Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 18th, 2004
The folks at Criterion continue their quest to make every one of Fellini’s heirs millionaires with their release of I Vitelloni, the famed director’s second solo effort. This semi-autobiographical tale follows the lives of a group of young men who are on the verge of growing up and making something of their lives, but haven’t quite gotten there yet. Part American Pie, part About a Boy, and all Fellini, this film is an important addition to any foreign film collection.
The film garnered ...ritical acclaim upon its release, and even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. I was personally surprised about how universal and timeless the themes of the film were. Many modern films deal with the same issues of escape from a small town and becoming something grand. Especially surprising were the comparisons that can easily be drawn with modern gangster movies and television shows such as The Soprano’s. The interaction between the friends in this film is uncannily similar to scenes of Tony Soprano and his crew sitting outside Satriale’s Pork Store.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 16th, 2004
Jeff Foxworthy has experienced something of a renaissance as of late. In the early 90’s, this loveable redneck burst on to the comedy scene with his southern style of humor, driven by the ever-popular series of “…you might be a redneck” jokes. Living in the south myself, I was both entertained and angered by his routine. On the one hand, it kind-of made me angry that he was making Southerners sound so stupid. On the other hand, it was funny because it was true. Such is the dilemma of living in the South.
An...way, as I understand it, the swift life of an instant celebrity was a little more than Foxworthy was able to handle, so instead of ruining his life with wine, women and song, he disappeared from the spotlight for a while. After some time away, he has re-emerged as a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, and the spotlight is back.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 15th, 2004
While Sliders may not rank in the upper echelon of sci-fi/fantasy series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel or its predecessor Quantum Leap, it is a very watchable show with endearing characters and witty writing at times. Quinn (Jerry O'Connell), a brainy San Francisco physics student, has perfected a device – in his mom's basement, no less – that opens up a temporary wormhole between alternate Earths. By leaping into the wormhole, one can "slide" between worlds; but of course there's ... catch, which is the foundation of the show's appeal. It seems there's no way to return back from whence you came, so Quinn, along with his college professor Maximillian Arturo (John Rhys-Davies), Wade (Sabrina Lloyd), and, through an odd turn of events, fading R&B singer Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown (Cleavant Derricks), are left to slide from alternate world to alternate world each week, finding themselves in some very strange places trying to find their way home.
Each episode finds our heroes exploring alternate realities - What if the Americans lost to the British during in 1776, what if the atomic bomb was never invented, what if modern medicine never discovered penicillin—those are some of the scenarios Quinn, Arturo, Wade, and Crying Man find themselves in; once you get past the all too convenient plot reliance on having one of the main characters just happening to be a key character in the alternate world (or one of their friends), you can focus on the fact that the writing is generally a whole lot smarter than most if the sci-fi series out there.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 15th, 2004
While Sliders may not rank in the upper echelon of sci-fi/fantasy series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel or its predecessor Quantum Leap, it is a very watchable show with endearing characters and witty writing at times. Quinn (Jerry O'Connell), a brainy San Francisco physics student, has perfected a device – in his mom's basement, no less – that opens up a temporary wormhole between alternate Earths. By leaping into the wormhole, one can "slide" between worlds; but of course there's ... catch, which is the foundation of the show's appeal. It seems there's no way to return back from whence you came, so Quinn, along with his college professor Maximillian Arturo (John Rhys-Davies), Wade (Sabrina Lloyd), and, through an odd turn of events, fading R&B singer Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown (Cleavant Derricks), are left to slide from alternate world to alternate world each week, finding themselves in some very strange places trying to find their way home.
Each episode finds our heroes exploring alternate realities - What if the Americans lost to the British during in 1776, what if the atomic bomb was never invented, what if modern medicine never discovered penicillin—those are some of the scenarios Quinn, Arturo, Wade, and Crying Man find themselves in; once you get past the all too convenient plot reliance on having one of the main characters just happening to be a key character in the alternate world (or one of their friends), you can focus on the fact that the writing is generally a whole lot smarter than most if the sci-fi series out there.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 14th, 2004
Warner will release the second volume of the Looney Tunes: Golden Collection on November 2nd. This four-disc set will include around sixty shorts presented in 1:33:1 full frame along with English Dolby Digital Mono audio tracks. Extras will include audio commentaries (on over thirty of the cartoons), nine Behind-the-Tunes featurettes, two documentaries, a 50th-Anniversary Bugs Bunny Tribute Show, the “Adventures of the Road Runner” 1962 TV Pilot, a “From The Vaults Bonus Cartoon Rareties” feature, a New 2004 Short (enti...led “Daffy Duck for President”), as well as Music-Only Tracks, Bridging Sequences and Audio Recording Sessions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 12th, 2004
There was a time, even as late as the 90’s, when making an anti-American film was still taboo in Hollywood. Of course today, movies like Fahrenheit 9/11 are big money makers, but for many years, such films were discouraged. Air America is one of the rare exceptions to this rule. This may be due to the fact that it was disguised as a comedy about the Vietnam conflict, but no matter how you look at it, the film is quite critical of the US government, and it makes some pretty scathing accusations about our...involvement there. Only in a comedy would audiences openly accept the accusation that the US government ran drugs for rebels in Laos during Vietnam.
These accusations would have been taken much more seriously had the film actually have been any good. See, that’s the problem… if you are going to use a film to make a serious statement, it better be a darn good film. Otherwise, your statement will be lost in the mire of mediocrity. Such is the case with Air America. Films like Platoon and Good Morning Vietnam were able to make effective statements about the government’s actions in the 60’s because they were great films first. What we have here is a film that is average at best, which makes the political statements look average at well.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 9th, 2004
Columbia Tristar will release the director’s cut of Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy on October 19th. This 3-disc set, running 20 minutes longer then the original cut, will include all of the extras found in the original two-disc set (with the exception of a newly recorded audio commentary). Disc 3 will feature over 3 hours of new extras including a Comic Con 2002 Panel Discussion (with Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman and Mike Mignola), a Mike Mignola Artwork Gallery (with Commentary) and many more extras (TBA). Also availa...le on October 19th will be a limited edition giftset that includes the three-disc director's cut along with a Sideshow Collectibles Hellboy statue.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 9th, 2004
When I was a kid in the 80’s, Predator was one of those films that you weren’t supposed to watch, but everybody did anyway. Over-the-top action, invincible heroes, cheesy one-liners and big, big explosions made this a film that was a favorite of pre-pubescent boys everywhere. Going into this disc, I found myself wondering if the film would stand up to the harsh tests of time and maturity.
The answer to that question is both “yes”, and “no”. In the “no” column, it is very apparent early on in the film...that there is very little here in the way of plot. Some soldiers are hired to go behind enemy lines to rescue an American politician that has been kidnapped by generic terrorists. Once the team arrives at their location, they discover that they have actually been sent on the mission for different reasons altogether, though those reasons are never really made clear. On their way back to the rendezvous point, they have multiple encounters with an evil and mysterious creature who tries to kill them (and occasionally succeeds). That’s about it. Beyond these basic plot outlines, dialog is basically reserved to screaming profanities and the aforementioned goofy one-liners.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2004
Garfield has been hunting lasagna, out-witting his clueless owner Jon, and frolicking with his intellectually challenged partner in crime, Odie since 1978. While the recent big screen release failed to capture the attention of the public, the animated series from 1988 did everything that the movie failed to do. It made the viewers laugh. The animated series was cleverly written, very witty and in a way similar to the Simpsons, had the ability to make both kids and adults laugh.
Garfield first appeared on T... in a special in 1982. He make a few other special appearances but in 1998 he was granted a weekly Saturday morning cartoon. But it wasn’t just Garfield, Odie and Jon that appeared. Each episode was divided into 3 segments: 2 with Garfield and one with the characters from U.S. Acres in “Orson’s Farm” (another albeit less famous creation by Garfield creator Jim Davis) – Orson the pig who is the leader of the group of farm animals, Wade, and anxiety ridden duck who wears an inflatable ring at all times in case he actually encounters water, Roy, an entitled rooster, Lanolin, a smart sheep, Booker, a baby chick who mainly focuses on eating worms, and Sheldon, another chick who never quite came out of his shell (Get it? “Shell-don”). The U.S. Acres stuff wasn’t too bad but paled in comparison to everyone’s favorite fat cat.
