Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 20th, 2006
posted by Kim Lee
UFC 1 is where it all began… in the OCTAGON! 8 deadly fighters go head to head in the octagon (steel cage) where two men enter but only one man leaves victorious. These fighters battle it out in a tournament style no holds barred, bare knuckle (no gloves allowed) combat. There are No Rules, No time limit, and No judges.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 19th, 2006
The only thing worse than films about filmmaking are artsy films about filmmaking. These are hazardous affairs at best. Don’t get me wrong; I thrive on a steady diet of behind the scenes features and film trade magazines. But a film in that vein can’t help but become pretentious. Enter I Love Your Work. It’s very hard to tell when Adam Goldberg is trying to be serious and when he’s aiming for satire. I hope it was mostly the latter.
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not really out to g...t you. Gray Evans (Ribisi) is one of those quick-rising stars. He’s obviously more in love with himself than his legions of adoring fans. His self-loving world, however, is turned upside down when it appears he is being stalked by a crazy fan. The film allows for the chance this is all in his head, and there’s the fatal flaw. Much of this film appears to occur in Gray’s head, and it’s not a terribly exciting place to hang out. In a predictable spin, the couple he thinks might be stalking him reminds him of an earlier relationship before he was a big star. Now it seems Gray is the real stalker. The film is all style and absolutely no substance. At one point in the film Gray is watching snow on his television. I knew I was in trouble when I started to know exactly how he felt just then. This is also the kind of indy film where many of the actors are the filmmaker’s friends. Goldberg takes some pride in this point. The end result is watching sub par actors pretending to be actors who are pretending to be actors. Make it stop. Cameos by Vince Vaughn and Elvis Costello can’t even save this mess.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 19th, 2006
The appearance of Mr. T as B.A. Baracus unfortunately overshadows the rest of this show. Why is that unfortunate? Because Mr. T’s appeal mostly comes from his performance as the show-stealing Clubber Lang from Rocky III, and not from any major importance he had on this series. While people certainly tuned in to see Baracus, they were often disappointed by the back seat he would frequently take to the other stars – disappointed because they wanted to see Clubber Lang on the A-Team, and not the back-seat charact...r he plays here. But after watching more of his role as Baracus in The A-Team: The Complete Fourth Season, it becomes obvious why he wasn’t used any more than he was – he really is a one-trick-pony actor. He plays one role – plays it well, in fact – but he simply cannot add anything else to the character. The new quickly wears off, and all you’re left with is a supporting character stealing the spotlight by presence alone over the show’s real star, George Peppard.
Some of the episodes included in this latest release are solid, while others are childish – in fact, most are childish, but I won’t say they’re not all a little fun. It always amazed me how The A-Team’s battles with the bad guys – while often containing the use of machine guns, grenades, assault choppers, and dozens of other deadly militaristic weapons – most always resorted in their victory without the loss of one human life, good or bad. It’s also amusing the government has such difficulty locating them, but any yahoo gas station owner can track them down with ease – a shortfall of the series most loyal fans will overlook. Still, the nostalgia factor is huge with this show – it’s got to be – and it does still manage the occasional episode with deeper value (see the season finale). It’s certainly a stupid show, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying it. There are far worse things on our silver screens today.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 18th, 2006
Synopsis
After a very rough lovemaking session with her ethically dubious (to say the least) psychiatrist, KatieBird Wilkens (Helen Udy) knocks the sap down, chains him up, and proceeds to torture him, all the while recounting how she came to be a serial killer. Flashback to her childhood, and especially her adolescence, when her mild-mannered father (Lee Perkins) introduces her to the joys of killing. KatieBird (played in her teens by Taylor M. Dooley) develops her own unique way of dealing with her...victims: she wants them to hurt her, too.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 17th, 2006
It’s his show, he’s Andy Milonakis. That’s what the rap says to begin each and every idiotic entry to the first season of The Andy Milonakis Show. And as Andy himself points out in the commentary for episode six, the show is meant to be as stupid as humanly possible. With Milonakis at the helm, it reaches such high aspirations with ease. I’m still not sure of the merits of a program, whose only intention is to see how asinine it can be. Rest assured, there’s a huge difference between stupid-stupid and stupid-f...nny, and Milonakis sticks with the former like it’s his religion.
I don’t know what else to really say about the eight episodes included in season one. The format of each is Andy acting as stupid as he can in a series of unrelated vignettes. For those who don’t know the name Milonakis, you’ll probably know the face that goes with it. Then again, with his only film credit that immediately comes to mind being a supporting role in Waiting (a funny flick with marginal-at-best box office returns), you may not. But if you’ve ever seen his face, you’re not likely to forget it. Afflicted with a growth hormone condition that puts him in the body (and mind) of a 14-year old, this 30-year old “comedian” usually gets a jaw-dropping reaction from those familiar with him once they discover his true age. Count me in that throng. But the real shock here is not that Milonakis is twice as old as he looks (and acts) – no, the truly flooring bit of information is that his show was ever picked up and produced in the first place. If this is the future of comedy, then I proudly call myself an old fogy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2006
Hawaii 5-0 was one of CBS’s most successful shows of the 1970’s. A great deal of money had been spent creating facilities to take advantage of the Island’s unique setting. When the show had finally run its course, executives with the network were not keen to give up the production resources, so they simply created a new show to fill the same time slot and utilize the Hawaiian settings. Instead of a cop, this new show would center around Thomas Magnum (Selleck). Magnum was a former Naval Intelligence operative from ...he Vietnam War. He worked for an unseen wealthy boss ala Charlie’s Angels. His intermediary was Higgins (Hillerman). The show might even be considered a spinoff of Hawaii 5-0, as there are times Magnum mentions McGarrett from the previous show. A great deal of the show’s charm was created in the relationship between the proper English gentleman of Higgins and the devil-may-care free spirit of Magnum. Detective shows of the era also featured cool cars. Rockford had his Firebird, Starsky had his stripped Tomato Torino, Crockett had his Ferrari. Magnum drove a flashy red Ferrari actually owned by his boss. Helping in the adventures was Island chopper pilot TC (Mosley) and Casablanca knockoff nightclub owner Rick (Mannetti).
The Fourth Season of Magnum begins with one of the series’ more unique episodes. In “Home From The Sea” you won’t find the normal antics and car chases that made the show famous. Instead, Magnum is adrift at sea treading water. The episode provides a wonderful opportunity for some insight into Magnum’s childhood through flashbacks. The rest of the season is pretty much more of the same from the first three years. Bad guys and friends in trouble dominate the collection of episodes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2006
This was David Spade’s first HBO special from 1998. Following in the footsteps of giants like George Carlin and Rodney Dangerfield, he somewhat misses the mark here. For some reason Spade displays a serious lack of energy. The real hook for this show was his return to the Tempe Improv where he got his start in his home town. This is still your basic stand-up comedy concert. On Spade’s hit list are such topics as: Dating, Hotels, Parents, and Fast Food Workers. It’s not until about the last 12 minutes that some real...y funny material starts to come through. Even Spade admits that it takes him 40 minutes to warm up. That would be OK, but it’s only a 56 minute show..
Video
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Apparently Carlos Mencia is being hyped as the latin version of Dave Chappelle when it comes to the eyes of Comedy Central, as he appears to be the guy who says whatever is on his mind, and is an equal opportunity offender. But as we all know with brussels sprouts, if you try to force something on someone, chances are they’re going to resist it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Not knowing what just how much further reality TV could go, imagine my shock and amazement when reality shows dived into places that people didn’t feel like going, like bail bondsmen offices or tattoo parlors. A&E has just the thing for you, as a compilation disc of the best episodes of the show Inked is now out on DVD.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 13th, 2006
Synopsis
As one who is not a fan of much techno and even less a fan of Moby, it was a little surprising to see what my thoughts were on a recent live DVD that the artist has released (brief political soapbox rant commencing). Quite frankly, I’m not a fan of the man’s politics and his far-left rantings and ravings, and find his urge to help peddle Snapple-like tea beverages a little interesting. What I find even more interesting, nay a bit ironic is that among those that were thanked for the singer’s May 25,...2005 show in Belgium (in support of his album “Hotel”) are a group called Clear Channel Belgium. One would presume that this is the very same Clear Channel organization that many lefties say is run by a crony of George Bush, and if that’s the case, well, you can draw your own conclusions from that (end political soapbox rant).
