Archive Page 482
February 6th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Some may have not seen this coming, but I really enjoyed Here Comes the Boom, starring Kevin James, who takes on the role of a teacher trying to save the school’s music program by becoming an MMA fighter. I will say this, I may not be a big fan of what has come out of Happy Madison productions lately, but I was strangely intrigued by this film. Maybe it’s because it looked like a more lighthearted version of the great film Warrior from 2011, but something about the trailer made me want to see it. Of course, no one wanted to go with me, so I didn’t get a chance to check it out theatrically. I am aware that the movie follows a very tried and true formula, but dammit, I wanted to see it anyway, and I was happy to have done so. Continue on to read more about my thoughts on the film and the Blu-ray presentation as a whole.
Continue reading ‘Here Comes The Boom (Blu-ray Review)’
February 6th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington stars in this “riveting and powerful nail-biting thriller” from Robert Zemeckis, the Academy Award®winning director of Forrest Gump and Cast Away. Airline pilot Whip Whitaker (Washington) miraculously lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe. But even as he’s being hailed for his heroic efforts, questions arise as to who or what was really at fault. Action-packed, engrossing and powerful, Washington’s performance is being hailed as “a triumph” and one that “will be talked about for years.” Continue reading ‘Flight (Blu-ray Review)’
February 6th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
The tricky thing about discussing Steven Soderbergh’s latest and reportedly last directorial feature, Side Effects, is that the film is most effective if the viewer goes in knowing nothing about it. The marketing campaign (or at least the initial trailers) can be commended for being fairly ambiguous in presenting what is actually going on in this film. Saying that the film is a neo-noir is the closest I can come in a very brief description, but that could still possible be looked at as a spoiler. Regardless, Side Effects is an effective adult drama/thriller, with a very deliberate first act that paves the way for the rest of the film to unfold. One it gets going though, there is a lot to consider and it is amplified by some of these lead performances and Soderbergh’s cold, yet precise and stylish visuals.
Continue reading ‘‘Side Effects’ May Include Twists, Turns, And Some Deliberate Pacing (Movie Review)’
February 5th, 2013 by Jami Ferguson
From the creative team behind “Pillars of the Earth,” “The Mentalist” and “Heroes”, “Being Human” is Syfy’s re-imagining of the acclaimed UK series created by Toby Whithouse (now in its fifth season overseas). Starring Sam Witwer (“Smallville”, “Battlestar Galactica”), Meaghan Rath (“The Assistants”) and Sam Huntington (Superman Returns), “Being Human” follows three paranormal, 20-something roommates living in a Boston brownstone – vampire “Aidan” (Witwer), werewolf “Josh” (Huntington) and ghost “Sally” (Rath) – as they struggle to resist the temptations of their true natures. Watching the characters hide their dark secrets from the world, while helping each other navigate the complexities of living double lives and trying to be human has made the series a supernatural smash. Continue reading ‘Being Human: The Complete Season Two (Blu-ray Review)’
February 4th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
In anticipation for the upcoming release of Skyfall on February 12, I found this press release regarding an upcoming care package initiative to be quite interesting. Apparently, beginning at 10:00am Feb. 12 at the Army National Guard armory in Van Nuys, California, volunteers including Military families, war Veterans, fans and more will be on hand to assemble up to 7,000 Skyfall branded care packages to be sent to active duty soldiers overseas. The idea is to promote the movie’s Blu-ray release of course, but by way of doing something incredibly nice for the troops. Continue on to read all the details about this upcoming care package initiative.
Continue reading ‘James Bond Partners with Operation Gratitude for “Operation SKYFALL” on February 12’
January 31st, 2013 by David Freedman
Sean, Brenna and guest reviewer Mark Ellis discuss two new mid-season dramas. Starring Brenna Smith, Sean Wright and Mark Ellis. Directed by Liz Manashil.
Synopsis: In Do No Harm, after five years of peace, a brilliant surgeon must deal with his troublesome alter-ego that has re-emerged and only comes out at night. Golden Boy, follows the successful, meteoric rise of a cop from his days as an officer to detective to the youngest police commissioner ever. Continue reading ‘NBC’s Do No Harm and CBS’s Golden Boy TV Reviews – Just Seen It’
January 31st, 2013 by David Freedman
Brenna, Liz and guest reviewer Aaron Neuwirth each reveal their favorite hidden movie gems of 2012 – movies you may not have seen but should be at the top of your watch-at-home list! Starring Aaron Neuwirth, Liz Manashi and Brenna Smith. Directed by Sean Wright.
Whether it’s the end of the world as we know it, making friends with a robot, or seeking a partner for time-travel, check out the movies we call our hidden gems of 2012.
Continue reading ‘Hidden Movies Gems for 2012 – Just Seen It’
January 31st, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
It would seem highly unlikely that I would like a romantic comedy with a regular human girl and a hipster zombie as the romantic leads that are supposed to fall in love, but here we are. Based on description alone, this seemed like a bad idea, but rather than dwell on being a sappy love story with a catchy gimmick in the midst of audiences loving all things zombie and paranormal teen romance novel-related, Warm Bodies is actually an enjoyable, clever, and oddly sweet film. It works best when it deals with the ins and outs of a zombie-infested world from the point-of-view of its zombie narrator, but even if the romantic drama and stakes do not fully work, this film was still able to make for a fun alternative to standard zombie fare, let alone generic rom-coms.
Continue reading ‘‘Warm Bodies’, Slow Corpses, Fun Movie (Movie Review)’
January 31st, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
The early 2013 action trifecta continues with Sly Stallone’s latest offering, Bullet to the Head. Arnold delivered some fun with The Last Stand and Bruce Willis is set to deliver some more “Yippee Ki Yays” in a couple weeks, so for now, here is a Stallone vehicle that was pushed back almost a year and looked terrible to begin with. What could go wrong? Well, a lot of things, but that does not mean that Bullet to the Head is not enjoyable. Make no mistake, this is not a very good film, but there is a lot of guilty pleasure joy to get out of this film, were one to see it with the right group of friends. Despite the incredibly bland story, mismatched buddy film angle, and disappointing action, the movie…well I guess there isn’t a whole lot to recommend, but it definitely has the feel of a macho 80s film; just not a very good one.
Continue reading ‘‘Bullet To The Head’ Is Another Silly 80s Throwback (Movie Review)’
January 30th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Life of Pi was a film I was really happy to embrace. This is the story, based off the bestselling novel (claimed to be unfilmable for a long time), which chronicles the journey of Pi, a young boy who is stranded at sea, along with a tiger. I saw it multiple times in theaters, namely because the 3D experience was among the best I have seen in a theater and wanted to give it a few goes before it left the big screen. Everyone will soon be able to see the beauty of this film (Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects are practically in the bag), as it arrives on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 12. Continue on to learn more details about this upcoming release, which is packed with special features.
Continue reading ‘‘LIFE OF PI’ Journeys Onto Blu-ray This March’
January 30th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel star in Ridley Scott’s first feature-length motion picture, The Duellists. Two officers in Napoleon’s army violently confront each other in a series of duels. The duels begin as a reaction to a minor incident and escalate into a consuming passion that rules the lives of both men for a period of 30 years. Based on Joseph Conrad’s story, The Duellists explores the themes of obsession, honor and violence. Awarded “Best Debut Film” at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, this visually stunning film weaves a compelling story through to an unexpected conclusion.
Continue reading ‘The Duellists (Blu-ray Review)’
January 29th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
The idea of putting Al Pacino and Christopher Walken in a movie together, as guys who have been friends for decades (with added support from Alan Arkin) seems like an easy recipe for fun. Add the fact that they are all playing criminals at the end of their run, roles that these guys could play in their sleep, and there is almost a guarantee that the film will appeal to those who love these actors. Unfortunately, Stand Up Guys really wastes a lot of potential by not having these actors do anything more than play up all the standard jokes you see in films about old friends getting back together and acknowledging that they are older. Sure, these guys know how to play a moment and hold solemn expressions on their faces when the time calls for it, but we also get a twenty-minute subplot about Viagra. Add on a truly awful ending and Stand Up Guys is a pretty big disappointment, given what could have come from it.
Continue reading ‘‘Stand Up Guys’ Cracks Wise (Movie Review)’
January 28th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Cantor Rabinowitz (Warner Oland) is concerned and upset because his son Jakie (Al Jolson), shows so little interest in carrying on the family’s traditions and heritage. For five generations, men in the family have been Cantors in the synagogue, but Jakie is more interested in jazz and ragtime music. One day, they have such a bitter argument that Jakie leaves home for good. After a few years on his own, now calling himself Jack Robin, he gets an important opportunity through the help of well-known stage performer Mary Dale (Mary McAvoy). But Jakie finds that in order to balance his career, his relationship with Mary, and his memories of his family, he will be forced to make some difficult choices. Starring Al Jolson, May McAvoy, and Warner Oland, this “talkie” is famous for being the first full length motion picture to feature synchronized audio. The film also features a slew of added material such as vintage cartoons and a film documentary. 
Continue reading ‘The Jazz Singer (1927) (Blu-ray Review)’
January 26th, 2013 by Gregg Senko
Where does one start with this film? If you’ve caught even the smallest fragment of critic talk on this picture, you know it’s been labeled as everything from star-studded to vulgar. The cast contains some of Hollywood’s most prominent names like Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Richard Gere, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet just to name a few…and that’s literally just a few of the actors in the prominent cast. I made it a point not to look up the reasoning behind the film’s rather bland title, just to see if the film itself would unveil the mystery. It never did give that up, but where it kept quite on a title, it went all out everywhere else.
Continue reading ‘Movie 43 Brings Together Big Stars, Big Raunch’
January 26th, 2013 by Brian White
So Taken 2, huh? You think they could have came up with a “better” name like Taken Again, Retook, Taken Aback, Retake or whatever else you’re clever enough to come up with. But regardless, when I first sat down in the theater to “take” in Taken 2, I was just overjoyed to have Liam Neeson back in the 2008 bada$$ action role that redefined his career after Jedi Master Qui Gon Jin nearly did him in. I remember 2008’s Taken very fondly. I remember vacationing down in Mexico and seeing Taken’s name plastered around every theater down there. I had no idea what it was. It wasn’t until I came back to the States that one of my friends said I just watched the most amazing action movie that had me on the edge of my seat. When I asked him what movie he was referring to I nearly fell off my own rocker (literally speaking). Continue reading ‘Taken 2 (Blu-ray Review)’
January 26th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Yesterday, the internet practically suffered a hemorrhage after hearing word that J.J. Abrams had most likely been signed on to direct Star Wars: Episode VII. This evening, Disney has finally sent the official press release to confirm this report. This is certainly interesting news to say the least, given that J.J. Abrams is now essentially responsible for the two biggest sci-fi properties of all time, Star Trek and Star Wars. Surely there are those who are plenty excited about this news, just as much as there are those who are not so excited. Regardless, this does bring us another step closer to the arrival of a brand new generation of Star Wars films, which I do think to be an exciting development, regardless of who is involved. Continue on to read the official press release concerning J.J. Abrams involvement as director.
Continue reading ‘It’s Official: J.J. Abrams to Direct Star Wars: Episode VII’
January 25th, 2013 by Gregg Senko
A co-worker first told me about this film some months back, of which I thought he was joking. When he persisted that there really was a Hansel & Gretel movie coming out, I made a mad dash to my phone and checked out the trailer. My initial thought was, “What’s this? The latest trend on the heels of Abe Lincoln hunting vampires? What’s next? Napoleon: Sasquatch Hunter?” The film’s preview didn’t exactly light my fire, but with Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner headlining the movie, I figured I’d give it a go.
Continue reading ‘Hansel & Gretel Need to Hunt Writer, Not Witches’
January 25th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the comedy team behind the Golden Globe-winning BBC series “The Office” and acclaimed HBO series “Extras” and “The Ricky Gervais Show”, bring another series to television with “Life’s Too Short”. Starring actor Warwick Davis (Willow) as a fictionalized version of himself, the series takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the travails of a little person who’s big on ego and a little short on everything else. Shot faux-documentary style, “Life’s Too Short” gleefully charts Davis’s every move as he tries to jump-start his waning career by opening his doors to a reality TV film crew while trying to maintain his pride and self-respect in a series of uncomfortable, often-humiliating situations. Along the way, he seeks advice from his old pals Gervais and Merchant (playing versions of themselves) in hopes that their A-list celebrity connections including Johnny Depp, Liam Neeson, Sting, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Carell, Cat Deely (who all cameo) will aid his career. Continue reading ‘Life’s Too Short: The Complete First Season (DVD Review)’
