CliqueClack

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a mind-blowing thrill ride of a movie

Three years ago, I wrote about X-Men: First Class, “I felt like I was watching one of the finest comic book, superhero movies I’ve ever seen.” There have certainly been many more since then that have given me that same feeling (both Captain America movies and The Avengers, for example), and now we have the sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past, which also serves as a prequel to X-Men and a sequel of sorts to X-Men: The Last Stand. So where does it stand in the pantheon of X-Men movies (which include both Wolverine outings)?

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The Girl In The Empty Grave is a puzzler all right …

The Girl In The Empty Grave.

Just as there was the need to dig up the girl’s grave (how else were they going to establish the grave was indeed empty?), it was a mess.

So to gain a little perspective, I went digging into its history. Come to find out, Andy Griffith (protagonist Able Marsh in this telefilm) was on the spy for a television series and this intended pilot was one of those efforts … and a failed one at that. And it wasn’t the first that failed — there were a slew of additional pilots, cropped series and one-off mysteries of the week before Griffith finally cut the mustard with Matlock in 1986. But all of them weren’t dead end disappointments. One of his most surprising roles — as a homicidal baddie in Murder In Coweta County — is worthy of a look for the interesting and uncommon performance he churns out.

Viewing this piece, however, it’s evident why it tanked in the “Hey! Let’s make a series!” department. It’s a virtual story jumble, convoluted and difficult to follow. If you’re in for the mystery aspect of it alone, you’re going to have a tough time. There are tons of other whodunnits out there vastly superior to this. Me? I gave it a go because Andy Griffith starred in the vehicle. I was curious about that. Plus the fact the title sounded intriguing. (Seriously: How can anyone be in an “empty grave” … ??? Hello! No one can! It’s empty … !!! Duh!) Continue reading 'The Girl In The Empty Grave is a puzzler all right …' »

Is there a greater love story than The Barretts of Wimpole Street?

The Warner Archive Collection graciously sent me a copy of The Barretts of Wimpole Street to review. The tagline proclaimed, “When poets love, Heaven and Earth fall back to watch!” Naturally, my romantic curiosity was piqued. To find out it was the love story of poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning further enthralled me.

I must say when I put the DVD in, it was a little sleepy to start. Maybe putting in an old black-and-white film from 1934 past 10:00 on a week night when you’ve been doing overtime wasn’t the best choice. No, that’s not really fair. I adore old black-and-white films. But this one didn’t immediately grab my interest. I fairly came close to giving up on it, but the moment the dashing Robert Browning entered the picture to visit Elizabeth, I knew I was hooked and I no longer cared about the lateness of the hour.

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Win free passes to an advance screening of Edge of Tomorrow in Hollywood

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CliqueClack has partnered with Warner Brothers Pictures to offer readers in the Hollywood area an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new sci-fi action film Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, and Noah Taylor.

Cruise stars as Major William Cage, an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop, forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again … and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

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Warehouse 13 and Nikita come to an end on home video

Two genre favorites, Warehouse 13 and Nikita, aired their final seasons and now those series finales can be yours on home video this week. Also making the journey from broadcast to home video are the Brit favourites Call the Midwife, Dalziel & Pascoe, and Waking the Dead. Reality TV buffs can get caught up on the second season of Mountain Men and the first season of Amish Mafia. Classic TV is well represented with a new edition of classic Doctor Who, “The Enemy of the World,” and TV drama L.A. Law gets a second season release. And Happy Days fans can now own the infamous episode that spawned the phrase “Jumped the Shark” with the fifth season DVD. Sitcom reissues include The Jeffersons, The Facts of Life, Good Times and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Cartoon superheroes are also on hand with JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time and Batman: The Brave & The Bold. And you may have missed these when they were released a couple of weeks ago, but check out TV classics I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show and The Honeymooners now on Blu-ray for the first time!

All of these titles and more are available on various home video formats May 20. Have a look at our shopper’s guide to see all of the week’s highlights. Click on a link to get more information about a title or to make a purchase. Any purchase made through our links helps support our efforts here at CliqueClack and for that we thank you!

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Beyond the Wall: Jorah the Andal, or Jorah the angel on Dany’s shoulder?

It could be said that Game of Thrones has been treading water these last few weeks, as the show begins to set itself up for the push to the finale. We — or one of us particularly — might have had some problems with last week, but we were unable to come together to work on our post. We are back this week, and were glad to have “Mockingbird” to look at. This week’s episode was filled with several great character beats, which often make for better television than some of the big set pieces we are likely to see in the last three episodes (Which, as a reminder start in two weeks as Game of Thrones takes the weekend off for Memorial Day in the United States).

But first, our regular SPOILER WARNING: Beyond the Wall is a column intended for those that have read the A Song of Ice and Fire series at least once (But, three or four times is OK too). So, if you don’t know why ASOIAF fanboys across the world cried out in anguish when Petyr didn’t say the words, “Only Cat,” then this post is not for you. Continue reading 'Beyond the Wall: Jorah the Andal, or Jorah the angel on Dany’s shoulder?' »

The Monuments Men, Pompeii, Vampire Academy and more come to home video

A large collection of recent theatrical releases make their way to DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download this week led by George Clooney’s The Monuments Men, which featured an all-star cast of Clooney’s friend but failed to live up to its true potential. Kevin Costner’s renaissance continues with 3 Days To Kill, Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harrington tries to make it big on the big screen with the 3D disaster epic Pompeii, and Hollywood tries to grab the Twilight crowd with Vampire Academy. Making their Digital only debuts are Lone Survivor, Robocop, and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Elijah Wood seems to be making a career of direct-to-video horror thrillers with his follow-up to the Maniac remake, the thriller Grand Piano (both films got European releases but barely got noticed in the US).

Classic film buffs should be pleased with the new Blu-ray release of the Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski remake of Nosferatu the Vampyre, and collectors can enjoy new Steelbook releases of films such as Evil Dead, Lords of Salem and Django Unchained. These titles and more are available May 20th. You can see all of the week’s highlights in our handy shopper’s guide, and you can click on a link to get more information or to make a purchase.

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The Voice Final Performances — Duets win the day

Update: Check the bottom of the post for the updated iTunes chart positions at the close of voting.

First, an apology: I’m sorry I missed last week’s post … my (delayed) flight didn’t have WIFI or – more of a challenge – live television. In fact, I never got around to watching last week’s performances (though I did check out the tracks on iTunes). I can’t say that I was particularly surprised that Kristen Merlin or Kat Perkins were sent home (though Merlin’s “Foolish Games” might have been her best performance of the entire season). The competition was at the point the week before where everyone has the talent to win, now it is simply (and perhaps sadly) just a popularity context.

The final three this season do make for interesting television. As Blake pointed out in the intro, the group consists of a returnee from a previous season (Jake), a player who was Stolen after being sent home (Josh) and a player who was the beneficiary of an Instant Save (Christina). Each is a great performer and each is insanely popular. I think that it’s going to come down to song choice: what singer/song choice is going to chart best on iTunes and get those fans voting like crazy. Continue reading 'The Voice Final Performances — Duets win the day' »

Win passes to see X-Men: Days of Future Past in Baltimore or DC

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CliqueClack has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to offer readers in the Baltimore and DC areas an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the highly anticipated X-Men: Days of Future Past starring Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Daniel Cudmore, Bingbing Fan, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart.

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class, in an epic battle that must change the past — to save our future.

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Win free passes to see Blended in Los Angeles

CliqueClack has partnered with Warner Brother to offer readers in the Baltimore, DC and Boston areas an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new comedy Blended starring Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Joel McHale, Abdoulaye Ngom, Jessica Lowe, Bella Thorne, Emma Fuhrmann, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Braxton Beckham, Kyle Red Silverstein, Shaquille O’Neal, and Dan Patrick.

After a disastrous blind date, single parents Lauren (Barrymore) and Jim (Sandler) agree on only one thing: they never want to see each other again. But when they each sign up separately for a fabulous family vacation with their kids, they are all stuck sharing a suite at a luxurious African safari resort for a week. Blended was filmed predominantly on location in South Africa.

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