Book Review “Godzilla: The Art of Destruction”

Author: Mark Cotta Vaz
Hardcover: 156 pages
Publisher: Insight Editions
Release Date: May 13, 2014

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

“Godzilla” is no question on my my most anticipated films of the year. I made sure to completely stay away from any spoilers from the film even including the design of the character himself. I wanted it all to be a big surprise for me when I saw it for the first time in theaters. I love the character and the films since I was a little kid in the 80’s. So for a film like “Godzilla”, I know there has to be an amazing book focusing on its creation. Thanks to Insight Editions for releasing “Godzilla: The Art of Destruction”, which is not only an “art of” but but more like a “art and making of” book. Within the first hour of having this book in my hands, I easily went through it twice just staring at the images throughout in total silence (besides the score to “Godzilla” on of course…nerd alert!) As “Godzilla” is my favorite film of the year to date, this is easily my favorite “art of” book to date as well.

Official Premise: Published to coincide with the release of Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, this visually stunning book presents an extraordinary new vision for the beloved character through a dynamic selection of concept illustrations, sketches, storyboards, and other pre-production materials. Godzilla: The Art of Destruction is the definitive book on one of the most anticipated films of 2014. Featuring interviews with the director and key crew and cast members, the book tells the complete story of the making of Godzilla from concept to final frames. Comprehensive and enthralling, Godzilla: The Art of Destruction is a book that no fan will want to be without.

When I saw the book was just over 150 pages, I was hoping that it wasn’t going to be lacking detail and content but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. This book is jam packed with not only outstanding artwork but also tons of details on the movie production only with comments and quote from director Gareth Edwards. The writing in the book is easily as interesting as the concept artworks. I loved getting to see the possible different variations of Godzilla and creatures that were taken from the various artists involved on the film. Watching the film I just loved the whole look and feel of it and that is also represented in this book. We get to see various landscapes and visual locations shots from the film. If all that isn’t enough there is also a full fold-out movie poster from the film with the soldiers diving from the sky and Godzilla in the background barely seen. If you love Godzilla, this book is a no brainer purchase.

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Film Review “Chef”

Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Jon Favreau, EmJay Anthony. Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey, Jr.
Distributed by: Open Road Films
Running time: 114 minutes

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

This summer, we have huge films like “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and “Godzilla” and then we this little indie film called “Chef”. What is funny is that this film is directed, co-produced, written by and also starring Jon Favreau aka the director of “Iron Man 1 & 2”. He decided to head back to his root ala films like “Made” and “Swingers” and I am so glad he did for a few reasons. The first being that I just love seeing him in front of the camera. When he would appear in his films like “Elf” and the “Iron Man” series, it was a highlight. Second, is that after being so busy with these large Hollywood films, like the character in the film itself, he took a break and went back to doing what he loved originally. I find that very inspiring personally. I absolutely loved this film and  I have a feeling it it will be the sleeper hit of the summer.

“Chef” follows Carl Casper (Favreau), who is a head chef at a restaurant owned by guy who doesn’t know how to run a kitchen (Hoffman). After getting into a way on Twitter with one of the biggest food critics (Platt). Carl hits the role with his son (Anthony) and his ex-wife (Vergara) in order to let things cool down and find his love for food again. When he meets up with his ex-wife’s ex-husband (Downey, Jr.) in Miami, he decides to get a food truck from him and hit the roads in order to capture that original feeling that sparked him to be a chef in the first place. He gets to cook whatever he wants, gets to be his own boss and all without having to deal with food critics. As his son and his sous chef (Leguizamo) hit the road from Miami back to California, they may just find exactly what they have been looking for.

I remember rushing out to a little hole in the wall theater in NYC to catch a screening of “Made” and I just remember thinking how much I really loved Favreau and his writing in that film was just amazing. Not that I don’t appreciate his work on blockbusters like “Iron Man”. I just loved this heart warming story and characters that he has created here. They are sweet, funny and at the same time a little edgy. Favreau’s son in the film is played by EmJay Anthony and he is really fantastic. I forsee a star being born here…watch out! Sofía Vergara is very toned down in the film and also her character is very likable. I really enjoyed her role in this film. John Leguizamo is not good but absolutely amazing in this. Funny and yet has a big heart. Topping off this cast are appearances from Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey, Jr (in a small but very key role). I loved every character in this film and every actor did such a stunning job of hitting a home run!

We were lucky privileged to get a chance to actually chat with Jon Favreau and EmJay Anthony at the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, click here to check it out. So, I had a feeling that this was going to be something special. For Favreau’s first indie film in thirteen years, I literally left the theater so happy and quite freaking hungry. I should have started this review with a warning actually.  Do not see this film without eating before or during because it is jam packed with amazing food that will literally make your mouth water and your stomach growl. Like I said, I easily see “Chef” being the sleeper hit of the summer, so if you get tired of superheros and giant monsters this month, I highly recommend kicking back and enjoying this really funny and sweet film. Great! Now I am hungry again…can I get Favreau to make me that grilled cheese?!

 

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Film Review “The Sacrament”

Starring: AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz
Director: Ti West
Distributed by: Magnolia Pictures
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 100 minutes

Film: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Honestly, I am really starting to get a fed up with horror films that are found footage. I was watching this film and watching the clock and just waiting for something to happen. I waited 45 minutes and still nothing scary or even remotely disturbing occurred yet. In fact, I found myself rather bored. I understand it is cheaper for these indie directors to make a film via the found footage route but I think that this style has really getting very old.

The film follows a fashion photographer who gets a message from his sister, who was traveling out of the country in order to quit her drug habit, to meet her at a place called Eden Parish. Accompanying him on the trip are his his friends who work for magazine Vice, who comes to get the story. But when they get there and start meeting and interviewing the people whom live there, they find that this may not be the peaceful community and safe haven that it is said to be.

The rest why I wanted to see “The Sacrament” is because it was directed by Ti West, who was responsible for some pretty cool horror flicks like “The House of the Devil” and “The Innkeepers”. I liked his style but I feel that this film was a real step backwards for him. When you see what he did with a film like “House of the Devil”, setting up that creepy vibe and then delivering a killer payoff, this film is just such a let down. This film is not like that at all.

I can honestly appreciate a slow burn horror film but this was not that at all. Absolutely nothing happens for the first 80 minutes and they try and throw in some shock value but nothing too shocking and definitely not scary. I still have hope for Ti West because I know he is a talented young director and we will see him do much better things in the future…but this is definitely not one of them. I recommend you go watch “The House of the Devil” and skip this for sure.

 

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Film Review #2 “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 2 hours 11 mins
20th Century Fox

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

What do you get when you put eight Academy Award nominated actors in a film that takes place primarily in the 1970s. If you said “American Hustle,” you’d be wrong (only five nominees in that one). The correct answer is easily the best film in the “X-men” series so far, “X-men: Days of Future Past.”

Our story begins sometime in the future. The world, as we know it, is no more. Mechanical soldiers known as Sentinels have taken to destroying most of mankind – both mutants and humans. A small band of mutants is doing their best to survive when they come upon an idea. Knowing what spawned the Sentinel Program, they devise to send someone back in time, to 1973, to stop the event that has brought them to this bleak future. It is decided that, because of his genetic makeup, Logan (Jackman) should make the trip. Though the time travel trip will be dangerous, Logan’s mission once he gets there makes the trip look like smooth sailing.

A well written and brilliant mash up of “X-Men” characters, both past and future, “X-men: Days of Future Past” is a smartly crafted, brilliantly acted comic book related masterpiece! When Logan completes his time travel journey, his task is an unenviable one: he needs to reunite Professor Charles Xavier (McAvoy) with his one-time friend Erik Lehnsherr (Fassbender). The hard part of the mission will be convincing the duo that Logan has been sent back to contact them…by them! Along the way Logan will meet younger versions of his fellow X-men, among them Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and the girl known as Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). Not only are these mutants younger, they have not all developed the way they will in the future. The same goes for Logan, who discovers that his adimantium claws have yet to be made. When he springs into action he’s back to just plain old bone. But he still knows how to use them!

Perfectly accompanying the story is an incredible display of special effects that will boggle your mind (especially in 3D). One such scene features an attempted prison break slowed down to milliseconds courtesy of Quicksilver (Evan Peters). The third highlight of the film are the performances. Once again, Jackman leads the way, giving Logan the same emotional depth he showed in last year’s stand-alone Wolverine film. McAvoy and Fassbender continue the great work they showed in “X-men: First Class.” Great work also by their futuristic counterparts, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. And new to the story, as the main catalyst of the Sentinel program, is the outstanding Peter Dinklage.

Director Singer, sadly making headlines for some alleged off-screen antics, keeps the action in the forefront while not sacrificing the story. Put everything together and you’ve got one of the best films of the summer.

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Film Review “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Directed by: Bryan Singer
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Running time: 131 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” is the seventh film in the “X-Men” film series. It is billed as partially a sequel to “X-Men: The Last Stand” and also a sequel to  “X-Men: First Class”. If you are not familiar with the series, “The Last Stand” was the final X-Men before they did two spin-offs with Wolverine and made “First Class”, which was a prequel story. So if you not caught up to date with this series, things could get a little confusing with this one. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” also brings back director Bryan Singer, who directed 2000’s “X-Men” and 2003’s “X2”. “X2” is probably still the best film in the franchise but it is great to see Singer back behind the directors chair. You can tell that they were really trying to give this film a lot but for me it feel a little flat in terms of being epic.

What “X-Men: Days of Future Past” does has is one hell of an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Shawn Ashmore, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. Now as cool as that sounds, I really wasn’t blown away. I enjoyed the film but I felt that it was very slow moving throughout certain parts. I also felt like the parts set in the future weren’t really fleshed out and it felt like a way for them just to throw in the past roles for Stewart and McKellen to get a better drawn. In fact, these guys did fairly little at all in this film. Jennifer Lawrence was exceptional as usual. James McAvoy also did a fantastic job. Halle Berry was next to useless in the film as well as Anna Paquin, who was like billed fifth yet had about five seconds of screen time and no lines. I dig what they were going for but it feels just a bit too ambitious and the pay off is too obvious.

The film picks up in the dystopian future of 2023 with all life forms practically extinct at the hands of the robots known as Sentinels. We meet up with the few remaining mutants  including Professor X, Magneto, Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Shadowcat, Colossus and even a few new characters (to the series) including Warparth, Sunpot and Blink (all of whom, I would have loved to see fleshed out much more).  They are all teaming up in order to survive and try to find a way to eliminate the creation of the Sentinels. With the help of Shadowcat, they send Wolverine back to 1973 to stop Raven aka Mystique from killing the scientist that created the Sentinels, which was the event that lead to their current impending doom. Wolverine has to race against time to try and convince a much younger Professor X and Magneto to work together in order to try and save the world.

My biggest problem with this film is that it relies heavily on the events of “X-Men: First Class”, which is not my favorite entry in the franchise at all. There were parts that I really loved here like the addition of Quicksilver (Evan Peters) but the character was there and gone again before you finished blinking. Our audience in the theaters was literally screaming out loud with laughter and cheer during his scene and I was so hoping that there would be more…but that was not the case. I do not know why they went heavy on focus with Wolverine (again!). I mean hasn’t he had enough films focused around his character already, I want a few face for these films…aka more Jennifer Lawrence perhaps. There is quite the future already planned out for this series with “X-Men: Apocalypse” already scheduled for a May 27, 2016 release date.

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” film was actually shot in 3D, which I thought that it was very impressive. I have heard mixed feelings on it already but I actually really enjoyed it. The scenes set in the future were very well done and the ending climax was quick impressive as well. Since this film was set split from the future and 1973, there is two different look to the film itself. I really liked how the 70’s scenes have a completely different almost washed out look to them. I also enjoyed the Super 8 footage used in certain scenes. If you have read any other reviews, I have seen this film being called “the best superhero films to date”, I personally didn’t think that was the cast at all. It is definitely a step up from “X-Men: First Class” but there were certain parts that dragged for me. I also felt like the story set in the future ended up really being more of a filler and didn’t really get a chance to really kick ass. Worth checking out if you love “X-Men” just keep expectation on the lower side.

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Blu-ray Review “McLintock!”

Actors: John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Stefanie Powers, Patrick Wayne, Yvonne De Carlo
Directors: Andrew V. McLaglen
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Release Date: May 20, 2014
Run Time: 127 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Since “McLintock!” was available on public domain for a while, it’s past with home video release has been a little rocky. The film was loosely based on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” and is still quite funny today. Olive Films actually released this film on Blu-ray last year with a very solid release but it had zero special features…unlike this release. The film starred John Wayne alongside Maureen O’Hara, Yvonne De Carlo, and Wayne’s son Patrick Wayne. Who doesn’t recall the famous “spanking” scene with Patrick Wayne going to town on Stephanie Powers over his knees. If you love this film, it is worth the upgrade from the Olive release and if you don’t own it’s a no brainer.

Official Premise: John Wayne stars as George Washington McLintock, a proud, defiant cattle baron whose daughter is due home from college. But G.W.’s happy reunion is tempered by the arrival of his headstrong wife (O’Hara), who recently left him. Verbal fireworks explode, slapstick pratfalls bloom…and the Wayne-O’Hara “reconciliation” culminates with the notorious “spanking” scene and the biggest mudhole brawl this side of the Mississippi in this wild, raucous and hilarious Western comedy!

This release is being billed as the Authentic Collector’s Edition taken original film elements. The 1080p transfer is absolutely stunning for this 50+ year old film. This was scanned in 4K for the first time and looks even better than the Olive Films transfer, which was pretty damn impressive. Paramount has been really giving a lot of love really to Wayne’s films after their release of “Hondo” as well. It also features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1, which is decent but I don’t think it over powers Olive’s DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track, which is slightly more sharp. But still there is much more to this release than just a few special features to make it worth the purchase for sure.

Speaking of the special features, they start off with an introduction by Leonard Maltin. There is also a jam packed audio commentaries with Leonard Maltin, Frank Thompson, Maureen O’Hara, Stefanie Powers, Michael Pate, Michael Wayne and Andrew McLaglen. There is a lot going on here but there is some great insight into the production and it’s legacy. There is a behind-the-scenes look in to the film with “The Making of McLintock!”. “The Corset: Don’t Leave Home Without One!” is an extras for the ladies on the film’s costumes. There is a quick but cool “2-Minute Fight School”. Lastly there is a Photo Gallery and Theatrical Trailer included.

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Film Review “Blended”

Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore and Bella Thorne
Directed By: Frank Coraci
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 117 minutes
Warner Bros.

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

I remember talking with Media Mikes co-founder, Michael Smith, at the beginning of the summer about the chemistry between Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore and how the duo have probably put out the better of the Adam Sandler comedies; “50 First Dates” and “The Wedding Singer”. While he saw the potential for Barrymore and Sandler to perfect their trio of romantic comedies with “Blended”, I simply saw “Adam Sandler and Friends Go to Africa and Make Fart Noises with Their Mouths”. I’m here to say that Michael Smith was right.

“The Wedding Singer” is by far one of the diamonds in the rough in the Adam Sandler collection while “50 First Dates” was made watchable by the magic of the two. This time around, they do it again. “Blended” is the story of two single parents, Jim (Sandler) and Lauren (Barrymore). Jim has three daughters while Lauren has two sons (they’re just one child short of a Brady Bunch reunion) and while they’re both suitable as stressed out single parents, they’re both lacking a set of skills to deal with their children of the opposite sex.

A blind date brings these two together and it goes nothing short of an ocean liner hitting an iceberg. First off, the date is at Hooters, then they can barely make eye-contact, and they’re both plotting an early exit and I haven’t even gotten to Jim knowing each waitress on a quick first name basis. It’s obvious these two are going to cross paths again (and they do a couple of times), but the story needs to really cement a ludicrous predicament for them to be stuck somewhere. How about a trip to Africa? A trip to Africa it is. Although I find it odd the movie never tells us the country…or city that the trip takes place…as if the intelligence of our characters only goes as far as believing the entire continent of Africa is just one big country.

It’s quite fascinating that if you were to cut out the gross out humor, like rhinoceroses banging, this is a very good comedy. There’s a lot of surprising laughs, provided by the children, and when Jim and Lauren take jabs at each other. Now that Sandler has aged and isn’t violently screaming for laughs, he is quite charming as a humble father of three who adds a level of sorrow because he’s afraid to move on past his first wife who’s dead. He’s shockingly believable as an apprehensive man who’s still in love his wife who has passed on.

My list of groans and cheers are about at equal length. While the running time definitely stretched this well beyond its means, I’m glad the movie took the time to slowly create the bond between Jim and Lauren. When the movie isn’t forcing a product placement in front of us, there’s actually a thoughtful reason why Jim loves going to Hooters (maybe the first in history). I know I’m beating a dead horse, but Sandler and Barrymore were the reason I inched to the positive side. I’ve never seen Barrymore this funny or Sandler this heartwarming. You almost forget both are happily married with their own children in real life when on-screen sparks fly between them. I guess Sandler just needed a break from his usual drab, but I’m sure he has some more head-shakingly bad movies in the works. Until then, enjoy “Blended”.

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PlayStation 3 Video Game Review “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”

Platform: Playstation 3
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Genre: Action
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Beenox

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Look Out! Here comes the Spider-Man…again. While I enjoyed the film “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”, as any video gamer knows the game adaptations next to always disappoint. Unfortunately, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” suffers the same fate. The game feels rather lazy and not very exciting. Pretty much feels like the took the last game, tweaked it a little and slapped a “2” on it. Like this film which is fading fast from theaters, I also see myself not going back to revisit this game anytime soon.

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” allows you to free-roam through New York City web-slinging from here to there. Before the game play even started, I was let down to find that the story doesn’t even follow the movie. It is follows a more generic Spider-Man story that lightly includes the film’s villains and a few other characters that aren’t even in the film. The controls are decent but I found myself continuously referring to the options since there are a ton of different commands for each buttons.

Speaking of generic story, the same goes for the combat. I felt like I was just attacking, blocking and web shooting my way through each battle once I got a hang of the controls. The visuals are decent and probably the best part of the game. Who doesn’t love web-slinging through the city. My wife walked in at one point and said “This is a game?”, so I guess it looked good enough for her. I did keep running into some issues with the video jumping on some cut scenes but nothing major. Overall, I enjoyed this game the first time and less and less thereafter. So unless you are a hardcore Spidey fan, I would probably steer clear.

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Blu-ray Review “Dan Curtis’ Dracula”

Actors: Jack Palance
Directors: Dan Curtis
Rated: Unrated
Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Run Time: 98 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars

The 70’s was a great time for horror films. The role of Dracula though in my mind, at least, belonged to Christopher Lee though. Got to give it to Jack Palance for a decent job but I couldn’t really get fully on board. Of course Bela Lugosi is the best, but Palance isn’t even in the same category. The film is still worth checking out due to sci-fi/horror master Richard Matheson (“I Am Legend”) writing and the involvement of the legendary Dan Curtis (“Dark Shadows”).

Official Premise: Academy Award winner Jack Palance stars in this terrifying adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire legend written for the screen by sci-fi/horror master Richard Matheson and produced by the legendary Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows). Palance is Count Dracula, whose centuries-old existence is threatened after he attacks the lovely Lucy Westenra (Fiona Lewis) and her fiancé (Simon Ward, The Tudors) calls in famed vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Nigel Davenport) to investigate.

The real draw for this release is definitely the restoration job that underwent here. The film has been transferred and restored in 2K High Definition from the original 35mm camera negative for its Blu-Ray debut. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 also works quite well with creating the mood and atmosphere. The special features though aren’t that spectacular. There are some cast/crew interviews, a trailer and also an alternate ending included.

 

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Blu-ray Review “Way of the Wicked”

Actors: Christian Slater, Vinnie Jones, Emily Tennant, Jake Croker
Directors: Kevin Carraway
Rated: Unrated
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
DVD Release Date: May 20, 2014
Run Time: 92 minutes

Film: 1 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A

I know, I know…I need to stop being lured into watching sure to be terrible films based on the box art and list of the cast. Supernatural horror is always a big draw for me and when you put that together with the likes of Christian Slater (“True Romance”) and Vinnie Jones (“X-Men: The Last Stand”), I have a hard time saying no…even though I am sure to regret it. The film itself starts off at a snails pace and never gets it’s feet off the ground. I literally went to turn this film off after about 20 minutes and probably did mentally after that time, thanks God for gaming on my phone to pass the time. Avoid this like the plague.

Official Premise: After a series of inexplicable murders sweeps a small, isolated community, Father Henry (Slater) goes to a local police detective (Jones) with a theory on why the murders are occurring. The two learn that a troubled teen with a dark past has recently moved to town and has set his sights on the cop’s beautiful, young daughter. Father Henry, who turns out to have secrets of his own, finds himself pitted against a demonic force more diabolically evil and twisted than any of them could have imagined.

Christian Slater and Vinnie Jones are not the real stars in the “Way of the Wicked”. They are just poster boys for the film to draw you in. Jones plays the father of one of the kids in the film and Slater plays a priest that pops up in the opening scene and then disappears for a while and then comes around later in the film. The Blu-ray picture and audio are standard, nothing special. There are no special features included on this film at all. This comes absolutely bare bones, just like the film itself.

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Concert Review: Slayer – Uptown Theater – Kansas City, Missouri

Slayer
Uptown Theater
05/13/2014
Kansas City, Missouri

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

I guess you could say this is Slayer’s way of squeezing out a few pennies before the onslaught of summer tour dates and finishing up their 11th studio album. It’s understandable that a band, especially with the resources at a hand, wouldn’t mind going on a little stint across the U.S., but this is the first time since 1990 that Slayer has toured with Suicidal Tendencies (I was two when that tour tore across the states) and they have Exodus to boot on this trek. If this is what Slayer does for a “short tour”, they need to do it more.

If you’ve never been to Kansas City, then I shall fill you in on the absurd weather that we receive. During the seasonal transition months, it can be stupid muggy or ridiculously brisk. This was one of those Spring/Summer evenings that was quite chilly, so reluctant to say, a bunch of heavily pierced and leather wearing men were ready to pack in like a sardine can into the Uptown Theater and sweat it out. A line outside literally stretched a block as Exodus began it’s sound check. So it’s obvious who people were there to see.

I’ve been a longtime fan of Exodus and they didn’t disappoint. A small collective of hairy men were near the front going insane while die-hard fans rode the barrier wall up front. For three bands that highly respect each other and have a good four to five hours of play time to split amongst them, it’s a bit weird that Exodus would only be allowed a little less than half an hour. Would have loved to see them at least play one new song off their last three albums, but once “Piranha” came on, I was livid with joy that’d they play the first song I heard of theirs many, many years ago.

I don’t know a lot about Suicidal Tendencies and they’re not necessarily high on my list of go to music in the car, but I have a great amount of respect for a band that really helped mold a fluid hardcore/thrash metal sound. These guys must have gotten straight out of a time machine because their energy was through the roof. I didn’t know any of the songs right off the bat, but after the first time hearing the chorus, I couldn’t help but mouth a couple of their violent anthems. I think their youthfulness is bolstered by the new addition, Thomas Pridgen, at drummer. He hasn’t even performed on any of their albums and yet he played with such manic enthusiasm, you’d think he was fighting for a spot in their line-up. Ironically they continued the trend of not playing a single new song on the night.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Slayer, but that rush of adrenaline before they get on stage never goes away. Their stage staple is always an upside down cross and yet they find a new way to present it or light it on fire. Gary Holt, who’s replacing Jeff Hanneman, is solid and Paul Bostaph, who’s back in the band for a third time, is also good. Hanneman and Dave Lombardo will definitely be missed and it felt awkward watching a band that only performed songs featuring those two previous members. I can’t tell if it’s a tribute to their contributions or not. Give the fans what they want though, anything before 1990 is classic Slayer.

While I got to hear plenty of songs I’ve never heard before live like “Chemical Warfare”, “At Dawn They Sleep”, and “Black Magic”, I wouldn’t have been upset if they slipped in God Hates Us All or Hate Worldwide. I even heard their newest single “Implode” online and thought that was definitely something they’d shred. Nope, they stuck to their first five albums. I’m still waiting for the day I at least here one song off of Diabolus in Musica. Maybe it’s because I saw the insane energy of Suicidal Tendencies just an hour before, but the energy of Slayer just wasn’t there. The go-to band of the metal community was upstaged at their own headlining show.

Outside of a pair of gentleman, there’s not a single ounce of young blood on this tour. While it’s great to see these guys who are pushing towards their 50’s chug out some old tunes, I would have loved to see some new music. For someone my age, it’s not necessarily nostalgic to hear some of the best 80’s pit music, but I understand it’s what made you popular and it’s what people know. While Slayer is planning on putting out their new album this year, it doesn’t show a lot of promise when they don’t play the single they released before embarking on this tour (and from what I read didn’t play it at Rock on the Range). Are they simply appeasing to fans or worried that they’ve been spent the past two to three decades making garbage? Maybe I’m overthinking it…or maybe I’m worried Slayer’s about to hit a slump.

Exodus Set-List
Bonded by Blood
Piranha
War is My Shephard
Blacklist
The Toxic Waltz
Strike of the Beast

Suicidal Tendencies Set-List
You Can’t Bring Me Down
Trip at the Brain
War Inside My Head
Subliminal
Possessed to Skate
I Saw Your Mommy
Cyco Vision
Pledge Your Allegiance

Slayer Set-List:
Hell Awaits
The Antichrist
Necrophiliac
Mandatory Suicide
Captor of Sin
War Ensemble
Postmortem
Altar of Sacrifice
Jesus Saves
At Dawn They Sleep
Die by the Sword
Hallowed Point
Seasons in the Abyss
Chemical Warfare
Dead Skin Mask
Raining Blood
Black Magic
South of Heaven
Angel of Death

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Filed Under: Concert Reviews Tagged With: city, concert, kansas, missouri, review, slayer, ...

Film Review “Million Dollar Arm”

Starring: Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi and Alan Arkin
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Rated: PG
Running time: 2 hours 4 mins
Walt Disney Pictures

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

In 2008, sports agent J.B. Bernstein, struggling to keep his firm afloat, devised an idea that, he proposed, would bring “a billion, with a ‘B’” fans to the game of baseball. Inspired by watching a few games of cricket, Bernstein (Hamm) proposes a competition known as “Million Dollar Arm.” To those who participate, the two that can throw a baseball the fastest wins a chance to come to America and be signed by major league scouts. Of course, things aren’t as easy as they sound.

Based on a true story, “Million Dollar Arm” is an uplifting and inspirational tale that invites the audience to put themselves in the culture of another person. When Rinku (Suraj Sharma, the young man from “Life of Pi) and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal from “Slum Dog Millionaire”) impress J.B. enough to warrant a trip to the states, the two must adapt to an entirely new way of life.

First all, it’s so nice to see Jon Hamm on the big screen. I’ve enjoyed his work for a couple of years and he’s never disappointed. Here he reveals the smooth talking J.B. to be much more than the slick hustler others think him to be. The two young actors who portray the “winners” are equally good. Lake Bell has a nice turn as J.B.’s rental tenant. But the prize here goes to Indian actor Pitobash. As the boy’s interpreter and all around baseball guru, he gives a portrayal the glows with enthusiasm. As the boys learn the game, fueled by Power Bars and pizza, their culture is almost lost. The Indian actors are well cast and the audience is made to feel what they feel. Only a short period where the film becomes “Jerry McGuire” slows the story down. That and the fact that the boys always seem to be throwing from the “stretch.” If they went into the windup they’d add a few MPH to their velocity. Just saying.

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Filed Under: Film Reviews Tagged With: arm, dollar, film, million, review

DVD Review “Challenge of the Gobots: The Series, Volume One”

Starring: Lou Richards, Arthur Burghardt, Frank Welker, Bernard Erhard, Bob Holt, Marilyn Lightstone, Sparky Marcus, Leslie Speights, Morgan Paull, Phil Hartman, B.J. Ward, Brock Peters, Peter Cullen
Number of discs: 3
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Archive
Run Time: 660 minutes

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Being a young boy in the 80’s, I used to be glued to watching cartoons all day and night. Thankfully, Hanna-Barbera helped me grow up with there endless supply of cartoons. “Challenge of the Gobots” was based on the Gobots toy-line released from Tonka. Warner Archive has been behind this series for a while now as they released the “Challenge of The Gobots: The Original Miniseries” back in 2011. This volume one collection includes the first 30 episodes in this 65 episodes series. Hopefully we will not have to wait as long for volume two. Getting a chance to revisit this show has been such a treat and reminded me how much I love giant transforming robot cartoons. I just do. Love them as a kid and nothing has changed now 30 years later. A must have for any 80’s cartoon fan!

Official Premise: They’re mighty robots and mighty vehicles are back at last! Cy-Kill! Leader-1! Cop-Tur! Turbo! Crasher! Scooter! The noble Guardian GoBots and the nefarious Renegade GoBots continue the war begun in The Battle for GoBotron (see Challenge of the GoBots: The Original Mini-Series) across time and space in their epic 60 episode series that comes to you factory fresh and newly remastered – from the original film elements! With Earth as their chosen staging ground, the Renegades deploy Earth’s worst such as the deranged Dr. Braxis (voiced by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Rene Auberjonois) in their quest to conquer Earth and GoBotron, so it’s a good thing the Guardians have Matt, Nick and AJ of UNECOM on their side! This 30-Episode, Three-Disc set collects the first half of the series and finds the amazing, metamorphosing cyborgs taking their fight to Ancient Rome, lost Atlantis and back to GoBotron in a series of adventures that will leave you shouting for “MOAR”!

The first 30 episodes included are: Battle for GoBotron; Target Earth; Conquest of Earth; Earth Bound; The Final Conflict; It’s the Thought That Counts; Renegade Alliance; Time Wars; Terror in Atlantis; Trident’s Triple Threat; Lost on GoBotron; Cy-Kill’s Shrinking Ray; The Quest for Roguestar; Ultra Zod;
Sentinel; Cy-Kill’s Cataclysmic Trap; Speed is of the Essence; Genius and Son; Dawn World; Pacific Overtures; Forced Alliance; Invasion from the 21st Level Pt. 1 & 2; Doppelganger; Scooter Enhanced; Tarnished Image; Cold Spell; Crime Wave; Auto-madic and Renegade Rampage Pt. 1. They are presented with their aspect ratio of 1.37:1. They look good but haven’t been restored. I am personally happy to have them available on DVD for the first time ever in one collection. Bring on volume two!

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: challenge, dvd, gobots, review, series, volume, ...

Blu-ray Review “Dragon Ball Z: Season Four”

Starring: Sean Schemmel, Stephanie Nadolny, Christopher Sabat, Daisuke Gōri, Mayumi Tanaka, Kenji Utsumi
Director: Daisuke Nishio, Mike McFarland
Number of discs: 4
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Funimation
Release Date: May 13, 2014
Run Time: 755 minutes

Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

FUNimation Entertainment is power housing through this series starting with the first at the beginning of the year and averaging about a season a month. Season Five is already set for release on June 24th as well. “Dragon Ball Z: Season Four” was personally never my all-time favorite. It follows the Garlic Jr., Trunks and Androids Sagas. This uncut collection features episodes 108-139 of the classic anime series, which are presented in remastered high definition for the first time ever.  These episodes have never looked better. If you are a fan of “Dragon Ball Z”, this is yet another impressive release! Keep them coming Funimation!

Official Synopsis: Having returned victorious from their battle with Frieza, the Z-fighters can at last breathe a collective sigh of relief. But they won’t have long to rest. A new host of villains has appeared, ready to wreak havoc on the Earth – and Goku, the Z-Fighters’ greatest hero, is still missing!

These episodes have undergone a frame-by-frame restoration to remove any blemishes, tape marks and foreign bodies from the film. Funimation has been consistently delivering for the fans on this series and this season is no different. There are three audio tracks included, the Japanese audio and two English tracks: the U.S. English-language broadcast dub and a mix with English dialogue and Japanese music. These have also been re-mastered in the interest of noise reduction and superior sound quality. This series has also received a precise shot-by-shot reframing to create “a modern HD widescreen presentation.” So quality is the key word here for sure.

Like the seasons two and three, Funimation has stepped up from the first season and delivered some decent special features with this season. There is a two part interview series with “Inside Dragon Ball Z” featuring chats with Matthew O’Hara and Daniel Mancilla. There is also a feeaturette called “From the Vault” with a look into Goku vs. Vegeta and “The World of Dragon Ball Z”. Lastly there is also Textless opening and closing songs and trailers included.  I am holding that that we will be getting some commentary tracks on this series before we get to season 9, fingers crossed!

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: ball, bluray, dragon, review, season

Book Review “The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2”

Author: Linda Sunshine
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Newmarket Press
Release Date: May 6, 2014

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2” follows in the path of “The Art of How to Train Your Dragon” and gives us tons of great concept sketches, preliminary drawings, architectural plans and digital showcases artwork that just shows how much work goes into a film like this. This book features more than 650 paintings, drawings, sketches, models, film stills, lighting studies, color keys, story boards, and photographs. Along the way, this book is also packed with commentary from all the principal filmmakers. There is also a great introduction by the writer/director Dean DeBlois and a foreword by Gerard Butler, the voice of Stoick. If you are a fan of the original film, then this is a must own for sure and will hold you off till the sequel comes out on June 13th!

Official Premise: The official illustrated tie-in to the second chapter of DreamWorks Animation’s critically acclaimed, Academy Award® nominated How to Train Your Dragon trilogy is based on the characters in Cressida Cowell’s bestselling series. How does a movie of such imagination and magnitude come into creation? This celebratory edition leads Berkian aficionados through the journey: the story all begins with an incredibly talented team of artists, writers, engineers, animators, modelers, and tech wizards letting their creativity soar. Movie-goers will attest that the result is a stunning, original vision—bigger, better, and fiercer than ever—of an earth-shattering, fire-breathing sequel to the legendary story of Vikings and dragons in the frozen north.

Author Linda Sunshine had authored many making-of books for films ranging from “Schindler’s List”, “Monsters vs. Aliens”, “Catch Me If You Can”, “E.T.” and “Saving Private Ryan”. She really succeeded in deliver a book that makes you want to run out and see this film immediately. Newmarket Press brings us yet another fine release. The images are so crisp and the colors are literally jumping off the pages. I honestly don’t know what it is about “How to Train Your Dragon” but it has this certain magic to it. I can’t explain it but when you watch the film and admire the animation, you are just left speechless. Well, this book really gets inside the sequel and packs that same type of magic. June 13th cannot come any sooner!

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Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: 2, art, book, dragon, review, train, ...
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