Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2003
Please do not confuse this Hallmark made for TV film with the wonderful Tim Burton film of the same year. They have about as much in common with each other as either does with the classic Washington Irving story. The only good thing I can say about the film is that Brent Carver’s Ichabod Crane is a spectacular performance. Carver reminds me a great deal of the late and great Roddy McDowall. He shares his overall appearance as well as certain characteristic mannerisms and speech inflections with McDowall. The rest of the film is pretty bad. The headless horseman is such a minor character that he doesn’t enter into the story at all until the final six minutes of the film. Instead we are forced to watch a tale dominated by Ichabod’s courting of Kristina. Atmosphere is lacking for the most part. The supporting cast is dominated by fawning females and one- dimensional men.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2003
You can pretty much guess a film’s in trouble when it begins with an ominous narrative that ends with: “The following could be a true story”. Deadly Invasion starts slow and gets dull from there. This was a 1995 TV film about killer bees. Weren’t we over that story in the 1970’s? The plot is predictable at every turn. This might not be all that bad if not for below B grade acting and cinematography. I’m more afraid of having to watch this film again than of killer bees.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2003
Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with your television set, but what were the network executives thinking? It’s hard to believe that a show as influential and as well known as The Outer Limits never made it to the end of its second season. The original Outer Limits was cancelled just 17 episodes into season 2. Like Star Trek after it, this short-lived show found its footing in later syndication and revival projects. It is fortunate indeed that today’s general rule of 100 episodes to qualify for syndication did not exist in the 1960’s. Now a complete series on DVD, this is an important release. Sci-Fi writer Harlen Ellison made his TV writing debut with two of the most famous Outer Limits episodes : “Soldier” and “Demon With A Glass Hand”. The writing was top notch even if the “monster of the week” was not.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2003
Alias might well be the first TV series better on DVD than its original broadcast. I tried to get into this show when it began two years ago. Fans could have warned me that any attempt to join this series mid-season is a big mistake. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger and the plots are complicated enough that it can be hard to keep up with the intrusion of preemptions and repeats. These DVD's allow you to watch the show in a logical order without fear of missing an episode which could leave you completely lost. Jennifer Garner is a surprisingly strong lead. The supporting cast offers a proper mix of the spy clichés. I particularly enjoy the insecure light Q-like character. All the prerequisite spy stuff is here: exotic locations, groovy gadgets, chases and gunfights, and the sexy lead.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2003
I had never heard of Seabiscuit until I saw a trailer for the movie starring Tobey Maguire. I had no desire to watch a movie about a racehorse and doubted the voice over as it tried to engage the audience by stating that the story of Seabiscuit were the things that legends were made of. Well that feeling of skepticism changed after I watched this documentary. This documentary follows the amazing story of Seabiscuit, possibly the most famous racehorse in American history. One of the opening lines states that in 1938, ...uring the days of the Great Depression, Seabiscuit had more headlines in the newspapers than Adolf Hitler and F.D.R. I actually rewound that part and listened to it twice to make sure that I wasn’t hearing things, but it was true! Either America was a very boring place during those years or there was something quite extraordinary about this horse…
This was the time if the Great Depression. 1 in 4 Americans were unemployed and the country was looking for a hero. This was in the days before televised events and horseracing was considered the pinnacle of sporting events. Celebrities would flock to see the races akin to them being sighted at a Lakers game these days. Millions of Americans would be glued to their radios to listen to the drama that the races would provide. And their favorite, Seabiscuit, would rarely disappoint.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2003
The fourth season of Stargate SG-1 started with one of the largest f/x episodes of the series. The Replicants, which look a lot like the mecha-spiders from the Lost In Space film are threatening Earth, and it seems all is lost. Of course, fans of the series know that SG-1 will save the day. The stories have continued to build in expanse as the series enters its fourth year. Stargate SG-1 just keeps getting bigger and better. By now I think this might have become the best sci-fi series on TV, rivaling even the ...xcellent first two Star Trek series. Although as with any series Stargate SG-1 has produced its share of mediocre entries, I can honestly say none of them sucked. I’m also quite pleased with the format of the season gift sets. Unlike the bulky accordion packages of most series, the box of plastic cases are so much more convenient. They also hold up much better to continued use and time.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2003
Make no mistake about it. CSI is not your father’s Quincy. The idea of forensic science on drama is not really a unique one. CSI makes its mark with an incredible style not seen before on TV or even in films. The cases are always engaging and the characters and writing remain strong. This second season set is far superior to the initial outing. Paramount finally got the message and released this set in widescreen and with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The packaging, however, is the same awkward and flimsy design offered in year one. The actors found their footing by the opening of season 2 and the action was amped up from the first season. Cases seem more “ripped from the headlines” and the gory CGI animations are much more graphic.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 26th, 2003
It’s hard to imagine that it’s been 20 years since the Griswald family packed up the Family Truckster and stumbled their way halfway across the country to Wally World.Truth be told, I am not much of a Chevy Chase fan. I often find his buffoon act trying and old, but the Vacation films are a notable exception. With today’s political correctness it’s doubtful that the family dog would meet such a horribly funny end (Before you write to tell me how cruel I am, I own a Siberian husky who is loved no matter how much trouble she gets into). I suspect the equally hilarious treatment of the dearly departed Aunt Edna might not cause quite as much stir. I live near the “mouse house” in Florida, so the tourism jokes work exceptionally well on me. Harold Ramis has a reputation for uneven comedy, and Vacation fits that pattern all the way. While much of the film plays like a Saturday Night Live skit, the film can be very funny when it hits.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 21st, 2003
Decades before The Blair Witch Project drew attention to the small independent filmmaker, George Romero and a small band of Pittsburgh natives took the horror genre by surprise with the stunning and atmospheric Night of the Living Dead. Day of the Dead was the third and (so far) final entry into the Romero zombie trilogy. Romero admits that this is the least acclaimed film in the series while professing that it is his own favorite. There is absolutely no question that makeup magician Tom Savini did some of his greatest work in this film. The gore effects are as realistic as they are gruesome. Tom has told me countless times that he carries a certain extra pride about the work he did on the film. The problem is the story is just too over the top to be taken at all seriously. Most of the acting is really B grade with the notable exception of Howard Sherman’s brilliant portrayal of Bub the mascot zombie.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2003
In the late 1950’s Westerns accounted for six of the top ten programs on TV. Only Gunsmoke had a longer run than Bonanza. From 1959 to 1973 Ben Cartwright and his boys rode across the small screen. Years later in syndication the series re-emerged as Ponderosa and a handful of TV movies continued the tale into the 90’s.We never have grown tired of the genre that gave us such heroes as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. While I am far more in favor of season sets, this best-of collection is a might heapin’ helping of tall tales. You’ll find two discs each with four episodes, two each from the following years: 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964.
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