Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005
It’s another case of mistaken identity that gets our boys (Abbott and Costello) in trouble, this time with a couple of gangsters. I’ve always been an Abbott and Costello fan but somehow missed this 1948 film over the years. It’s possible that because it was one of only a few pictures the duo did outside of Universal it did not enjoy the wide release their other works had. A few gems from the boys’ routines can be found. Look for the “horse eating his fodder” and “I’ll bet you you’re not here”. There is none of the Big Band Era song and dance routine to slow this film’s pace.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005
The Naked Truth is a 1958 British farce that benefits most from an excellent performance by Peter Sellers. Sellers plays Sonny Boy MacGregor as a comedic Lon Chaney. Each of Sonny’s characters is a complete package from the makeup to the accents. Moments of the inspired genius that would be better displayed in The Pink Panther films make this average production something more. The comedy is decidedly European in flavor and probably not for everyone. Most of the film slows when Sellers is not on the scene
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2005
Synopsis
Many people have provided screwed up metaphors as to just how important Led Zeppelin has been to music in the last 35 years. So of course, I’ve gotta throw one in. Imagine today’s rock musicians as workers in a factory, all punching in and out for work at a time clock each day. Led Zeppelin is the clock. There really was nothing before it that could compare to it, and while there have been some imitators, real or implied (Whitesnake and Kingdom Come being two names from the 80’s hair band metal day...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2005
Synopsis
Well, considering that there were so many different strange film ideas in the 1980s, it was only a matter of time that someone write and produce a film about a dead guy, right? Well, you’re in luck, as two names from the period (Andrew McCarthy, St. Elmo’s Fire and Jonathan Silverman, Brighton Beach Memoirs) fulfill your wish as Weekend at Bernie’s finally comes to DVD.
McCarthy and Silverman play insurance reps with bigger aspirations in a owned by Bernie Lomax (Ter...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 20th, 2005
Synopsis
Let me get this out of the way first: I’m a Homicide junkie. While I’m grateful it got the run it did, to see it almost eternally on the graveyard TV timeslot of Friday at 10pm crushed me. And to see it get beaten in it’s time slot by Nash Bridges and remain virtually anonymous in the shadow of NYPD Blue discouraged me. But I’m a fanboy. It was filmed in my hometown (Baltimore), and while some of its actors were noteworthy elsewhere (among those were Ned Beatty, Yaphet Kotto an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 20th, 2005
Synopsis
Before they became the musical powerhouses that adolescents have grown to love and adore as part of the entertainment landscape, it’s common knowledge that Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera all appeared on Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club” show in the early ‘90s. But what you may not have known is just how many other semi-recognizable names appeared in the show during its run. Not only was another boy band musician on the show (JC Chasez), but you also had quality acting talents i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2005
Synopsis
John Woo did not just direct Tom Cruise from a big rock in Mission Impossible:2, nor EVERY recent action movie with featuring either Nicolas Cage or John Travolta. He was only a name you heard about whenever the hot director of the moment (Quentin Tarantino comes to mind) talked about their film influences. Woo was recognized as a top directing talent before his move to the West, and is the one name people consistently mention when talking about the Hong Kong crime/action film genre. This fi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2005
Synopsis
Well, I’m unsure how many people would see a romantic comedy involving a 59 year old man and a 26 year old woman (unless you saw Autumn in New York awhile ago), but the romance between Clark Gable (Gone With the Wind) and Sophia Loren (El Cid) in It Started in Naples is just a little creepy for me. Especially when you consider Gable seemed to always appear in his mid-60’s.
But enough about that aspect of it, Gable plays Mike, a lawyer about to be married, who ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2005
Synopsis
I didn’t know what quite to expect from watching D.E.B.S. for the first time. So, it looks like a group of college girls who double as CIA assassins, right? OK, I can buy that, I mean, I’m a fan of Alias, so I can dig it. You’ve got Amy (Sara Foster, The Big Bounce), D.E.B. Academy’s top notch student with her pick of anywhere she wants to go; her friend, the tough and ambitious Max (Meagan Good, The Cookout), along with the younger Janet (Jill Ritchie, Herbie Fully L...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2005
Synopsis
One could make an attempt at witty prose by comparing Jackass to the works of Kubrick, Cassavettes, Scorsese, or what have you. But look, it’s a bunch of guys, some of whom have reputations in other circles, such as skateboarder Bam Margera and acclaimed director Spike Jonze, doing stunts that you may not have thought, dared or remotely considered doing, and keeping parts of the general public off guard. The gang made a huge splash on MTV, and scores of crazed teens wanted to try what these guys we...
