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Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)

Good Times – The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 10th, 2005

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First there was no James. This year no Florida. Yes, the Sunshine State is alive and well even after a year full of hurricanes, but the lovable mother Evans is not a part of Good Times 5th season. I found these episodes to be the show’s least funny. There’s no doubt that the scripts are trying way too hard to cover the awkward situations. The addition of young Penny is really no compensation. It doesn’t help that after 5 years JJ’s shtick is beginning to show its wear. Still, there are some good moments here for the show’s legion of fans.
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Somewhere in the Night

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

John Hodiak plays a soldier who wakes up after being wounded with no memory. All he knows is what he is told: that his name is George Taylor. He makes his way to LA, and before long is looking for one Larry Cravat, a man who is apparently his friend. But lots of other people are looking for Cravat too, both hoodlums and cops, and our hero is quickly up to his neck in danger, without even knowing why.

An early storyline centred around amnesia, Somehwere in the Night’s twists …
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House on 92nd Street, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2005

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Synopsis

As the US enters the conflict of WWII, a ring of Nazi spies works to uncover American research into the atomic bomb. The are based out of a dress shop at the house of the title, and they are infiltrated by double agent William Eythe. Will he uncover the traitor in the nuclear program before the Nazis uncover the traitor in their own midst?

This isn’t, properly speaking, a noir, something that the commentary itself points out, adding that this is, rather, the first of the pseudo-doc…
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Alf – Season Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2005

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ALF stands for Alien Life Form, but anyone who has seen this hit 1980’s comedy knows ALF stands for “laughing your ass off funny”. That’s what I had to say about season 1. Season 2 is just as funny, if not tons more. Of course, it helps that the show got its first full run of episodes in this year. Each episode shares its name with a song title. To the show’s credit, many are obscure. The big problem here continues to be the use of cut syndicated episodes. At least on this set the box clearly alerts you to this fact.
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Cabinet of Caligari, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 7th, 2005

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Synopsis

When Glynis Johns’ car breaks down, she seeks help at the mansion run by Dr. Caligari (Dan O’Herlihy), who promptly makes her prisoner. He won’t let her leave, he says, until she tells him everything about her most intimate life. All of the other guests at the house won’t help her, and everyone has a tendency to speak in riddles. Our heroine descends deeper and deeper into a nightmarish psychological trap.

Not a remakes, as such, of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this does owe…
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Harry and Tonto

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

Art Carney is a spirited senior (the Harry of the title) who is evicted from his home (the building is going to be torn down to make way for a parking lot). He sets out with his cat Tonto on a cross-country journey that sees him bouncing off family members and strangers on their own journeys.

Some of these encounters are less believable than others (the Hooker With The Heart of Gold, for example), but the tone of the film is a gentle, wry, observational humour. Carney is excellent,…
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Doctor and the Devils, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

In 19th-Century Edinburgh, medical doctor Timothy Dalton needs bodies in order to further medical science. He avails himself of the services of two scoundrels (Johnathan Pryce and Stephen Rea), who provide him with extremely fresh specimens. Disturbingly fresh, as assistant Julian Sands is quick to realize. Dalton contends that the ends justify the means, even if those means are murder.

The story of murderous grave robbers Burke and Hare has been committed to screen in one form or …
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Innocents, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 4th, 2005

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Synopsis

Based on Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw, this is the tale of a repressed governess (Deborah Kerr), who arrives at a country estate to care for two young children. She soon becomes convinced that the ghosts of the valet and the previous governess are haunting the place, and have evil designs on the children.

The Turn of the Screw is not only one of the masterpieces of the ghost story in English literature, it is also the very model of ambiguity. Are the gho…
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Hexed

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2005

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I can sum up this entire film in a single word; lame. There is nothing sadder than a comedy that is not funny, and this is certainly that. Bad acting, bad jokes and the feel of an 80’s comedy makes this film the very definition of lame. Imagine Blind Date without the humor. Now add blatant rip-offs from Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction. Throw in some bad jokes and you’re ready to go.

The plot has something to do with a hotel bellhop who impersonates people for entertainment, and tells …
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With Six You Get Eggroll

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2005

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With Six You Get Eggroll is special for one reason. Other than the politically incorrect title, the movie features the last film appearance by Doris Day. Too bad she couldn’t go out with a bang. I will admit: I like Doris Day. The Man Who Knew Too Much is a great film. And all that “Pillow Talk” stuff. C’mon, it’s fun. But let’s get to the Eggroll, shall we?

With Six… starts off as a fairly realistic romance/comedy. Day plays Abby McClure, the owner of a construction company (…
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Killer Tomatoes Strike Back

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2005

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Synopsis

Professor Gangreen (John Astin) and his evil killer tomatoes are back with yet another attempt to take over the world. This time, the mad scientist and his hapless assistant Igor are spreading their message by running a trashy TV daytime talk show out of their base on Crystal Mountain (kinda like Crystal Lake, geddit? Cue Friday the 13th parody). Investigating are a clueless hardboiled cop and the oh-so-hot tomatologist.

It is astonishing that a one-joke title spawned an ent…
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Killer Tomatoes Eat France

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2005

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Synopsis

Narrowly escaping the guillotine thanks to the intervention of the evil tomatoes, Professor Gangreen (John Astin) sets up shop with Igor in a medieval castle/tourist attraction. A young American tourist, embarrassed at starring in a killer tomatoes movie, pretends to be Michael J. Fox (thus landing a comely French girlfriend), and winds up fighting against the evil doctor and his vegetables. (Or are tomatoes a fruit?)

There are some chuckles to be had in the opening credits, but th…
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Reno 911! The Complete Second Season (Uncensored)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 27th, 2005

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Synopsis

While some sketch shows like The Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show have managed to touch on the Cops parody with their material, the only one that does it regularly now is a show that uses it for inspiration.

In Reno 911!, produced and aired on Comedy Central, the show focuses on a group of police in the sleepy Nevada town doing what they can to keep law and order. You’ve got Lieutenant Dangle (Thomas Lennon, The State), a bicycle cop who perpetually wears h…
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Red Tent, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 26th, 2005

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Synopsis

Peter Finch plays Umberto Nobile, an Italian general and explorer who is haunted by his disastrous attempt to fly over the pole in a dirigible in 1928. In the present day, sleepless, he summons the ghosts of his crew and the people affected by the disaster to sit as judge and jury, and the film then proceeds to tell the tale in flashback. When the dirigible crashes, Nobile and his men are marooned on pack ice, while rescue attempts are met with one tragic setback after another. Among those s…
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Pom Poko

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2005

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Synopsis

When the economic boom in Japan leads to massive deforestation, the raccoons find their habitat threatened. They band together and mount a campaign to stop the destruction of their world by humans. They learn to shape change, and wreak merry havoc with construction crews. Some of their stunts simply frighten the people off, but some of the sabotage is deadly, too.

The packaging and the “From the Creators of Howl’s Moving Castle” might be a bit misleading in this case. Studio…
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Paranoid

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2005

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Synopsis

Model Jessica Alba heads off to a party in the country with her current boyfriend. The house is owned by the members of a once-popular rock band, and there are creepy dolls and a deaf-mute young woman about. Alba wakes up the next morning abandoned by her boyfriend and imprisoned by the family. The only person who might be able to help her is the obscene caller who’s been causing her so much grief.

This is one of those movies that you forget even as you watch it, because almost eve…
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Home Improvement – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2005

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Synopsis

Tim Allen was fortunate enough to ride a couple of trends and nurture them into a steady paycheck without really having to do anything. He was a stand-up comic in the mid ‘80s and early ‘90s and was pretty good at it. And like many other stand-ups during the time, he was given a sitcom with which to basically recycle his act onto a smaller stage. And to his benefit, the public enjoyed it, and Allen’s pet project Home Improvement was a smash hit, and would later go on to enjoy eight seasons o…
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Target

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 7th, 2005

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Synopsis

Lately various studios have been releasing films with Gene Hackman onto DVD, films like Scarecrow and Twice in a Lifetime. And after a run in 1983’s Uncommon Valor, he teamed with Matt Dillon (The Flamingo Kid) in 1985’s Target, the proverbial Cold War spy thriller.

Directed by Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde) Walter (Hackman) and Chris Lloyd (Dillon) are a father and son who don’t get along very well, as Walter wants Chris to do something with his …
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Cry-Baby

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 1st, 2005

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Synopsis

Think of this as the John Waters version of Grease, with everything that that entails. The setting is the fifties, and kids are divided between the Squares (so clean-cut and conformist they make Ward Cleaver look like Marlon Brando) and the black-leather-clad Drapes. The leader of the Drapes is Cry-Baby Walker (Johnny Depp), and his posse includes the likes of Ricki Lake (BEFORE she became a talk-show host) and Traci Lords (AFTER… well, after). Square Amy Locane is drawn to Depp an…
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Wild Orchid 2: Blue Movie Blue

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 1st, 2005

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Synopsis

In the 1950s, Blue (Nina Siemaszko) travels from town to town with her itinerant jazz musician father (Tom Skerritt). When Dad is killed, Blue winds up under the thumb of brothel madam Wendy Hughes, and after some initial difficulty, assumes her new identity. But she pines for the boy (Brent Fraser) she met before her life went to hell, and she eventually fights to leave the addictive world of decadence she has entered. Escape will not be easy.

Writer/director Zalman King gave us t…
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Gas

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 30th, 2005

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Synopsis

The frustrating thing in watching Gas is just how familiar it is to The Cookout, Barbershop, Beautyshop, and other films that involve groups of African-American men getting together in the neighborhood and having fun, and getting the most successful family member in touch with their roots. What’s next, Sunday Church? Or Night at Silver Diner?

There are even a couple of parallels to The Cookout in this film. While Damien in this film is played by “Flex” …
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Unreal

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 28th, 2005

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I remember a couple of years ago when MTV produced The Real World Movie: The Lost Season. I was sitting at home on a Saturday, and didn’t know exactly what I had tuned in to. At first, I was just watching the show as if it were any other first-episode of a season of The Real World. It wasn’t long, however, before I realized that something strange was going on. Once I realized that the “documentary” was an elaborate hoax, I promptly changed the channel. Let’s be honest… reality shows are manipulated en…
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The Noose Hangs High

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005

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It’s another case of mistaken identity that gets our boys (Abbott and Costello) in trouble, this time with a couple of gangsters. I’ve always been an Abbott and Costello fan but somehow missed this 1948 film over the years. It’s possible that because it was one of only a few pictures the duo did outside of Universal it did not enjoy the wide release their other works had. A few gems from the boys’ routines can be found. Look for the “horse eating his fodder” and “I’ll bet you you’re not here”. There is none of the Big Band Era song and dance routine to slow this film’s pace.
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The Naked Truth

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005

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The Naked Truth is a 1958 British farce that benefits most from an excellent performance by Peter Sellers. Sellers plays Sonny Boy MacGregor as a comedic Lon Chaney. Each of Sonny’s characters is a complete package from the makeup to the accents. Moments of the inspired genius that would be better displayed in The Pink Panther films make this average production something more. The comedy is decidedly European in flavor and probably not for everyone. Most of the film slows when Sellers is not on the scene
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Cleopatra 2525 – The Complete Series

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 26th, 2005

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Synopsis

In the year 2525, humanity has been forced to seek refuge deep in the earth from robots known as “Baileys.” The title character is a stripper from our century, who went in for a breast enhancement and wound up cryogenically frozen until now. Thawed out, a stranger in a dangerously strange land, she winds up joining forces with two other female freedom fighters.

Though much is made of Sam Raimi’s involvement as exec-producer on this series, his direct role on the creative side is pr…
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