Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2007
Scrubs is a show that resists being defined. Certainly there have been a ton of medical shows over the years. Recently shows like Grey’s Anatomy have found a way to balance a bit of drama with a light mood that often approaches comedy. MASH was the opposite. It was a comedy that often allowed quite serious moments to intrude upon the laughter. Any way you slice it, it turns out that pain and disease can be funny. Nowhere is that more true than on Scrubs. On Scrubs you are never left in an awkward position of knowing if it’s appropriate to laugh. Everything about the show is geared toward the absurd, and hopefully the funny.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2007
I love CSI and have been an avid fan from day one. I think it brought a fresh look to the procedural crime dramas that have long ago become just a little stale and predictable. The problem is that the series has gone the Dick Wolf route of branching out so that the final product might be a little diluted. Unlike the Law & Order franchise, each version of CSI has attempted to take on a unique look and style to reflect the location without giving up those elements which are the tradition of the series. CSI:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2007
Every now and then a writer gets stuck for what to write. As a reviewer it happens that I can watch a film or series, take pages of detailed notes and read everything I can get my hands on about the subject, but still when I sit down to my computer it’s just me and that flashy cursor, aptly named, for every writer has felt the curse as that incessant blinking blob continues to remind us we’ve got nothing. In the industry we have a highly technical term for this condition. We call it writer’s block.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 24th, 2007
I can still remember the first time I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was just after my birthday in June, and I had some time to kill on a weekday afternoon. I didn’t recall seeing a lot of hype, and it seemed no one knew just how huge the film was going to be. My expectations were not really high. The film looked interesting, and I was just looking to escape for a couple of hours. By the time I left that theater, I felt a little bit like Indiana Jones himself having made some grand discovery. I had to tell my friends.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 22nd, 2007
Meet The Robinsons follows the story of young orphan Lewis. He’s quite the young inventor but ends up with more failures and near misses than anything successful. His tendency to blow things up doesn’t help his adoption chances too much either. One day his life is changed when a kid from the future arrives to give him a boost of confidence. Back in the future Lewis is temporarily trapped, and the guest of the manic family Robinson. Each family member is a zany character unto themselves. Uncle Art, cleverly voiced by Adam West, is an intergalactic pizza delivery guy, and mom has trained frogs to become big band singers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2007
Slow Burn delivers exactly what the title suggests. A whole lotta slow and a little burn. District Attorney Ford Cole (Liotta) is running for Mayor. He’s got a no nonsense reputation for fighting crime. He’s been locked in a near mortal struggle with crime lord Danny Luden, an elusive criminal who has more than once humiliated Cole in the past. His ace assistant, Nora Timmer (Blalock) has just shot a man she claims attempted to rape her. The story begins to unravel when Luther Pinks (LL Cool J) arrives with an alternate story that paints Timmer in a very bad light. The two tales are told through flashbacks and narrative, and it’s left to the audience to come up with the truth. The only problem is the pacing is erratic and often confusing. After an hour and a half of clichés and snail’s pace plot movement, you find yourself too fatigued to give a crap who is playing who anymore.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2007
The box art boasts that “You have never seen The Wonder Years’ Fred Savage like this before”. Right. And will you please all bow your heads and join me in prayer that we never see him like this again. Forget for the moment that I just can’t get the character of Kevin Arnold out of my head any time I see Savage, but watching him turn into some sex crazy maniac is like catching your sister on the toilet. The image is there forever burned into your corneas like some visage of Hell to torment you for the remainder of your natural life.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 15th, 2007
I had a decided advantage going into the
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 15th, 2007
The Invisible requires far too much setup before we really get into the major ideas of the film. The first 40 minutes of the film is a complicated series of events that place a heavy burden on our patience. Finally, in an unfortunate series of events that would rattle Lemony Snicket, two lives are placed on a collision course.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2007
Usually a top young name combined with a recognizable name (or more accurately a recognizable body), brings a film that is somewhat underwhelming or even forgettable for all involved. In the case of Harsh Times, you’ve got Christian Bale, the latest Batman, and Eva Longoria, who stars in Desperate Housewives, appearing in a film about, well I’m not exactly sure.
![Harsh Times [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/harsh-times-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
