Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2010
"During the 1980's over 70% of American adults believed in the existence of abusive Satanic cults. Another 30% rationalized the lack of evidence due to government cover-ups. The following is based on true unexplained events."
Here we go again; at least that's what I was thinking as House Of The Devil started to unfold with the above introduction. I remember well the "Satanic Panic" that goes back to the early 1970's. It was a somewhat natural extension of the Manson Family murders. While that might not have been Satanic related, it sparked the imaginations of a fearful country, and before long there were urban legends of human sacrifice and ritualistic slayings all over the country.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2010
Anyone who has come here long enough to get to know my likes and dislikes probably knows what a Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse fan I am. The man and the character opened the road for so much of what we have today, from Pixar to Tom and Jerry. But, if you're looking for the kind of cartoons you and I have grown to expect, this one is bound to disappoint you. It's an episode of the current television series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's an animated Sesame Street, however, and not really a cartoon adventure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2010
So, this guy goes to see three rabbis....
No, that's not the start of some insensitive anti-Semitic joke. It's the rather offbeat idea behind the latest film by the Coen brothers. Of course, off the wall is business as usual for Ethan and Joel Coen. Fans of the brothers' work already know to expect the unexpected. You're likely not looking for the same kind of logical coherence that you might otherwise demand in your movies. The films often share a modern allegory to some classic fable or tale.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2010
I have absolutely no doubt that Hilary Swank meant well, but we all know what wise men say about good intentions. It is likely that Amelia Earhart has been a hero and inspiration to the young actress as I know she's been to women of all professions throughout the years. There's no question that she is an influential historical figure and deserving of attention. Of course, she's had plenty over the years. There have actually been quite a few films and television shows dedicated to the heroine since her disappearance so many years ago.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 13th, 2010
"My old man calls space travel a fool's game. He says human beings are 60 percent water; they eat, sleep, defecate, can't follow directions, and explode like piñata when exposed to the vacuum in space. Lately, I've been wondering if he is right."
Houston, this is Canaveral. Initiating prelaunch checklist. Please respond go/no go:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 9th, 2010
"Look sharp, act sharp, be sharp. These guys coming out of prison? They're buff, been on drugs. You do what they teach you in the academy, you will die. Knucklehead wants to take your gun. So if it's you or some 300-pound naked guy on PCP, you take his ass down any way you can. You ride with me, you back your badge."
There probably isn't a group of people who have been profiled more than the men and women serving in the LAPD.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 9th, 2010
In the 1930’s and 40’s MGM was trying to get in on the lucrative animation game. The field was dominated at the time by Warner Brothers with their Loony Tunes shorts, and of course, the iconic cast of animated characters coming out of the Walt Disney Studio. For years they had failed to find the right property to take advantage of the market. It wasn’t until the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera approached the studio with their first project that the times did change, at least a little, for the fledgling animation department at MGM.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 9th, 2010
What if you took the Desperate Housewives and placed them on an Army base? If that thought has been keeping you awake at night, sleep tight, gentle reader. You can find out simply by picking up a copy of Army Wives on DVD. I’m not exaggerating about this at all. Army Wives has the very same soap opera plotting and tone as the ABC hit does. You gotta really be into that sort of thing if you have any hope at all of keeping up with the antics of these four friends,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 9th, 2010
Just as JAG closes out its 10th and final year I really think the show was peaking. Most regular readers to the site will remember I was not much of a fan when I started with the 5th season set. I thought the stories failed to work on the action or courtroom levels. As the show evolved, or I did, I was drawn in with the clever and unique types of stories the series began to explore. By the time it ended here I was ready for more, but no more will be forthcoming. Of course, it lives on in the two NCIS spin-off shows currently on the air.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 9th, 2010
By 1978 the television detective model had been nearly complete and possibly already a cliché. Dan Tanna might have well been the complete model as far as the formula goes. It was almost as if you could go down a checklist and, like Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster, you would check off the necessary elements. The scripts could then almost write themselves, and you let the show fly on autopilot for three seasons or so until someone decides to look behind the curtain.
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