Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Gregory Peck is a Nobel-laureate scientist sent to China to try to recover a new enzyme that allows one to grow any crop in any climate. The operation is being conducted jointly by the Americans, the British and the Russians (!). Peck has a transmitter implanted in his head that relays his physiological conditions and his every word back to base. What he doesn’t know is that the implant is also explosive, and trigger-happy general Arthur Hill might well blow Peck’s top, as it were.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 11th, 2006
(Portions of this review have been pulled from the original one-disc version of Jackass, which can also be found in the reviews portion of the site)Synopsis
One could make an attempt at witty prose by comparing Jackass to the works of Kubrick, Cassavettes, Scorsese, or what have you. But look, it’s a bunch of guys, some of whom have reputations in other circles, such as skateboarder Bam Margera and acclaimed director Spike Jonze, doing stunts that you may not have thought, dared or ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 9th, 2006
By the time this film was announced, everyone and their dog had asked me if I’d read The Da Vinci Code. I hadn’t.
Yes, I’d heard it was the bestest book in the whole wide world. No, I didn’t want to borrow their copy. Months later, when I finally sat down to watch this DVD, I had still not read Dan Brown’s masterpiece. See, I decided to be one of the few who could judge the film as completely separate from the novel.
Unfortunately for my personal experiment, it seems that the book was simply
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 8th, 2006
One of the longest running and most successful television sitcoms came to an end on February 28th 1983. It was an event to end all events. Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen was perhaps the greatest series finale in television history. It was certainly the most watched. Night workers called in sick. Some businesses either suspended work or offered sets for workers to see this long anticipated conclusion. What a fitting end it was. Each character was given what amounted to the best moments in the run. More serious than fun...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 6th, 2006
Proof that HBO was gutsy before The Soprano's comes with season five of Tales from the Crypt. By this point, the series had become a well-respected cult favorite, and these 13 episodes, spread over three discs, are some of the series' best. The show, based on a classic comic book series, really became my generation's version of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. It was a half-hour series that told twisted tales of mystery and horror, and was hosted by a very decomposed Crypt Keeper.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 6th, 2006
Synopsis
More half-hour tales of horror from back when the letters “HBO” didn’t yet necessarily imply envelope-pushing TV. A bit of cod-philosophising from our host, the obligatory female nudity, and some okay-but-nuthin’-special horror, only slightly edgier than what was passing for terror material on network TV at the time. Among the familiar faces this time around: Michael Madsen (playing an abusive husband), Bill Paxton, Kelly Lynch, Lauren Hutton, and Michael Ironside. Guest directors include th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Windy City Heat is the longest practical joke that I’ve seen in recent memory. Basically as I understand it, the premise is that Perry Caravello, who is supposed to be a friend to The Man Show’s Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel, is lured to a studio to play a tough cop or detective of some sorts. MTV VJ Carson Daly has just been rejected when Perry gets to the studio office, and he auditions for Bobcat Goldthwait and Dane Cook, and he magically gets the part, and puts up with a lot to ma...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 3rd, 2006
Synopsis
The murderous, cannibalistic Sawyer family is at it again, carving up yuppies and winning chili contests. Obsessed Texas Ranger Dennis Hopper is tracking them down, hoping for a final chainsaw duel. DJ Caroline Williams tries to help out, attracting the attention of the Sawyers, and, as it turns out, the puppy love of Leatherface.
Any follow-up to Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece is a fool’s endeavour. That said, this effort, by the man himself, is leaps and bounds beyond the other sequel...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 1st, 2006
Another long running series finally comes to an end … almost. The 7th and Final Season of MacGyver does not include the tele-films that really closed out the series. Unfortunately this is an abbreviated season with about half as many episodes. This is also another one of those running out of gas years that many quality shows end up doing before the series is mercifully put to rest. One never tires of seeing Richard Dean Anderson come up with his home brewed innovations, but by now it is clear that Anderson has tire...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 1st, 2006
Looking For Kitty is an interesting, witty and somewhat slow-moving film. I enjoyed the understated story up until the last 20 minutes, when I lost interest because I thought the film should have been over.
The story is straightforward. A sad-sack little league baseball coach, Abe Fiannico (David Krumholtz), hires Jack Stanton (Edward Burns), a down-on-his-luck private investigator, to find his missing wife, Kitty (Ari Meyers). Working together, they look for Kitty, who has apparently run off with a moderately successful rock singer named Ron Stewart (Max Baker)
