Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
Synopsis
When I was reviewing Season One of Martin, I was actually on a business trip in New Jersey, fondly recalling the early ‘90s and the huge popularity of the show that bore comedian Martin Lawrence’s name. Since that time, I’m no longer going to New Jersey on business, I’m working better hours, and a movie with Lawrence called Wild Hogs came out. It grossed over $150 million, and starred him, John Travolta and Tim Allen as aging adults who do the Easy Rider road trip. The only thi...g I really have to say about this is that I’m shocked and disappointed in you people, and I hope you never let this type of thing happen in American cinema again.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
OK, it's difficult to talk about Season Three of NCIS without talking about what happened in Season Two of the show, so I'd suggest anyone reading this who hasn't seen it to skip ahead to the next paragraph. OK, done. Season Two of NCIS brought in a cast change that virtually nobody saw coming, let alone the cast member who indicated they wanted to leave anyway. Agent Todd (Sasha Alexander, Mission Impossible: III) had been shot and killed by a terrorist, and her comrades made concerted attempt to avenge her death at the beginning of Season Three.
(OK, spoiler over, come on back). Still, the cast felt a little bit incomplete. Enter Agent Jen Sheppard (Lauren Holly, Dumb and Dumber), to fill the void. At least the remaining members of the cast were still around so that Holly's breaking in period could be a slow and gentle one. You still have the unofficial head of the group in Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon, St. Elsewhere), the young stud who frequently clashes with Gibbs when it comes to style points in Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly, Dark Angel), and the resident tech geeks in McGee (Sean Murray, Hocus Pocus) and Abby (Pauley Perrette, Brother Bear). Holly's character also has a past with Gibbs as it's discovered later in the show, which adds another layer to the relationship of the characters.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
Synopsis
I really wasn’t entirely sure how to digest watching a film about a natural disaster where a quarter million people have died or are presumed missing/lost. Nevertheless, Tsunami: The Aftermath is a compelling portrait of the events surrounding the 2004 event that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 22nd, 2007
Since Steve Carell broke into the comedic world with the film Anchorman, audiences have seemingly labeled him the new comedic genius with some comparing him to Jim Carrey. While I don’t completely agree with such a comment, Carell can definitely carry a film by himself, which is evident here with 40-Year Old Virgin.
The plot of The 40 Year Old Virgin can be summed up by a cursory glance at the title of the movie. In slightly more detail; Steve Carrell plays Andy Stitzer, a socially awkward fo...ty year old whose definition of a busy weekend is preparing an egg salad sandwich and changing the color of his figure’s pants. When Carell reveals (by accident one might add) to his colleagues that his virginity is still firmly attached during a poker game, they set about helping him lose it as quickly as possible. Naturally, this entails humiliation, comical misunderstandings and a fair amount of low-brow humor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 21st, 2007
Synopsis
To Catch a Thief has a lot going for it. For starters, two of the most marketable faces of their time playing opposite one another, in a film directed by one of the greats of cinematic history. What’s so wrong about that? John Michael Hayes (Peyton Place) adapted David Dodge’s novel, which Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho) directed.
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on May 21st, 2007
Hopefully the next generation format’s week to put in Thunderdome can bear some real fruit.
Well for the sake of relevance, Tuesday is THE week to be a supporter of the next generation formats. On the HD-DVD side, the Matrix films see their debut from Warner, with the extras from the Ultimate Matrix Collection for those who want them, and IMEs on each of the films. Meanwhile, Blu-ray buyers get to see both Pirates of the Caribbean films on two-disc editions, with Blu-ray exclusive content, and...there’s also the underrated Mel Gibson film Apocalypto. All of these films have TrueHD and PCM for their respective formats, and both are at least currently exclusive to their respective formats. Here’s hoping that there’s some winner among sales this week so this format war crap can come to an end soonest.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 19th, 2007
Synopsis
I’d like to think of Amanda Bynes (She’s the Man) for being part of a smaller second wave of teen female performers. Nobody’s really sure of who she is, but she appears to stay out of trouble and certainly not emulate the Lohans and Spears of the world. She had an already established name among the Nickelodeon demographic, but soon moved to grown up television, joining television veteran Jennie Garth (Beverly Hills, 90210) in What I Like About You.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 19th, 2007
Synopsis
Way back in the ‘80s, I can recall doing a fifth grade science project on a fledgling disease called Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. I got a bunch of material from my Dad (who worked at the National Institute of Health) and went ahead and did it. To be honest, I really don’t remember if I did this report before or after the first recognizable name died from it (that being Rock Hudson), but in the quarter century since AIDS cases were first identified, over 25 million people have died and almos... 40 million currently live with the disease. 3 Needles is a film written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald (The Wild Dogs), and what the film may attempt to communicate (or even dispel) is that AIDS is not predominantly a disease where behavior dictates contraction, sometimes a person’s fate might be dictated before they are even aware of it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 19th, 2007
Synopsis
In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Robert De Niro may have taken on some more famous roles (like The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull), but he wasn’t shy to experiment in roles with directors like Bernardo Bertolucci (1900), to name a few. And in his first film after playing Jake LaMotta, De Niro plays Des, a monsignor who runs into his brother Tom (Robert Duvall, The Apostle), a police homicide detective.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 18th, 2007
Blood & Chocolate is based upon the novel of the same name by Annette Curtis Klause, which was written in 1997 and has since been in the talks of screenplay adaptation. Written by Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road, Scream 3, The Ring) and directed by little known German director Katja von Garnier, Blood & Chocolate looks too impress.
It was refreshing to see a werewolf movie with a much different formula then were used to. Instead of the typical blood soaked horror we are presented with a dark an... somewhat more reasonable storyline. Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) and her family live in America, but when word spreads that they are a family of werewolves, a posse burns down their house and leaves everyone for dead. Vivian escapes and moves to Romania to be with her aunt Astrid and fellow werewolves. What interested me was the fact that these werewolves are proud. They come from a centuries old family of loup-garou’s (their fancy word for werewolves) that can shape shift on thought as opposed to the tiresome uncontrollable full moon fits of rage. They hunt only to survive and only on the full moons, and they avoid any public displays as they know if their identity is compromised they will stand no chance against the enraged humans.
![The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated Special Edition) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-40-year-old-virgin-unrated-special-edition-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
