Posts by Gino Sassani

"Contestants are experienced marksmen operating on a closed course. Do not attempt this at home."

So, just in case you have access to all kinds of firearms and a few spare acres to set up a range, you might want to think twice before trying to reproduce the challenges you'll find in History's latest reality show Top Shot. It's part Survivor and part Big Brother with the added dimension of marksmanship. And, honestly, it's quite a bit more compelling than either of those shows.

"No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny. He cannot glimpse his part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, he must live and learn. And so it will be for the young warlock arriving at the gates of Camelot. A boy that will, in time, father a legend. His name ... Merlin."

Merlin. You know the name. It conjures up images of a white-haired old man with a long gray beard and a long pointed hat. His story is indeed legend.

"Give me a stage where this here bull can rage."

Under normal circumstances and certainly under less skillful hands the story of Jake La Motta would not be one worth telling. His life is a story without heroes. It's a life of abusive behavior and an almost unredeemable personality. The only way he was ever capable of expressing himself was in the boxing ring. Even there he was doomed to feel inadequate most of his life.

"Dear Screenwriter,

"Here’s your writing prompt: You are to write a feature-length screenplay with only one on-screen character. This character is to remain in only one location for the entire duration of the film, and that one location must be a 2' x 7' wooden box. You cannot use flashbacks, cut-aways, or any other narrative device that would take the action outside that box. Sound impossible? It’s not. In fact, all this exactly describes the film BURIED."

Or how about this one.

"In the beginning there was darkness. And then bang, giving birth to an endless expanding existence of time, space, and matter. Now, see further than we've ever imagined. Beyond the limits of our existence. In a place we call The Universe."

Up until now these History releases have been season sets of the documentary series. This release is the first which appears to be a planned series of specific subject titles. It does create a bit of confusion when you see a series called The Universe and all of the episodes on the set deal with our own back yard

When I first started watching the new comedy concert by Kathleen Madigan, I grew somewhat fearful. She was introduced by Lewis Black, who appears to be one of her closest friends. That scared me more than a little. Lewis Black is nothing but an angry old man who preaches tolerance of anyone who agrees with him. If you don't agree with him, you are subject to the most venomous of attacks of hatred I've ever seen from a stand-up. If Kathleen Madigan was going to be a female Lewis Black, this was going to be a long hour, indeed.

"You have conquered and I yield. Yet, henceforward art though also dead - dead to the world, to Heaven, and to hope. In me did thou exist - and, in my death, see by this image, which is thy own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself." - Edgar Allan Poe

The last of the Lionsgate / AfterDark double features covers the middle of the road. The films both deal more in science fiction or alternate realities than they do in any form of horror, one with the idea of a menacing world of doppelgangers and the other with changing the past through time travel.

"Between 1954 and 1976 nearly 600 children were voluntarily submitted for participation in a number of behavioral studies. These experimental facilities were privately funded and tucked away in secluded regions of the South. Families were paid a fee for their involvement and were told the studies were harmless. Most of the children were never heard from again."

What we have heard from again are these little independent films from Lionsgate and After Dark. You might remember them as the 8 Films To Die For. They were usually around Halloween

"O joyful. O delightful. O fortunate one. Weep no more, this departed son. Read these words. Sound thy voice. Revel and sing. Rejoice! Rejoice! Life's for the living, not for the dead. Forget tomorrow. Live now instead. This night you breathe, while they cannot. So dance ye soul on their resting spot."

It's another double feature from Lionsgate and AfterDark. This one offers one of the best of the series with a rather flat companion.

This is one of the biggest prizes we've ever offered. Our friends at A&E Home Entertainment have given us a copy of Zorro: The Complete Series to give away. This collection features 15 discs. That's 88 episodes. You get over 35 hours of stuff to watch here. This release includes a special bonus disc. To win a copy of this exciting 1990's television show, follow these instructions.

Contest is now closed Winner was Leanne shellington