Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 28th, 2006
Synopsis
Will Patton is the owner of the Black Pelican, a road house where he will tolerate no nonsense, and particularly no drug dealing. This doesn’t please local slimeball Jake Busey, and when Patton refuses to sell, Busey (through dirty fighting, of course) beats Patton to within an inch of his life. Patton’s nephew is Johnathon Schaech, undercover DEA agent, and he arrives in the boondocks to take over the bar and set things straight.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 26th, 2006
The truth may never come out as to why HBO cancelled Carnivale after the show's second season. They claim that it was a combination of decreased ratings and rising production costs equaling $2 million an episode. What doesn't make sense, however, is that the network also admits that they received as many as 50,000 emails in a single weekend following the cancellation announcement. The facts also show that they followed up this show that was “too expensive to be profitable” with Rome, a show that has been widely recognized as the most expensive television series ever produced.
Several months after the show was cancelled, HBO offered the show's producers the chance to shoot a 2-hour movie to finish up the story which was left hanging. They refused, as they claim that the entire story was planned out for six complete seasons, so a two-hour finale would not even come close to finishing up the story. The show runners then announced plans to finish up the story in comic book form, but nothing has been seen of this plan as of yet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 15th, 2006
Lately, I've been wondering out loud about what will happen to these over-produced teen pop stars who are thrown all this media exposure by their parents (to the point of exploitation). When are we going to start seeing some Playboy or Maxim photo shoots? When are we going to see someone on Cinemax After Dark, or even Night Calls? I mean, it's obvious at this point that Ashley Simpson can't sing, and she's starting to look more and more like her sister in an attempt to become her, without the appeal. And since there's a rumor floating around that she turned down a multimillion dollar Playboy photo shoot (after the proverbial "great deal of thought"), it seems to be the next logical step.
Enter Joanna Levesque (RV), a.k.a. "Jojo". I don't know what song she's famous for, I don't know what she's doing lately, but I know she's been thrown a lot at MTV and Nickelodeon for whatever reason. I know this because I watch copious amounts of both. She plays Hailey in Aquamarine, a bit of a tomboy and a close friend of Claire (Emma Roberts, Blow), who is the granddaughter (I think) of owners of a beach club of some sort, and they both seem to have a crush on Raymond (Jake McDorman, Echoes of Innocence), a local life guard and resident teen hunk.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 1st, 2006
David Boreanaz is better known as the guy who played Sarah Michelle Gellar�s love interest in Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first three seasons of its existence. Being used sparingly in some parts and shining in his occasional showcase episodes, helped convince Buffy creator Joss Whedon and producer David Greenwalt to give the guy his own spin-off series. And by having the Buffy writers and directors pull some double duty in the beginning before gently phasing in some new creative influences, it's grown into a spin-off show that, in its fourth season now, arguably gives Buffy a run for its dramatic money. Since Angel was a semi-regular on Buffy but was mysterious, it was safe to assume that more things have to be explained for the show to work. The supporting characters had to be given some more depth as well. Buffy cast regulars were brought in for the occasional show, even two, depending on the storyline. Even Faith was brought in as part of two very episodes late in the season that finally gave Buffy and Angel some long-awaited closure.
Initially, the only character that went straight from Buffy to Angel was Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), but Wesley (Alexis Denisof) became a mid-season addition who was later included in the regular cast. A couple of new characters were introduced in the mix. Kate Lockley (Elisabeth Rohm) was brought in as a Los Angeles detective who really didn't provide much in substance outside from showing up to provide Angel information for cases he was pursuing. Although she did find out about Angel's vampire past which was a nice twist on things.There were a couple of episodes that were done to give her some depth also, and her main conflict was with her father who was also a recently retired LA cop, and the hot and cold relationship the two shared, until his killing by a demon late in the season. Another character named Gunn (J. August Richards) was added in the last 3 episodes of the season, and subsequently became part of the permanent cast just in time for the start of Season 2. Alan Francis Doyle (the late Glenn Quinn) started on the first episode as a half-demon that received visions of people in assistance, which helped Angel in helping people out each week. He was a bit of a mystery in the beginning, until we later find out more about his past (he was married briefly) and his feelings for Cordelia, while having reservations about telling her about his demon side. Sadly, Doyle was killed off of the show in the middle part of the first season, and transferred the power of the visions to Cordelia for future episodes. The recurring protagonist in the show is a legal firm named Wolfram and Hart, a firm that even "Johnnie Cochran wouldn't join", and with mind readers, shamans, and other forces helping them in their pursuit of evil in LA, they seem like the perfect group to have hatred for.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 27th, 2006
So now we come to the fourth year of NYPD Blue. In the show’s ever-changing look this year was no exception. Most notable is the fact that a new camera operation crew toned down the jumpy camera moves a bit. Style was not sacrificed, but the series is now easier to watch. Smits and Franz are really starting to click now, and we begin to see the special relationship we know will evolve between their characters. This buildup is absolutely necessary for the coming payoff with Simone’s death in later years. Again, several characters came and went, most notably a couple of female detectives. I’ve heard the show described as testosterone heavy, but I can’t believe that could be said of year four.
Greg Metavoy gets a lot more to do starting this year, and I think you’ll find the results entertaining. This is the only character other than Sipowitz to survive the show’s entire run. He’s placed in some awkward moments in year 4. The Simone and Russell romance heats up, and while I tend to think these things cheapen a series, I found this one to be tolerable. It was also quite necessary for the eventual payoff mentioned earlier. As always, NYPD Blue is about Andy, and you won’t be disappointed. The character continues his wonderful growth in this season, mostly aided by the influence of Simone. There’s plenty for every Blue fan out there in this set.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
Let’s face it. Movies released in January usually aren’t very good. Yes, some of these movies are Oscar hopefuls that are released nation-wide, but only after being released in selected cities to quality for those Oscars. No, we’re talking about stinking piles of crap like Uwe Boll’s Bloodrayne here. Being that January is Hollywood’s cinematic dumping ground, it comes as no surprise that Tristan & Isolde was released during this very same month in 2006.
Delayed for nearly a year, Tristan & ...solde follows a slew of disappointing historical epics, so common sense would tell you that the studio heads looked at this film and dubbed it a risk, with no bankable stars attached. What the studio heads seemed to forget (or miss, because let’s face it -- they’re more concerned with target audiences and opening weekends than quality) Tristan & Isolde is not half bad. In fact, it’s rather good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
Once in awhile, a film comes along that really catches you by surprise. Little Manhattan is one of those films. At first glance, it appears to be an updated take on a coming of age film that warms the cockles of your heart and leaves you smiling, but it's actually a bit of a romantic comedy that is timeless and memorable.
Written by Jennifer Flackett and directed by Mark Levin, who are a married writing team whose most notable work was Wimbledon, the focus of Little Manhattan is Gabe (Josh Hutcherson, Kicking and Screaming), who also narrates the film. At first the film starts with Gabe, sitting on his bed with a broken arm, crying over someone named Rosemary (Charlie Ray, in her first acting role). From there, Gabe tells the story of how happy he was before he met Rosemary. He was a happy 10 year old boy, knowing that girls were gross and he was going to be a placekicker with the help of his father (played by Bradley Whitford, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants). Gabe has known Rosemary for awhile, since kindergarten, but they bump into each other again in a karate class. Gabe suddenly realizes that he has feelings for Rosemary, and wants to be around her as much as possible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
Let’s face it. Movies released in January usually aren’t very good. Yes, some of these movies are Oscar hopefuls that are released nation-wide, but only after being released in selected cities to quality for those Oscars. No, we’re talking about stinking piles of crap like Uwe Boll’s Bloodrayne here. Being that January is Hollywood’s cinematic dumping ground, it comes as no surprise that Tristan & Isolde was released during this very same month in 2006.
Delayed for nearly a year, Tristan & ...solde follows a slew of disappointing historical epics, so common sense would tell you that the studio heads looked at this film and dubbed it a risk, with no bankable stars attached. What the studio heads seemed to forget (or miss, because let’s face it -- they’re more concerned with target audiences and opening weekends than quality) Tristan & Isolde is not half bad. In fact, it’s rather good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2006
It's hard to tell what Ronnie Warner and Kent George were trying to accomplish when they perpetrated Puff, Puff, Pass on the video rental public, but hopefully, they will discover it takes a little more work to write a funny script than cobbling together every stupid pot joke and lame religious blasphemy they can think of into a coherent script. Think "lame sitcom trying to be edgy for 95 minutes," and you'll have exactly what this film turns out to be. Featuring six stars from various TV shows - with Mekhi Ph...fer being the only one around with impressive film credits - this film applies the old adage, "You get what you pay for," in more ways than one.
The story centers on two stoners with a desire to go into business for themselves. However, they have no jobs and no ambition to help them along in the quest. They're always late on rent payments. One of the stoners even unknowingly has sex with the other's transvestite cousin. They fall for every huckster's grand "paid programming" scheme in the book, and finally check into rehab for access to cable television. All this sounds very funny, and I'm sure it was in the other films, which did a better job depicting this sort of behavior. All in all, it's a film that has very little going for it, except for an unusual affinity towards The Shawshank Redemption - but you'd have to be an idiot not to see the value in that film. While Puff, Puff, Pass may not be "an idiot," in that regard, it barely rises above said mark.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 5th, 2006
It is exceedingly strange to me that in this unprecedented age of media availability, movies on demand and theaters in our very own homes, more and more men have not seen those movies that were a staple of manhood for so many years. Movies like Bullitt, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and even The Godfather are less and less familiar to male audiences than ever. There is a reason that these films were so popular amongst men. They are movies about tough guys who weren't afraid to rearrange some fac...s to get the job done. Heavy drinking and hard living men. With more and more of these films being released in Special Edition DVD packages, this is a prime time to see these films, and reacquaint yourself with your male heritage. For the women that may be reading this, I'll just tell you now, you might as well stop reading. This is not a film for you.
The Dirty Dozen is a film filled with true tough guys. Lee Marvin. Telly Savalas. Jim Brown... Charles Bronson, for goodness sake! The biggest tough guys in the movies these days are Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis and The Rock. Willis is cut from the old mold, but he is truly the last of his breed. Somewhere along the way, Hollywood turned its back on the man's man. I feel that the male population in this country is the worse for it.
