Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 7th, 2017
“Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by John Delia on December 6th, 2017
The Despicable Me series that includes Minions never seems to get tiring as they extend their comedy one more time with Despicable Me 3, opening this weekend. The key to the filmmaker’s success is the handling of the characters and inserting them into the animated movie with a plan in mind. That plan consists of starting […]
Posted in Game Reviews by Michael Durr on October 29th, 2017
When I was growing up in Charlotte, NC I grew up within spitting distance of an amusement park called Carowinds. To this day, I remember being dropped off by my parents at 11 or 12 years of age for a fun day at the park (which is pretty much unheard of these days). I always […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on September 29th, 2017
“These movies that I’ve done, they are massive movies. They take a lot out of you.” That’s director Michael Bay talking about his decade-long work on the Transformers franchise on the eve of the fifth(!) film’s arrival. The movie also doubles as Bay’s swan song in the director’s chair, so when he says, “They take […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2017
“When I was a child, my planet Krypton was dying. I was sent to Earth to protect my cousin. But my pod got knocked off course, and by the time I got here, my cousin had already grown up and become… Superman. I hid who I really was until one day when an accident forced […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 7th, 2017
“In the future, the line between human and machine is disappearing. Advancements in the technology allow humans to enhance themselves with cybernetic parts. Hanka robotics, funded by the government, is developing a military operative that will blur the line even further. By transplanting a human brain into a fully synthetic body, they will combine the […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on June 14th, 2017
“Black…all important movies start with a black screen…” I completely understand if you’re Batman-ed out by now. The Caped Crusader barely had a chance to catch his breath since the end of Christopher Nolan’s landmark superhero trilogy in 2012 and being pressed back into duty to help kickstart Warner Bros.’ budding superhero universe last year. But between […]
Posted in No Huddle by Dan Holland on May 4th, 2017
It is always interesting to see how the history of cinema weaves its way back into the art form, especially when it is incorporated into the narrative itself. For example E. Elias Merhige’s Shadow of the Vampire (2000) constructs its narrative around a fictional filming of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922). Recently, Gary Oldman announced his […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2017
“When you wish upon a star. Makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do… Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through. When […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 8th, 2016
After the release of The Editor on Blu-ray last year and with the remake of Susperia in the works, it would seem that there is a slow revival of the Giallo film. For those unaware of the term or style, it’s basically a horror/ mystery film that tended to have slasher elements that emerged out […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 6th, 2016
“Are you food or are you sex?” When it comes to director Nicholas Winding Refn, he’s a director from whom I’m never all too sure what to expect. For me Drive is one of my favorite films in the past ten years, while Only God Forgives simply bored me; despite the stunning imagery, it had […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 22nd, 2016
Growing up I was obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series; it was the Saturday morning cartoon I just couldn’t get enough of. When I couldn’t watch the cartoon, I’d be playing with the toys and eventually the video game back in the original Nintendo console days. So when the movies came out, […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2016
“When people see that red cape, they expect to see a certain someone. Someone they know. But this isn’t his story. It’s mine.” Of course, that “someone” they know is Superman. This is the story of Supergirl. We’ve seen her story on both the big and small screen, as well. Helen Slater put on the […]
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 23rd, 2016
“Are you food, or are you sex?” When it comes to director Nicolas Winding Refn, he’s a director I’m never all too sure what to expect from. For me, Drive is one of my favorite films in the past ten years, while Only God Forgives simply bored me; despite the stunning imagery, it had nothing […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on June 6th, 2016
“All men must die.” The official tagline for Season 4 of HBO’s Game of Thrones also doubles as a helpful reminder of author George R.R. Martin’s no-character-is-safe philosophy. But even plastering that quote all over posters and promos isn’t likely to prepare you for the most devastating and thrilling season of a show that specializes […]
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 2nd, 2016
Growing up I was obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series; it was the Saturday morning cartoon I just couldn’t get enough of. When I couldn’t watch the cartoon, I’d be playing with the toys and eventually the video game back in the original Nintendo console days. So when the movies came out, […]
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2016
“Suit Up!” When I was a kid we had something called a toy box. Do kids even have such things anymore? Inside we were supposed to keep our toys when we weren’t playing with them. Inside mine there were dinosaurs, cars with track, army men, spaceships … and yes, superheroes. To open the toy box […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2016
“These rebels, they have no fear, or they have so much they are numb to it. They feel as if they have nothing left to lose, and they hate us who do…” It’s all just a matter of perspective, isn’t it? As a history teacher I have taught aspects of that event we all recognize […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on March 16th, 2016
“Perhaps we’ve grown so used to horror, we assume there’s no other way.” Given the quantity and quality of death and destruction we’ve witnessed over the previous four years, the most shocking thing Game of Thrones could do in its fifth season was offer a tiny glimmer of hope. After all, optimism in Westeros and […]
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 28th, 2016
”We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity, for which we sincerely apologize. Lionsgate is deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity […]
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on February 26th, 2016
Ever since Michael Mann came along, the bar has been set when it comes to making gritty heist films. Sure, films have come close in reaching the ranks of Thief and Heat, but close isn’t enough to put films over the top. When the trailers came along for Triple 9, it was a film that […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2016
“Baby, if you’ve ever wondered, wondered whatever became of me, I’m living on the air in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, WKRP. “ It almost sounds like a take on Harry Chapin’s WOLD, and in many ways it is. The song was hot for a while on radio stations. It seems that DJ’s couldn’t resist songs about DJ’s. […]
Posted in No Huddle by J C on January 13th, 2016
Yak: The Giant King is a 2012 animated offering from Thailand. It is based on Ramakien, the country’s version of a famous Hindu epic poem. Neither of those facts is readily apparent in the packaging and presentation of The Giant King, an American adaptation that was recently released on DVD. On the one hand, it […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 4th, 2016
If you were a child in the 1960’s or 1970’s, you were around at the golden age of the Christmas television special. We just celebrated the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and there were a ton of holiday charms that came and went each year. But there were a handful that became classics […]
Posted in No Huddle by Dan Holland on December 23rd, 2015
Once again I have the pleasure of reviewing a Blu-ray double feature distributed by Shout Factory. This time out, I have been graced with two sci-fi adventure films from the mid 1980’s: The Dungeonmaster and Eliminators. Although the two films play well as a double feature, the cheesy (yet oh, so beautiful) aesthetics and special […]
