Title: Get the Gringo

MPAA Rating: R

Directed by: Adrian Grunberg

Written by: Mel Gibson, Adrian Grunberg

Starring: Mel Gibson, Kevin Hernandez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Dolores Heredia

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

A fair warning to those with phobias, the opening scene of this film features clowns. It’s not just a quick look at clowns, no. This is a prolonged chase featuring Mel Gibson wearing a full on clown mask. Some may take this as a sign that he’s got a sense of humor about his recent behavior. Others may view this as a clear sign that it’s all downhill from here.

As the title and cast list would lead you to believe, the film does in fact take place in Mexico. Gibson’s character, who is never specifically named, hops the border to escape US law enforcement after stealing from a crime lord. (more…)

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Reacting to the Colorado Tragedy

By Matt Peters

Fandom everywhere celebrated as Dark Knight Rises officially came out yesterday. I wanted to go see a midnight showing, but respiratory issues and work kept that from happening. Unfortunately, this was by no means the worst thing to happen surrounding the release. What should have been a celebratory day has been overshadowed by a single, reprehensible act.

Like most of you, when I woke up this morning, I read the horrible news coming out of Aurora, Colo. Some maniac decided to open fire on a packed theater dressed in a bulletproof vest and carrying several weapons. This crowd included folks of all ages, including a few toddlers and babies. Twelve people lost their lives, and many were injured. (more…)

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Title: The Hangover Part II

Format: Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: R

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Written by: Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong, Todd Phillips

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Jeffrey Tambor, Justin Bartha, Paul Giamati

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

If The Hangover Part II had to be described in one word, it would be tedious. Luckily, this review isn’t limited to one word, so it can expound upon that idea to explain that watching The Hangover Part II is a chore. It is something to get through, almost entirely devoid of joy, both on the part of the viewer and seemingly on the parts of those involved in creating it. It is a movie that exists for no other reason than that the success of its predecessor all but guaranteed it would make money. And the parties involved simply showed up to cash in.

The Hangover Part II is, at the core of its plot, the same movie as the original, except it now takes place in Thailand, which makes it wackier and, you know…more foreign, I suppose. Essentially, it serves as a reason to up the ante, to make all the hijinks at that much higher of stakes, the consequences infinitely more disastrous and so on and so forth. The only thing that doesn’t get ramped up in the sequel is the laughter, as it is entirely possible to sit through the 102 minutes of this feature without letting loose so much as a subconscious chuckle. (more…)

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Title: Fright Night 3D

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: R

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Written by: Marti Noxon

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant, Toni Collette

Studio: Dreamworks Pictures, Touchstone Entertainment

Film Rating:

3D Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

A remake of Tom Holland’s 1985 “my neighbor may be a vampire” flick, Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night may not be altogether necessary, but that doesn’t stop it from being a heck of a lot of fun. It offers just the right blend of scares, big moments, humor and performances to make it a standout in the genre.

Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy, Terminator Salvation) plays Charley Brewster, a suburban nerd of a teenager who somehow lands the school’s hot blonde Amy (Imogen Poots). Colin Farrell plays neighbor Jerry Dandridge who is quite possibly a vampire whose good looks are catching the attention of Charley’s mom, Jane (Toni Collette). (more…)

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Title: The Rocketeer

Format: 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray

MPAA: PG

Directed by: Joe Johnston

Written by: Danny Bilson, Paul Dimeo, William Dear

Starring: Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton, Alan Arkin, Paul Sorvino

Produced by: Charles Gordon, Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

The Film

Ace pilot Cliff Secord stumbles into a pre-World War II Nazi plot to steal a rocket pack created by Howard Hughes. Their purpose is nefarious of course, as they intend to make multiple versions of the rocket pack to create an army of airborne Nazi soldiers. Meanwhile, Cliff and his mechanic pal Peevy find a way to turn Cliff into The Rocketeer, a crime-fighting hero that tangles with the Nazis, the mob, and even a Hollywood leading man. Billy Campbell stars in this whimsical, action packed tale that should be in any Disney fan’s collection. (more…)

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Why (500) Days of Summer is the Geekiest Film You’ve Never Seen or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Get Excited About Spider-Man

By Matt Peters

After much convincing by my friend John Castro, I finally sat down and watched the 2009 movie (500) Days of Summer. I’m not a big fan of romcoms, and I was determined to avoid yet another film that features the typical formula: the guy is a bumbling, macho fool who changes his ways thanks to a strong-willed independent woman who softens her man-hatin’ stance and eventually swoons for the still rough-around-the-edges schlub. Why would I waste my time watching that kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun fall in love with a girl with cartoonishly huge eyes?

Mark Webb directed the film who, at the time, didn’t have much feature-length directing experience under his belt. The movie feels a little like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World without all of the game and comic references in the sense that the characters are very well spoken and have depth beyond what’s immediately shown on the surface. Webb’s directing style, combined with various slapstick elements and a witty script make for a comedic experience that may surprise some viewers. He even went so far as to direct a short to accompany one throwaway line featuring the stars in a Sid & Nancy parody. (more…)

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Hello, folks. We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season. While you’ve been sipping on spiked eggnog, opening copious amounts of gifts and bickering with relatives you see just a few times a year, we’ve been…well…we’ve been doing exactly the same. But we’ve also been getting together and compiling some of our favorite things from 2011. We’re kind of like Orpah, except multiple people instead of one big person, and infinitely less rich. (more…)

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Title: The Help

Format: Blu-ray Combo Pack

Directed by: Tate Taylor

Screenplay by: Tate Taylor

Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard

Studio: Dreamworks

Rating:

Review by: Sarah Jones

Similar to the popular saying that a person should walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before judging them, The Help offers insight into the lives of maids in the early 1960s. These women aren’t just any women; they are black and living in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. They are cleaning houses and raising children for white families, and this movie showcases their triumphs and heartbreaks.

Skeeter Phelan is a recent college graduate who moves back to her hometown with hopes of becoming a serious journalist and author. Her first job is to write a housekeeping column for the Jackson Journal, but as she has never done her own housekeeping, she enlists the help of her friend Hilly’s maid, Aibileen. Soon, the project evolves into an idea for a book about the experiences of local maids, even though it is very dangerous. Once the book is published, it becomes a sensational hit, but there is still a lot of risk for the women involved.

(more…)

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Title: Green Lantern

Format: Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Written by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

Studio: Warner Bros.

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

For the original review of the theatrical release of Green Lantern, click padsandpanels.com/?p=13877

The Blu-ray

Green Lantern has landed among the lower echelon of superhero films in recent years, reverting back to cheesy humor, overreliance on special effects and so forth. And the additional Blu-ray content does very little to add substance to the formula. (more…)

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31 Horror Films in 31 Days

By Jon DePaolis, Contributor

Halloween is truly a magical time.

It’s a day that brings people together, dressed as princesses and pirates, or, as seems to be the recent trend, extras from The Walking Dead.

I have loved Halloween since I was a little kid, watching a VHS of The Exorcist alone in my room during summer vacation. While other kids were being raised on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin or The Lion King, I was watching Laurie Strode somehow walk away from Michael Myers and asking myself why Sydney Prescott continued to answer phone calls after what happened the first go-around.

Obviously, I am in love with horror movies as much as I am in love with celebrating Halloween. That is why this October I decided to embark on a mission to watch a horror movie for every day in October. For those math majors out there, that equated to 31 horror movies of my own choosing.

Now, all cards on the table, I am a full-time writer and, because of that, I knew going in that I wouldn’t be able to watch a movie a day, so I chose to go with doubling — or sometimes, tripling — movie selections on certain days. (more…)

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