Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 7th, 2010
“Have gun, will travel reads the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land…”. Those words ended every episode of Have Gun Will Travel, sung by Johnny Western in a time that such words could be sung without irony. Outside of Richard Boone’s black-clad, craggy Rhett Butler gone-to-seed gunfighter, that song was all I could really recall about this venerable Western from television’s golden age. Would it, like so many revisited shows from my youth, ultimately disappoint? Or would it hold up fifty years after it was originally broadcast, viewed as it would be by the far more jaded, cynical man I’ve grown into?
The verdict? It’s pretty darn good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2010
Extraordinary Measures is a moving story about family and a father’s perseverance to find a cure for his children. John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) seeks out the help of an irritable medical researcher (Harrison Ford) whose theory cannot be fully developed without extensive funding. As the time ticks away, so does the probability of finding a cure. This film requires an emotional investment and audiences will be surprised at how invested they become.
Coming from emotionally charged source material, the filmmaker (Tom Vaughn) was given the difficult task of conveying personal emotion to a mass audience. Too often stories similar to this are made into low budget made for TV films which are downtrodden for their ineptitude. It is difficult for audiences to shed that stigma from the marketing of this film. However, on a positive note, Extraordinary Measures is executed quite well. The momentum of the film is driven from the story and less on aesthetics. The shot selection, editing and score of the film are all pedestrian at best. However, there is something to be said for a film that has an arbitrary execution and still manages to maintain the audience’s attention.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 28th, 2010
Timer is an innovative concept. In the film, people can choose to be fitted with a timer which counts down until that person meets their soul mate. The timer will tell you precisely how long you will have to wait to find true love. Oona (Emma Caulfield) is in the rare situation of having a blank timer. Her soul mate has not had one implanted yet and the suspense is getting to her. Oona decides to go out of her comfort zone and begin dating a considerably younger man named Mikey (John Patrick Amedori). The only problem is that Mikey is not slated to meet his soul mate for another four months.
This film has a strong and imaginative concept. The writer/director Jac Schaeffer takes an ambitious approach at the romantic comedy genre and the result is a muddled film. The performances are mediocre and the characters are not fleshed out enough. I found myself struggling to identify with any of the characters. The concept needed to be further examined with more confrontation and a grittier approach. When attempting to make profound statements about our culture in the happy-go-lucky genre of romantic comedy it becomes difficult. By viewing this film as a critique of the popularization of internet matchmaking and dating, it asks the audience to enjoy more of the present and worry less of the future. The statement is sound, but the vision is never fully realized.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 26th, 2010
In 2007, nineteen years after a similar uprising was crushed by Burma’s military junta, frustrated citizens once again took to the streets. Led by troops of monks in peaceful demonstrations, they made their voices heard by the generals, demanding freedom and democracy. The reaction was swift and violent. Men with riot gear and guns descended on the demonstrators and after many clouds of tear gas, numerous beatings, and even some shootings, the government quickly broke the spirit of its people again.
These incidents, and the actions that led to them, were chronicled by a courageous group of video journalists called Democratic Voice of Burma. These men and women captured hours of footage, risking imprisonment and worse, and got that footage out to the world over the internet and through trusted couriers. The images they captured allowed the people of the world and, even more importantly, the people of Burma (to whom the footage was also broadcast), to see the truth behind the lies of the Burmese government.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 22nd, 2010
American Pickers revolves around two “gifted” pickers: Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz. The thesis of the show is that these two men comb the back roads of the Midwest searching for hidden treasures and collectible items. The people they encounter along the way are far from garden variety with the majority of them having stacks upon stacks of junk cascading out of their property. These two men barter and haggle over pricing on many different things with each item earning them a considerable profit. The question arises through these exchanges, does morality come into play?
The two leads are relatively uncharismatic; Mike is slightly more comfortable on camera than Frank. However, the majority of their conversations in their van are cringe-worthy. The typical episode involves Frank and Mike going “freestyling” or going to leads that their secretary sets up for them. “Freestyling” is when Frank and Mike drive around areas until they see a house that catches their eye. After they proposition the owner of the property, they begin the picking and deal making. Once they obtain the pieces that they are seeking, audiences are given a breakdown of the cost of the piece and what they value it at.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2010
Reading the synopsis on the back of the dvd case for Hard Ride to Hell, I was immediately struck by its similarity to the 1975 film Race With The Devil. A group of vacationers in an RV accidentally witness a satanic ritual out in the boonies and, after inevitably being spotted doing so, are set upon by the Satanists and must fight for their lives in a cross-country chase. As it turns out, the similarities are pretty much all cosmetic.
Hard Ride to Hell, after a brief prologue featuring some sinister cowboys and a pregnant, flesh-chomping madwoman, moves to the present where we are introduced to our heroes. Here is where the similarities to Race With The Devil begin to crumble. The group is indeed traveling in an RV but, for starters, instead of Peter Fonda and Warren Oates, we are stuck with guys in frat-boy haircuts who call each other “dude”. There are also two women and a black guy. The male cast members are, through most of the film, stiff and unconvincing, but the women are fairly strong. One of them, Katherine Isabelle from Ginger Snaps, actually brings some life into the picture when she’s onscreen. The only other standout in the cast is the guy who gets his name above the title, Miguel Ferrer. Even though he’s phoning it in on this one, he is still a treat to watch as the leader of the bad guys.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 30th, 2010
Tenure revolves around Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) an insecure college professor who is up for a tenure position in his English department. Charlie has an ongoing problem getting his work published and to add a further complication, the university decides to hire another applicant, Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol) for the position. Through the competing for the job, Charlie begins to have feelings for Elaine. As their relationship emerges, Charlie needs to make a decision about what his passions are.
The film blends comedy and drama fairly efficiently. The comedy is hammered home with Charlie’s friend Jay (David Koechner). Whether its herbal enhancements or a fruitless pursuit of Bigfoot, no comedic stone is left unturned. The drama is left for the dark and charming Charlie Thurber. Luke Wilson’s performance is bland. He doesn’t showcase much of a range. Even after his deciding moment in the film, audiences are left feeling shortchanged. However, his comedic moments in the film are timed well and his chemistry with Koechner is undeniable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 15th, 2010
Holy crap, this movie made a boat load of money for Fox when it came out around Christmas 2006, making $250 million and running second only to the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel for box office money. And to see Ben Stiller finally appear in a film that could be considered a blockbuster success was nice too. And in Night at the Museum, he gets to play Larry, night security guard in the New York Museum of Natural History.
Based on a book by Milan Trenc, the story contains man… of the same qualities of a Jumanji or even a Zathura. Larry takes over for a trio of retiring night guards (played by longtime veterans Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs) at the Museum. What he doesn’t know is that the inhabitants of the museum come to life at night, and he has to make sure that the inhabitants stay in said museum from sunset to sunrise, or else they turn into dust.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 15th, 2010
Ice Age – The Meltdown is a funny, well-animated sequel that offers up a new adventure for the memorable characters from the original Ice Age film. As a great bonus, it’s nicely balanced for audiences young and old.
20th Century Fox Animation is still a poor second cousin to Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios, but for sheer entertainment value, Ice Age – The Meltdown doesn’t get knocked completely out of the water by top-shelf blockbusters like The Incredibles. Sure, the animation is weaker, and story is less inspired, but the voice work is excellent, with the talent of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jay Leno, and the list goes on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 6th, 2010
"It's New Year's Eve on the Poseidon. Partying voyagers toast the future. The future comes in a rush; a 150 foot rogue wave flips the cruise ship over. And a struggle to survive begins."
Poseidon doesn’t waste any time getting to the action, so I won’t waste any time with an introduction to this review. Yes, it’s a remake of the 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure. Yes, it is chock full of convenient cardboard characters (a former Navy man, a fireman, a nurse, etc…). But we don’t watch movies like Poseidon for character exposition, do we?
![Night at the Museum [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/night-at-the-museum-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Ice Age - The Meltdown [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/ice-age-the-meltdown-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Poseidon [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/poseidon-blu-ray-large.jpg)
