Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 3rd, 2007
One hundred years after Abraham Van Helsing and allies fail to annihilate Dracula, the vampire arrives in a small American town looking for an amulet that, if destroyed at the prescribed moment, will usher in a reign of darkness. Recruited to aid in this project are versions of the Wolfman, the Frankenstein Monster, the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Opposing Dracula is the titular Monster Squad, a group of monster-crazy boys and one very little (and very adorable) sister, who befriends the Monster.
I first caught this film during its original theatrical run, and enjoyed it then. Twenty years later, it looks even better. This is the kind of movie that Stephen Summers (The Mummy, Van Helsing) evidently thinks he is making, even though he is utterly unable to do so. Director Fred Dekker’s acknowledged model is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and as in that film, the monsters are treated with respect, remaining figure of fear, not of fun. There is much humour in the film, but the stakes are real. There is a sense that the battles could have a real cost to them (and when the monsters attack, people do actually die). There are also enormously poignant, heartfelt moments (when was the last time you teared up at a Summers film?). The special effects have aged somewhat, but have accrued all the more charm for that. Dekker’s love of the classic Universal films imbues every frame, right down to replicating the out-of-place armadillos and phony-looking bats from the original Dracula. This is, from top to bottom, the dream of every classic monster fan made flesh.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2007
Superheroes are huge these days, at least most of them are. Some are a little under 3 feet. In the Disney afternoon universe of Ducktales comes Darkwing Duck, or DW as his friends and arch enemies refer to him. Darkwing appropriately enough inhabits a more sinister side of the Ducktales world where he is ever vigilante for the exotic criminals that threaten St. Canard. If you still don’t get the idea, think of Adam West’s Batman as a Disney duck. DW comes complete with the prerequisite Duckmobile and steady supply of crime fighting gadgets and gizmos. His faithful, if not overly intelligent, sidekick is Ducktales holdover Launchpad McQuack. When not fighting crime, DW has the expected secret identity of Drake Mallard. Just to finish the Batman comparisons, Drake has a ward, of sorts, Gosalyn, his adopted daughter. Like Robin, Gosalyn is ever helpful in DW’s capers. Once in a while DW is challenged by a secret villainous society, The Fiendish Organization of World Larceny, or F.O.W.L. for short. There are some 60’s secret agent themes to be found here, but they are far more Maxwell Smart than James Bond.
Darkwing Duck appears to be aiming at some of the adults in the audience. It appears to me that a lot of the cultural references and even plot points might be over the head of the typical afternoon cartoon crowd. Disney, cleverly, integrates enough of the 1960’s comic nostalgia to sucker in the parents as well. Lately I’ve been in my own trip down memory lane thanks to the release of many of my Marvel Comics favorites on DVD-ROM. I’ve been able to reacquaint myself with the likes of Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four beyond the modern films, recreated from the pages of their original exploits. Perhaps that makes me more alert for the obvious references. All of the villains could easily have come from these very color-splattered pages of adolescent excitement. This means that all you parents out there might end up joining your kids in watching these DVD’s.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2007
This is, I gather, part of a series of documentaries under the wider umbrella of “America Undercover,†and is not the first of the taxicab ones. What we have here is a collection of vignettes as various people hail a cab and, captured by the cab’s security camera, engage in revealing conversations with the driver. Most of these discussions deal with relationships and sex (the guy and his transsexual girlfriend, the guy with the big woman fetish, the guy with a thing for “crazy chicks†and so on). Over the course of the hour, this becomes a little tiresome, and one hopes for a passenger with something else on his/her mind. This moment finally comes in the form of a passenger whose former boyfriend is a firefighter who barely escaped the collapse of the World Trade Center with his life, and her narrative, moving and disturbing, is the highlight of the episode.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2007
I can just feel already, what an epic teen comedy Surf School is going to be, much pun intended of course. But appearance isn’t everything and I hope that this film can somehow surprise, as much as I doubt it.
Laguna Beach High School is tough for everyone, especially the outcasts, the non surfers. But when a group of social misfits band together, they decide to beat the schools reigning champions in a surf competition. The group goes to Costa Rica to learn, meeting some interesting people along the way. I bet you can already guess how this one ends, and trust me there are no surprises.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2007
Tyler Perry, best known for Madea's Family Reunion, is responsible for yet another film in Lionsgate's line of movies about nice black people. In Daddy's Little Girls, the writer-director explores the conflict between the ghetto-class African Americans we've seen so much of in films and the black middle- and upper-class we haven't. While this aspect of the conflict is relatively fresh in cinema, what the premise really boils down to is an age-old tale of love between princess and pauper.
When his mother-in-law passes away, Monty (Idris Elba, The Gospel) is forced to take care of his three daughters full-time. While he loves them and has been supporting them faithfully their whole lives, Monty is also struggling financially and the burden may prove too much. The mother of his kids, Jennifer (Tasha Smith, The Whole Ten Yards), has been absent for years, preferring to live it up with her drug-dealer boyfriend, Joe (Gary Sturgis, Pride).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 31st, 2007
In an old-groundbreaking television event likely orchestrated by classic TV aficionado George Clooney, Fail Safe was presented live on CBS in 2000. Seven years later, it hits DVD with little fanfare, but it should grab the attention of fans of any or all of the following: classic TV, live theatre, all-star casts and military dramas.
I haven’t seen the original film version based on the 1962 novel, Fail Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, or read the book, so I approached this live teleplay with an open mind. What stuck out most for me was the sheer depth of talent at work in this production.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2007
What time is it? That’s right, Home Improvement fans, it’s once again Tool Time. Unfortunately for the show’s followers, Season 7 would be its next to last outing, and even the most loyal fans seem to agree that the show had lost its edge by now. For me the decline started around the 6th year when the age of the boys created a need to shift stories away from Tim Allen’s routine and become a little bit more serious in tone. It’s not that situation comedies can’t find a great deal of success mining such a territory. MASH often ventured away from its comedic roots and occasionally brought us dead serious material, and it only improved the quality of an already good show. In the case of Home Improvement, the stories just became awkward as the writers tried to find ways to work in the boys’ increasing age and demands for screen time. True enough, Tim Allen never lost the persona that defined Tool Time, but there’s little question that it was not fitting in well with the deepening family issues the series began to explore. Suddenly Tim’s character was an inappropriate father and husband underneath the clever buffoonery. I will always remember Home Improvement for what it started out as, and these DVD’s just don’t represent that show any longer.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 29th, 2007
I’ve been in this run lately where I’ve seen quite a bit of Brad Pitt’s dramatic work from his earlier days, before he decided to funk himself up (and earn the respect of young males everywhere with Fight Club), and in the sprawling film Meet Joe Black, he tackles a different take on a character with a respected cast and crew behind him.
The film is a remake of the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday and this version was adapted by a cast of hundreds (well, four actually), and directed by Martin Brest, who was directing his first him after 1992’s Scent of a Woman. In this, Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) is a successful communications mogul about to celebrate his 65th birthday. He has two daughters in Allison (Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock) and Susan (Claire Forlani, Mallrats) and quite frankly couldn’t ask for more. However things change when one morning he has sharp chest pains, as if he’s having a heart attack, but he pulls through it. That night at dinner, he is greeted by a guest, a strapping young man (in the form of Pitt) who tells him that he’s the grim reaper, Death himself. He tells Bill that he would like to spend some time with him before taking him, and if Bill tells anyone who he is, he’ll take him beforehand.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 29th, 2007
In 1997, Hal Hartley put out a film called Henry Fool. It was the story of an introvertish garbage man Simon who makes friends with Henry Fool, a witty but talent-less novelist. Simon ascends to be a great poet while Henry finds the bottomless pit of alcoholic brew. However, the plot turns around and Simon helps Henry to flee the country since he has a criminal past. The movie did seem to hint at a sequel but didn't see one until 10 years later. Fay Grim tries to pick up where Henry Fool left off. It includes many of the same cast of characters.
Parker Posey returns as Fay Grim, the wife of Henry Fool (she took back her maiden name after his death). She becomes the focus for this movie. Donning a leather coat with fake pockets, she goes around Europe and the Middle East in search of Henry's missing notebooks. These notebooks apparently contain some government secrets that lead to a game of deadly espionage. Back at home, Simon Grim (played by James Urbaniak) is serving a prison term for keeping his mouth shut regarding Henry Fool's escape from the country. Ned (played by Liam Aiken)(Fay's 14 year old son) and Angus James (played by Chuck Montgomery)(Simon's publisher) also return as important characters for the sequel. However, new characters are on foot here too. The most important is the role of Agent Fulbright (played by Jeff Goldblum). Jeff as Fulbright does an excellent job of being the main opposition of the film as he is trying to investigate the notebooks and seeing if he can convince Fay to do his dirty work for him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2007
I have to say right off the get go, these are two movies I’ve never heard of and I’m guessing it would have probably been better kept that way. Still I’m going into this review completely unbiased but rather just with the expectations of horrendously typical 80’s comedy. At least there are a few recognizable actors including Rob Lowe, John Cusack, and Virginia Madsen in Class and Kelly Preston, Lori Loughlin, and Fred Ward in Secret Admirer. At any rate lets see how these dubbed 80’s classics turn out.
I’ll start off with Class which has a better cast and was easily the better of the two, which isn’t saying much for either. Jonathon (Andrew McCarthy, Pretty in Pink) is a country boy who gets a scholarship to a posh school where he’s roomed up with his Skip (Rob Lowe, Tommy Boy), who pretty much his opposite. But despite their different backgrounds Skip takes it upon him to see that naïve Jonathon looses his virginity. He sends him off to Chicago where Jonathon meets an older woman with whom he shares an affair, only ending once she realizes he’s underage. But things get complicated one day when Skip takes Jonathon home and finds out the woman from Chicago is Skip’s mom, and Skip finds out about the affair and that’s when things get messy.
![Meet Joe Black [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/meet-joe-black-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
