Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 9th, 2006
In its first year NYPD Blue succeeded through controversy. Language and partial nudity was pretty much all the critics were talking about. Season two brought “the test”. Could the show survive a major cast loss with David Caruso’s well publicized split from the show? Season three, however, is when it all came together. It’s so much fun watching a quality series hit its stride, that season when everything falls into place and we see for the first time that we could be in for a sweet ride.
The cop show ...as back in the 1990’s resurrected by the man who performed CPR on the genre in the 1980’s. With NYPD Blue we realize that Hill Street Blues wasn’t a fluke. Jimmy Smits was far more compelling than Caruso could be on his best day. The writers were beginning to find deep emotional material here. The season’s many rich themes included alcoholism, with not only Sipowitz but the newly formed Russell character. This seems to be a common theme for Steven Bochco. Every one of his shows have featured at least one alcoholic. Andy gets a fresh shot at fatherhood. One of the most compelling arcs has been the Andy/Andy Jr. arc. The tragic death of his son and the birth of a new son were huge stories in this season. Overall the characters are challenged both professionally and personally. The show’s documentary-like filming remains. This is the point when NYPD Blue finally took shape. We haven’t looked back yet, until now.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 9th, 2006
Michael Ontkean and Kate Jackson play a married couple dealing with the ramifications of the husband's newly discovered homosexual behavior. Right off, I'll say these two seem too happy from the beginning to make the sudden turn believable. Also, the ending [SPOILER ALERT, kind of] is too predictable and cliche to be the least little bit effective. The "I'm okay/You're okay" resolution, where everyone moves on and everyone's okay with who they are, and the world is once more a wonderful place, is pure Grade-A drivel ...hat simply got by with it at the time because it was one of the first movies to deal so openly with such a controversial topic.
With that said, the film's flaws really have nothing to do with its handling of the subject matter. Instead, it goes down - in flames - at the hands of two actors, who haven't learned a thing since they nabbed their first roles. Kate Jackson's wife is supposed to be a career woman, but she never stops whining and self-indulging into her own feelings long enough to step off your nerves and convince you she's any more than a cry-baby trophy wife. Harry Hamlin secured his rightful place in Lifetime movie hell with performances such as this one, where he's so convinced he's charming that all he really accomplishes is making the viewer want to punch him right in the mouth. As two-thirds of the triangle (Ontkean is actually quite good as the husband), the film was dead in the water, and nothing Arthur Hiller's direction could do was able to save it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2006
Synopsis
I think that by revisiting Unbreakable, and looking at it outside of M. Night Shyamalan’s other films (The Sixth Sense and Signs), there’s actually a pretty good movie going on there. I mean, a movie that grossed $95 million domestically can’t be considered a failure, right? It did, however, do amazing overall numbers, the international totals brought the film up to a near $250 million gross. However, I guess when you put them up against Signs ($227 million domestic, $40... million worldwide) and The Sixth Sense ($293 million domestic, $672 fricken’ million worldwide), maybe it can be considered disappointing, but the film itself is pretty good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 23rd, 2006
Synopsis
When he was a teenager, firefighter Tony Comes was sexually abused by a Catholic priest. When he and his family move to their new home, and he discovers that his victimizer lives just down the street, the shock forces him to come to terms with his past, and to seek redress. The documentary follows what happens, detailing, among other things, the way the Church circled its institutional wagons, and the terrible emotional cost to Comes and his family as the court battle drags on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 23rd, 2006
Synopsis
Documentary makers Patrick Farrelly and Kate O’Callaghan followed the creation of the liberal Air America Radio, a deliberate attempt to create an alternative to the all-encompassing right wing dominance of the talk radio airwaves. The making of the film took an unexpected turn when the newly born network suddenly fell into serious financial difficulty, and all sorts of stories of impropriety involving its founder circulated.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2006
The film’s prologue informs us that the sport of sculling captured the nation’s attention long before baseball or football came along. We’re told that this activity created a national obsession with much the same pitfalls of modern sports. Somehow I can’t imagine, in this age of sports bars and ESPN, that rowing would demand the attention this boast assumes. I don’t remember my grandfather or great grandfather for that matter reminiscing about some great rowing move he witnessed with his dad as a child. The film al...o reports that the events are based on the true story of rowing legend Ned Hanlon. If any of this is true, it appears the more things change the more they truly do remain the same. The same slimy agents and event fixing have been represented as well as the heroes who came from nothing.
The film is an obscure 1986 effort, notable only as an early role for Nicolas Cage. He wears the part well. In fact, the film features a rather fine cast that includes Christopher Plummer and David Naughton in fitting roles. The real problem is, there isn’t all that much to work with here. None of the parts allows the fine acting to be showcased. The film uses too much time with rowing scenes that offer no variety from one to another. There’s a reason rowing doesn’t command huge network contracts or even much cable coverage. It might be very exciting to participate in these events, but there is nothing at all engaging as an observer. The plot is familiar: Unlikely hero battles incredible odds and triumphs in the big event. Still there is no eye of the tiger here. More like eye of the tiger beetle. An inspiring story with no inspiration.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 22nd, 2006
Synopsis
In Spain of the early 70s, Javier Cámara is Alfredo, an unsuccessful door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. His wife, Carmen (Candela Peña), desperately wants a baby, but he refuses because of their dire financial straits. The publishing house he works for decides to move into making sex films, and its remaining door-to-door men must film themselves having sex with their wives or lose their jobs. Carmen sees this as a good opportunity to get pregnant, and convinces Alfredo to give it a try. The...two turn out to be very good at making these films. Bitten by the cinema bug, Alfredo has ambitions of making a feature film in the vein of his idol, Ingmar Bergman. Will his artistic dreams be realized? Will Carmen become a mother? And what to do about Alfredo’s non-existent sperm count?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 21st, 2006
Sex and the City Essentials: Breakups is a little introduction type collection into the famed HBO series. Here we get three episodes about the various Breakups in the show. The first episode is entitled Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and is about Carrie deciding to chose her honesty first. This causes her to lose Aidan in the process. The second episode is entitled I Love a Charade and is about Samantha’s wrath for Richard. The final episode is entitled The Post-It Always Sticks Twice and is about ...he post- Post-it note night out.
Since Sex and the City is aired regularly on TBS, I can’t possibly imagine what HBO is trying to do with these sets. Anyone who is possibly interested in the show, even the smallest amount, can simple turn on their television and watch an episode to see if this comedy is in their ballpark. I could understand if the Essentials discs came with a few rare features about the three episodes on the disc to warrant spending the money. HBO defends this release, according to their website, with Now, old and new Sex and the City fans can relive some of the sexiest, most romantic, emotional and memorable episodes from the series with the Sex and the City Essentials. I think a true fan of the series would know where their favorite episodes are season-wise at this point.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 21st, 2006
Sex and the City: The Essentials – Mr. Big is a release, which serves no purpose that can’t otherwise be obtained from watching reruns on TBS. True, the series is edited for television, but a show should not have to resort solely to objectionable content to build a relationship with its audience. That’s not to say it can’t, but if you’re interested in trying out Sex and the City, I doubt it’s to see how many breasts, penises, and profane words you can see and hear, respectively, in a half-hour of televi...ion. (You’ll be disappointed because, while for mature audiences, there are far worse shows out there.) No, you’re probably going to watch Sex and the City because you like character-driven comedy that focuses less on jokes and more on social realities. Or, maybe you like HBO’s programming, and you feel this show must be good if they picked it up.
Whatever the reason, chances are, you’re better off buying the entire seasons on DVD, or first trying out the show on TBS before making the decision of building a season-by-season collection. With The Essentials, you get a sparse three episodes with nary a special feature in sight. It’s a pointless waste of time no matter what angle you’re coming from. On the Mr. Big Essentials disc, you will get three episodes detailing different highs and lows in Carrie’s relationship with the title character. Perhaps it will leave you wanting more. If so, then the disc has done its job, but the real challenge which lay ahead for it is getting picked up in the first place. A fan won’t want it, and a curious spectator can find much better ways of sampling the menu.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2006
Riding on the coattails of the successful and acclaimed film Ray comes the life story of Johnny Cash. Walk the Line, adapted from the novel The Man in Black, places Joaquin Phoenix in the role of the legendary country singer. Similarly to Ray, Walk the Line has garnished critical acclaim for both the film (which was a surprise omission in the Best Picture category at the Oscars) and the lead roles of Phoenix and Witherspoon (both of whom won best actor/actress and the Golden Globe..., and are nominated at the Oscars).
More then the music, this film focuses on the downward spiraling emotional state of Cash, and his addiction to drugs to try to constrain his inner demons. The story starts with a glimpse into Cash’s childhood where we see a strong bond with his brother and meet his emotionally abusive father. After his brothers accidental death, and the emotional scaring his father puts him through, we fast forward to Johnny’s moving away from home.
