Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 18th, 2013
Just when I thought the home invasion genre was on its last legs, another addition to the oversaturated canon of films has been released on DVD. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the genre, but like everything else in Hollywood once something works and is a success the first time the only reasonable thing to do is exploit it till there is nothing unique or fresh with the idea, and then try to exploit it some more. Entries into the genre like Funny Games, The Collector, The Strangers and even Panic Room all have a soft spot in my genre-obsessed heart, but seriously, enough already.
The film’s opening follows a cheating couple as their night of passion is interrupted by what they believe are kids simply playing pranks on what the town calls Mischief Night the day before Halloween. There are the typical jump scares, and it all follows the horror movie formula where we know by the end of the sequence one or both of these characters will be killed, and this of course introduces the film’s featured killer, a masked figure in a bright yellow hoodie. I’m fine with the film sticking with the same formula that has worked for hundreds of horror films over the years, but what bothered me from the start was the decision to put the killer in a bright yellow top; even at night this would leave the killer sticking out like a sore thumb, and the element of terror and surprise is immediately taken away; at any minute I was expecting organ music to play announcing the killer followed by him creeping through the halls on his tippy toes and snickering as the tormented couple moved through the house not seeing him.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on December 17th, 2013
“Just as the dancer, the athlete does not exist who doesn’t move with a certain rhythm.”
My name is John. I am a man, and I love to dance. Dancing requires grace, power, athleticism, coordination and a handful of other attributes that we revere in the world’s biggest sports stars. Those same exact qualities thrill us when they’re on display on a football field or a basketball court. So why can’t one dude tell another dude that he enjoys dancing without drawing a sideways glance? Gene Kelly, one of the most famous and successful dancers of all time, explored that very question during this vintage TV special, now out on DVD.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2013
I had a remarkable time talking to Bren Foster the other day. His latest film is Anchor Bay's Force Of Execution. The film also stars Steven Seagal and Ving Rhames. Bren's a championship Martial Arts fighter. Many of his fans know him from his long run on the soap opera Days Of Our Lives. We had a lively talk about his career and even scorpions and other venomous creatures. We'll be reviewing the film soon. Until then you can bang it here to listen to my chat with Bren Foster
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 16th, 2013
“People always work from the assumption that children are telling the truth.”
Kids really do say the darndest things! Popular kindergarten teacher Lucas finds this out the hard way after his life is shattered in The Hunt, an outstanding and indelible Danish drama that will almost surely pick up a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination when the nods are announced in about a month. The film tackles a touchy (no pun intended) subject with great care. It also raises a number of provocative points about perception versus reality.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 13th, 2013
"There are dark spirits, old and full of hate...The world is in great danger."
A trilogy is a hard animal to pull off. Even when you have a popular franchise, it is extremely difficult. All of the pieces have to work just right or you could have a disaster on your hands. It is even harder when you've already beaten the odds once and delivered a trilogy that is both loved and a huge box office success. You run into an almost insurmountable mountain of expectations. Your pieces must somehow fit together so that they can be viewed as one whole product. They also need to match the world and production style of the previous trilogy even though technology has changed quite a bit in the decade that separates the two. Lightning doesn't often strike the same place twice unless you happen to live in Florida or, apparently, New Zealand, where Peter Jackson has managed to do the impossible...so far.
Posted in: Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2013
While we usually have a ton of stuff each year from A&E to share in our holiday spotlight, we just haven't seen near as much from the studio in 2013. The distribution has changed, and we just don't see the kind of titles we used to. It's sad both for us and you. Take heart. We have been given two potential gift guide titles to share with you this season.
“Meet the Robertsons clan. They turned duck calls into a multi-million-dollar empire. But running a family business is tough when the family just wants to run wild.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 11th, 2013
Before Billy Bob Thornton became best known for icky PDA and wearing his wife’s blood around his neck, he burst onto the moviemaking scene as an Academy Award-winning triple-threat with Sling Blade, which he directed, wrote and starred in. (I feel like it’s finally safe to bring up Billy Bob’s acting career again.) Despite working steadily as an actor — and even directing a few other films — the Thornton who won an Oscar for writing Sling Blade has been largely absent from moviegoers’ lives. That’s why it was such a delight to see him return to southern-fried form as a filmmaker with the terrific ensemble drama Jayne Mansfield’s Car.
The film is set in Morrison, Alabama in 1969, during the height of protests against the Vietnam War. We meet the well-to-do Caldwell clan, led by the cantankerous Jim Caldwell (Robert Duvall). His four adult children (played by Billy Bob Thornton, Kevin Bacon, Robert Patrick and Katherine LaNasa) all live in town, along with their own assorted spouses and children. The Caldwells gets a jolt when they find out their mom (and Jim’s former wife) Naomi has died. (Tippi Hedren filmed scenes as Naomi, but was cut out of the movie. Unfortunately, those scenes don’t appear on this disc.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 11th, 2013
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2013
"Homer Simpson, it's time you got what's coming to you."
What's been a long time coming is bringing television’s longest ongoing scripted series to high definition and Blu-ray. There's so many seasons that it's going to take some time to get there. While the recent years are now coming out on Blu-ray, Fox has been working hard to get some of the older seasons up to speed. It's time for season 16.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2013
In this day and age, making a small film about people on the fringe of civilization is not the way to make friends and influence people. In this case, the film made many friends and influenced many people. It is no doubt a small film, but it won the Camera d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated as Australia's official selection to the Academy Awards. It won numerous major awards in Australia, Asia, and oddly enough, at the Dublin Film Festival.
The film is called Samson and Delilah, but it has little connection to the Biblical epic. The two title characters are indigenous Aboriginal 14-year-old teenagers living in the central Australian desert near Alice Springs. The desolation and isolation is underlined by the clear implication that these people are excluded by their society. They are surrounded by decay, emptiness, half-built buildings and cars on blocks. There is little else here.
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