Posts by William O'Donnell

The Trailer Park Boys are household names in Canada; the central characters even more than the show itself. The mockumentary TV series has been a cult sensation since its inception in 2001, right through its seven seasons and two feature films. Here is the introduction to Ricky, Julian, Bubbles and other charmers from the Sunnyvale Trailer Park.

As was the case for my two previous Madeline reviews (https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/07/20/madelines-great-adventures/ plus https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/09/21/madelines-halloween-other-spooky-tales/#more-13938) there is little more I could say about the general premise of Madeline. But as I slowly become a connoisseur of this particular character (as this website feels I should be, it seems) I have a few more insights brought on by this Christmas themed edition.

Grace, California is the kind of “small” town that all the young people wish to escape. Why? I suppose it is because they have ambitions for “greater” things. What are their ambitions while they have to stay? To be as catty and backstabbing as possible while living out a teen soap opera existence. Such is the groundwork for Seven Deadly Sins, a two-part mini-series created for the Lifetime network and based on a series of books of the same name. On this DVD the two parts are merged into a monstrous movie (clocking in at over 3 hours).

Three couples are meeting for a trip out to the country to have an old fashioned, American orgy. What instigated said orgy is mostly a mystery, as is what truly keeps them motivated to go through with it. Needless to say, most of them are in it for reasons beyond being carefree and their ulterior motives and inner demons will only spoil the party.

A hitman is getting into his senior years; a notable luxury for someone in his line of work. To feel more secure, he plans to pull off one last job before calling it quits. In order for this film to have an interesting plot something surely must go wrong, and it does. Now reunited with his son, who is aspiring to learn from dear ole (estranged) dad and elevate himself in the crime world, Charlie Valentine hopes to settles things in one way or another.

Robert Mutt feels like a hopeless loser and tries to “off” himself (several times). Even in death, he is a failure and finds himself in a mental asylum. Upon receiving some experimental treatment from a new therapist, his confidence is (seemingly) restored and he sets back out into the real world to become a real “somebody.”

Two young boys start a rivalry that is forged into a friendship by way of helping an ailing dog. As one boy's caregiver passes away, the other boy's family takes him on as one of their own. This family struggles through tough times on their farm as well as tensions from bigoted neighbours because the boy they took into their home happens to be black. Such is the “family bond” thesis of this highly sentimental Xmas film, co-authored by Country superstar Kenny Rogers, and starring country star turned famous dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.

This 1972 concert film has been seldom seen since its first release (which was in 1974) and is only now experiencing its first official release onto DVD and Blu Ray (never having been previously released on home video either). Promoting their just released Exile on Main St. album, the setlist is a high energy service to their love of Chuck Berry inspired rock n roll and complete worship of American blues music.

Troma Entertainment has harnessed a young group of Canuck filmmakers who go by the moniker ASTRON-6, and will be debuting their first feature film venture into the realm of bad taste. The film is called Father's Day and the trailer, which is filled to the brim with topless women and bloody, man-and-man rape, is already getting attention online. As well, it seems that Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman simply cannot stop talking about the film, based on the amount of clips available online (google Lloyd or Troma and soon find out).

Gunsmoke, in all of its 20 seasons, making it the longest running prime-time drama of all time, has such a strong legacy that it feels odd to review it. Thankfully the challenge is an enjoyable one as the show is at a full head of steam in its fourth season (it was ranked #1 at this time) and each episode is still as engrossing today as it was over 4 decades ago.