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Nine Inch Nails – Beside You in Time

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 5th, 2007

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Synopsis

All That Could Have Been (Nine Inch Nails’ first concert dvd) when released in 2002 was recognized by many to be the ultimate concert dvd. Released in separate dts and dolby digital versions; it had an amazing sound and look. The only knock against the disc was the fact that it took two dvds to show a two hour show. Technology has improved. Cue to 2007, Nine Inch Nails fresh off their tour to promote With Teeth decides to release Beside You in Time (Halo 22). This new co…
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Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Season 4

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 2nd, 2007

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In the continuing need for media mogul Russell Simmons to produce an HBO show and put the word “Def” in front of it, musician Mos Def approached Simmons with the opportunity to present a weekly show for urban spoken word artists to show off their wares. And surprisingly, not only has the show survived, but has thrived into a fourth season that has come out on DVD, with ten episodes in all, split over two discs.

The layout of the show is pretty straightforward, as Mos Def introduces the beginning and end of the shows and the acts in between.
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Tideland

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 27th, 2007

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If you’ve seen any of Terry Gilliam’s other films, you can probably guess that this one is pretty bizarre. Based on the novel of the same name by Mitch Cullen, Tideland is an eccentric, grotesque and imaginative tale of a child’s resilience.

I’m going to say right off the top, I wanted to like Tideland, and for two reasons. One, Gilliam has made some incredible films in his career, from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to Twelve Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
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My Cousin Vinny

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2007

Marisa Tomei caused quite a stir in 1993 when she walked away with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in My Cousin Vinny. Even after watching the film again, I guess I’m still a bit amazed. Now that’s not to say she doesn’t do a wonderful job here. The fact is the entire cast did a splendid job. I can’t say I found her performance any better than Joe Pesci as Vinny “Sack Of Potatoes” Gambini or the wonderful portrayal of the judge by Fred Gwynne.
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Hu$tle – Complete Season Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2007

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Seriously, have criminals ever been this cool or this much fun to watch? Since Ocean’s Eleven, I mean. For those that don’t know, Hu$tle is a BBC drama that follows the exploits of a team of five con artists as they “earn” their keep. For the sake of keeping the charaters interesting, the majority of the jobs they pull target people who deserve to be conned. Sort of a modern day band of Merry Men, so to speak. If you are a fan of Spooks (known as MI-5 here in the states), you will probably…
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Dog the Bounty Hunter – Best of Season 3

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 18th, 2007

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Synopsis

Reality series are so rampant on tv these days. You have everything from people who has been celebrities living together to the journey of people who want to lose a ton of pounds. Some of these are good and some defy explanation. However, I found a good little nugget of reality when I was sent a copy of Dog the Bounty Hunter – Best of Season 3 on DVD. To be honest, I was expecting the worst and what I got was actually pretty interesting and might be on the A…
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The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 16th, 2007

Before Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, there was another film full of warriors running through the wilderness, accompanied by a majestic score. That film was The Last of the Mohicans, director Michael Mann’s remake of the 1936 film of the same name, which was a remake of the 1920 silent film. And all of these movies were based on the original novel by James Fennimore Cooper, a popular 18th Century American writer.
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Inside the Actors Studio: Dave Chappelle

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 16th, 2007

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Since its premiere in 1994, Inside the Actors Studio has been a fascinating talk show for film fans and aspiring actors, writers and directors alike. Each episode a famous guest ï¿½ usually an actor ï¿½ is interviewed one-on-one by host James Lipton, followed by questions from the student audience.

In early 2006, one such guest was Dave Chappelle (Chappelleï¿½s Show). Chappelleï¿½s appearance followed some controversial events in his life, mainly his surprising exit from his mega-hit Comedy Central sh…
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The Mr. Moto Collection – Volume Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2007

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These are the other four films featuring Peter Lorre as the mysterious detective Mr. Moto. All but the first are from 1939.

1938’s Mr. Moto’s Gamble began life as a Charlie Chan film, but difficulties with that franchise’s star (Warner Oland) led to Fox putting the Chan films on hiatus. Keye Luke, Chan’s Number One Son, is here anyway, as is plenty of footage shot for the Chan film. Luke and comic relief ex-boxer Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom do their best to help Moto solve a case of murder in a boxing ring.

Doctor, the Tornado, and the Kentucky Kid, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007

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Don’t let the goofy title fool you; The Doctor, the Tornado, and the Kentucky Kid is a serious documentary. This film takes an inside look at the fast-paced world of MotoGP motorcycle racing. Specifically, the subject is the lives of three top riders as they enter the week of the race at Laguna Seca, one of the most difficult tracks in the world. While this film may be a little too in-depth for those that don’t at least casually follow the sport, fans of motorcycle racing will likely be thrilled with this, the…
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Working Girl (1988)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007

Certain aspects of Working Girl have not aged well, but the film remains a quality production that showcases Melanie Griffith in her best role, with Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver as superb, lightly humorous supporting characters.

Tess McGill (Griffith) is a secretary struggling to rise in the New York business world. After a series of bad experiences with chauvinistic managers, she’s transferred to a new secretary role, this time under a female boss (Weaver).
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Pinky and The Brain – Volume 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007

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Two lab mice, one world to conquer. When the ACME Labs shut down each night, Pinky and the Brain set out for world domination, armed only with Brain’s genetically enhanced, um, brain, and Pinky’s good-natured insanity.

We have here 22 episodes of this high quality animated series, picking up near the end of season two – where the vol. 1 release left off – and continuing in broadcast order to about the mid-point of season three.
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Babel

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2007

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Some films can be intensely personal. Written and directed by one individual, the stories are fairly long in runtime and epic in terms of hopes and dreams, with characters that intertwine either coincidentally or a little bit more directly. They always seem to have a big name marquee star or two in them and always end on a message of hope or optimism.

Take the case of Babel. Written by Guillermo Arriaga and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who were the creative team behind the Amores Perros and 21 Grams films comes perhaps their grandest idea yet.
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Gene Simmons: Family Jewels – Season One

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2007

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KISS fans will likely feel like they’re in heaven with this quasi-intimate look at the long-tongued demon of rock. All others might be tempted to stay away, and yet, that might be a mistake. Let me first admit that I’m no fan of reality television or KISS. With that said, you might be expecting me to trash this particular program. Wrong! Honestly, as an outsider I have the unique ability to judge the show without all of the trappings of the band’s fame and history.
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Mad About You – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2007

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Boy, this title really came out of left field. I am one of those DVD collectors who picks out their favorite television shows and collects all the full DVD season sets. I did this with Wonder Woman, with Kung Fu and with The West Wing. I also started collecting full season sets of Mad About You just a couple of months after I started with Friends. I finished all ten seasons of Friends in late 2005, yet I was only two seasons in to Mad About You‘s seven season run. What…
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Driving Force – The Complete Season One

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2007

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The Force family is not your typical American Brady family. Then again, if they were, they wouldn’t be interesting enough to get their own reality television show. Still, just because you’re interesting doesn’t necessarily mean everyone will want to watch you. John Force is apparently the winningest drag racer in the sport’s history. His wife and three daughters live on his property but in a separate home. His daughters have decided to follow in Daddy Dearest’s track marks and are also circuit race car drivers.
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Martin – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 3rd, 2007

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All, the early ’90s! I spent my time counting the days until my military service ended by drinking as much beer as possible until I got to the bright red circle on my calendar. But when Martin Lawrence (House Party) pitched an idea for a sitcom with an African American cast, Fox picked up the show and added it to a then-fledging group of shows that balanced themselves between evening soap operas and raunchy family comedies.

Martin tells the story of Martin Payne (Lawrence), successful host of an urban radio station program in Detroit.
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The Fifa 2006 World Cup Film – The Grand Finale

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2007

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The World Cup is unquestionably the greatest sporting event in the world. No other event, sporting or otherwise, pulls nations together like the World Cup does. Once every four years, the whole of the world (save for the majority of the United States) takes a month off to focus their eyes on the efforts of a group of young men to put a white ball into a white net. This film is the story of the 1996 edition of the famed tournament.

This film does a great job of capturing the story of the tournament, while not …
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Damon Wayans: Last Stand?

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2007

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It’s a shame that there aren’t many stand-up comedians around anymore. And the ones that are still around (Chris Rock, Dane Cook) usually only use the medium as a launching pad into a flawed movie or television career that never equals the laugh factor and energy that exists in their stand-up comedy shows.

So along comes Damon Wayans’ Last Stand.

Wayans, in my opinion, was always a talented comedian. His characters on In Living Color made the show a pop-culture hit that rivaled S…
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Flags of our Fathers

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2007

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Synopsis

Of all the recent multi-film director stories that have been told in recent years, not too many have been as, well, historical, as Clint Eastwood’s two part telling of the battle at the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. The battle over a key stretch of property in World War II cost thousands of lives, but never seemed to get a proper cinematic treatment as many of the European theater battles have. Regardless, in Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers, Eastwood has given the world …
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Extras – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2007

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The only thing I knew about Extras as of a couple of weeks ago was that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were behind the show, the follow-up to their cult hit The Office, which has been adapted into a Steve Carell vehicle to showcase his talent. Seeing very little on The Office and not being familiar with Gervais’ work, I downloaded the first episode of the second season of Extras from iTunes (Season Two recently resumed airing on HBO), and I found it one of the funnier things I’ve seen in recent memory, and not just because it didn’t cost me anything.
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The Sting (HD DVD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2007

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Con movies are nothing new to Hollywood. Each has that character who thinks theyï¿½re on top of the world behind this bullet proof armor only to eventually realize that theyï¿½ve either been played or been watched the entire time. I suppose what makes con films work on the level they do is that these characters (admit it!) are all committing acts weï¿½d love to even THINK about committing. The only problem is that weï¿½re not even that badass of a person to even attempt it. Having never seen this film, I figured Iï¿½d get a fairly entertaining film with decent acting and an interesting enough plot. Boy was I mistaken about this one. Oscar awarded 1973 film The Sting has easily become my favorite con film.
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A Dead Calling

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 18th, 2007

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Alexandra Holden is a big-time TV reporter who is traumatized when an intruder breaks into her home and kills her fiancé. (Does this set-up remind anyone of The Howling?) She retreats to her old home-town, moves back with her parents (Sid Haig and Leslie Easterbrook!) and starts work at a local TV station. Her first assignment takes her to a house where murders took place years ago, and she promptly has visions of ghosts and the murders, and she feels she is being called on to provide justice for the ghosts.
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Def Comedy Jam Classics: Martin Lawrence

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 16th, 2007

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Def Comedy Jam Classics: Martin Lawrence contains a few hearty laughs in between heaps of “f-this, f-that, f-to the point where it is no longer a curse word and becomes simply an overused adjective” and sexually explicit material. Many of the comedians featured on this disc seem to be delivering material purely for shock value before an audience that does their best to encourage. As a result, most of the comedy lacks a genuine feel, and that includes the offerings we get from Mr. Lawrence himself. That’s n…
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SpongeBob SquarePants – Season 4, Volume 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 15th, 2007

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The zaniness continues in Bikini Bottom, and the series shows no sign of losing its appeal or its lunatic creativity. Wonderful little example: “Whale of a Birthday” is about Mr. Krabbs’ daughter’s sixteenth birthday. The highlight: a performance by “Boys Who Cry” singing “It’s All About You.” Perfect. There are twenty episodes here to keep your funny and whimsy bones tickled. (What, you don’t think you have a whimsy bone? Of course you do.)

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