Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 10th, 2016
“No rules, no ref. Just your wit and skill to keep you alive.” Last year, Creed became a critical and audience favorite by reviving a beloved dormant franchise and re-casting its brawny original star in a supporting role as a mentor. I’m not going to pretend that 1989’s Kickboxer (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme) is anywhere […]
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on November 4th, 2016
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all when it comes to films about World War II, Mel Gibson helms a film that hits you with such an emotional wallop that I’ll say it right now: just hand the man the Oscar for this film. It’s only November; how can I be so sure of […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 15th, 2016
“This is encouraging.” For the first time in a long while, the Winchester Brothers end and begin a season together. Dean’s just had the Sign of Cain removed, and the cost is the approaching darkness. I’m not talking a little storm blowing through. Here in Florida we know all about that kind of darkness. No. […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on August 24th, 2016
For years (at this point we can say decades), fans have been holding out hope for a new installment in the Evil Dead franchise. Over the years there have been rumors of a fourth film, even talks of doing a crossover involving Ash (Bruce Campbell) taking on various horror icons. In the end these talks […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2016
The Vampire Diaries is finally living up to its name. Elena is asleep until Bonnie dies, so the characters have promised to keep a record of all the goings on in Mystic Falls and with their lives. And there’s a lot to write about. Mystic Falls has been evacuated so that Lily and her family […]
Posted in The Reel World by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2016
Captain Fantastic has nothing to do with Elton John. (It turns out that’s not entirely true, because director/writer/actor Matt Ross (Big Love, Silicon Valley) found out his mother played Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy all the time, and it must have imbedded itself in his subconscious). The story in the movie starts in […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on July 12th, 2016
“You have a convenient way of remembering things.” Buried somewhere deep in The Adderall Diaries — a hybrid family drama and true crime thriller centered around a blocked writer — there’s an interesting exploration of how the past isn’t necessarily set in stone and how two people can recall the same exact event in divergent […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 2016
“That’s me, Mike Hanover, and I just killed a man in a taco shop bathroom. Hey, he started it. I been hiding near the border looking for The Vigilante…” You’ve found him. Anchor Bay’s The Vigilante actually started life as a web series. The web episodes followed the exploits of The Vigilante, played by Paul […]
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on June 9th, 2016
For the horror fans out there, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there have been a lot of horror anthologies being pumped out. It’s a concept that I can appreciate, but even as a fan, enough is enough already. It’s great to see talented people coming together to film a handful of short films, all with […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on June 5th, 2016
The mere mention of Hammer Studios brings to mind bloody terror to the legions of monster fans who grew up on a steady drive-in staple diet of the studio’s iconic monster movies. The studio picked up where Universal left off in the 1950’s and delivered a new run of the classic monsters we had been […]
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on March 30th, 2016
“From the chaos of the New York City streets rises a legion of visionary gangsters. Vicious killers and criminal geniuses determined to create their own version of the American Dream.” If you are looking for an actual documentary on the evolution of the mafia and famous Five Families of New York, this is absolutely a […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2016
“My father told me about these men, about their natures. All I knew were the stories I was told of monsters and the valiant men sworn to slay them. I fear the stories I’ve heard may have been clouded, the truth more than clouded. It would seem these monsters are men, sons, brothers, fathers. And […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2016
“Stealing from the Pope is suicide.” We’re not talking about that pope. We’re talking about Robert DeNiro in his latest direct-to-video feature film Heist. It’s true that DeNiro hasn’t exactly been picky lately with his parts. He commands a big paycheck, often for just showing up on the credits. It’s common among actors particularly those […]
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2016
There have been nine Jesse Stone movies starring Tom Selleck. They come from a series of books written by Robert B. Parker. Parker is also famous for the Spencer For Hire series, which was a television show starring Robert Urich from 1985 to 1988. Parker also created a popular Sunny Randall series that was originally […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 7th, 2016
“A good family business is not the same as a good family.” You can say that again. The television landscape is changing, at least on cable. Ray Donovan is the latest in the string of new shows that are attracting talent once thought out of reach for television. A show starring Liev Schreiber and Jon […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on December 25th, 2015
Whenever I read the caption that says the story is inspired by true events, the first thing I wonder is how much of film is actually truth and how much is poetic license. Am I the only one who wonders that? I’m guessing I’m not. In the case of Dragon Blade, I’m thinking that the […]
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 16th, 2015
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too […]
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 15th, 2015
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too […]
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on December 9th, 2015
A bit animated in certain areas, but all in all a pretty good martial arts experience in my opinion. The Guardsman tells the story of a man charged with the safe keeping of the emperor of China, a job that entails a great many challenges even from those he considers family. When word is received […]
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2015
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on December 4th, 2015
“I don’t care about winning. I just like to play, I really do.” In Mississippi Grind, a pair of damaged gamblers hustle their way through the American South so they can buy into a high-stakes card game in New Orleans. That’s technically the “plot” of the movie, but it’s not really the point…nor is it […]
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on October 23rd, 2015
“Looks like the crazy is starting.” Actually, it started three seasons ago. The creator of Dawson’s Creek and The Vampire Diaries, Kevin Williams, delivers a thriller that is a bold new entry in the crime drama for television. The Following was 15 episodes of nail-biting bliss that kept the viewer guessing and riveted long after […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 17th, 2015
Oh Hell No! is the cheeky subtitle for the latest entry in SyFy’s made-for-TV Twitter Sharknado franchise. Coincidentally, “Oh hell no!” was also the response the creators of the first film got from everyone they approached about starring in it a few years ago. Flash forward to 2015, and things have changed dramatically. Now Sharknado auteur […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 15th, 2015
It wasn’t until I settled in to watch Spike TV’s three-part/six-hour miniseries based on the (relatively short) life of King Tut that I realized we hadn’t really seen his story depicted on screen before. I mean, it’s probably a bad sign that the most famous on-screen portrayal of the ancient Egyptian monarch comes courtesy of…Steve […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2015
“Listen, my friend. This is going to be very hard to comprehend, but none of what you are seeing is real.” Of course it’s not real. It’s not really that hard to comprehend at all. This is an animated show, after all. And the figures look like cut-out pieces of construction paper. Of course, we’re […]
