Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 16th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
I guess you could call this the epitome of good, clean, wholesome children's entertainment. It's hard for me to accurately say just how it rates compared to other similar programs, since I haven't seen anything like it for 15-20 years.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 16th, 2007
In the day and age of sequels being thrown at us like lies from the media, the idea of a sequel surpassing its predecessor rarely occurs. I can only think of a few films that have achieved such a title. Titles like Aliens, The Bourne Supremacy and the recent comedy sequel Meet the Fockers are perfect examples, the latter which is actually funny and charming instead of being cruel and rather mean like the first.
As we all know in Meet the Parents, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) asked his girlfriend Pam (Tea Leoni) to marry him, which she accepted. Only it wasn’t as open and shut as this. See first Greg had to ask the permission of Pam’s father Jack (Robert De Niro) for his daughter’s hand. Jack, an ex-CIA specialist, basically tried to torture Greg into not wanting to marry Pam by ridiculing him in front of others and digging up every little secret he could. And let’s not even bring in the other completely childish and rude family members who act like jerks. Anyhow, Jack finally comes to the realization that if Greg loves his daughter so much, he can marry her. But now there comes a dilemma. Just like Greg had to meet Pam’s parents, it would only be polite for Jack and company to meet Greg’s parents. The only problem here is that Greg’s parents, well, are a bit odd.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 15th, 2007
The heroes in a half shell are back, and looking better than ever. TMNT doesn't represent a revolutionary rebirth of the franchise, but it does breathe new life into once-loved characters who've been fading in our memory. Whatever your take on this film, kids, one thing's for certain: these ain't your daddy's turtles.
It has been more than 10 years since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stunk up the big screen in their third film, which had them time-traveling back to ancient Japan for some schlocky, death-of-a-franchise action. With that disaster in mind, I say thank goodness for TMNT coming along to obliviate their ancient Japan adventure from our memory.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 14th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
I came to the second season of The Closer with an interesting piece of baggage: I hadn't seen the first season. And still haven't. Seeing as I'm a bit of a completionist, this was initially driving me nuts. That said, by the time I finally gave the show a chance, I felt like I'd been in it my whole life.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 14th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
I am something of a news junky. For lack of anything better to do, I'll routinely flip my television over to CNN for countless hours of 24/7 up-to-the-minute coverage. Of all the talk shows on the airwaves today, there is no match for the great Larry King. Oprah only wishes she were this good. The ladies on The View should bow down to Mr. King, who is so good at what he does that even his most famous guests seem to open up to him in ways they would normally know better than to do in front of a camera. Whether you're looking for something light and funny, the hardest news story, or the insights into the most intriguing public figures in the world today, this DVD set is your one-stop shop.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 14th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
If I had to find one single word to completely encapsulate this show, and particularly its first season, it would be: Cute. No, wait ... scratch that. Make it: Nauseauting.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 14th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
I am both the perfect person to be reviewing Babylon 5 and exactly the wrong person. Being an irrationally devoted fan of the series, it's difficult for me to be objective about it. And it is therefore with this unique perspective that I sat down to watch this newest B5 release.
Posted in: Highly Defined by Archive Authors on August 13th, 2007
So in between the anticipation for Madden 08 and convalescing at home with a big arse fever, there’s not a lot for me to go over in this installment. Really. I’m waiting for my Pioneer Elite to come in in a couple of weeks, but the only other thing to talk about is more disc announcements. Knocked Up is going to come out on HD DVD on 9/25 from Universal (and Evan Almighty comes out two weeks later) while Ratatouille comes to Blu-ray on 11/6. Disc releases this week are fairly blah, as Blu-ray serves up Doctor Strange, The Lookout, Vacancy and Wild Hogs, while HD-DVD buyers get their choices of Dragon’s Lair, Erin Brockovich, Meet the Fockers, Mercury Rising and What Dreams May Come.
That’s it for me this week, and as always high definers, keep the brightness low and the resolution high!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 12th, 2007
Erin Brockovich tells a story based on a true series of event. Erin (Julie Roberts in her Oscar winning role) has a tough life. She’s a single mother of three kids, her two ex-husbands left her not supporting her or her children, she can’t seem to find any work due to her lack of education, and she has $16 in her bank account. Life seems to be continuing on a downward spiral for Erin. Things start looking up when she is practically handed a job by her defense lawyer Ed Marsy (Albert Finney). It’s here that Erin stumbles upon a case involving PG&E, a $28 billion company that had been disposing a chemical into the local water supply of a nearby town called Hinkley, California.
Erin and Ed soon find themselves in a lot more than they ever probably bargained for when this case turns more ugly as each minute passes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 9th, 2007
There must be very few people out there who haven’t seen Taxi Driver or at the very least muttered the words, “you talking to me?†Regardless, this thirty year old film is easily a classic, and still on the top of many critics lists. It marked the blooming of an epic and ongoing relationship between Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese, the spawn of Jodie Foster’s career and arguably Harvey Keitel’s as well. At any rate Taxi Driver managed to receive four Academy award nominations as well as gaining a huge cult following. I don’t think it’s a surprise that I’ve already seen and love this movie, but how does the newly released DVD pan out?
Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro, Heat) is an ex-marine who had recently fought in the Vietnam War. He has since developed several psychological disabilities as showcased throughout the movie including insomnia, obsession, and depression. He works as a nighttime taxi driver and spends his sleepless days in pornography movie theatres or watching presidential aide Betsy (Cybill Shepherd, Alice). He finally garners the courage to approach Betsy and ask her on a date, initially she in intrigued by Travis, but after he takes her on a date to a pornographic film she ditches him and takes a cab home. This acts as a catalyst for Travis’ depression and increasingly paranoid and delusional behavior. He begins having vigilante fantasies and acquires several handguns. One night a 12 year prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster, Silence of the Lambs) jumps in to his cab trying to escape a beating from her pimp. Travis has a moment of realization about the decaying world around him. From here he begins toying with the notion of killing Senator Charles Palatine and Iris’ pimp (Harvey Keitel, Reservoir Dogs).
![Meet the Fockers [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/meet-the-fockers-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
![Erin Brockovich [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/erin-brockovich-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
