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Seraphim Falls

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2007

Seraphim Falls was a sparsely released film released early in 2007, recently finding its way to DVD. In addition to being the first film where two Irish stars – Pierce Brosnan & Liam Neeson – share screen time together, it also marks the directorial debut of David Von Ancken who also happened to be a co-writer. After watching this movie I can definitely tell you that I am looking forward to any future projects of Von Ancken’s. But that’s aside from the point, how was this film?

Before watching this m…
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Liar Liar (HD DVD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2007

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Fletcher Reed (Jim Carrey) is your typical lawyer in that he’s successful and seemingly loves his job. He openly lies each and every day to the judge just so his client can win the case. In fact Fletcher has gotten so accustom to lying so much that he doesn’t even realize that his son Max (Justin Reed) has pretty much became aware that his father is a liar (he means to say lawyer). When Fletcher doesn’t show up to Max’s birthday, Max wishes that for 24 hours his father couldn’t tell a lie. Enter the real humorous and…
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Freedom Writers (HD DVD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007

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Freedom Writers is based upon The Freedom Writers Diary; a book written by teacher Erin Gruwell and her students. I’ll admit that initially I was quite mixed about what to expect from this film; on one hand I just didn’t want to sit through another one of these To Sir with Love, Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds type movies, but on the other hand I hoped it would be different and live up to some of the rave reviews I have read. Well, let’s find out.

Instead of giving a lengthy sy…
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Miss Potter

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007

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Where was I when Miss Potter was in theatres last year? I don’t recall hearing much about it, and that’s a shame. This is one of the most charming, infectiously light-hearted films I’ve seen in long while.

It’s the story of Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger, Chicago), the 19th century British creator of the famous Peter Rabbit children’s stories. When we first meet Beatrix, she’s an unmarried woman in her early thirties, lugging her portfolio of paintings and a story to potential publishers.
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Smokey and the Bandit (HD DVD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007

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Posted in Disc Reviews by Joshua Noyes

Smokey, aka Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), is the prospective father-in-law of unwilling bride Carrie (Sally Field). The Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a maverick racecar driver, makes an 80,000-dollar bet that he can transport a shipment of Coors beer from Texarkana, TX, to Atlanta within 28 hours. It’s important to note that in 1977, it was illegal to sell the Coors brand east of the Mississippi River without a permit; if we don’t note that, then the plot won’t make sense at times.

Already in dange…
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Last Sin Eater, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 8th, 2007

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Having heard exactly zilch about The Last Sin Eater before receiving my review copy, I expected it to be a low-budget horror flick. Boy, was I wrong. This film is based on a bestselling novel by Francine Rivers, a popular writer of Christian-themed fiction. Produced under the 20th Century Fox FoxFaith brand, it’s intended for an Evangelical Christian audience.

The story is set in 1850’s Appalachia, where a group of early Irish settlers have made their home. When the grandmother of 10-year-old …
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Donnie Brasco

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 7th, 2007

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Pacino and Depp in a mob drama about an undercover fed and his unknowing Mafioso mentor? Fuggedaboudit.

Donnie Brasco is based on the true story of F.B.I. agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp, Blow), who spent six successful years undercover in the New York Mafia, as one Donnie Brasco. The film opens with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino, Heat), an aging made man, connecting with Donnie about a diamond ring. Donnie’s cover is he’s in the jewelry “business”, and Lefty wants to unload a ring some guy …
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Scrubs – The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2007

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Right off the top, I have to admit I’m a big Scrubs fan. Obviously, this portion of the review will be influenced by that bias, but at least I’m up front about it. Now, this DVD set brings us the ingenious sitcom’s fifth season, which aired in 2006. I didn’t catch any of these 24 episodes on TV, so this release was my first time.

Season five, like all of the previous seasons, picks up at the start of a new year at Sacred Heart. This time around, J.D. (Zach Braff, The Last Kiss) and Elliot (Sar…
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Fantastic 4

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 4th, 2007

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With the release of Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer just around the corner, it’s no surprise to see the studio rolling out a double-dip of the first film. Fantastic 4 – Extended Edition revisits the film with an extra 20 minutes of footage, and a second disc full of special features. But is it a worthy acquisition for your collection?

First, a bit about the film for the uninitiated. This is the Fantastic Four’s origin story, including how they came to have their super powers, and who Dr…
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Butcher Boy, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2007

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The Butcher Boy, originally released in 1997 and based upon the 1992 book of the same name, has found its way to DVD. The film has been the recipient of numerous awards, with critics hailing it as a dark comedy unlike any other. To be completely honest, I had never heard of this picture before today, but I’ve always enjoyed these little Great Britain pictures, so here’s hoping it’s as good as some say.

Francie Brady (Eamonn Owens, Breakfast on Pluto) appears to be your typical schoolboy, spend…
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Half Past Dead 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2007

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Half Past Dead 2 is, obviously, the sequel to 2002’s lukewarm action picture, Half Past Dead. The main difference in this sequel is the lack of Steven Seagal so automatically that should make this a better picture, but not necessarily a good one. The film stars two unlikely actors – a rapper and a wrestler – The Dogg Pound’s own Kurupt and WWE’s Goldberg. Not exactly promising, but I’ve been surprised before.

Twitch (Kurupt, Dark Blue), an inmate at the New Alcatraz penitentiary, has ju…
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Chocolate War, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 31st, 2007

Synopsis

I’m one of the few who hasn’t experienced the magic of Robert Cormier’s novel “The Chocolate War”, and I was surprised to hear that it was the most banned book for a time (and still might be). When the film came out, not only did I not hear about it, but in 1988 I was in the middle of high school, and I (along with many other people) sure as hell could have used this film back then, not to say that all the John Hughes films weren’t a welcome breath of air into my life.

For those unfamilia…
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Dragonheart (HD DVD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 31st, 2007

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Films about fantasy have always caught my eye. Even though most end up bordering on the top realm of pure stupidity, a majority of them succeed in what they intend to succeed in, that being pure entertainment. Fantasy films typically please audiences simply because they bring the audience into a world they know they’ll never travel to. Dragons, in particular, have always interested me possibly because they’re majestic creatures that seem so complex. I suppose that’s what makes Dragonheart as entertaining as it…
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Life of the Party

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 30th, 2007

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Life of the Party is little known movie which was released in 2005 where it has since gone mostly unnoticed. I know the first time I’d heard of it was just a few days ago where I first saw it in my hands. It didn’t look half bad, a few cast members were recognizable, and as the movie actually went on I saw quite a few familiar supporting faces.

Michael Elgin (Eion Bailey, Band of Brothers) is a functioning alcoholic with a close-knit group of friends and a loving wife Phoebe (Ellen Pompeo, Old Scho…
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Lost in Translation (HD DVD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 30th, 2007

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Every so often a film comes along and completely takes me by surprise. I had heard good things about Lost in Translation before viewing the title a few weeks ago. Critics hailed this as Bill Murray’s comeback as he played a genuine man who simply didn’t know what to do in life anymore. While critics may have been overly generous to the film (not quite four stars), I will admit that I didn’t expect anything at all from this one. In the end, I came away shocked and completely absorbed by the material in front of…
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Bunny Whipped

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 30th, 2007

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I think it’s safe to say that most or all of you have never heard of this movie, neither had I. Instead of my typical synopsis and critique I will spare most of you the trouble, this movie is pretty weak, and if that isn’t enough for you, then continue reading too find out why.

Bunny Whipped is ultimately a romantic comedy with the look of a low budget TV movie from the early 90’s. There is no solid storyline and the editing consists of a bunch of randomly placed scenes that seem too follow some sort …
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Payback: Straight Up (HD DVD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007

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Since I have recently reviewed the Blu-ray version of Payback, some non-format specific aspects of this review will be ported over from that review.

I remember eight years back when Payback was first released. I eagerly anticipated the opportunity to watch it, and when I got the chance to check it out, I instantly enjoyed it. Upon finding out about the release of the new director’s cut, I found myself eagerly anticipating it once again, as it promised to be a completely different film.

Griffin & Phoenix

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007

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Synopsis

It always feels good when you go into a film with very little expectations. Such as the case with Griffin and Phoenix, other than Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), who is apparently in every fricken movie that involves the words “romantic” or “comedy”. While Griffin and Phoenix is a mite bit romantic and its story is hardly new, its execution makes things a bit more pleasant.

Written by John Hill, who originally wrote a 1976 TV movie of the same name, and di…
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Hannibal Rising

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007

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Hannibal “the cannibal” Lecter is widely recognized as one of the most compelling villains in modern fiction. This film, Hannibal Rising, based on the Thomas Harris book of the same name, presents the origin of the cannibalistic psychopath.

Quick context for this review: I’ve seen all of the Lecter films, and read none of the books. I liked Silence of the Lambs best, followed closely by Manhunter and more distantly by Hannibal and Red Dragon, the 2002 Manhunter remake.
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Moral Orel, Volume One – The Unholy Edition

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007

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Moral Orel airs on Adult Swim, and like a lot of programs on Swim, each episode is about 12 minutes long. After watching only a few episodes, I just knew this show must face a lot of criticism. A lot of the subject matters are pretty touchy – from the eleven year old Orel smoking crack to him impregnating the neighborhoods mothers. Although pretty much all races and denominations take a shot throughout this show, the blunt of all jokes are taken by Protestants. Without getting into a whole religious tirade, I’…
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Frasier – The Complete Ninth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007

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Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as Dr. Frasier Crane in the ninth season of Frasier. Spanning eleven seasons, winning 39 Emmy Awards, and being one of the most critically acclaimed shows of its time, these are just a few of the achievements Frasier amounted during its eleven year run. So there’s no denying that Frasier has quite a following and for any of us who have watched can admit that it has its moments, and its more ‘sophisticated’ humor can be quite funny at times.

For those of y…
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Highly Defined – The World of High Definition

Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on May 28th, 2007

And now for a little change of pace this week, here’s a list of my Top Ten War Movies in honor of Memorial Day. Everyone should never forget…with the inclusion of these into your collection.

I figured what the hell, let me attempt to dive into my own list, and attempt to do some justice to a hotly debated movie genre…war movies. The ability of fighting forces across the world to hurt people and break things has evolved over the years, and so have the war movies, as many have done with the dramatic death in …
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Officer and a Gentleman, An

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 28th, 2007

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Prior to Top Gun with Tom Cruise and long before The Guardian with Ashton Kutcher, An Officer and a Gentleman was the film about a hot-headed hotshot military trainee headed for glory or self-destruction.

Starring a youthful Richard Gere (Chicago), An Officer and a Gentleman follows the journey of Zack Mayo, a young man looking to find his place in the world, and to prove he can defy his chaotic, depraved upbringing. His avenue of choice is to become a navy jet pilo…
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Good German, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 27th, 2007

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Synopsis

Steven Soderbergh has done a successful job of leveraging his reputation through the years in order to experiment with various directorial techniques and styles. With mainstream successes like Erin Brockovich and Traffic, he’s managed to keep in the spirit of anindependent film, producing stellar, less visible works like Bubble and a remake of Tarkovsky’s Solaris. Many of his works over the last few years have been with George Clooney, who starred in Solaris and < ...
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Music and Lyrics

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 26th, 2007

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This just in: Hugh Grant stars in yet another formulaic romantic comedy. Having polished his shtick in such films as Nine Months, Notting Hill and Two Weeks Notice, I’m betting Grant barely had to pay attention on the set of Music and Lyrics.

Rom-com fans will find Grant’s turn with lovable Drew Barrymore (Fever Pitch) more than palatable, I’m sure. Heck, I enjoyed Music and Lyrics, in the way one appreciates the occasional handful of those tiny marshmallows in a mu…
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