Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 8th, 2007
To watch a good movie you must have the right equipment. A nice sound processor connected to kicking speakers are an absolute must. Add a 200 Watt 17 inch powered sub and you've increased the experience ten fold. Wrap it all up with a sweet DLP HD monitor and you now have everything you need - except of course a good movie. Trust The Man is everything but. All you need here is a good supply of insulin and an IV drip to keep you from lapsing into a sugar coma. I'm not talking peanut butter cup melts in your mouth sweet. I'm talking pure concentrated syrup makes you want to hurl sweet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 8th, 2007
Synopsis
This documentary follows six seasons of the Roosevelt Roughriders girls’ basketball team. Initially, the focus was going to be the work of their unorthodox coach, economics teacher Bill Resler. What he did is interesting in and of itself, turning the team into a real force to be reckoned with. But then into this middle-class, largely white setting comes Darnellia Russell, inner city girl with inner city problems, and colossal talent. The film follows her integration into the team, and when p...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 6th, 2007
The lines between news and entertainment, documentary and fiction continue to fade every day. It's a dangerous trend, as people have begun to believe the fiction, and ignore the facts. This film seems to make that line disappear altogether. The movie is based on a bestselling book of the same name, written by Eric Schlosser. The book is a fascinating investigation of the fast food and meat packing industries in the United States that has really shed some light on this often-overlooked dark secret of the dining indust...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 5th, 2007
Synopsis
All That Could Have Been (Nine Inch Nails’ first concert dvd) when released in 2002 was recognized by many to be the ultimate concert dvd. Released in separate dts and dolby digital versions; it had an amazing sound and look. The only knock against the disc was the fact that it took two dvds to show a two hour show. Technology has improved. Cue to 2007, Nine Inch Nails fresh off their tour to promote With Teeth decides to release Beside You in Time (Halo 22). This new co...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 4th, 2007
If you want another reason to hate George Lucas, it's that James Bond film producer Albert Broccoli decided to fast track the production of Moonraker ahead of For Your Eyes Only to capitalize on the proverbial Star Wars effect that was occurring through box offices worldwide. However in this one, written by Christopher Wood, who wrote the epic film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and directed by Lewis Gilbert (who had just done The Spy Who Loved Me), Roger Moore rides a shuttle into space and takes the dynamic of the film with it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 4th, 2007
Poor Roger Moore. He does get a bit of a bum rap when it comes to James Bond movies, but I think that in terms of the character, he actually fits the jacket, Walther PPK and shaken martinis fairly well, but the problem for his work was that it faced a lot of new technology, and thus was subjected to a lot of ridicule as a result. New things like walking in space and the computer revolution were given a tongue in cheek look, and in between this and the visual effects simply not catching up to the imaginations, then sure, some of the films look and feel a bit silly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 4th, 2007
On its surface, Coastlines is a modestly produced film that was written and directed by Victor Nunez (Ulee's Gold), telling the story about a guy who was just released from prison for dealing drugs, but bites the prison bullet for the favor of a friend. He comes out and is looking for the financial windfall promised him, but also tries to get back in touch with his roots. On a deeper level, Coastlines, well, doesn't go that much deeper I guess.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 2nd, 2007
As a relatively topical fan of the James Bond franchise (though not so topical that I'd buy all of the films on DVD), I had a cursory knowledge of the actors who played Bond and the times that they had been cast. Little did I know however that by the time Roger Moore had signed onto the role in Live and Let Die that this was the third attempt to bring him aboard, and that maybe producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli were hoping that the third attempt brought the proverbial charm. Moore had been approached for the role as early as the Dr. No days, but was in the midst of doing The Saint television show, and Connery was chosen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 2nd, 2007
I don't mean for this to be a joke, but when Paul Mooney recently said that he was glad that Hispanics got their (and I'm paraphrasing here) "African-American wake up call" in the midst of the illegal immigration debate of 2006, the problem wasn't whether or not the Hispanics were being treated fairly or not. The problem was that this discussion has been going on in some manner or fashion for almost four decades now without a large-scale epiphany that required action. However back in 1968, there was some action (which led to the coordinated efforts of students to walk out of their classes in Los Angeles High schools as a protest of the conditions there), and Walkout helps to tell the tale.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 27th, 2007
A small town is being terrorized by a gang of thugs who use extortion and violence to buy up all the businesses. The only person who tries to stand up to the gang is the sheriff, but then he meets a violent end. His son (Kevin Sorbo), who, one gathers from vague references, has military training, shucks his apathy, dons his father’s badge, and sets out to clean up the town.
The cover art is hilariously misleading, in that it shows what appears to be Sorbo leading his posse for the titular payback.
