Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)

Live at the Variety Playhouse

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 18th, 2008

What ever happened to Shawn Mullins?

I often mull over this question whenever I hear him sing, “Ev-e-ry thing’s gonna be all right… Rockabye! Rockabye!” on the radio. The dude lands in the late nineties with this song that has maybe the most unimaginative chorus in the history of pop music, and then he bolts on us, leaving that small remnant to get stuck in our collective heads for the rest of our humdrum lives.
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Anamorph

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2008

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<>An-a-mor-pho-sis n. pl. An image distorted so that it can only be viewed without distortion from a certain angle or using specific instrumentation.

In the case of this direct to video thriller, our serial killer is using the aforementioned technique in his murders. He dismembers bodies and reassembles them so that they appear differently depending on how you view them.
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You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (Extended & Unrated Version)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 18th, 2008

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Comedy movies can often bring together two or more separate groups of people. This can be groups among the races, culture, and even nations that have been feuding for years. It brings these groups a chance to laugh together, a chance to perhaps look over stereotypes and realize that people aren’t so different at all. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan while not meant to be taken seriously does bring together Israelis and Arabs into one picture. A picture where they can have a good time and hopefully everybody regardless of their race or creed can laugh right along with them.
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Lost: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray]

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 15th, 2008

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For 4 years now, Lost has taken us through mystery after mystery. I’m beginning to think that the show’s title is more a mission statement for where they want to take the viewers. Each time Abrams appears to answer a question and move on, closer examination proves that nothing has actually been revealed. The series has become the poster child for misdirection and script sleight of hand. When I examine the 13 episodes from season 4 I’m left with the inescapable, pun intended, feeling that nothing significant has really happened here at all.
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The Dark Knight (2-disc Limited Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 13th, 2008

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July 18th, 2008. The movie: The Dark Knight is unleashed into the world. The budget is large but the profit generated was so much larger. After amassing nearly a billion dollars in revenue, the Dark Knight is considered the most successful film of 2008. Many wished to focus on Heath Ledger’s death as a major source of the generated revenue. However, the film benefited from strong performances from its cast and production crew. This tied into the fact that Heath Ledger put on an Oscar worthy performance and his unfortunate overdose made the movie huge. So, if you are one of the eighty people who have not seen this movie (78 of which are living outside of the United States), please step inside for the 2-disc review of the Dark Knight dvd, a must own for the holiday season.
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Hell Ride

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2008

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Larry Bishop’s Hell Ride plays like a childhood fantasy I might have had in the third grade had I known more about boobies and the joy they bring to my basest male desires. As a film, however, it’s terrible. It’s like Bishop set out to honor the bad movie genre by laying a turd so rancid the qualities of those other films shine brightly alongside it. Sitting down to watch Hell Ride a second time
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The Day the Earth Stood Still

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2008

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“Klaatu Berada Nikto…”

As a fan of Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness, I just had to do that. But Raimi’s masterpiece is not the subject of this article; rather a concerned alien visitor in the classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, now available on 2-disc special edition DVD from Twentieth Century Fox. No doubt the spawn of a marketing machine looking to cash in on the remake starring Keanu Reeves, this release should still be a welcome addition to the shelf of any classic cinema fan.
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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Three-Disc Collector’s Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2008

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The worst thing about The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is that it followed the most successful fantasy film trilogy of all time. Just two years after Return of the King blew us away in theatres and swept the Oscars, and only one year after the flagship Extended Edition release set a new standard for DVD excellence, ‘Wardrobe promised the return of high fantasy to theatres near us. Unfortunately, it proved to be nowhere near adequate for any Lord of the Rings comparison. It was sweet, non-threatening and even a little campy, where Peter Jackson’s films had been majestic, serious and polished – one fluffy, the other dramatic.

When The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian hit theatres in late 2007, I hoped it would offer a more mature Narnia, but I wasn’t too optimistic (these are supposed to be child-friendly, after all). Imagine my pleasant surprise early on when Trumpkin uttered this to the four child heroes: ”You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember.”

Fool’s Gold

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 7th, 2008

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Most women would consider Matthew McConaughey a hot guy. Hubba, hubba, the whole nine yards. Typically when he stars in a new motion picture, women flock to see the show for him to walk around for ninety minutes preferably with his shirt taken off and speaking romantic to some leading lady. For those ninety minutes, those women wish that they were in his arms, they were in his touch. But what if Matthew was portraying an out of work treasure hunter, broken down on his luck and owing some guy named Bigg Bunny a whole lot of money? I think this will all depend on whether his shirt is coming off or not.
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The Nutty Professor (2008)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 5th, 2008

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There seems to be some confusion over the title of this 2008 direct to video release. The release is simply called The Nutty Professor, like the original Jerry Lewis vehicle from 1963. It appears the working title of the film was The Nutty Professor 2: Facing The Fear. It is still listed under that title in the IMDB. Whatever the title, you should know that this isn’t your father’s Nutty Professor. This version is a CG animation feature, but don’t expect Shrek or Pixar quality work here. It’s a considerably lower budget affair, and that shows pretty clearly in the final product.
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Tropic Thunder

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 21st, 2008

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There have been many films about the Vietnam War. Some have been epic. Some have been emotional. Some have even been very bad, but now comes one that is absolutely funny. Are we ready for this kind of a send up? That might be the overriding question, but I think that we are. Tropic Thunder took the chance that the public was ready to accept such a film and be able to enjoy it. To soften the blow, it was likely a good idea that the film doesn’t address the war in itself. The film takes aim at movies about the war, and in an extension of that theme it pokes a lot of fun at Hollywood.
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Star Trek: The Original Series – Season 3 Remastered

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2008

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“Space…The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before!”
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Kung Fu Panda Two – Pack

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2008

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Jack Black stars as a Panda named Po who works in his family’s noodle shop. His dreams, however, aren’t of noodles and broth, but of Kung Fu. He fantasizes of hanging out with the famous furious five, the living legends of Kung Fu. The five are made up of the actual animal poses in Kung Fu. You have Tigress (Jolie), Crane (Cross), Monkey (Chan), Mantis (Rogen), and Viper (Liu). Together they have been training with the Master Shifu (Hoffman). Under the guidance of Grand Master Oogway (Duk Kim) they are preparing for one of them to take on the mantle of Dragon Warrior.
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Casino Royale (40th Anniversary Edition) (1967)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 13th, 2008

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Casino Royale was the only one of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels that was not a part of the deal with Ion Productions. It was the only Fleming story that was off limits even though it was the first Bond story written. Until recently it was never filmed as part of the official Bond franchise. However, there was a version made back in 1967 that has been deservedly long forgotten. After 40 years it remains unclear who originally came up with the idea for this farce, and after watching the results, I’m not expecting anybody to stand up and take credit any time soon. This is a James Bond film, but in name only.
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Halloween 3-Disc Unrated Collector’s Edition

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 9th, 2008

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Rob Zombie’s enthusiastic but terminally misguided remake scores yet another DVD release. This one is identical to the previous unrated edition, apart from the fact that there’s an extra disc. More on that later. But in the meantime, as everything else is the same, that will also be true for this review. What follows is what I said about the last version.
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Ray Harryhausen Gift Set

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 7th, 2008

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I’ve spent more than a few hours in the company of Ray Harryhausen over the years. I’ve handled many of the original armatures and have seen the original hand drawn storyboards and conceptual drawings he had created for most of his films. Maybe that’s why I love his films so much. I doubt it. They do speak for themselves and you owe it to yourself to see three of his best pictures, which have been collected here in one set.
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The L Word – The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 5th, 2008

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What can I say about Showtime’s huge hit, The L Word? If you don’t already know what this show is about, and I was surprised at the number of people I talked to who didn’t, then I’m pretty sure this isn’t the show for you. Remember the old days when you used to watch Sesame Street and each day the show would be brought to you by a letter and number of the day? Today this review is brought to you by the letter L and the number 5.
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Chapter 27

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 4th, 2008

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A combination of controversial subject matter and the physical transformation of Jared Leto garnered this film considerable attention (positive and negative). Leto here morphs into an uncannily accurate physical recreation of Mark David Chapman. The film follows Chapman on his fateful trip to New York City. Over the course of three days, he hangs around outside John Lennon’s home, becomes friendly with fellow fan Lindsay Lohan, and endlessly ruminates about how the events in his life are paralleling The Catcher in the Rye, and (rather less explicitly) why he’s going to kill Lennon.
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School House Rock!: Election Collection (LE)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 3rd, 2008

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Before I watched X-Men, before I watched Scooby-Doo, there were shows on my television like Sesame Street, Electric Company, and so forth. The purpose of these shows was to entertain & educate. There was also a range of 3 minute shorts that ran during Saturday morning cartoons on ABC that served a similar purpose. They were collectively called Schoolhouse Rock. From talking about Adjectives to Multiplication to our good ole Government, they helped to inform as well as entertain. In preparation for the 2008 election, Disney decided to come out with a compilation of fourteen Schoolhouse Rock shorts about everything from the Preamble to the Electoral College.
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The Strangers

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 1st, 2008

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You simply know you’re in trouble when one of these video titles begins with that age old “inspired by disturbing true events” line. As I watched the film, I couldn’t find anything even remotely based on a true case. I dug deeper and found an obscure remark from writer and director Bryan Bertino that explains he was inspired by the events of the Charlie Manson murders of the 1960’s. You’ve got to be kidding me.
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Prom Night (Unrated)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 1st, 2008

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The very first thing you need to know is that this film has absolutely nothing in common with the 1980 cult classic except for the name. Everyone involved has admitted the fact, so, if you’re looking for an update on an old memory, you really are in for a disappointment. The truth is, even if you aren’t expecting the old story you’re in for a huge letdown. Everything about this film screams mundane, from the killer to the story to the acting.
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The 4400: The Complete Series

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2008

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With the ember finally burning out too soon, the 4400 has come to rest as a complete series release from Paramount this month on DVD. Unfortunately there really is very little new to add to the set. Except for a single extra disc, all of the discs included here are identical to the individual set releases. To make matters a little worse, the discs are in a large book format with overlapped discs. Not only is the bottom disc hard to get out without removing the top disc, but it slips under the top disc’s hub, making it all the easier to damage.
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Inside Bob Dylan’s Jesus Years: Busy Being Born… Again!

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2008

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You would think that an apparent 2 hour documentary on Bob Dylan would feature, I don’t know, maybe Bob Dylan. If you figured that’s what you’re getting here, think again. There are maybe 3-4 minutes total Dylan footage, and it’s almost always silent and looks like it came from a camcorder in the nosebleed sections of an arena. Even the constant music being played throughout these interview clips is not from Dylan, but rather the tribute band that happens to be run by the film’s producer and interviewer, Joel Gilbert.
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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – The Eighth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 25th, 2008

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You would think that after 8 years, CSI would begin to show a little wear and tear around the edges. When you factor in the dilution of the two other versions of the franchise with a combined 11 years of episodes, you end up with nearly 300 total episodes of CSI. Certainly even the best of shows with the most imaginative writers can’t stay fresh for that long. Still, somehow, the gang at CSI continues to crank out compelling drama, rarely repeating itself. Every year I go into a new season of CSI expecting to find it starting to show its age a bit, and every year I continue to be amazed.
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The Stone Angel

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 23rd, 2008

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Hagar Shipley (Ellen Burstyn) is in her twilight years, and her son (Dylan Baker) is trying to get her into a home. Fiercely independent, possessed of a will that has been both a strength and a weakness (making life miserable for herself and all around her), Hagar fights back. She also looks back on her life, and in the flashbacks (where the young Hagar is played by Christine Horne) we see the tragic relationships that have brought us to the fractious family we see now.
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