Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)

Dead Zone, The – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 5th, 2006

Synopsis

Anthony Michael Hall steps into Christopher Walken’s considerable shoes as Johnny Smith, a man who wakes up after years in a coma to discover that not only has life moved on without him, but he has psychic powers, and with them comes visions of politician Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery, taking on the role essayed by Martin Sheen in the Cronenberg film) bringing about some kind of apocalypse. Smith’s struggle against Stillson makes up the central arc of the series, and this season…
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Doctor Who – The Complete First Series

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 2nd, 2006

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Doctor Who is much more of a cultural phenomenon in the UK than it is here in the States. In fact, the series about a time traveler who fights evil is very much on par with the Star Trek series in North America in terms of its rabid cult following. The original series ran for a staggering 26-seasons on the BBC before finally fading away. The show has become one of the most popular Science Fiction programs of all time.

In 2003, the dead show was brought back as a new series, following the same ba…
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Jimi Plays Monterey/Shake! Otis at Monterey

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 28th, 2006

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There was a time when no major groundbreaking events were captured on film. The thing is, it’s sometimes hard to know when something of historical significance is going to occur. Major events such as World War II and the fall of the Berlin wall were planned in advance (so to speak), so it was easy to set-up a camera and capture the event. Spontaneous events, however, were mostly passed over. As technology has progressed, however, it has become easier to capture important and notable moments on the fly. September 11, …
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Matador, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 28th, 2006

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Synopsis

The ironically named Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) is a hitman whose lifestyle of promiscuous sex, exotic locales and contract killings is catching up with him. As he approaches meltdown, he runs into Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), a businessman who has had a long run of bad luck. The two strike up a friendship in Mexico city, and toward the end of their stay there, something happens. Six months later, Noble, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, turns uup on Wright’s doorstep.

If Bro…
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Little Manhattan

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006

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Once in awhile, a film comes along that really catches you by surprise. Little Manhattan is one of those films. At first glance, it appears to be an updated take on a coming of age film that warms the cockles of your heart and leaves you smiling, but it’s actually a bit of a romantic comedy that is timeless and memorable.

Written by Jennifer Flackett and directed by Mark Levin, who are a married writing team whose most notable work was Wimbledon, the focus of Little Manhattan is Gabe (Josh Hutcherson, Kicking and Screaming), who also narrates the film.
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About Schmidt

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006

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Jack Nicholson can make a convincing case for being one of the greatest actors of all time. He’s had his share of memorable moments in movies, with quoted lines etched in our brains. It took a while for me to get “You can’t handle the truth!” out of my head. He has also turned in outstanding performances in lesser known movies that have shown his range and dramatic ability. Alternate viewing recommendations to see Jack in action include Hoffa and The Pledge, among a variety of others….In About Schmidt, the follow-up effort by Alexander Payne (Election), Jack strips away the sunglasses, the eyebrow and the devilish grin, puts on 20 pounds, and gives us a performance that some have labeled as career defining.
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Tristan & Isolde

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006

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Let’s face it. Movies released in January usually aren’t very good. Yes, some of these movies are Oscar hopefuls that are released nation-wide, but only after being released in selected cities to quality for those Oscars. No, we’re talking about stinking piles of crap like Uwe Boll’s Bloodrayne here. Being that January is Hollywood’s cinematic dumping ground, it comes as no surprise that Tristan & Isolde was released during this very same month in 2006.

Delayed for nearly a year, Tristan & …
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About a Boy

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2006

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For better or worse, Hugh Grant has carved out a niche in Hollywood as the nervous, awkward, charming, British romantic leading man. He’s tried doing other things, paired with Gene Hackman as the protagonist in the thriller Extreme Measures. But attempts such as these are few and far between, and haven’t seemed to work. For better or worse, he’ll always be the stodgy British guy trying to bed an American chick over the objection of her parents, or some other convoluted romantic comedy plot. To his credit, he has been playing against that stereotype lately, to a lesser degree in Bridget Jones’s Diary, but to a larger scale in About a Boy, recently nominated for a Golden Globe in Comedy.
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Cavern, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 24th, 2006

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At the end of the day, The Cavern is an old-school monster movie (of sorts) with some really annoying habits. The shaky camera technique can only take one so far. When a filmmaker tries to use it in place of suspense, it grows old very fast. And when this crew of cave divers enter the mysterious crawlspace of the film’s title, writer-director Olatunde Osunsanmi goes hog wild with every gimmick angle he can think of. The result of such activity is the remnant of a good horror film, which builds mood nicely with…
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End of the Spear

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2006

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Synopsis

The Waodani tribe of the Amazon is, we are told, so violent that they have almost hunted each other to extinction. Oops. Anyway, in 1956 a group of missionaries and their families arrive to live with the Waodani and do the missionary thing. A misunderstanding leads to the missionaries being slaughtered, but their wives decide to stay. The film follows the journey of the son of one of the five men, and the whole thing is all about forgiveness.

See, the title is “End” not “Tip” of th…
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Monterey Pop Festival

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2006

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The 60’s have become something of a caricature of themselves. Take a girl with straight hair and flowers, throw in a “groovy” and a “man”, add some grainy photography, and you’re all ready to go. It is sometimes hard to remember that there was a time when this was not a kitchy formula, it was just the way that it was. This film is so authentically steeped in 60’s hippie culture that it almost doesn’t seem real when the footage starts rolling. Once the film begins to sink in, though, the viewer is completely drawn in …
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Trainspotting

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2006

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I’ve seen people quote this film from time to time, and I never understood the attraction because I saw it once and forgot about it. After a bit of intrigue, I finally got my hands on a copy of the US version of this 2 disc set (though the UK version, with the orange cover and silhoulette image of Ewan McGregor on the cover looks much cooler) and gave it a spin, lo and behold, I discovered a pretty good movie.
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V For Vendetta

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2006

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When the film V For Vendetta was announced, my interest immediate peaked as I found out the Wachowski Brothers would be writing the film. Unlike a majority of fans, I didn’t completely dislike The Matrix Trilogy; in fact, I thought they were a ton of fun. With this new film, the brothers attack the theme of a society where the government has the only voice, similar to the novel 1984. Add in actors Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, and you have me at the word go.

The year is 2020. A vir…
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2006

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I like to call movies like this “exception films”. They are the exception to the rule. Those odd little films that show up every once in a great while that really have no right to be good. You hear the plot, you see the trailer, and you know that this film is mere days away from losing vast sums of money for someone on the left coast. Then the movie comes out and it is… inexplicably entertaining and fantastic.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has carved out a surprisingly strong cult following for itself since it…
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Dave Chappelle’s Block Party

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2006

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Utter the words ‘Dave Chappelle’ or ‘The Chappelle Show’ to any person and odds are they will think of the ‘Lil’ Jon’ skit or the ultra famous “I’m Rick James, bitch”. While this one joke doesn’t even come close to the charm and humor that Dave Chappelle had on his once popular ‘Chappelle Show’ on Comedy Central, it still has become the most popular joke. But enough about that and more about the actual film at hand.

Dave Chappelle’s Block Party takes place around September of 2004, which was before …
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Failure to Launch

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2006

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In Failure to Launch, Trip (Matthew McConaughey) is a 35-year-old man who still lives with his parents. His parents simply want him out of the house, which doesn’t seem so harsh considering his age. So what do they do? Why, they simply decide to hire a woman named Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) to assist them. Paula, you see, is a specialist in helping grown men move out of their parents’ homes. I didn’t even think such a job existed. Well, Paula, we soon learn, has a very simple method that usually guarantees h…
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Guardian of the Realm

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 11th, 2006

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Synopsis

A group of occultists horsing around with more than they know accidentally open up an evil portal and unleash a terrible force upon the world. Fortunately, there’s an organization of Demon Hunters on the job, determined to send this evil and all if its minions back where they came from.

We’re in sub-sub-sub-Buffy territory here. Like that series, the film has a fair amount of self-deprecating humour. Numerous jokes fall completely flat, but there are still a few that raise a chuckl…
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Rescue Me — The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2006

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Synopsis

Not having seen the first season, I confess as to floundering somewhat in my encounter with the second. In the interest of keeping things simple and comprehensible, I thus present the synopsis provided by the box itself. The second season “finds Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) away from his former crew . . . and working in a Staten Island firehouse. He must come to terms with the havoc his drinking has caused and realizes it’s time to get his problems under control. His comrades back at 62 Truck a…
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Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2006

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Synopsis

Jeremiah is taken at the age of five from his loving foster parents and turned over to the tender mercies of his white-trash mother, Sarah (Asia Argento, in an absolutely monstrous role). He is dragged down into the abusive nightmare of her life, being raped by her male partners when he is being beaten by them. There is an interlude where he is taken under the care of his fundamentalist grandparents (whicih is a nightmare in itself), but mother reclaims him, ultimately making him up as a gir…
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BloodRayne

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 7th, 2006

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Synopsis

Rayne (Kristanna Loken) is a dhamphyr – a human/vampire hybrid. Escaping from the carnival where she is imprisoned as a freak, she sets out on a crusade against vampires, her ultimate target being the lord vampire Kagin (Ben Kingsley, an actor showing Michael Caine’s former penchant to whore himself out without shame), who also happens to be her father. Along the way, she forms an initially uneasy alliance with Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez, and Will Sanderson – members of Brimstone, a …
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New Police Story

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 7th, 2006

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You might not know this, but there are two Jackie Chans. The original Chan was an intense martial artist. His films were quite serious and action packed. While humor was always an element to his style, these early films did not really capitalize on that element. The Asian productions were nearly a genre unto themselves. Still, international stardom was elusive to this talented actor.

The second Jackie Chan is the man most Americans are familiar with. Still a talented martial artist, these films show a lighter side to the actor.
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16 Blocks

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 7th, 2006

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In 16 Blocks, Bruce Willis plays Jack Mosley, a NYPD detective who seems to be annoyed and tired of he job. He looks lethargic 90% of the time never wanting to really do his job. Jack is told that his boss wants him for another job; which is the last possible thing Jack wants right now. Jack has been told to transport a key witness 16 Blocks to a grand jury hearing. The witness must arrive in two hours before the grand jury’s term expires. The witness is Eddie Bunker (Mos Def), who seems to have more lines tha…
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Puff, Puff, Pass

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2006

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It’s hard to tell what Ronnie Warner and Kent George were trying to accomplish when they perpetrated Puff, Puff, Pass on the video rental public, but hopefully, they will discover it takes a little more work to write a funny script than cobbling together every stupid pot joke and lame religious blasphemy they can think of into a coherent script. Think “lame sitcom trying to be edgy for 95 minutes,” and you’ll have exactly what this film turns out to be. Featuring six stars from various TV shows – with Mekhi Ph…
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Dirty Dozen, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 5th, 2006

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It is exceedingly strange to me that in this unprecedented age of media availability, movies on demand and theaters in our very own homes, more and more men have not seen those movies that were a staple of manhood for so many years. Movies like Bullitt, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and even The Godfather are less and less familiar to male audiences than ever. There is a reason that these films were so popular amongst men. They are movies about tough guys who weren’t afraid to rearrange some fac…
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Return to Me/At First Sight (Double Feature)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 4th, 2006

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A long time ago, Sony owned the MGM video library (before Fox picked it up for impending HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Wars) and re-released some films as Special Editions, and combined others as part of convenient two-packs. This is an example of the latter, perhaps as some sort of romantic two-pack that’s easy on the wallet but heavy on the heart.

At First Sight is directed by Irwin Winkler (Night and the City) and tells the tale of Virgil Adamson (Val Kilmer, Real Genius) who has been blind all of his life.
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