Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2009
Unable to face life as a lawyer, having been pushed into law school by his father (Tom Hanks), Troy Gable (Colin Hanks, looking uncannily like his father) aspires to become a writer. In order to put food on the table, he becomes the road manager for Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a former big-name mentalist who now works half-empty theatres in towns Troy didn't even know existed. By turns charming and tyrannical, Buck keeps hoping for the big comeback and return to his Tonight Show glory days, and drags Troy along for a bumpy ride down the back roads of show business.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 13th, 2009
This is the story of two Vikings who are mistakingly left behind in Newfoundland in the year 1007. As these two find ways to survive, they encounter Irish monks and Aboriginal people, and these same encounters ultimately lead to rifts in their bond with each other. The beautiful landscapes become a backdrop for a sometimes violent look at the people who discovered North America centuries before Columbus or any other discoverer. Oh, and we also get bad translations of Old Norse, a lot of metal music and a scene of actual defecation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 6th, 2009
This is a 6-part series presented by the Discovery Channel, documenting the different devices created so that America could reach the moon by a deadline that then US president Kennedy had promised the nation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 5th, 2009
Imagine waking up one morning to find a newspaper on your front porch. Here in Tampa, the fact that the paper is actually on your front porch is miracle enough. Imagine further that this ordinary looking paper isn’t today’s paper at all, but rather tomorrow’s edition. If you could trust that what you held was the genuine article, so to speak, just think of the possibilities. For most of us our thoughts turn to the myriad ways in which we could enrich ourselves: sports scores, lottery numbers, even stock tips. If, however, you’re less selfish, there is an equally endless number of ways in which you could help your fellow man, or woman as the case may be. You would have advance knowledge of tragic accidents, crimes, and other unfortunate events about to befall your fellow human travelers. That’s the essence of Early Edition.
Gary Hobson (Chandler) is having some bad luck. His wife kicks him out of the house, on their wedding anniversary, no less. He ends up forced to live in a cheap hotel room. One morning he discovers that a mysterious orange tabby has left a gift by his door. Instead of the usual rodent surprise, Gary finds a copy of the local newspaper. This paper happens to be dated tomorrow. At first Gary doesn’t even notice the odd date as he attempts to go about his busy stockbroker life. It isn’t until Gary’s attempt to follow the price of wheat that he is finally alerted to his special edition of the paper. His buddy Chuck (Stevens) wants to use the paper to check out a few sports results. Gary avoids the temptation and refuses to allow his friend to have the paper. Instead he uses the information to assist another friend, Marissa (Davis – Williams), who’s in desperate need of a windfall. Together they become a team. As the event repeats itself, the three work to find ways to help others with their advance knowledge. There’s a little comedic tension, as Chuck is always trying to get his own taste out of the information. Marissa, grateful for the help she received, is far more keen on passing the good deed along.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2009
Since the events of 911 there has been a lot more appreciation, at least publicly, for the real life heroes who populate fire and police stations all over the country. Few jobs offer so little reward for such high risk all in the name of protecting our society from harm. It’s likely no coincidence that while Third Watch began a couple of years before those events, it reached its peak in popularity in the months and years that followed. A better than average procedural drama, Third Watch offered a look at both police officers and firefighters along with their paramedics. You could call it a cross between Hill Street Blues and Emergency.
The police officers and the fire fighters are all members of New York’s 55th Precinct. The Precinct carries the nickname of Camelot. While they work from separate facilities, they are across the street from each other and their duties often find them working together. The two houses share a bond, but there are also moments of stress and rivalry. But when there’s a crisis, these men and women are the best and get the job done.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2009
The third season of Matlock brought more of the same. If you’re a fan, that’s very good news indeed. What is that, you ask? Imagine Sheriff Andy Taylor older and now an attorney, and you pretty much have the setup for Matlock. Forget for a second that both characters were played by Andy Griffith. That’s not all they have in common. Matlock is every bit the “southern gentleman” that Taylor was. He might be a little smarter, but he walks and talks like Andy Taylor.
Matlock began life as a television movie from Dean Hargrove, who brought us Columbo. Hargrove would later work the same magic with Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder. In fact the two shows could easily have been companion pieces. Both featured sit-com stars from the 1950’s and 60’s that had become somewhat iconic characters. Both would don the role of professionals. Both shows would subscribe to the “formula” mode of storytelling. Diary Of A Perfect Murder would set up the Matlock formula. It’s simple, really. Matlock was a lawyer in Atlanta. Some wronged defendant, usually charged with murder, would show up asking for Matlock’s help. Matlock and his team would investigate the crime with an eye toward, as OJ Simpson is fond of saying, finding the real killer. His team consisted of his daughter Charlene, herself a competent lawyer, and Tyler Hudson (Holliday), his private investigator. In the pilot the Matlock character was less Andy Taylor and a little more slick at first. I’m sure that while it was intended to show Matlock’s prowess as a high priced attorney, somewhere along the line it became obvious that the show’s finest asset was Griffith himself and that southern charm he was already famous for. Whatever the reason, you can see the character soften significantly during the early episodes of the season. And that decision was a smart one, as Matlock would continue for nearly a decade.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 20th, 2009
Unless you were around for Iron Butterfly's big boom in 1968, you might remember this band best as the composers of that song the organ player plays for 17 minutes in that episode of The Simpsons in which Bart sells his soul. Yes, this is how I knew them for much of my youth, and I thought of them best then too.
This DVD documents a 1997 concert of Iron Butterfly, and it did little to sway my fond memories of what was a very good Simpsons episode that was. My apologies...I shall leave that Fox program (not to be mentioned again) and focus on the band that is most famous for the 17 minute plus psychedelic adventure that is In A Gadda Da Vida.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 6th, 2009
When Terence Malick's latest effort hit the theatres, he had trimmed it down to 135 minutes. Early critics had seen a version running 150 minutes. This version is longer yet, clocking it at 172 minutes. Most of what I said about the previous DVD release holds, and so I'm reproducing it here, with additional comments as necessary.
Virginia, 1607. English ships arrive and a colony is set up, but with considerable difficulty. Famine and disease take their toll. Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) heads off to seek help from the Powhatan. He is captured, sentenced to death, but waved by Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher, whose character is never actually given that name). So begins a fateful relationship.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 4th, 2009
At first glance, it is quite easy to see why this show has been compared to Sex and the City by many critics, and is about to again by yours truly. Mainly this comparison occurs because of the shows’ similarly humorous approach to sex, never wavering from any sort of topic therein. The first similarly I noticed though was the meta-cinematic use of our heroine Hannah (who escorts under the moniker “Belle”) when she talks to the audience directly. This device was only utilized in Sex and the City’s first season but we still see a similar mix of voice-over narration (which would take over Sex and the City) and the viewer being acknowledged (used more often than not with Secret Diary…).
This second season of Hannah’s trails dealing with having a secret life is changed in typical sitcom fashions, that is, introducing a main love interest (a man named Alex whom she mistakes for a client in the season opener) as well as a goofy pseudo-side kick by way of a young girl calling herself Bambi who wants to prostitute simply for the money. The drama revolves mainly around Hannah and Alex’s romance as Hannah loses the thrill of escorting in exchange for the desire to build something ‘real’ with Alex. At the same time, Hannah does face some moral questions throughout the season regarding her profession. Of course, these internal dilemmas (often accompanied by slow-motion shots of a Hannah/Belle looking about blankly) are mainly squashed immediately, or else the show would stop all-together. With the season lasting only 8 quick episodes, thankfully her brooding bits don't get enough time to became too tiresome to witness, although the drama certainly amplifies (less wink-at-the-camera moments) as the season passes the halfway point.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 4th, 2009
Everwood was a fairly long running show that started in 2002 and continued until 2006 for a total of eighty-nine episodes. It ran on the WB and was a casualty of the WB/UPN merger into the CW Television Network. Years later it has shown up on ABC Family and around the globe gaining fans here and there. It's a serious drama that involves the medical practice of Dr. Andy Brown (played by Treat Williams). Set in the fictional town of Everwood, Colorado (in reality it was a few towns located in Utah), we find ourselves figuring out how a death can alter the lives of everybody in the town and how they struggle to cope.
Colin Hart (played by Mike Erwin) has died to due to a very difficult medical procedure on his brain. The procedure was performed by Dr. Andy Brown and as a result the whole town shuns Andy and his practice. Amy Abbott (played by Emily VanCamp) who was Colin's girlfriend turns her back on the good doctor and lapses into a deep depression. As a result of the aftermath, Andy's children also face scrutiny. Ephram (played Gregory Smith) finds his good friend Amy turning away from him and Delia (played Vivien Cardone) is shunned by her click of young friends and not being invited to slumber parties.
