Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 18th, 2012
Take the supernatural comedy of Groundhog Day, merge it with the in-your-face ultra awkwardness of HBO's comedy Extras, then shave away all that stuff I said about “comedy” and you have this film. Oh yes, this film follows the formula of a Comedy, but has none of the fun implied in such a label.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 18th, 2012
There are countless John Wayne Westerns in existence, but a hearty handful stand out above the rest. Hondo is a part of said handful. The story is a somewhat familiar one; that of a lone gunman seeking redemption by helping out a young woman fight off Indians...it just howls “John Wayne Western.” That being said, there are some standout performances and the portrayal of Native Americans is tad more progressive than what was within Westerns of the previous decade.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 5th, 2012
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 June 5th, 2012
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 March 28th, 2012
Frida Kahlo's life was tragic, romantic, epic, and inspiring. This film takes on the immense challenge of telling the story of such a complex life in the time frame of a stand-alone feature film. Frida is about art just as much as it is about an artist. Often stylized, but never unapproachable, Frida is a rare success by the way it managed to capture and display a part of Frida Kahlo's artistic soul.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 13th, 2012
A tragic accident after an uncannily choreographed dance party in the country leaves a carload of teens dead, and their hometown vows to ban all public displays of dancing and loud music. Big City hunk Ren MacCormack arrives in town to challenge this outlawing of music and dance by...mostly dancing to music.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 9th, 2012
It has not been over 40 years since the inception of the band Queen, but it and its members Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon, continue to be one of the most popular bands in the world, despite losing lead singer Mercury to AIDS some 20-odd years ago and not creating new material since then. This documentary tells their story in two episodes, spanning nearly 4 hours.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 8th, 2012
An infant chimp is taken out of his natural environment to be raised like a human by a family of curious, rich folk. Upon learning that this chimp, now named Nim, is capable of learning sign language, this family turns to professional educators to research and experiment with this concept further.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 28th, 2012
Josephine Baker was an international sensation who faced adversity all her career because of the colour of her skin. Terrified and sickened by the treatment of black people in the US, Baker fled to France where she found joy, fame and fair treatment as an entertainer. As her career exploded into super-stardom, she was more than just an exotic singer/dancer, she became a war hero and civil rights defender.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 19th, 2012
Jimmy is a clinically overweight teen who is starting high school. He is immediately the target for relentless bullying but tries ignoring his classmates' tormenting by focusing his attention on losing weight and trying to win over a girl he fancies in his classroom.
