Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 17th, 2013
Learning your ABCs and 123s are perhaps the most broad and basic themes an educational children's televion show could take. Nickelodeon offers a roster of their most popular shows (at least, those designed for pre-schoolers) to cover said topics in two seperate DVD releases. Each DVD is virtually identical in structure. There only difference are to particular episodes chosen from each show.
Each release provides more than 2 hours of viewing with a lineup of shows that includes Team Umizoomi, Ni Hao Kai-lan, the strange mini-opera that is Wonder Pets, and the immensely popular Nickelodeon staples Go, Diego Go!, Dora the Explorer, and Blue's Clues. Hopefully the young viewers of these DVDs enjoy diversity as the program never stays the same for more than an episode, save for Team Umizoomi getting two in the "123s" DVD and Wonder Pets getting two in "ABCs."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 12th, 2013
Probably most known for his roasts on Comedy Central, Anthony Jeselnik offers an hour (included the many long pauses) of stand-up comedy that is 100% bad taste. Dark humour and a huge ego are Jeselnik's shtick so you have absolutely every reason to walk away from this...except you might actually catching yourself laughing.
Jeselnik never attempts to make friends with the audience. It's common for a comedian to talk to members of the crowd and perhaps take a few shots at them. Jeselnik sets out to offend and elevate himself above everyone in the room with him. Again...this is his act. Could he be a true egomaniac? Perhaps. He's certainly good at portraying one onstage. More importantly, is it funny? The answer: sometimes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 7th, 2013
(I have covered the first season on this site already so this review shall begin with that one then segway into new write-up for Season 2):
A successful writing team, who also happen to be a married couple, are the creators of an award-winning show in the UK that has just completed after four seasons. An American network wishes to create a US version of the show. The couple are flown to LA, put up in a lavish mansion and are introduced to the Hollywood method of creating television…and it nearly destroys them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 27th, 2012
An African American high school student fights against her school's longstanding decision to host racially segregated proms. This film is based on true events that occurred at a school in Butler, Georgia. Originally debuting on the Lifetime network in 2006, this is the film's first DVD release.
A couple of the actors seemed a little out of place in their roles. Jason Lewis' beauty is a bit of a curse as he is seems only suited to play male models. As a high school teacher, his hair is just a bit too gelled and his chin seems a bit too molded. This may seem like an unfair evaluation but sometimes I think the casting director needs to be more aware of whether or not an actor looks right for the part and Mr. Lewis just didn't have the mien of “small Southern town.” I don't even recall if he had the correct accent come to think of it...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 19th, 2012
The debut season of this Comedy Central program was entitled "Hoodies" on it's DVD and Blu Ray release. Season 2 is called "Deep V's" in honour of the garment Daniel Tosh, the host, wears in each episode. Very little is different as far as format or new segments are concernced since the last time I wrote about this show (https://upcomingdiscs.com/2012/06/05/tosh-o-hoodies-blu-ray/. To avoid redundancy I shall simply add to that review with a couple new relevant points for this season.
YouTube had all but killed off the idea of mailing silly home videos to the likes of America’s Funniest Home Videos. These days, people prefer to stream dozens of videos on their computers and save themselves from the watered down jokes of Bob Saget or current host Tom Bergeron. Tosh.O takes a similar format of displaying such silly videos, but focuses on things that have gone “viral” online. Like AFHV, Tosh.O adds their own commentary and sketches to the presentation but in a much more crass, cable-savvy manner.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 13th, 2012
A small mining community in Western Australia get visited by a vagabond dog. This Red Dog (named after the fact that the red dust of that desert region stained his fur that colour) has a deeply significant effect on every worker's life yet not one of them can truly claim to own him until an American bus driver begins working there. Red Dog was a big fan of hitchhiking across the country and seems to be attracted to riding great distances on a bus with his new best (human) friend.
I should have known what I was getting into when I saw that this was a dog story. All the best dog films are incredibly sad. This film was based on true events and its saddest portions include heavy references to the saddest (true) dog story of all time (nope, not Old Yeller), Hachi-ko, the story of a dog that waits for his master after they have died (was adapted twice onto film, as well as laid out the groundwork for the most depressing episode of Futurama “Jurassic Bark”). The story begins with miners resolving that they cannot shoot Red Dog after he ate poison, but this is not the saddest part. Over half way through the audience gets an emotional kick to the throat that I, for one, was not prepared for. By no means is this a criticism of their storytelling, more a warning to those that may think they're in for a family-ready delight (ok...they ARE but certainly not without a box of tissues as a prerequisite).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 11th, 2012
I’ll say this about a program that has remained consistent in quality for twenty seasons…it makes for challenging reviews. Talking about each season of Gunsmoke is difficult in that you either write briefly to try to avoid redundancies, but might seem too hasty, or you have to labour over each episode, in which case, you’re only going to have hardcore fans paying attention. Since this website has touched on previous seasons: ( https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=gunsmoke ) I shall opt for the former option, and hope y’all out there catch that I’m not being hasty…but respect a show that warrants no fresh complaints after 7 years a-runnin’ thus far.
The most obvious change to the show that happened in this Seventh Season is expanding from half and hour to a full hour for each episode. This can be a great challenge for a show that was not originally created in this format. Doubling the length of each episode has allowed for more focus on developing the guest characters. There are no major plots that overlap several episodes so we can see how the hour long format aids this type of show, as well as helping to lay the groundwork for hour-long adventure and/or crime dramas to follow.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 4th, 2012
Stemming from a backdoor pilot episode within the series Girlfriends, The Game is a comedy series about a woman (played by Tia Mowry Hardict) who gave up her career as a doctor in light of the success of her boyfriend's being a star athlete (this is the first pang of misogyny, with more to come). This is the show's fifth season, which is its second after being canceled by CW and revived by BET.
Most of the male, lead characters in this show are current or former members of a fictional professional football team called the San Diego Sabers. In fact, most of them seem to have been cut from the team for one reason or another but coast day to day on their fame and burn through their riches. The first few episodes do siphon some comedy from this situation when the character Derwin Davis (played by Pooch Hall, which is a perfect name for a baseball player...but that has nothing to do with anything) has to sell off his cars, home and learns the true cost of all things he used to buy while abiding with the “baller's code.” Suddenly a $900 bottle of champagne is no longer casually sent to friend's tables at the bar.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 29th, 2012
This is the eighth and final season of this slightly offbeat crime drama. Nothing has brought me more joy than seeing that instantly recognizable CBS packaging that is used for older programs being revived onto DVD releases such as Perry Mason or Barnaby Jones. Now Mannix has the opportunity to wow me as I have been before. Will this be a pleasant experience or surprisingly disappointing?
This show is pleasant enough to behold and was certainly surprised by the strange, almost comedic attributes that are injected. To draw this comparison again, I'm not talking about the endearing way that Barnaby Jones always drinks milk in his own series. I'm talking about Mannix getting hired by a politician to while riding a carousal, or surprising a musician at home who is walking on his hands for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Such things do not explain the plot any better nor suit the intensely serious tone these stories always end up taking. There were times where this series was reminding me of Police Squad! (a complete lampooning of shows like Mannix) when it should be demonstrating the seeds being planted for serious crime shows to follow. When a character refers to another as “baby” or says they “dig it” I can understand that as symptoms of taking place in 1974, but this show goes further than that into oddities. Heck, even the opening credits contains a mixture of images that includes gun fights, fights, skiing and Mannix burning his hands on some toast...I just don't understand what tone this show is trying to set.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 29th, 2012
Before his 19th birthday, Frank Abagnale Jr. posed as a pilot, doctor, lawyer and secret service agent in an uncanny crime spree that saw him forging millions of dollars worth of fraudulent checks. This film chronicles the fantastic yet true adventure with large doses of fun injected into the 2 and a half hour long chase.
Abagnale committed these crimes in a time that was far more trusting than it is now (in fact, Abagnale would go on to use his skills to boost the security of the currency and checks he took advantage of before). Whenever Abagnale's crimes are described, his statistics are read like highlights from a sportstar rather than someone malevolent. We do not see any actual victims. Even his nemesis, Agent Carl Hanratty (portrayed by Tom Hanks), eventually gains a lifelong friendship after multiple years of pursuing (and frequently being humiliated by) Abagnale.
