Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2006
I admit it. I thought our heroes at Stargate Command had finally had it for sure. Were the replicators back? How about the dreaded G’Ould? Perhaps another serious malfunction of the Gate caused by Carter’s meddling was about to tear a hole in the time/space continuum. What was I so sure might spell doom for Earth’s last line of defense? We’ve already escaped fiendish bombs and other devious devices. Plagues and epidemics? No problem. Just business as usual at the SGC. No. These things are just minor worries compar...
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 4th, 2006
Synopsis
Jason Lee plays Earl, about as thorough a definition of “poor white trash” going. He’s not about petty theft, but life has thrown him some curveballs as well – neither of the children he is raising are his, for instance. When he hits it big on a scratch lottery ticket, he is promptly hit by a car and loses his ticket. Doped up on morphine in the hospital a talk show comment about karma acts as an epiphany, and he determines to turn his life around, righting all the wrongs he has committed. N...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 3rd, 2006
Synopsis
Being as I’m rather baffled by what’s going on, as once again Mr. Late-to-the-Party, here’s how the box summarizes what’s up this season: “discover Bree’s new life without Rex, Lynette’s chaotic return to the working world, and what becomes of Susan’s on-again, off-again relationship with Mike.” And that’s just for starters, of course. Let’s not forget the descent of Rex’s OTT mother on Bree, and Eva Longoria’s fight with the nun in the church.
It’s comedy, it’s a drama, and it’s c...
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
The film opens with the Senate pornography hearings of the 1950s, which cracked down on bondage-movie purveyor Irving Klaw. As Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol) waits to be called to testify, she flashes back to the events that brought her to this point. After an abusive childhood in Tennessee, a failed marriage and a gang rape, she flees to New York, where she becomes first a glamour model, and eventually the most highly sought-after bondage queen.
Director Mary Harron returns to her bel...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 27th, 2006
Synopsis
Adam Sandler plays Michael Newman, stressed-out workaholic who, overwhelmed by his job though he is, is allowing it to interfere with his family life. At the end of his tether one night, he sets out to buy a universal remote, but Christopher Walken (apparently playing Christopher Lloyd) sells him a truly universal remote.
All sorts of gags involving giving the real world the rewind, pause, fast-forward and slow-motion treatment ensue, and a number are funny. But as sure as night f...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 25th, 2006
Synopsis
Boy, this haunted technology stuff is getting out of hand. Seems a body can’t touch a single appliance or toy without some evil spirit emerging in smite-mode. In this instance, the problem is a survival-horror video game called Stay Alive, which not only refuses to let you stop playing, after your character dies, you die in the same way. At the root of it all is the Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who has been the subject of many a film already. Unaware of this, our usual batch of charact...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2006
The team of Hanna and Barbara are as much a part of my childhood as Uncle Walt Disney. The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Johnny Quest, and yes…Tom and Jerry, were like faithful companions that were never farther away than our 15 inch black and white television set. Nostalgia is very in these days. Baby boomers are all facing the midlife years, and not surprisingly there is a warm longing for those buddies of our youth. It’s simple economics that studios would attempt to cash in on our bygone days. Now in our direct to ...
