Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 12th, 2010
Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a decorated solider just back from Iraq and having difficulty re-adjusting to life on the home front, is understandably less than thrilled with his new assignment: working with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) in the Casualty Notification Service. These two have what must surely be one of the worst jobs in the history of history: knocking on doors and informing people that their loved ones have been killed. It is important that they deliver the news and leave, and have no further involvement with the bereaved. If only life were that simple...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 12th, 2010
In 1999, a troupe of US marines must transport some equipment across Romania. Leading them is Captain Doug Jones (Armand Assante), a man so committed to his duty that he does a pretty convincing job of appearing passionate and proud about what is, on the face of it, a rather dull, two-bit assignment. As matters develop, the mission is far from dull, though it is not interesting in the way Jones might have hoped. The train is waylaid in the small town of Capalnita by the corrupt stationmaster, and a comical clash of cultures ensues.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 9th, 2010
A man dies during what appears to be a botched robbery, and his heart winds up in the needful chest of Josh Lucas, single father to a young daughter with a rare bone disorder. This is obviously a man with more than his share of troubles, but things appear to be turning around. He has a new heart, and his daughter's beautiful doctor (Lena Headey) really likes him. But then, when he crosses the path of a certain paramedic, his heart begins to beat furiously, deafening him. Before long, Lucas realizes that his donor was murdered, and the vengeful heart is leading him to the killers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2010
A spin-off from Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life centered around four residents of the Eastland Academy for Girls and their headmistress, Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae). The four girls were characterized in strokes as broad as they way their physical types were presented: Blair (Lisa Welchel), rich, spoiled and blonde; Jo (Nancy McKeon), tomboy and brunette; Tootie, nosy and African-American; Natalie (Mindy Cohn), fun-loving and overweight.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2010
For anyone who still engages in serious debates over who would win, Thor or the Hulk, here is a series that will send you into paroxysms of nerd joy. The premise here, in the spirit of violent apples and homicidal oranges, is to scientifically (more or less) explore who would win in one-on-one battles between an Apache and a gladiator, a viking and a samurai, a Spartan and a ninja, and so on. We even have the IRA versus the Taliban. Weapons, armor, and tactics are all examined, demonstrated, and fed into a computer. The data is then dramatized at each episode's climax.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2010
During the chaos of a mutiny, three British officers in India get their hands on a great treasure. They do not do so honorably, however, and, mistrustful of each other, make a blood pact, which cannot be broken without suffering a terrible curse. Decades later, the three have experienced very different fortunes, and vengeance has come to call. Irene (Susannah Harker), the daughter of one of these men, seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes (Charlton Heston!) and Dr. Watson (Richard Johnson). There are many dark deeds to unravel, and along the way, Watson and Irene fall in love.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2010
Having accidentally blinded a singer during a contract killing, hit man extraordinaire Chow Yun-Fat, consumed with guilt, becomes the woman's protector, and seeks redemption by finding some way to restore her sight. Meanwhile, Danny Lee is the plays-by-his-own-rules cop on his trail, and inevitably the two men will find themselves as unlikely allies in gigantically operatic gunfights.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2010
We are in the midst of the Great War. Michael Dunne (Paul Gross) is a Canadian solider recovering from physical and psychological wounds. He falls in love with his nurse (Carline Dhavernas), and when her asthmatic brother enlists, Dunne heads back to the trenches to protect him, and the two men wind up at the gigantic, murderous battle that gives the film its name.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by David Annandale on April 29th, 2010
The wonderful thing about the Warner Archive Collection and its burn-on-demand approach to DVDs is that it permits the release of titles that would otherwise be aimed at so narrow a niche as to be nonviable as a commercial release. And this two-disc set is a case in point. Hosted by Robert L. Ripley himself (yes, believe it or not, he was a real person), here are 24 ten-minute shorts from the early 1930s. They're an entertaining hodgepodge of interesting facts, oddball trivia, quirks and freaks of nature, and travel footage. Among other things, what we have here is the ancestor of the shockumentary, and there are plenty of items that are still pretty eye-opening (such as the horned man).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 27th, 2010
A time of change is descending on the America and the men and women of the Sterling Cooper ad agency. The civil rights movement is underway, and (at the end of the season), President Kennedy is assassinated. Personal lives are also undergoing upheaval. Peggy is learning to express her sexuality, while the closeted Stan wrestles with some painful reckonings involving his own. And Don's marriage hits a crisis thanks to his serial philandering and a huge secret from his past.
