Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2009
"When you give up your dream, you die."
Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri star in Flashdance, a misguided, but highly entertaining piece of nostalgia from director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction).
A lot has happened since its 1983 release. Still, it’s hard to imagine anyone that grew up in or around the eighties has escaped the iconic image of Beals in her cutoff gray sweatshirt, long legs bared for the world to see. Harder to imagine is people exist who could have made it their whole lives without hearing at least one song from the amazing (for the times) soundtrack.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
Marvel has been pretty busy lately. Since starting their own film studio to work on their iconic characters, we’ve seen a lot of the Marvel universe of late. This past summer saw not one, but two of Marvel’s stable characters enjoy blockbuster releases on the live action front. Iron Man captured world wide attention and the hundreds of millions that go with it. While the new Hulk film didn’t bring with it the same kind of financial bounty, it was a well respected film that won over much of the character’s fan base, lost when Ang Lee put together his horrible Hulk feature some years ago.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
I was first introduced into the somewhat twisted world of Dave Barry in 1986 when I moved to Florida. The Tampa paper carried his Sunday column, and all I can remember is that it had something to do with dinosaurs on the beach and that I couldn’t stop laughing. For years afterward both my wife and I made the column regular Sunday reading. As years went on other things fill one’s life, and I only occasionally read the material until he disappeared almost completely from the Central Florida scene
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
Who says no one likes a guy who’s negative all the time? Becker has got to be one of the most cynical, grumpy, and negative characters to grace our sit-com screens. He’s a guy you probably love to hate, and he’s also hilarious. Ted Danson spent over a decade behind the bar at Cheers and could have easily called it a career. You know, stop while you’re ahead. Instead he climbed right back into the television saddle and reemerged as Dr. Becker.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
The second season of The Invaders saw a shift in the show’s focus. Vincent has started to get his message out there, and some of these people are organizing. There’s no doubt, that if left to continue, the show might have taken on a more resistance center much like Kenneth Johnson’s V mini-series. If you’re looking for a conclusion, you won’t really get it. Vincent’s still out there, and so are the Invaders.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
Meerkat Manor is back for a fourth season on DVD. You’re invited back into the South African desert with the famous Whiskers Clan. Animal Planet has themselves a relatively big hit here with Meerkat Manor. OK, so, it’s not exactly The Sopranos or The Shield, but it does have a modestly dedicated audience. Seems that folks just can’t get enough of these fur balls.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
The box art promises that Red, White, & Brown won’t disappoint Russell’s die hard fans. I totally agree. This extended Comedy Central concert is pretty much standard Russell Peters. I’ve only seen his act in bits and pieces in the past, but what I saw here looks very much the same. Peters’ comedy is pretty much made up of riffing on ethnicities and various stereotypes. He gets away with what many others comics can’t by having an Indian heritage that’s not really as evident as he makes it sound.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 3rd, 2009
“Four cops down: two dead, two likely. An NYPD drug bust has gone horribly wrong.”
That’s how this gripping drama opens. Not since the likes of Al Pacino in Serpico has there been a movie anything at all like Pride And Glory. This film doesn’t pull punches, and it looks about as real as any police drama I’ve seen anywhere before. Filmed entirely on location in the seedy streets of New York City’s Washington Heights district, there is enough gritty realism to go around.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 3rd, 2009
Welcome to the neighborhood here in Lakeview Terrace. See that house next door with the zillion watt security lights? Yeah, they’re pointed right at your bedroom window, but that’s just for your own protection. Well, that’s Abel’s house, right there. He’s a cop with the LAPD. Don’t worry about crime around here. Abel performs regular patrols in the neighborhood in his off hours. If you do something against the rules here, like litter, or park somewhere you shouldn’t, don’t worry, Abel will let you know what’s what around here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2009
Three soldiers are on their way home from Iraq. They have each suffered injuries. Fred Cheaver (Robbins) is on his way home for good. He’s retired and looks forward to getting back to St. Louis and his wife and son. Colee Dunn (McAdams) is a young woman who was injured in her leg and now has a month leave. She’s planning on going to Las Vegas to return a guitar to the family of her boyfriend, who died in Iraq. T.K. Poole was injured in the groin and is also on his way to Las Vegas for a one month leave.
