Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on August 8th, 2022
Some of my favorite movies are ones where they use the "author" as the focal part of the story. Films like Secret Window, Misery, and The Ghost Writer are ones that immediately come to mind for me. However, Westerns tend to be somewhere down on the list of genres for me, and only ones like Tombstone or Unforgiven tend to spark any interest. So when I received Jesus Kid, which features a Brazilian author who likes to write Westerns, well, you can kinda understand my apprehension. However, my curiosity was also piqued at the same time for the very same set of reasons.
Eugenio (played by Paulo Miklos) brushes his teeth late one night. He follows it up with a mouth rinse ... and a cigarette. Then a swish with some whiskey and some pills. Seems like a typical night for the author. Eugenio writes western tales about a cowboy simply known as Jesus Kid (that's Geesus, not Haysous). In fact, he's published twenty books about the character, and his latest manuscript entitled Ballad of the Nerves is ready for publication.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2022
With streaming working the way it does now, every studio in the world is churning out hours and hours of television to please a growing number of viewers on multiple platforms. There's more material produced in one year today than was produced in any decade leading up to the day Netflix opened the door on a new trend. It's changed the way we watch television, and that extends to the networks that still operate over the airwaves. We no longer sit and watch an hour or two of television in what was once called prime time. Now we binge. The latest statistics tell us that the average person watches a minimum of four hours at a time, usually the same show. That means not only more content but a greater range of content types. A-list actors and filmmakers are joining the trend, and they're now able to cater to pretty much every taste or genre. Along comes AMC+ and the first effort to bring the Spaghetti Western to "television". That Dirty Black Bag hearkens back to the Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone collaborations of the 1960's. All of the trademark elements are there. But is it as good? The short answer is no. But it's not quite fair to let the evaluation stand there.
The Western town of Greenvale is populated more by characters than stories. For pretty much the bulk of these first eight episodes, the story doesn't really connect. The longer you watch, the more some things tie together, but when it's all said and done, what stays with you the most are the characters and their unique worldviews. I guess you could call this a sit-west, along the lines of a situation comedy. The drama and the entertainment come from a series of situations that are obviously contrived to give these characters a place to live, breathe, and yeah ... die.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 29th, 2022
From the moment I saw the trailer for The Lost City, it immediately gave me vibes of Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile, the adventure-romance films that starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner back in the mid-eighties. The basic story for those films was simple: a romance writer who finds herself in an adventure to find a rare jewel alongside a handsome rogue with bad guys coming after them around every corner. I loved these films as a kid, and getting to see a modern twist on these stories is something I found welcome. What is even more welcome is getting to see Sandra Bullock back in a comedic role. I’ve been a fan of just about everything Bullock has done since she graced the screen in Demolition Man and then the following year in Speed. My only concern was seeing Channing Tatum as her co-star; while I like him in numerous supporting roles like Logan Lucky and Foxcatcher, he’s never really convinced me that he has what it takes for leading-man status. Well, that changed after seeing The Lost City, and my feeling about this film is that it’s the movie audiences don’t yet realize they needed, and I hope it becomes the box office success it deserves to be.
Loretta Sage (Bullock) is a successful romance novelist who is mourning the passing of her husband. She’s become a bit of a shut-in, and after struggling to finish her book, “The Lost City of D”, her manager Beth (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) has put together a book tour for Loretta and her cover model, Alan “Dash” (Tatum) to promote the book. Loretta seems to be content with giving up on her romance adventure series, though this could possibly mean an early retirement for Alan, who has embraced being a sex symbol for her readers wearing a ridiculous wig, acid-wash jeans, and a shirt that seems to have lost most of its buttons. Channing Tatum immediately stands out in this performance as he hams it up on stage for the adoring fans but is charming when he’s off stage trying to convince Loretta to not stop writing. It’s after the near-disastrous promo appearance where the plot escalates after Loretta is kidnapped and taken to see an eccentric billionaire, Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe). Fairfax believes the island in Loretta’s new book is based off the island he has recently purchased and is in search of a lost city that contains a rare treasure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 29th, 2022
"It all started when a man named Bishop created a team of robots. He sent them back in time with one goal: to destroy the 20th century. These machines were programmed to think that they were beyond human. That they were superheroes. They made their way across country murdering some of the greatest figures in history, famous lawmen and men of science. Finally they kidnapped the inventor of time travel itself, and with his help set their sights on destroying all of history. No one could stop these so-called Legends. Not until we came upon the real flesh-and-blood superheroes whose job it is to put history back on track. We're the real Legends of Tomorrow."
If none of that made any sense to you, don't worry about a thing. It'll all become clear over the final 13 episodes of DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: The Complete 7th and Final Season. OK, I lied. No. It really is the 7th and final season, but it won't really become all clear. You see, that's the nature of the series. It's the crazy uncle of the Arrowverse that says a lot of things no one understands. But we all kind of nod our heads and suspect it will all be OK.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 29th, 2022
I don’t think Hollywood is ready to stop shooting movies centered around World War 2 any time soon, even if it seems they’ve filmed just about every story under the sun that you can tell about that that war. I get it, Nazis are simply put some of the greatest villains you can have in a film, because they took part in some of the most wicked atrocities towards men and women, so you really don’t have to do much in the way of character development to get your audience to hate them. I don’t think anyone is interested in a story about a sympathetic Nazi, but is it so hard to ask for a character that comes off the screen that seems to at least have a personality? I mean, Tarantino did it with Col. Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds (2009) with a terrific performance from Christoph Waltz, but since then the movies have been afraid to do this, and that’s the kind of thing that is so desperately missing from Wolf Hound. It’s not just the Nazis who are lacking in personality, but the entire cast of characters that reek of cliché and lazy writing that it mystifies me how this ever got made.
The film opens up with some excellent aerial photography of some authentic war planes being used for these sequences. Director Michael B. Chait was smart to utilize these planes and use them at the start of the film, because it was a good way to hook the audience into thinking that perhaps the whole film just may be as authentic. Sadly after that 20-minute mark this becomes a whole different film when pilot David Holden (James Maslow) has to parachute from his plane. Unfortunately for Holden, Major Erich Roth (Trevor Donovan), a German pilot, has crashed in the same area and is looking for vengeance for his brother’s death. If the filmmakers had kept it simple and this became a story about two men hunting one another in the woods while avoiding capture from the enemy, this could have been a stronger film, could have had some actual suspense, but instead these filmmakers decided to go big and go strong with the clichés, which means just about every scene in this film is obvious because it’s been done to death in every other war film to come before it. Down to the convoy of enemy soldiers that just happens to stop where our hero is and to go further with the cliché a soldier happens to relieve their bladder right next to our hero who is just out of the enemies sight-line because they don’t look down. That’s right, you’ve all seen this done before, and the movie plays out like a bad piece of déjà vu, but in surround sound.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2022
"All I know is that it was a tragedy. A terrible tragedy. I probably shouldn't say this, but some of those kids, eh ... no big loss, if I were honest. But those girls were special. They were champions."
What happens when you take a concept like Lost and sprinkle in a little Lord Of The Flies, the 1993 film Alive, and work in a bit of Pretty Little Liars and a heavy dose of pretty much any reality series out there? You'd get Showtime's latest creepy entry, Yellow Jackets. The new drama is one of those shows where they pack on the secrets and teases and then try to walk that tightrope of giving you enough resolution to keep you from giving up but maintain enough promise of more shockers to come so that you keep coming back for more. It's not an easy thing to navigate, and there are times that Yellow Jackets does that pretty well. The problem that I see in the show's future is how long can you keep this pace going? Ages of the actors is going to quickly become a factor, so I suspect this show will have to take advantage of what time they have and try to get another season or two out of the material.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 27th, 2022
It is a shame that director Roger Michell (Notting Hill) passed away before this film had a proper release. He’s a director who while he may not have a filmography of blockbuster hits, he’s literally worked with many of the biggest stars of the industry. Notting Hill is easily my favorite film of his; easily I’d rank it as one of the best rom-coms of all time. Sadly he’d go most of his career not quite matching the success of the 1999 film, but with The Duke, he gives us a film that is so damn charming it shows how he’ll be missed in an industry that’s become so dependent on CGI and spectacle.
The film presents itself as “based on a true story”. When it comes to the movies, it has become harder to believe how much is actually true and how much is sensationalized to tell a “better” story. In 1961, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), stole the Goya portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London and held it hostage for 140 thousand pounds. This wasn’t some simple get-rich-quick scheme that Bunton concocted, but instead it was a way to get the government to pay for television licenses for the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. Despite the noble intentions, it was a crime that could possibly land the man in prison for ten years. While the film does cover the heist and eventual trial of Kempton Bunton, the real heart of the film is about the relationship between Kempton and his wife, Dorothy Bunton (Helen Mirren).
Posted in: The Reel World by John Delia on July 25th, 2022
Very quirky, exciting to watch, and a sci-fi mystery you will not believe: that’s the film Nope. There have been many stories about flying saucers and invaders from space, but this wild and wacky production grabs you right from the beginning and never lets go. My kind of film; the pace is fast, and there’s never a dull moment. For years Otis Haywood, Sr. has been uneasy about happenings on his ranch. His sudden death, however, has his sons OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) completely baffled. Their income has fizzled since their movie horses have been acting skittish on the sets, so OJ and Emerald want to get to the bottom of what has caused the recent disturbances at the ranch. One cloudy day, OJ sees a shiny object in the sky that he believes is an alien vessel. When it’s likely the reason for the turmoil, OJ and Emerald get set to challenge the mysterious invader. Jordan Peele does a terrific job of putting his film together, pacing it so the buildup to the finale becomes a modern-day war of the worlds. Not on the grand scale of films like Independence Day or even the movie War of the Worlds, this minimal film does it all in a rancher’s back yard.
What also makes the film good is the acting by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, who run rampant as the unstoppable offspring. Driven mad by the constant attacks, the two make a plan to prove what is happening on their ranch by turning it into a film. But they chew off more than they can eat, or so their adversary thinks.
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2022
There have been many films about World War II. Some have been great. A few are considered classics. We're entering that moment in history where we will soon lose the last remaining fighter from that war. It's a hard subject for a small budget film, but every now and then someone comes along and pulls it off. Wolf Hound is not going to become a classic. That doesn't mean it isn't a stellar film. Director Michael Chait has a passion for the subject that starts with his father who was an award-winning aviator. Everything about Wolf Hound is touched by that passion. The aerial work is first rate and with minimal CGI. Don't take my word for any of this. See the film for yourself. As for that passion. Listen to Michael Chait express that in his own words. I was honored to spend some time talking to the promising young director. Bang it here and you can listen in on my conversation with Michael Chait.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2022
"Sounds like the Mad Hatter is throwing a tea party."
Of all of the Arrowverse shows, I think Batwoman has had the hardest road of it. Ruby Rose was far from the dynamic character the CW or DC could have hoped for, and she spent most of her first season complaining or on the outs in some way or another. In her single season she was constantly outshone by her villain and pretty much everyone around her. It's bad when the one in the cape and cowl can't seem to attract any attention. It was a surprise to no one that Ruby Rose left the show after that first year. What did surprise me was that the show was going to continue. Instead of recasting Kate Kane, the powers that be brought in a completely different person to play the title character. Enter Ryan Wilder, played by Jevicia Leslie. She took the rap for a friend and ended up serving 18 months in prison for drug possession. Her foster mother was killed by some bad guys who never paid for the crime. Needless to say, she is carrying a lot of angst. Now she can't find a job or a place to live. She's homeless and living out of her van. She watches a ball of fire which turns out to be a plane crashing out of the sky. It hits near her van, and when she explores the wreckage, she finds the batsuit. Of course she puts it on and gets quite a kick out of the things she can do. She soon realizes the suit can help her get some revenge on the bad guys and starts kicking some butt.
On The Web
Sponsors
