Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 17th, 2022
1982. I was seven years old, and my mother, who loved horror movies, wanted to take me to see Poltergeist. Unfortunately, around this time, my dad was usually on the road, and so there was no one really there to say maybe we shouldn't. Honestly, even if my father was there and did say no, I doubt my mom would have listened. It was PG; how bad could it be? In the next two hours, I was treated to something that resonates with me to this very day. From the moment I heard "They're Here", I knew I would never see static on televisions the same way.
Please note that parts of this review are borrowed (story, critique, special features) from the 2007 DVD review I did 15 years ago. However, where possible I am enhancing what I wrote, as I think I write better these days. Maybe I have lost a touch of my creativity, but that's a story for another day.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on October 15th, 2022
As I mentioned in my review for Amsterdam, it’s awards season, and the studios are churning out the films they hope will garner praise and a lot of statues celebrating how great their film is. Spoiler alert, Amsterdam won’t be one of those films, but one that will be is a film that is easily one of the top films I’ve seen this year, and it’s The Banshees of Inisherin. Because of the title I know many have been put off from watching the film because they think it is going to be a horror film. Well, let me assure you that this isn’t a horror film, nor are there any banshees in the film. As to why the film is called that, well, you’ll have to see it to find out for yourself.
This is the first film writer and director Martin McDonagh has done since his critically acclaimed film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and as great as that film was, I feel he’s managed to outdo himself with The Banshees of Inisherin. Though the film may be simple in plot, the characters he’s crafted for this story are so well done that every scene they populate they are engaging. The dialog is sharp, and the actors deliver some of the years best performances that just makes this such an enjoyable experience to watch.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on October 15th, 2022
After watching this film I needed a good 24 hours to process what I had watched before getting too critical and writing this. I love the Halloween franchise. Sure, like any of the horror franchises there are some duds, but it doesn’t take away the fun these films can bring, especially during the month of October. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is definitely an icon of horror and for many will be seen as the genres ultimate “Final Girl”, so when Curtis said that Halloween Ends was really going to be her last time stepping into the role of Laurie Strode, well, it gave the film a bit more meaning for fans. It’s not just the end of the trilogy that director David Gordon Green kicked off in 2018, but this film is the final chapter of Laurie Strode, the babysitter horror fans first fell in love with back in 1978 with John Carpenter’s Halloween. You look at the trailers for this new film and you think that this third installment is going to be the final showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode we’ve all waited for, a film that could possibly end this franchise on a high note. Even I was optimistic. Halloween (2018) was a fun reboot of the franchise and made Michael Myers a brutal force to be reckoned with, and Halloween Kills in my opinion was a great follow-up on how dangerous things can get when a town is in a panic. So how does it all end? In a spectacular failure, if I’m being honest.
The film opens up on Halloween night in Haddonfield in 2019, a year after the events of Halloween Kills. Corey (Rohan Campbell) is going to be spending his night babysitting. It should come as no surprise that things don’t go as planned and the night ends in tragedy. The opening definitely subverts expectations, which is fine at first, but this was honestly the first clue that things were not going to go as expected with this film. The film then jumps ahead four years, and Haddonfield continues to be haunted by the ghost of Michael Myers since that tragic night back in 2018. Well, except Laurie; this film gives us a Laurie we haven’t seen before, at least not since her friends died back in 1978. She’s actually happy, and she’s moved on from the past and has taken on the role of the parental figure to Allyson (Andi Matichak), who seems to be grieving the death of her parents fairly well, considering. The relationship between Laurie and Allyson is honestly my favorite aspect of this film, everything from Laurie trying to celebrate Halloween with her granddaughter, to Laurie attempting to set Allyson up on a date are kind of the sweet moments I didn’t realize I wanted till I saw them in the film. The chemistry just jumps off the screen with these “final girls” so much that I hope we’ll get to see another film with these actresses at some point.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2022
"There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie."
No one knew those rules better than Wes Craven. He helped to create them, after all. Starting in 1972 with the cult favorite The Last House On The Left, he followed that just two years later with The Hills Have Eyes, which led to a sequel. But it wasn't until a decade later that he would deliver his masterpiece and most successful franchise, Nightmare On Elm Street. Wes Craven introduced the world to Freddy Krueger, and our dreams have never been quite the same since. While others attempted to reproduce the same results with many sequels, it was Craven himself who put Freddy to bed with New Nightmare exactly 10 years after his birth. A remake never got much traction, and Wes Craven's place in horror history was assured. In 1996 he decided to take one more stab at the slasher genre and delivered one of the best films to look directly back at the audience and celebrate the genre. Scream was another hit and another franchise staple. He took a then relatively unknown cast and made them household names with future amazing careers and decided that it was time to also poke a little fun at himself and his colleagues. The result was four films and an upcoming kind of reboot/sequel after a three-year television series examined the material. More importantly, it led to an entire sub-genre of films that include the Scary Movie franchise and others. Now, just in time for the holidays and the new film, you can see Scream in 4K with this UHD Blu-ray release.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 13th, 2022
So this is not a movie that I would say aged well with time. However, if you could put yourself in the mindset of the time period of its release (1987), I could see the appeal. Lori Singer of Footloose fame and Anthony Edwards of ER fame star as married couple Roxy and Aaron Walston, whose life and relationship becomes strained in rural North Carolina in the post-depression late 1930s, when a young drifter named Jack Ruffin (Bruce Abbott, Re-Animator) comes to their tobacco farm to be a farmhand. Roxy, a shelter girl who married young and had a child is unable to resist the temptation that is Jack Ruffin. As expected, things do not end well. Based on a 1984 novel, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, the film shows the tragic results of the affair, which in this modern setting may appear cliché, but during that time likely would be engaging.
Singer narrates sections of the film, which I found to be a great addition and to provide context that would have been lost otherwise. Additionally, it strengthened its connection to the source material, as the novel from my understanding is from the perspective of Roxy. During these narrations, she speaks to her feelings about her life and towards Jack Ruffin. Their initial encounter is quite abrasive, as Roxy, who is very young and impressionable, seems intimidated by Ruffin, while he comes off as somewhat brash. In their first meeting, he just appears and offers her a drag on his cigarette while she is hanging clothes in the yard. Roxy visibly displays her discomfort regarding his presence by attempting to put space in between them. Despite this, Ruffin doesn’t hesitate to reach in and snatch a clothespin from off her robe to help her hang something on the clothesline. This set a good stage for what was to come, as it showed that for much of what would occur between them, Ruffin would be leading the charge.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 12th, 2022
I am a big sucker for police procedural and detective shows. Once upon a time, I religiously watched CSI (and CSI: Miami), and these days I am watching various episodes of true crime series like Real Detective and Homicide Hunter on a weekly basis (the only other thing I tend to watch weekly is wrestling). It translates over to movies, naturally, as well. Well, today's film takes me into the world of a motorcycle cop who wishes to be a detective and then falls upon a murder case. Sounds like a must-watch to me. Let's take a look at Electra Glide in Blue.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2022
"There's a bizarre version of Superman on the loose."
They are the most famous couple in comic book history. Together they are Superman & Lois, and they've joined the ever-expanding Arrowverse for their second season now out on Blu-ray from Warner Home Entertainment. While this is still a young series, the characters and these actors portraying them are not new to the Arrowverse. Tyler Hoechlin as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane have been here for a few years. Both have shown up on Supergirl, and both appeared in a couple of the crossover events that have pulled together the various Arrowverse shows in the past. Now the focus is on them. They have their own show, and it's quite a different approach to the characters and their story. There has also been a departure that puts the show no longer in the official Arrowverse. I suspect that move comes on the heels of The Flash now entering its final season and I suspect closing the Arrowverse going forward.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2022
"I think this is just the beginning."
Walker is out on DVD. No, this is not the next spin-off of the zombie Walking Dead franchise. There's a new ranger in town, and his name is Cordell Walker. I know what you're thinking: "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." That's where you'd be wrong. They might share the same name and job, but this Walker is nothing like the Chuck Norris version that lasted for over a decade when you include made-for-television movies. This Walker is much younger. He was a Marine who had joined after 9/11. He has a family. His wife was killed a year ago, and now he's trying to raise his son and daughter with the help of his parents, who were no longer living in the Norris series. The episodes are more of an ongoing story arc, which conforms to pretty much most dramas on television today. While there were certainly elements that ran through the original show, it was pretty much a bad-guy-of-the-week setup. If you haven't caught any of the new show, now is your chance. CBS Home Entertainment has released the entire second season on DVD.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2022
"If you've got the money you can do what you like. Buy another man's life? Why not?"
There are few writers in the 20th century who have had the kind of career Graham Greene had. He was recruited by England's secret service MI6 where his sister was also an agent and spent time around the world. These experiences likely helped him write the kinds of international thrillers that made him one o the most successful writers in the 20th century. His final novel went a little against the grain of his reputation. The Tenth Man doesn't take us too far afield, and it's far more of an intimate tale than he was known for. It would also be his final novel before his death in 1991. But he lived to see it filmed, albeit as a Hallmark Television made for TV film in 1988. But The Tenth Man was a little step above most of the films made for TV in that decade. It actually did play in theatres in Europe, mostly England. Now Kino Lorber has dusted off this 1988 gem and given it a chance at a new life, and it's one of the better of the studio’s latest batch of titles.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2022
"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. 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.









