Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 4th, 2006
Synopsis
Everything I needed to know about why there was a double-dip of Save the Last Dance was answered within the first five minutes, when I saw a trailer for what appears to be the straight-to-video sequel for the film. So from there, the strategy appears to be to throw two or three semi-current extras onto the existing disc and call it a special edition. My favorite. Like green vegetables first thing in the morning. Now don’t get me wrong, the movie itself I like, but I would guess that there ar...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 3rd, 2006
The second season of USA Network’s The 4400 picks up one year after the events of the four-part season one. This time around, we know the 4400 once-missing people were not returned from alien abduction, but rather from the future.
That revelation aside, this series is still chock full of mystery. What is the nature of the fate the 4400 are meant to save us from? How were they selected? What impact will their return continue to have on the collective future of humankind? Will the government’s role be one of interference, or protection?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 1st, 2006
Synopsis
As one who has a brother that is (or was) a bit of a Stephen King fanatic and loves goofy King adaptations like Pet Cemetery, I’d never seen The Dead Zone, and I’m a Christopher Walken (True Romance) fan. I’m also a David Cronenberg (Dead Ringers) fan. And now that I’ve finally seen The Dead Zone, I can consider myself having a fairly complete existence now.
Based on King’s novel and adapted for the screen by Jeffrey Boam (The Lost Boys), Johnny S...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 30th, 2006
Synopsis
I can honestly say that a one-hour standup special might result in my shortest review ever, but if that’s how the chips fall this time, so be it. Bob Newhart is certainly not without his admirers, he’s been an established comedic force for decades. He didn’t get his big break until the ‘60s, and parlayed that success into television shows in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and aside from the occasional movie appearance, shows up from time to time with late night talk show hosts that run out of material.
...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 27th, 2006
Synopsis
Following the success of The Cartoon Network’s entertaining Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, someone decided to include one of the characters from the show as part of a spinoff series. The Brak Show recalls the encounters of the space cat of sorts, as he’s placed in a home with a loving mother and father, sort of in the vein of a Leave it to Beaver scenario.
The show, which ran from 2000-2003 had been previously released in one Volume, and this second version covers the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 25th, 2006
Synopsis
So what we have here is Season 4, Volume 1 – i.e. the first 20 episodes of the season. I’m not sure I’m wild about this new trend to trap us into shelling out our hard-earned dollars into buying TWO box sets per season, but there you have it. None of which is to take away from the actual qualities of the show. Either I’m growing softer in the head with age (an entirely likely event) or the series just keeps growing funnier. Everything here is funny, but some are epically so, forcing you to r...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 25th, 2006
Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic tells so many stories intertwined into one unique story that one can’t help but be drawn into what we’re viewing. The story involves many different characters including, Javier and Manolo (Benicio Del Toro and Jacob Vargas), newly appointed Presidential Drug Czar Bob Wakefield (Michael Douglas), daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen), Drug Enforcement agents Castro (Luiz Guzman) and Gordeon (Don Cheadle), drug kingpin Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer) and his wife (Catherina Zeta-Jones). < ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2006
Synopsis
This is it. The finale. The many twists and turns and intricate plotlines of the series finally get wrapped up. If you haven’t been watching the series from the start, much resonance will be lost, but the last season is still comprehensible. For those in the know, this is where many of the stories come to some form of end. The battle between Schillinger and Beecher, for instance, has its final act during a performance of Macbeth, and that is precisely the kind of literate, neat, contrived, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 19th, 2006
With the possible exception of the Vulcans no race has been given a richer history in Star Trek than the Klingons. We need to forget the drastic change in how these bad guys to allies look. In Enterprise this change is finally explained as a genetic experiment gone bad in an episode conspicuously missing from the set. I’m not sure I can criticize the episode selection, as they were voted on at Startrek.com. Still. I don’t like the over usage of repeats these collection sets are plagued with. It’s not like there are...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 16th, 2006
Synopsis
Marilyn Burns, Paul Partain, Allen Danziger, Teri McMinn, William Vail and Gunnar Hansen individually may not be that well known. Collectively, many people might confuse them with some group of lawyers or something. But film history has afforded them a higher place in memory past their initial endeavors. You see, back during the middle of a particularly oppressive heat wave in 1973 Texas, this group, directed by a then-fledging auteur in Tobe Hooper, combined to make what is widely regarded as one...
