Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)

Sonny

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 4th, 2003

Synopsis

Nicolas Cage is a fantastic actor. I will be the first to admit that he has had some mistakes (“Face/Off” and “Snake Eyes”, to name a few), but for the most part, his performances are gutsy and honest, with just a hint of cool 60’s Rat Pack style smoldering underneath the surface. My favorite Cage performance came in the fantastic film “Leaving Las Vegas”, where he brought the struggles of a dying alcoholic to life in beautiful and tragic detail.

Unfortunately, “Sonny” is no “Leavi…
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Death Bed – The Bed That Eats

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

In a cellar (all that remains of a great mansion) lurks a demonic bed. Anyone who lies on it will be eaten (and being eaten involves being surrounded by yellow foam and dragged down into yellow liquid limbo and dissolved). Trapped behind his own painting is the ghost of artist Aubrey Beardsley. He witnesses the bed’s depredations (and his narration explains the plot to us), but there is nothing he can do to stop the evil. That, more or less, is the plot. The 80 minutes meander along, and the…
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Tick, The – The Entire Series

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 2nd, 2003

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The Tick was a live action show based on the wildly different super-hero of the same name. He was also featured in an incredibly funny animated series in the early 90’s that also ended way before it’s time. The Tick follows the comedic adventures of a muscular, but dim witted 300 lb powerhouse whose duty is to clean the city of evil-doers while shouting inane phrases such as the always catchy “Spoon!”

When I first heard that they were going to make a live action version of the Tick, I was very skeptical …
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tobyMac – Momentum

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 1st, 2003

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The Christian rock/rap group dc Talk had gone about as far as it could go by the new millennium, and they found themselves at a crossroads. There was virtually no new ground for them to tread upon as a group, but they didn’t want to shut down the show, either. Instead, the band went on hiatus. Each member subsequently put out a solo record, and started the process of building a fan base all over again.

All of the solo albums are surprisingly good in their own unique way, and all have done fairly well at re…
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Stevie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 1st, 2003

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I can sum up my feelings about the documentary “Stevie” with one word; “uneven”. Some portions of the film are surprising, touching and moving. Other portions, however, leave the viewer feeling a little sick, wondering how anyone could feel sorry for a person as desperately evil as Stevie.

In the end, all of the various problems with this film rest solely on the shoulders of its director. By bringing cameras into Stevie’s world, he has colored it, and made it something different than what it would otherwise…
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Sopranos – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 31st, 2003

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Not since the height of the American Western has there been a film genre where we find ourselves rooting for the bad guys and booing the good guys. Yesterday’s Jesse James and Billy The Kid have become Michael Corleone and Tony Soprano. Add to the mix that The Sopranos have totally revolutionized the face of the television drama. It’s no fluke that this show dominates nearly every Emmy category there is. The cinematography is feature film quality. The cast is high end and the writing is gutsy and tight. Make no mistake about it.
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dc Talk – Welcome to the FreakShow

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2003

dc Talk is a bit of an anomaly in the growing Christian music scene. While not necessarily a group that crosses over into the mainstream, they have grown into about as big of a Christian music act as they can become. The group is made up of three members, each one unique in their musical style and talents. The rock, rap and pop influences they bring together blend to create something new and unique. Backed by a full band, dc Talk has created a live show that rivals most major mainstream acts.

Welcome to th…
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Final Examination

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 27th, 2003

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Synopsis

At a Hawaiian resort, a five-year college reunion is underway. Four young women inparticular are excited to be chosen as centerfolds for Cavalier magazine (don’t ask). One by one,they are killed in boringly unbloody ways. Investigating is local detective Kari Wuhrer and ex-LA cop Bretn Huff, sent to Hawaii after a stock footage car chase back home. The dialogue withmake you want to hit your head with a sledgehammer, the mystery’s resolution is simultaneouslyobvious and nons…
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Forever Knight – The Trilogy, Part 1

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 25th, 2003

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Forever Knight was a CBS attempt to provide original drama broadcasting in the late night slot. This was, of course, before Letterman came along. After two seasons it was jettisoned and the USA network picked it up. USA retooled the show and ran it for just one more year for a total of three: Thus the Forever Knight Trilogy. The concept was quite intriguing. Knight would strongly emulate the popular Ann Rice universe of vampires, combining these gothic images and stories with a modern police drama. Each episode had a trademark dual storyline.
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Battlestar Galactica – The Complete Epic Series

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 25th, 2003

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Most sci-fi fans have a very warm place in their heart for Starbuck, Apollo, and the rest of the crew of Battlestar Galactica. At over $1 million per episode, it became the most expensive show in network history. Star Wars master Jedi f/x man John Dykstra utilized many of the techniques he developed for the Lucas enterprise. George Lucas claimed they were so close he was forced into a failed effort to sue the show for copyright infringement. Sci-Fi channel is about to relaunch this revered franchise, but the results appear so far underwhelming.
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Charlotte Sometimes

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 23rd, 2003

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Synopsis

Michael Idemoto plays Michael, an introspective bookworm and mechanic. His tenant isEugenia Yuan, who has a boyfriend, but spends most of her evenings with Michael. Theirrelationship is platonic, but Michael clearly has strong feelings for her. Then he meets Darcy(Jacqueline Kim), a distant but alluring young woman. In fact, Darcy is Yuan’s sister Charlotte.Our protagonist is a man of few words, and the same can be said of the movie. The mostimportant elements are the thing…
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King of the Hill – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 22nd, 2003

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The Hills are back! Hank, Peggy, Bobby and Luanne have returned for more down home shenanigans. After a successful first season that followed in the footsteps of the Simpsons, King of the Hill was a surprising hit from the creative mind of Mike Judge, formerly responsible for the heavy metal antics of Beavis and Butthead. The second series picks up where series one left off albeit with improved writing and further exploration of the characters. I particularly like the characterization of Hank as a true redneck – …
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Avril Lavigne – My World

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 22nd, 2003

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Go up front and live with one of music’s fasting rising young stars. Then follow her behind the scenes and find out what she is like in real life.

Video

The fullscreen live concert footage on this DVD is of pretty decent quality. Overall we have a nice sharp image with good dark level delineation, there are some problems with red in the crowd shots and you notice a fair amount of over saturation. The image as a whole is nice and crisp. When we look at the behind the scenes footage it is noticeably softer with a fair amount of grain.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2003

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William Shatner refused to reprise his role of Kirk in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home without a promise to write and direct the next film in the franchise. Against their better judgment Paramount agreed, and to this day wish they had not. The story is absolutely silly and the direction very one-dimensional. The truth is, however, that there still are some very endearing Trek moments in the film. DeForest Kelly gives a superb performance as McCoy must face his past decision to allow his terminal father to die.
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X-Files – The Complete Eighth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 19th, 2003

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The eighth season of the X-files brought major changes to one of Fox’s strongest running series. And whenever major changes occur there is always a concern about what is going to happen to the integrity of the show. By the end of the 7th season the worries about what David Duchovny was going to do left fans of the show in limbo. Luckily, the creative team behind the X-files (one of the best in television history) was up to the task.

The season opened with the introduction to Agent Fox Mulder’s replace…
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Evening with Kevin Smith, An

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 19th, 2003

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Synopsis

At first glance, a 3 1/2 hour spoken word documentary is probably not something the average person would care to sit through, and certainly not the kind of thing the average DVD aficionado would want to purchase. However, this is not just any DVD set, and the speaker is not just any run of the mill personality. This is an intimate evening with actor/filmmaker Kevin Smith.

This brilliant two-disc set follows Smith to five different American universities, where he simply hosts a que…
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Portishead – Roseland New York

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 17th, 2003

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Just before the release of their eponymous second album, Portishead gathered at the historical Roseland Ballroom for their first ever performance in New York City. The band brought a film crew along for this special concert. It was a show that featured not only the first performance of much of the new album, but also the added attraction of playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The result is a brilliant and haunting presentation of all things Portishead. This legendary disc should be required viewing for …
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Christmas Storykeepers, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 17th, 2003

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Synopsis

Though there is a intro that summarizes who’s who and what’s what, if you’re not familiarwith the Storykeepers cartoon, you might well find this a bit confusing (I know I did). Anyway,in 64 AD, a group of Christian orphans and their protector are on the run from the evil EmperorNero (who has henchmen with such subtle names as “Nihilus”). They flee the burning Rome,but do find the time to sit down and hear tales of Christ’s nativity and the like. The animationis primitive, a…
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Freezerburnt Christmas, A

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 16th, 2003

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“Let’s go kick some Christmas butt!” When these are the climactic words spoken by Santa Claus prior to his Christmas Eve trip using a flying ice cream truck instead of his sleigh, you know you’re in trouble. A Freezerburnt Christmas is easily the worst Christmas movie I have ever seen and would challenge any reader to find a worse holiday film. Even though it is only 22 minutes long, I was frustrated by the fact that I’m never going to get those 22 minutes back. This was a stop-motion cartoon but let’s face it – the…
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Ox-Bow Incident, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2003

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Synopsis

Henry Fonda and Henry Morgan are two outsider cowhands who ride into town just as wordarrives that a popular ranchers has been killed. A posse, or, more accurately, a lynch mob, forms,and Fonda and Morgan go along. Three men (including Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn) arefound and blamed for the crime. The mob decides to kill them, even though Fonda and a fewothers become convinced of their innocence. Though a bit heavy-handed at getting its messageacross, and resorting to u…
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Cracker – Series One

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2003

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Synopsis

Robbie Coltrane plays Fitz, a criminal psychologist as brilliant as he is hard to take: gambler,smoker, drinker, lousy husband and father, he’s no prize. But he is also very good at what hedoes. These three stories feature an amnesiac serial killer, a misfit couple of murderers, and mobviolence. Coltrane is superb in the lead, but is backed up by equally strong performances by thelikes of Christopher Eccleston. With luck, the other episodes will follow shortly. If they do, br…
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SpongeBob SquarePants Christmas

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 14th, 2003

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Synopsis

Nine more SpongeBob episodes, including the double-length “Christmas Who?” Not all theepisodes are Christmas, or even winter, related. “Procrastination,” for instance, showsSpongeBob desperately trying to write an essay (amusing enough, but not a patch on RichardCondie’s animated short “Getting Started”). All in all good-humoured fun, though I keep beingreminded of Ren and Stimpy with the edge removed.

Audio

The sound is much the same as that on the…
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Sanford and Son – The Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2003

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I understand that it might be highly debatable, but Sanford and Son was one of if not the funniest sitcom in TV history. Based on a British series called Steptoe and Son, Sanford made television history by becoming the first sitcom to feature a predominantly black cast. Norman Lear, known more for the historic All In The Family, took a chance on a black comedian with a risqué reputation. Redd Foxx was recording records he called Party Albums that came in plain brown wrapper and featured dirty jokes that would even make Richard Pryor blush.
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Christmas Carol – The Movie

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 13th, 2003

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Synopsis

This is, of course, the familiar tale of miser Ebenezer Scrooge (voice of Simon Callow) andhis conversion thanks to his encounters with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-To-Come. This version has a few alterations, though: Scrooge’s lost love (Kate Winslet) is still verymuch around, and is trying to get in touch with him; there’s a new subplot involving a hospitalfor poor orphans that shuts down because of Scrooge; and Scrooge’s only friends are two mice,who sca…
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House That Dripped Blood, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 12th, 2003

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Synopsis

A movie star has disappeared, and a police inspector arrives in the small town where he wasstaying to investigate. He is informed that there is something very strange about the house wherethe star was living, and we then see the stories of what happened to the various tenants. In thefirst story, writer Denholm Elliott fears that a strangler in the novel he is working on has come tolife. Next, Peter Cushing visits a wax museum and sees a statue of Salome that bears an uncanny…
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