
There is something charming and irresistible when it comes to the characters of Mordecai and Rigby. The slacker duo that consists of an oversized blue-jay and a raccoon have a charm about them that seems to appeal to all ages, but for me I find them to be the most relatable of animated characters. Perhaps not so much now but back in my teen years these two sadly remind me a lot of myself, the obsession with film, slacking off about work, and most notably the awkwardness around girls. With this DVD release we get a collection of episodes that explore the love lives of not just Mordecai but Rigby and even Muscle Man as well.
With 16 episodes together in the pack and coming in just under three hours of content, for fans of the show there are plenty of episodes to sit back and enjoy. Muscle Woman would be the first in the collection that I’d consider really follows the “romantic” theme of the collection. Rigby and Mordecai have to work together to help get Muscle Man out of the depressed funk he’s in since his girlfriend Muscle Woman has broken up with him. This isn’t so much something they are doing out of the kindness of the hearts, but rather to get Muscle Man back to work. Unfortunately the plan that seems to work is getting Muscle Woman to go out with Mordecai, only he needs to break her heart in order for her to see what she had with Muscle Man. Sadly Mordecai gets nothing but the bad end of the stick in this episode, though it does have its sweet moments. The Muscle Man and Muscle Woman relationship is followed up in the episode Fancy Restaurant where Muscle Man is asked by his girlfriend to meet her parents and to do it at some place that is fancy. Once again it’s up to Rigby and Mordecai to help make this date go off without a hitch, but there is only so much that can be expected of a character like Muscle Man who enjoys ripping off his shirt and having a punch line that tends to end “…like my mom”. When the date goes bad and Muscle Man and the gang have to take on the stuffy wait staff, well, that’s the kind of fun you come to expect from the show.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on February 28th, 2014
“I know it may seem scary, but flying really is quite fun.”
I respectfully disagree. Air travel is terrible. The seats are too small, the air is stale, there’s hardly any leg room, and the food stinks. (Assuming you even get food.) And I haven’t gotten to the part where you’re hurtling through the sky at hundreds of miles per hour at more than 30,000 feet. Ok, so maybe I enjoy air travel a lot little less than some of you out there, but I think we can all agree airliners provide an inherently tense setting for a variety of stories. We’re talking everything from Air Force One to Snakes on a Plane. So while flying may be awful in real life, it’s a reliably thrilling time at the movies.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 27th, 2014
Let’s be honest, anytime you hear about a SyFy original movie, expectations are lowered, and you settle in for what is most likely going to be a forgettable, cheesy film. But sometimes a film comes along, and it manages to take you by surprise, and you just have a good time with it, and not at the film’s expense (Sharknado, I’m looking at you). When it comes to where Scarecrow falls, well, this is one of those fun little films that captures the spirit of some great 80’s monster films; Pumpkinhead continually came to mind while watching this.
It’s almost time for the town’s annual Scarecrow Festival where everyone gathers around to celebrate the tale of an urban legend that goes back over a hundred years. Unfortunately for a few students who are in detention, they get to spend their time helping clean up an old farm. Stuck looking after the students is Aaron Harris (Robin Dunne) who just so happens to have dated Kristen (Lacey Chabert), the current owner of the farm he and the students are going to work on.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on February 27th, 2014
At first glance, Legit simply looks like an amalgamation of every successful (non-animated) comedy on FX. It’s got the bro-humor of The League along with the willingness to push the boundaries of good taste of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and it’s all centered around a comic playing a loosely-fictionalized version of himself (like Louie). So what does comedian Jim Jefferies bring to the table that’s new? I’d say it’s a refreshing amount of sloppy, unshowy heart. The show is nominally about the Aussie comic trying to make it big in Los Angeles, but it’s really about Jefferies and his inner circle becoming “legit” human beings.
“I just have a fondness for prostitutes and disabled people.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 27th, 2014
They say you can't choose your family, but apparently that well-known phrase never made its way to France. At the very least, no one bothered to tell Paul de Marseul, the legacy-obsessed vineyard owner at the center of You Will Be My Son (Tu Seras Mon Fils.) Cohen Media Group gave this tasty 2011 French offering a theatrical release last year, and now the film — which alternates between being a picturesque delight, a tense family drama, and a thriller — arrives on Blu-ray.
Niels Arestrup stars as Paul, who has a great nose (and palette) for winemaking. His adult son Martin (Lorant Deutsch) is a hard worker, but he didn't inherit his father's natural abilities. (Much to Martin's chagrin, Paul never misses a chance to cruelly remind his son of this fact.) Since the vineyard's longtime manager Francois (Patrick Chesnais) is terminally ill, Martin is eager to become a bigger part of the family business. Enter Francois's son Philippe (Nicolas Bridet), a charismatic, successful California winemaker who returns home to be with his ailing father. After Paul enlists Philippe's help with the upcoming harvest, he realizes he'd rather hand the family business over to someone else's son rather than his own flesh and blood.
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