Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 29th, 2010
My dad was an ex-Vietnam officer, 1st lieutenant in the United States Army. He gave a lot for his country but never forced me towards any military service. He wanted me to focus more on my studies and make sure I got a proper education. I don’t think I could comprehend what my father or any military personnel in a war situation goes through. However, with the dramatization in Brothers, I can see on some level the horror that some of our fine soldiers have to live with.
Captain Sam Cahill (played by Tobey Maguire) is about to go on his fourth tour of duty to Afghanistan. He is a good family man, has a beautiful wife named Grace (played by Natalie Portman) and two daughters named Isabelle and Maggie (played by Bailee Madison & Taylor Grace Geare respectively). Then there is also Sam’s brother, Tommy (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2010
When people reminisce about the great match-ups of all time, talk will inevitably hone in on Ali vs. Frazier, Tunney vs. Dempsey, or, for boxing non-enthusiasts, Eckersley vs. Gibson. For film fans, talk will likely drift to Godzilla vs. Mothra, McClane vs. Gruber, or even Feddy vs. Jason. Well folks, a new movie has thrown its hat into the ring, and it is called Carny. What potentially legendary match-up does Carny feature, you ask? Why, nothing less than Lou Diamond Phillips vs. the Jersey Devil. Will these two foes unseat any of the classic brawlers mentioned above? Read on and see.
For those who haven’t heard of the Jersey Devil, it is sort of a rural East Coast Chupacabra-style legend. You may have seen it on the X-Files way back in its first season. It has been portrayed in various tales as a flying biped with hooves, a large owl, and, on The X-Files, as a beast woman. In Carny it is a large and vicious bat-like monstrosity that has some black hair but looks a bit too smooth and rubbery to be a living creature, as does Phillips.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 22nd, 2010
If you know me, you probably know that I don’t exactly exhibit small town values. I grew up in the suburbs, went to a state college and have worked in major cities such as Dallas & Houston. However, for the last ten years, I have lived somewhere in Brazoria County (small town haven) and I currently reside in West Columbia, Tx which has a population of around 4,000 people. Would Good Intentions be an accurate portrayal of small town southern life or more stereotypical mayhem?
Etta Milford (played by Elaine Hendrix) lives in the small town of Myra, Georgia. She has two young boys and a husband named Chester (played by Luke Perry). Chester runs one of the local convenience stores while Etta stays at home and tends to the children. Money is very tight for the family, so naturally one would think that they would be a little more careful with their income.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 19th, 2010
Wild Ocean was originally designed as a 3D IMAX experience. Though the production has been pared down to a humbler 2D widescreen, it still is effective as a well-made film that documents the Sardine Run in South Africa, where the migration of millions of Sardines makes for both feeding frenzies of ocean predators, and a wild festival of fishing for various townspeople.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 17th, 2010
In 1952 pioneering animator Osamu Tezuka’s manga series ignited a cultural phenomenon in Japan that has now reached worldwide acclaim: anime. Astro is a beloved pop culture figure that is finally getting wider recognition with younger audiences thanks to 2009’s feature film Astro Boy. Set in a future where Earth has endured years of abuse and pollution, one city decided to improve their quality of life. Metro City hovers far above Earth’s surface, but shares little similarities. Robots have been designed to take over the menial, mundane jobs they can’t be bothered to do themselves.
The father of those creations is scientist Dr. Tenma, voiced by Nicolas Cage. His brilliance in the field of robotics doesn’t make up for his shortcomings as a parent to his son Toby. Despite being a mature and remarkable student, Toby never quite receives the warm encouragement from his dad he craves. When a meeting with President Stone, a no-nonsense military man desperately seeking re-election, goes horribly awry, Toby is killed, leaving nothing but a red ball cap behind. Dr. Tenma attempts to resurrect the spirit of his departed son through a new life-like robot: Astro Boy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 15th, 2010
Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books from my youth. One of my favorite birthday presents was a gorgeous copy of the book with illustrations from my aunt. So as a result, I have seen many incantations of the classic title from the famous Disney animated movie to a plethora of tv series & movies. Enter 2010, hoopla over the Alice in Wonderland remake with Johnny Depp, the way was opened for other adaptations attempting to cash in. Alice, a mini-series on SyFy premiered in late 2009 and became the 2nd most watched mini-series in SyFy’s history (first being Tin Man). But how good exactly was it?
Alice Hamilton (played by Caterina Scorsone) is teaching judo to her local students. She takes a strong interest in one of her students, Jack (played by Philip Winchester). As it turns out, these two are very taken with each other and Alice has invited Jack to meet her mom, Carol (played by Teryl Rothery). The dinner goes as planned and afterwards Carol leaves the two alone to finish the night.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 14th, 2010
The flesh-eating plague from the first film is still spreading and turning teens into gurgling vomitarioms of puss and blood. This film takes place a few short seconds after the first one as we see the original hero explode onto the front of a school bus right before the title sprawls across the screen, which then leads to a cute animation explaining how the tainted water has been bottled and shipped to a high school in a neighbouring town. From there we have a slight love-triangle story that is peripheral to the fountains of gore that fill the screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2010
The concept would appear to be slightly misplaced on ABC’s Family Network. The prerequisite underage drinking and promiscuous sexual lives don’t appear to be the best “family” entertainment. We don’t get even halfway through the pilot episode before we’re already charting those waters. To be sure, Greek is no Animal House, and the atmosphere is toned down considerably, but the issues remain, and this is not a show for the kiddies. The story is very much like a soap opera. Casey (Grammer) is a sorority sister for Zeta Beta Zeta, and after two years is a woman on the rise. She’s dating the rich and handsome Evan (McDorman) and is in line to be the next House president. Her life is about to change when her nerdy brother, Rusty (Zachar) arrives at college. In his hope to experience college life and shed some of his geek reputation, he decides to rush a fraternity and enter Casey’s perfect world. Casey’s other problem is Zeta Beta Zeta’s own new pledge in the form of Rebecca Logan (Vadsaria), the spoiled daughter of a US Senator and rival for Evan’s affections as well as the future House leadership. To further complicate matters, Rusty has pledged Omega Chi Delta, which is led by Casey’s former boyfriend, Cappie (Foster). Most of the episodes deal with the crossover of these various worlds, and there’s a ton of competition not only between the houses but the characters. The show is all about the parties and the rivalries. There’s an interesting enough group of supporting characters, all well cast, which make this series a little more interesting than it really should be.
I think it started with the writers’ strike and somehow got out of control on this series. None of these sets represent actual seasons, which is why the releases are called chapters. The first two chapters represent the times before and after the strike from the show’s first year. I kind of understand how that might work out. What I don’t quite get is why it is now continuing. This chapter begins with the 11th episode of the second season and stops with the 22nd, even though the season actually included 22 episodes, all of them aired before the release of the DVDs. There doesn’t appear to be any reason to spread out these releases except to capture a couple of extra bucks from the fans. At least we are at a season end. With this logic "Chapter 5" will begin with the start of season 3. Let's see if we get to keep an entire season next time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 10th, 2010
Possessed machines are long-standing horror staples: Christine, The Car, Maximum Overdrive, etc. It’s easy to understand why. Imagine driving down the road in your comfortable four-door sedan when your seatbelt suddenly tightens around your chest and crushes you to death. Now, obviously, that wouldn’t happen in the real world, nor would a thin car window have enough force to decapitate someone. Regardless, these are the kind of things you can expect from Phantom Racer.
The story begins with two rivals, Cutter and J.J., who used to be friends until they pined after the same girl. They get into a racing wreck during a tournament and only one survives. The remaining racer cuts his losses, leaves town and brings his guilt with him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 1st, 2010
The ice caps have melted, leaving only 10% of the world livable, according to the opening narration of this adventure/disaster film. Salvaging relics from “lost” cities is a means of making money for our heroes, a boat crew that comprises of James Brolin as a Captain with a secret connection to the Vatican, and his two sons. As they pick up goodies to trade or sell they also search for clues towards a grand solution to the global flooding problem that the Vatican is housing.
