Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 23rd, 2023
Damien Chazelle seems to have a thing for dreamers, or at least those who want to be larger than life. Whether it is a drummer aspiring to reach perfection in Whiplash, or an actress wanting to be a star in La La Land, to even being the first man to walk on the moon in First Man, he’s always made these films with an enthusiasm and energy that we can’t help but want to see them succeed. In his new film Babylon, he seems to be doing something a little different and on a grander scale as he explores the early days of Hollywood as it made the transition from the silent film era to the “talkies” (basically what we’re used to seeing on the big screen today, just minus all the CGI effects). A lot of money was injected into the production of this film, and you see it in every frame of this movie that is certainly a love letter to a time when Hollywood was trying to figure things out and entertain its audiences. But what I don’t think anyone was expecting is how deep this film was willing to go into the drug abuse and the sordid debauchery that went on in these early days of cinema.
The film opens innocently enough with Manny Torres (Diego Calva) simply trying to get an elephant to a big Hollywood party. Manny is a Mexican-American who is just trying to get his foot in the door, and we get to see these early struggles pay off, but first we get to experience this party that is lavish and epic with a strong Caligula-on-cocaine vibe. It’s at the party where we meet the rest of the cast we’ll be following over the course of the film. There’s Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), who believes she is a star who just simply hasn’t been discovered yet; there is also Sidney (Jovan Adepo), a horn player who is just trying to get by; there is Elinor St. John (Jean Smart), a Hollywood gossip reporter, and then there is Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), the biggest silent film actor in the business. Then we get to see the moment where Manny first meets Nellie and the moment where he falls in love with her; then moments later see how Nellie is simply plucked from the crowd to become a star, This sequence is so well crafted at letting the audience experience the party while getting to know these characters and several others, all while we are subjected to various sex acts and body fluids and drugs that when it ends we can feel the hangovers that these characters are experiencing. Unfortunately for most of these characters, they are due on set in just a matter of hours.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on March 18th, 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. It gave the DC universe a dose of lightheartedness. Zachary Levi was a fantastic choice for the character because all the quirks and awkwardness that made NBC’s Chuck a gem were on display in our plucky hero. And now with Shazam: Fury of the Gods, DC just keeps that train rolling. The addition of Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu as the antagonists, the Daughters of Atlas, was a bold and interesting gamble, given that they do not appear in the comics, and are actually original characters created for the film. Yes, I did a bit of research.
When we last left off, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) had finally become a member of a family after a lifetime running away from them in order to find his birth mother. Solidifying his bond with his new family, he elected to share his power with them and create the Shazam family. Picking up years later, Billy, who is on the verge of aging out of foster care, worries as everyone begins drifting apart due to them all growing older and developing their own personal interests. This drifting also affects their heroism, as despite having the best of intentions, they begin doing more harm than good, causing the public to view them negatively even though they save countless lives.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 18th, 2023
“You got everything money can buy, except what it can’t. It’s pride. Pride is what got you here. Losing is what brung you back. But people like you, they need to be tested. They need a challenge.”
There have been a ton of boxing films. They’ve been popular going back to the silent era. Most of them have many of the same themes. But there was always something about Rocky that stood out above all of the rest. That “something” can’t really be described or defined. As the Supreme Court once said about the definition of obscenity: “I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.” That’s all you can say about Rocky. Some might call it heart. That’s about as good a word for it as anything else. Rocky himself would call it “stuff in the basement”. It almost demeans it to put a word on it at all. Whatever you call it, you don’t necessarily see it in Rocky … you feel it. Now the first 4 films are out together on UHD Blu-ray in 4K.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2023
"The Colosseum. The Roman Empire distilled to its most basic essence. It is a symbol of conquest. It's a symbol of dominance. It's a symbol of imperial power radiating throughout the Roman world. Any emperor had the Colosseum at his disposal to use as a tool to reassert his power and authority. The message of the Roman people is that life is a combat. It was also a judicial warning: do not test the power of Rome."
After over 2000 years of both heavy use and neglect, much of the structure still remains. It survived the many sacks of Rome and its rebirth as a Christian empire. The building survived the bombings and invasions of two World Wars, and it remains. Its history is a testament to the best and worst of human nature. Now History has given us a series of eight television episodes that explore both the mystery and the majesty that was the Roman Colosseum.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 10th, 2023
We knew it was coming, a new chapter in the Ghostface franchise that has been a staple in the horror genre since the first Scream released back in 1996. Over the years we’ve gotten to see our favorite horror fan/serial killer terrorize the citizens of Woodsboro and even venture out to LA when he terrorized the film set of Stab (you know, the movie within a movie). It was only a matter of time before our killer ventured out of Woodsboro again, and this time he follows in the footsteps of another masked killing icon, Jason Voorhees, as Ghostface sets out to terrorize the Big Apple in Scream VI. Last year’s Scream I felt did a good job at rebooting the franchise (or worked as a requel) and worked as a way of passing on the torch from Sydney and Gale to the next generation, Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega). This new film will also be the first time Sydney doesn’t make an appearance on screen, though we do thankfully have Gale (Courtney Cox) and Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) returning in their “legacy” roles. Does Scream 6 manage to impress with the new cast and new locale, or does it take a misstep as Jason Takes Manhattan did for its franchise? Well, to be fair, it kind of did both.
It is crazy to think just how big of a year 2022 was for Jenna Ortega. She started the year off strong with her role in Scream; then she was great in the cult hit X from Ti West; then there was Wednesday, which really put her over as a star, and with the momentum her career path seems to be on, I’m expecting her to reach A-list status shortly. What I really enjoy about her character, Tara, is she’s not just a younger version to replace Sydney. This is a well-written character who a modern generation can root for and care about. Then there is Sam, the older sister who is not just recovering from discovering her ex-boyfriend was a homicidal maniac but is still haunted by the fact her father is Billy Loomis, one half of the original Ghostface killers. Its this relationship that anchors this new film, and when we catch up with them, there is a wedge that is building between them, because Sam is being overprotective and Tara is wanting to rebel now that she is away for college and just wants to move on from her past trauma. Just this element alone and how it is handled elevates this film from the typical franchise sequel and had me happy. Also returning are the brother and sister duo of Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding), who are attending the same college as Tara; you know, survivors got to stick together. The writers seem to be having more fun with these returning characters and basically do a great job of making Mindy a more toned down version of her uncle Randy.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 6th, 2023
One of the things that stands out to me the most about Voodoo Macbeth has very little to do with the true story about how Orson Welles, who at the time he was only 20 was hired by the Negro Theater Unit to direct a stage production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all black cast in Harlem. What’s more intriguing to me is that the film was actually the first feature film to come out of USC and gain theatrical distribution, but the film is listed with having 10 directors and eight screenwriters. With hat much ego and creative talent, it is impressive that they managed to squeeze out a cohesive story, and one that looks pretty good, though it does have some issues. I applaud the ambition to tackle a period piece and also a story that is a bit of both film and theater history, considering this was one of the first and most wildly successful stage productions with a black cast, but is also the production Orson Welles helmed before stepping behind the camera to direct his first film, a little thing called Citizen Kane.
The film is pretty straightforward as a mostly historically accurate telling of how the play came together. It glosses over how the Federal Theater Project was established during the Great Depression to fund live artistic performances, in this instance to fund the Harlem theater district. Rose McClendon (Inger Tudor) runs the Negro Theater Unit and is eager to get Macbeth into production. Her partner, John Houseman (Daniel Kuhlman) comes up with the inspired choice to bring in Orson Welles (Jewell Wilson Bridges) to direct the project which he is hesitant to take on until his wife, Virginia Welles (June Schreiner) convinces him to do the project. It’s also his wife who gives him the idea to shift the setting from Scotland to 1800’s Haiti and give it a voodoo theme.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 6th, 2023
"There is an old saying that blood is thicker than water."
We've had Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Gene Simmons with his Family Jewels, and even Snoop Dog's Father Hood. It's become a bit of a trend to follow these celebrity families around and watch the drama of their privileged lives unfold on our television screens. You might think it's a relatively recent phenomenon, but would you believe they were doing it back in the infant days of television when we followed around a musician named Ozzie and his wife way back in 1952? No, we're not talking about Ozzie Osbourne and his family. I'm talking about Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. They were television's darling family before we ever heard about Lucy and Desi. The show actually started on radio like many of the fledgling industry’s early hits including the likes of Gunsmoke. Four years after the radio brought us The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet, they moved to television. While their two sons were played by actors on the radio, both David and Ricky Nelson joined the television show, and it went on to make television history, breaking records, some still held today. It was the first television series to ever hit 10 seasons, finishing with 14 still a sit-com record. It lasted from 1952 to 1966 with 436 episodes. Until The Simpsons, it was the longest running scripted television comedy and remains still the longest live-action scripted comedy ever on television. And while the stories were, of course, fictional, most aspects of the show were quite real. Their television home was modeled after their real home. Many of the family's life stories found their way to the series. The four family members were quite real, and you just couldn't fake these relationships.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on March 3rd, 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. Him 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.
Of significance, this film signifies Michael B. Jordan, our titular character, stepping behind the camera to make his directorial debut. But who better to take the helm than the man who brought the character to life. This in my opinion was a solid debut for Jordan and showcased his abilities both in front of the camera and behind it. Returning to back Jordan up on the screen are Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Wood Harris. However, if there was one person who outshone this cast of Creed veterans, it was the man who was making a debut of his own via his introduction into the Rocky franchise. A man who has been making quite the name for himself. Creed III introduced us to Adonis’ rival, Damian “Dame” Anderson, but known as Mr. Jonathan Majors.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2023
"Inspired by the global threats of the Second World War, the U.S. Navy welcomes a surge of aspiring aviators ready to fight in what they called The Big Show. But now it's 1950, and after five years of peace, a true conflict is growing at the North and South Korean border. This is a story from America's forgotten war."
One of the best things about this job is that we get to see some of the up-and-coming talents as they evolve into superstars. I was lucky enough this week to get a double dose of one of the most dynamic young stars out there. Of course I'm talking about Jonathan Majors, who plays US Navy aviator and hero Jesse Brown. Just one night after watching the UHD/4K disc for this review, I was treated to my second dose of Majors at a press screening for the upcoming Creed III, where Majors plays the antagonist Damien Anderson. The roles could not have been more different, and Majors stole every scene in both films. I already can't wait to see him once again. I missed our screening of the new Ant-Man & Wasp film, so I have his portrayal of Kang to look forward to. The buzz I heard was that he had been the best part of the film, and I believe it after Devotion and Creed III. I'm sure there'll be more to say about this talented young actor, but let's talk about Devotion out on UHD Blu-ray in 4K from Paramount.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2023
"King Kong ain't got nothing on me."
Training Day stars Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington in the role of Alonzo Harris. Harris, who is one of the meanest, baddest cops in the city of LA, is a person who cruises the streets in his customized Caddy. Harris, in one of the film’s opening scenes, meets Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke), a young cop whose dream is to be promoted to the elite narc squad. Naturally, this is Jake’s first day of training, and he is thrown into the arms of Harris. Alonzo tries to show him the streets so he can understand everything. He has Jake smoke pot just because he can. In one interesting scene, possibly Alonzo being a tough-ass to Jake, he doesn’t arrest two rapists like Jake wants to, but instead, proceeds to beat the living crap out of them.
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