Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007
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...sequel to the popular film Faster.
Often times, sports films get tedious as the story drags on. Since this one focuses on just one race, however, viewers don't get bogged down in the grind of a full season. Plus, as with the sport itself, the riders are living on the edge of their mortality throughout, and the viewer really gets the sense that instantaneous death could occur at any time. This sense of tension perfectly mimics the film's subject matter, and it goes a long way to helping the at-home viewer stay engaged with the material. Director Mark Neale has done an excellent job of crafting a documentary that is exciting, yet still dramatic and informative.
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). At first relieved to be working for someone who understands the female struggle, Tess is hurt when she learns that her new boss is a backstabbing cutthroat who only listens to her to steal ideas. When her boss is hospitalized after a vacation accident, Tess takes action - by taking control of her boss' office, title and even her wardrobe. In her new guise, Tess gets right to work on brokering a deal with an investment banker, Jack Trainer (Ford), risking her career on one hail-Mary play.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2007
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. The film follows four storylines. The most notable for a lot of people was the one involving Richard (Brad Pitt, 12 Monkeys) and Susan (Cate Blanchett, The Aviator), who are spending some time in Morocco when tragedy strikes. Back at home, their children are being tended to by a kind immigrant named Amelia (played by Adriana Barraza, La Primera Noche), who decides to bring the kids across the border to Tijuana to attend her son's wedding, but when her cousin Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal, The Science of Sleep) reacts poorly to a border officer's interrogation on their return to America, Amelia is forced to do something she doesn't want to do. Going back to Morocco, two young brothers who help with farming and goat herding, decide to play with a gun that their father gave them (which turned out to be a gift from a friend). And when the playing has some ramifications, the boys head down a road where there's no going back. The last one goes to Tokyo, where Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi, Tori) is a teenage deaf-mute girl who witnessed her mother's suicide as a child, and she looks to try and discover the joy of pleasure despite having to deal with her handicaps.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2007
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.
I'm not sure if it's a case of morbid curiosity, but I ended up somewhat liking the show. At about 21 minutes an episode, it's just the right length. Even if I did find this stuff entertaining, there was only so much of Gene's family I could take in one sitting. The premise is simple and has been done to death by now. Cameras follow some famous person or family in the hopes of providing compelling drama for millions of viewers. OK, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but so is the idea that we're going to get an intimate inside look at these folks while the cameras are rolling. It's a lot like wrestling. If you don't buy into that what you're seeing is actually real, you can get a few laughs out of the whole thing. I will also admit this show destroyed a lot of the Gene Simmons mystique for me. Let's face it. Can you ever watch the stage persona in the same light again after watching Gene scoop kitty litter or wash his dog by throwing him in the pool? Let's not even talk about an attempt to get semen from a bull. Still, Gene turns out to be an interesting character very much removed from the one we're so used to seeing. While Gene dominates the show, there is plenty of time given to wife Shannon Tweed, from Playboy and soft porn films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2007
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...gives? The last season of Mad About You that was released was Season Two, which hit store shelves in April of 2003. Two seasons released in 5 years is not exactly the turnaround that fans look for; especially in a show that is no longer on the air. I, as did many fans, naturally assumed that no more seasons would be released after several years passed without a new season dropping.
So, imagine my shock when I read a news item in January of this year that announced Season Three's surprising release. Maybe the "greatest episodes" set they released in 2005 sold better than they expected. Maybe fan chatter reached those with their finger on the metaphorical button. Maybe Sony made enough off of the sale of the Seinfeld season sets to cover the losses on releasing another season of Mad About You (my personal guess). Whatever the reason, it's probably best not to ask too many questions, but to just be happy that this thing has finally shown up in stores at all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2007
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. Oldest daughter Ashley is, in fact, creating quite a name for herself in the sport. While she expresses doubts often, her pre-race interviews show a real addiction to the thrill and adrenaline rush the sport provides her. The girls’ level of commitment sometimes wavers, and Dad finds the whole situation frustrating at times. Dad constantly reminds us that he wishes he’d had sons instead. This might be cute if I believed for even a second he was kidding around. And so, camera crews follow this real-life dysfunctional family through their daily trials and tribulations. Dad’s a hothead who, while he expresses genuine pride for his girls, is terribly self-centered most of the time. The series follows the family from the beginning of a new racing season. We get a nice inside look at the workings of a racing business. The opening episode also brings home the stark reality of the inherent danger the sport operates with each day. John Force warns his daughter during a training session that you only get one shot at dying. Laurie, John’s wife and mother to the girls, is quite the tragic figure. Most of the time she looks like she’d rather not be there. She shows all the classic signs of an emotionally battered woman and expresses constant fear and frustration at being near John. What a role model these two make for their daughters. The only appeal this series had was to drag racing fans. Truth is, it doesn’t look like anyone in this family enjoys each other’s company, so why would we want to spend any time with them?
Video
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 3rd, 2007
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. His girlfriend is Gina (Tisha Campbell, Boomerang), whose best friend Pam (Tichina Arnold, Everybody Hates Chris) disapproves of him. And Martin's boys, the guys who will always have his back are Cole (Carl Anthony Payne, The Cosby Show) and Tommy (Thomas Mikal Ford, Q & A), who bumble around a bit, but their loyalty is unquestioned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2007
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 ...etting bogged down in the details that could drag a film like this one to a standstill. The entire tournament is discussed, but not every game is shown. In fact, the group of 16 is skipped all together. While this does not make for a complete document of the tournament, it certainly helps to keep the film on task. The first half of the film showcases the road to the final, and the second half focuses on the semi-finals and the final match itself. Impressively, the film does not shy away from touchy subjects, as it discusses referee controversies and “the head-butt” openly. Much of the film showcases field-level images of the gameplay supported only by crowd noise, which brings the beautiful game to life in a very real way. This is a compelling and entertaining film even for those that are casual fans of international sport.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2007
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.
