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 25th, 2006
Synopsis
Tyler Perry once again dons multiple costumes to incarnate several characters, most prominently Madea, the no-nonsense but mischievous matriarch of a very fractious family. She is ordered by the court to take in a runaway as a foster child, and that project of reclamation joins that of helping out her nieces. They have a mother from hell. One sister is struggling to learn how to love again, while the other is being forced into marriage with the hideously abusive Blair Underwood.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 24th, 2006
Synopsis
In 1985, Steven Spielberg backed this TV anthology series. It took its name from the very first SF magazine (which was briefly revived to coincide with the TV show), but have very little in common with that mag. It was almost purely fantasy-oriented, and its real model was the likes of The Twilight Zone (which itself was revived for TV the same year). Spielberg himself directed the pilot, and plenty of other big names singed on as well. So Harvey Keitel stars in an episode directed by...Clint Eastwood, for instance. Other directors of note include Joe Dante and Martin Scorsese.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 22nd, 2006
On Jerry Seinfeld's first comedy CD after his run on Seinfeld ended, he does a joke where he talks about why he hasn't done a movie yet. He talks about what a huge commitment it is to do a movie, and how he fears that when it is all over, he will be on the screen looking out at the audience saying, “this sucks, doesn't it? I didn't know. I really meant well.”
This movie is that punchline. Catching Ray Romano after his show's run and Kevin James just before the end of his sitcom, the two pair up as a co...ple of door to door meat salesmen who somehow get themselves involved in a situation between the mob, some killers... whatever. You know the drill. On the one hand, I can most certainly understand how someone could get talked into something that sounds better than it is actually going to be. On the other hand, surely they read the script before hand, didn't they?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 16th, 2006
I really enjoy stand-up DVDs, but they're pretty formulaic. The show starts, there is usually a short un-funny skit, and then the stand-up portion starts. The comic does his show, the credits roll, and that's it.
This is really something unique and innovative, however. This film is something of a musical comedy, skit, music video stand-up film. It's a lot to squeeze into a 72-minute film, but is is done surprisingly well. The transitions work out well, and it really shakes up the standard notions of what a co...edy DVD should be.
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 15th, 2006
Frank (Peter Mullan, Braveheart) has been designing and building ships in a British shipyard for 36 years. Suddenly and very cruelly, Frank is let go without any pension or prospects, and is left wondering what to do. An attempt at job searching finds him virtually at the feet of his sister-in-law, so he is basically left to walk around this nameless London suburb stunned and unsure of what to do with himself. His friends Eddie (Sean McGinley, Gangs of New York), Norman (Ron Cook, Quills) and Danny Boyd (yes, that's Pippin from the Lord of the Rings films, a.k.a. Billy Boyd) all try to help him out however they can. Frank's wife Joan (Brenda Blethyn, Secrets & Lies) is unsure about how Frank is holding up, so she decides to try out for a bus driver's license. Frank's son Rob (Jamies Sives, Mean Machine) is a stay at home Dad, but feels Frank has been resentful of that in some large way because Rob's brother (and Frank's son) died in a tragic drowning accident almost 30 years ago.
Written by first-time screenwriter Alex Rose and directed by Gaby Dellal (Football), the focus of On a Clear Day is undoubtedly Frank, the stoic patriarch who suddenly finds joy in life again with swimming. He notices a boy in the pool who is barely able to swim one length of the pool while Frank can do armloads. At the end of each length the boy rejoices. He perhaps finds these qualities in his lost son, but he is so introverted that he hardly indicates this. And it's that that becomes the inspiration for Frank's quest, which is to swim the English Channel.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 15th, 2006
Tommy Lee Jones makes his directorial debut with The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, a new take on the western genre. Set in modern times, this is a unique revenge picture with a more positive message than most. Jones also stars as Pete Perkins, an old cowboy, who embodies all the classic western ideals. Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo) is his Spanish-speaking friend and ranch hand, who falls victim to an unfortunate shooting at the barrel of trigger-happy border patrolman Mike Norton (Barry Pepper). After a...failed attempt at cover-up, spearheaded by crooked police officer Belmont - a masterful portrayal by country music star Dwight Yoakam - Estrada's body finds itself in Perkins' possession, and a journey for a proper burial begins. But Perkins isn't going back to Mexico alone. He kidnaps Norton and forces the man into the role of Estrada. Jones does a great job of walking that line between insanity and friendship, nowhere more apparent than the scene, where he proudly boasts of his triumph to slow his old friend's decomposition. (I'll never look at antifreeze the same way again.)
Shot from Guillermo Arriaga's literary script, Jones' interpretation of time and place is stunning. The film begins in a strange place and jumps around with great frequency. Pete and Estrada's relationship contains not a word of English. One minute, the title character is alive. The next, he's dead. Then, he's alive again. It would have been too easy for the film to crumble under its own structural weight, if not for Jones' seamless direction, which keeps the film's nomadic tendencies surprisingly clear. By excluding English (and subtitles) from the scenes with Pete and Estrada, the audience realizes just how special the young immigrant was to Perkins. Their relationship was something exclusive, and it seems as if it was the closest Pete ever came to loving another human being. Unfortunately, there will probably be a few snickers if I don't clarify; but for the record, it's a non-sexual love. It's friendship, plain and simple. And the fact the audience doesn't even get to invade that bond tells all the more what Estrada meant to Perkins.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 12th, 2006
I guess because of some anniversary related to the initial version on Disney, someone decided to do a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and not only lengthen it, but turn it into a miniseries. Built over a couple of parts, the piece, adapted by Brian Nelson (Hardy Candy) and directed by Rod Hardy (December Boys) stars some familiar names and faces, but is it really worth it?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 11th, 2006
When Star Trek: The Next Generation began, we were introduced to a new crew and a new Enterprise. What I remember most about that first episode, however, was the new villain of sorts: Q. John De Lancie has created one of Star Trek’s most memorable and endearing characters. Some claim the Q character was really introduced in the Original Series episode Squire of Gothos. William Campbell plays the all powerful gamester Trelane who turns out to be a child of omnipotent parents who was merely playing with Kirk and his crew. While I can see the similarities, the Trek gurus have not officially endorsed this connection. I hope it stays that way. I didn’t like that episode. Trelane was quite an annoying character. That leads me back to my feeling that it’s really De Lancie and not necessarily Q that we’re in love with. Let’s face it. While some of the best Next Generation episodes feature Q, some of them are also pretty lame. Still, no matter how bad the episode is, it’s still worth watching Q. I guess I’ve always been a sucker for the clever con artist characters. Sid the Snitch from Hill Street Blues is another of my all-time favorite characters. In case you don’t know, Q is just one part of an omnipotent Q continuum. This omnipotent race or collective usually keeps to themselves. Our Q, however, has found a playmate in Picard and some of his counterparts. He seems intent on being that stone in Picard’s shoe while expressing some sincere interest in the human condition. While most of his appearances have resulted in mere annoyance, we can’t forget that it was Q who brought the Federation in contact with its most powerful and perhaps most popular bad guys, the Borg.
I tend to frown on such multiple dipping, but in the case of these fan collections I think they’re generally a good idea. The entire Trek collection would cost several thousand of your hard earned dollars. If you have most of this stuff on laserdisc like I do, you’ve been reluctant to plunk down the coin again. For me these collections are a good way to upgrade some of the more important stuff.
