Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2011
"The heat is on..."
From the bouncing opening music by Glenn Fry to the final frame of Eddie Murphy's smile, Beverly Hills Cop has established itself as a classic. Now finally out on Blu-ray, the film shows us all over again why we fell in love with it almost 20 years ago. Murphy hasn't been as funny since, but we'll always have Beverly Hills and Axel Foley.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2011
"The two most infamous mass murderers battle for the top spot."
Of course, Dahmer and Gacy were not mass murderers; rather they were serial killers by definition. But you get the idea. So I'm predisposed to forgive the tag line for that small error. What is less easy to forgive is the fact that the title itself is misleading as hell. There is a very weak encounter between these two guys, but it is not the ultimate monster smash-up this kind of title traditionally represents.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2011
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension— a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone."
This was a special year for the series. While the experiment only lasted a season, this collection features 1-hour episodes. These haven't shown up in syndication very often, so you might be less familiar with these episodes than any other year.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2011
In 1972 he made us an offer we couldn't refuse. A couple of years later he followed it up with one of the finest sequels in Hollywood's history. Of course, I'm talking about Francis Ford Coppola. His movies are often considered epics. When Coppola paints, he tends to paint big. But it wasn't always like that for the once young director. He learned his trade, oddly enough, from the master of the B movie, Roger Corman. It was there that he learned to do more with less. It was there under the tutelage of Corman that Coppola
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2011
There were a lot of changes in store for the Bunkers in the 9th and final season. The biggest change was the addition of Stephanie played by Danielle Brisebois. She was the daughter of one of Edith's cousins. The girl was originally left with the Bunkers for what was supposed to be a temporary situation. Of course, the couple gets stuck with the 9-year-old girl and have to raise her. The matter is made worse when Archie discovers she's Jewish.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2011
"Once upon a time in the projects..."
Eddie Murphy co-created this controversial situation comedy that aired first on Fox and was later picked up by the WB. It was quite an original undertaking. The show was made using stop-motion. The process was very much like the traditional claymation process that brought such classic favorites like Gumby to life. But since the models were made of foam instead of clay, the process was dubbed foamation.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2011
"Beyond any terror ever known, The Black Sleep, it wakes the dead, plunging you into a reign of terror."
London, 1872. Dr. Cadman (Rathbone) has discovered an ancient drug that mimics death in every way. It puts the person in a deep sleep he refers to as the black sleep. He considers it to be an important step in his surgical experiments. He needs a capable assistant. Dr. Ramsay (Rudley) has been convicted of killing a man. He is about to be executed when Cadman uses his drug to help the condemned man escape the noose.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2011
Of all the straight-to-video titles I didn't expect to see, Street Kings 2 would be high on the list. The original film was a predictable film with bad pacing. The box office was no better. That film pulled in about $26 million and quickly faded into obscurity. But here we are two years later and the title has been attached to a direct-to-video release from Fox. None of the original characters or actors are found here. The title merely suggests a similar story, this time in the Motor City, Detroit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 10th, 2011
In the 1970's the critically acclaimed Upstairs Downstairs was a television mainstay in England. American audiences were soon introduced to the series through PBS broadcasts in the late 1970's and beyond. It was a unique kind of drama that served both as a period piece and an examination of the class lifestyles. The series began at the turn of the century and led up to the events of World War I and the period that soon followed. We were witness to the wealthy Bellamy family who occupied the estate at 165 Eaton Place.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 10th, 2011
"Only one creature has carved out a life for itself in every habitat on Earth. That creature is us. All over the world we still use our ingenuity to survive the wild places, far from the city lights, face to face with raw nature. This is the Human Planet."
Most of us live in, or at least near, a modern city. We live a life where our food comes from a grocery store. Sure, you might have a garden or even raise a few animals, but unless you live on a farm, you likely purchase most of what you eat from metal shelves in large buildings