Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on May 24th, 2023
I know that we all know that the DC universe is going through a bit of a revamp right now. I’m sure we’ve all seen it, with the cancellation of the Batgirl movie and the getting our hopes up over the prospect of Henry Cavill’s return to the fold, only to be crushed when it was announced that the studio was going in a different direction. We all have our feelings about it. That said, if there was a franchise that I would recommend keeping around, it would be the Shazam films. I know, I know, I’m surprised by this revelation too, but the thing is, this franchise of them all was the one that took me by the most surprise. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it. Prior to the release of the first film, the character of Shazam (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) had been nothing more than a background character that I’d observed in the animated films and shows. I even questioned the wisdom of introducing a character like this when DC was behind the curve in comparison to Marvel. I thought they should focus on building up the main Justice League heroes so they could get back in the race. Then in 2019, I went and saw this, and it won me over.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2023
"He was here before Christ, before civilization. He was king here! Rawhead, that's what they called him! Rawhead!"
Rawhead Rex started life as one of many stories in a young Clive Barker’s published collection called The Books Of Blood. As a story it has been hailed by the likes of Stephen King as one of the best horror stories ever written. I'm not sure I would go anywhere near that far, but there's little doubt it's a well-crafted horror tale. I read it years ago and recall that I was quite impressed. The movie version of the story is something else entirely. It fails on really one important element, and that's the design of Rawhead himself. It's one of the worst-looking film monsters I've ever seen. It's a cross between an ape and a clown without the colorful make-up, and the young actor that brought him to life did anything but.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 24th, 2023
When Superman was first introduced to us, it was in Action Comics #1 back in 1938 from the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster. Since then the character has become a cultural phenomenon that’s been featured in just about every form of media from radio shows, TV shows, cartoons, movies, and everything else in between. The character has evolved quite a bit since those early comic book days, and one of the characters biggest evolutions came with the Max Fleischer cartoon series. It was 17 animated short films that played in theaters before the feature film began, but these short films would draw in audiences that wanted to see this caped hero and his amazing adventures
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2023
"Most people think if they pay a few dollars to a community chest and goodwill agencies and so on, they've done their duty and they can shrug aside all responsibility. But you've got to do more than that."
Fritz Lang was one of the greatest directors of all time. He was one of the masters of the early silent films and of the German Expressionism that he brought with him when he got to Hollywood. Metropolis and M with Peter Lorre are two of the most renowned silent films ever made, and unlike many actors and directors, he was able to bring his style and talent forward when the talkies started bringing sound to our movie theaters. His later sound pictures included Beyond A Reasonable Doubt with Dana Andrews and The Return Of Frank James with Henry Fonda and Jackie Cooper.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2023
"On the night of March 8th, 1916, a large mounted force of Mexican rebels under Pancho Villa crossed the American border and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico, killing and wounding both American civilians and soldiers. As a result of this action, the United States Army sent an expedition into Mexico with orders to capture Villa and disperse his forces. It was during this campaign that one man, a United States Army officer, was forced to come face to face with two of the great fundamental questions that affect mankind: What is courage? What is cowardice? This is the story of his search for an answer."
John Wayne accused the film of a lack of patriotism and condemned his pal Gary Cooper for taking the role of a coward who is charged with collecting names of heroes for the Congressional Medal of Honor. He claimed the film made a mockery of the coveted award and was quite outspoken about the film's impact on our own servicemen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on May 23rd, 2023
I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t address the elephant in the room first. For the first time in the nearly 50-year history of this franchise, Sylvester Stallone was not featured in the film as Rocky Balboa. We could delve into the reasons behind why he elected not to take part in this installment, but that would be a review in itself and take away from this film. I mention it off the bat, so we can all process it and view the film with clarity. Long story short, I will say that his absence was noticed, and he was missed. I think his absence is notable due to the lack of an explanation as to his absence. I suppose the film being set in Los Angeles instead of Rocky’s native Philadelphia is meant to serve as a workaround, but still, I’d hope for some kind of explanation or at least a casual mentioning of the character. The lack thereof is what really drew attention to it. To be fair, the case can be made that that the previous film provided a pretty good conclusion for the Rocky chapters of the franchise. His finally making the trip to meet his grandchild was good catharsis for the character. What this means for the future of the franchise now I will not speculate; only to say that there is nothing saying that we’ve seen the last of Rocky. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can concentrate on fairly assessing Creed III.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2023
The 1978 Superman film set the standard for what a quality comic hero film should be. The tagline promise: “You will believe a man can fly” was kept. All future comic films would be judged by this standard. Superman II had its faults. Certainly it was not the modern classic like the first film. The plot was bogged down with a rather silly love story that broke down the barriers of the Kent/Superman identity for Lois Lane. Luthor, while played again with style by Gene Hackman, is reduced to a comedic backseat to the real villains. Plot contrivances abound, along with plenty of corny lines. Yet, even with these limitations, this has always been a rather enjoyable film, particularly when compared to the dreadful sequels that followed
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 22nd, 2023
I’ll admit it; when it comes to Netflix, I’m a fan of the shows that they put out, but their movies rarely impress me. I kind of look at Netflix films as the modern version of direct-to-video releases. They have big stars, but the quality just isn’t up to par with the big releases you’ll see in the theater. Even big name stuff like The Irishman -- it was good, but not the masterpiece I was expecting. Honestly, my favorite films on Netflix are The Babysitter films with Samara Weaving, just a fun little film, that is basically the kind of expectations I have for a Netflix film, and even the more recent release of We Have a Ghost I thought was charming and may have done well on the big screen. As for Knives Out 2, fun but forgettable. So when I see films from the streaming service get Oscar nominations and even win, I can’t but feel the need to pull the wax out of my ears and make sure I heard that right.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 22nd, 2023
Most of you have never heard of Irene Dunne. You all have heard of Lucille Ball, of course. What if I told you that if there hadn't been an Irene Dunne, there would not have been a Lucy, at least not the actress/character who we all remember today. It was by Dunne's performance as her co-star in in a film called Joy Of Living that Lucille Ball was inspired to create the character that would be Lucy. You see, Irene Dunne was the original master of the ditzy screwball comedic character that we all associate with Lucy. KL Studio Classics have brought us two of Irene Dunne's films. When Dunne left acting, she devoted herself to international causes and was selected by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as an official delegate to the United Nations. Her acting career included three films, each with Cary Grant and Charles Boyer. She's an actress who never quite held up over the years, but she should have. She was nominated five times for an Oscar but never ended up taking one home. Thanks to these two releases from KL Classics, you get to see a couple of her lesser-known works
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on May 20th, 2023
“Never accept death when suffering is owed.”
So I think it safe to say that when it comes to the Fast and Furious franchise, it is no longer about cars or street racing anymore. In the beginning it felt like we were getting a window into a secret underground world that spanned multiple continents. However, I would say that is no longer the case. Dom and his family have gone legit. Not only have they gone legit, but they now unofficially work for the government in some capacity. No, it is no longer about the cars and street racing anymore. In fact, I would go as far as to say that we aren’t tuning in to see them use their skills on the behalf of the government either. There is one thing that keeps us coming back for more. We want to see what over-the-top, outrageous, death-defying, impossible stuff they are going to do next. At least that is what got me in the seat. In the last couple years, we’ve watched Dom and his family do things that may be theoretically possible, but that we know to be ridiculous. I mean, we watched them go to space in a Pontiac Fiero just a movie ago. Needless to say, this franchise has pushed the boundaries of what we know to be possible, and they’ve done it in a fashion that keeps us coming back for more.
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