Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2009
“Happy 200th, everybody. Only 75 shows in the history of television have reached 200 episodes. Only 4 other shows currently on the air have produced 200 episodes, and of those only 2 feature live actors. And, it’s worth noting that both of those shows were in the top of the Nielsen ratings before CSI came along and knocked them off of that perch.”
And, after 9 years and over 200 episodes, CSI has enjoyed an almost unprecedented near decade as the number one show in the country. It’s a rare thing to go so long and keep the core of your team intact. Up until now CSI has added characters, but has not lost a major character. But things are about to change.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 25th, 2009
Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s…. well, Clark Kent. When Smallville was first developed for television, the showrunners made a few conscious decisions that have, for the most part, been kept for the show’s first 8 seasons. There was a strict “no flights, no tights” rule that was in effect for anyone hoping to pen an adventure for the show. Everyone knows we’re talking about Superman here, but the term is avoided like a deadly disease. All of the familiar places and names are firmly in place, but make no mistake. This is the world before Superman began to make his presence known to the world.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 25th, 2009
“Ride into this world all alone. God takes your soul. You're on your own.
The crow flies straight, a perfect line on the devil's back until you die.
Gotta look this life in the eye”.
When these guys send a message, they don’t use Western Union. Not only will they blow up your warehouse, but they’ll catch one of your guys and plant a stick of dynamite in his butt cheeks to set off the explosion. That’s the world of the motorcycle club, The Sons Of Anarchy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2009
Dexter Morgan (Hall) is a forensic lab rat for the Miami-Dade Police. He really knows blood splatter. He should, because he moonlights as a killer. It seems that poor old Dex just can’t help himself. His parents were criminals, and he witnessed his mother’s brutal slashing by a chainsaw gang when he was just a young boy. He was adopted by Harry Morgan (Remar), a police officer. Harry saw the killer instinct in Dexter and taught him how to channel the urges for the sake of good. Dexter adopted Harry’s Code, which means he only kills others that he’s able to prove were killers themselves. Working for the police with his officer sister, Debra (Carpenter), Dexter is constantly just on the verge of getting caught.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2009
You know, I was watching this episode of the popular Showtime series Dexter the other night. There was this murder victim who had taken off work early to go and see a romantic comedy with his girlfriend. He ended up getting his head bashed in and dead. Is it saying something about my own bias that the first thing that came to my mind was that it was a lucky thing he got his skull caved in before he had to go to the romantic comedy? Romantic comedies. Chick flicks. Date movies. Whatever it is that you want to call them, ladies, they are the stuff of nightmares for your significant others.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2009
The cast and crew of I Love You, Man constantly refer to the film as a “bromance”. I’m not exactly sure what they mean by that, but I was actually pretty pleased with the clever turn on the typically droll romantic comedy. Maybe someone’s finally come up with a romantic comedy that actually can appeal to men. Whatever you call it, I Love You, Man is a bit of a refreshing take on today’s innuendo comedy. Writer/director John Hamburg has turned a pretty inane idea into a rather funny little comedy that just might be the compromise between a chick flick and something we won’t have to squirm in our seats just to make our dates happy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2009
An insubordinate officer (Bo Svenson), an African-American who Has Been Pushed Too Far (Fred Williamson), a thief, a gambler, and a coward are among the prisoners loaded up onto an Allied convoy in 1944. When the trucks come under attack from the Germans, the prisoners escape, and decide to make their way to Switzerland. But their journey is a complicated one, with another firefight around every corner, culminating in a particularly violent case of mistaken identity, which results in their volunteering to tackle a suicidal train-jacking.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2009
“Four turtles. Four brothers genetically reborn in the sewers of New York. Named after the great Renaissance masters and trained as ninjas. They battled many creatures and foes before defeating their arch enemy, The Shredder. But, now a greater evil is poised to destroy their brotherhood. An evil born 3000 years ago.”
What started as a low budget comic has grown into quite a sensation. The Turtles are everywhere. There are cartoons, books, comics, movies, and thousands of toys. They’ve been translated into just about every language in the world. The 1980’s and 1990’s were alive with Turtle power. With yet another film now in the works, the Turtles are about to make a comeback.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2009
Billy Bob Thornton got himself a well deserved Oscar for the film Sling Blade. If you’ve ever seen the film, or anything else by the man, there’s no surprise that he took home one of the coveted statues. What is a bit surprising is that he took the Oscar home for the screenplay for Sling Blade and not for the masterful performance. Now don’t get me wrong. The screenplay is a brilliant one. He certainly deserved that award, but there hasn’t been a performance as riveting as his portrayal of Karl Childers in a decade or more. It was this performance that made Thornton the household name he became.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2009
The Soloist is based on a book written by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez. The book was based on a series of columns the writer assembled involving his relationship with a street musician he happened upon while searching for material. Lopez was touched by the musician, Nathaniel Ayers, who was playing a violin with only two remaining strings. Still he was able to produce music that made the writer do a double take and begin to wonder what he was doing out on the street. Ayers’ ramblings made it immediately obvious that the man was suffering from mental illness. Their first contact revealed that the street performer was once a student at Juilliard.
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