Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 17th, 2008
I think it’s safe to say that HBO changed the face of television with the arrival of The Sopranos back in 1999. The show raised the bar for television across the board. Before we knew it, many of the cable networks were scrambling to offer up the next show that would generate the same praise from critics and audiences alike. To this day that show has generated more subscribers to a pay network than any other. So, we really can’t blame the network’s rival Showtime for trying to have their own Sopranos. And that’s exactly what The Brotherhood is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2008
Kill Switch is a direct to video release marking Steven Seagal’s departure from Sony, where most of his low budget, and larger budget, films were made. This one is released by the much smaller First Look Studios. Unfortunately everything about this film is a considerable downgrade from even the silliest of Seagal’s recent film fare. Seagal writes this one, which likely accounts for the convoluted mess the script is. There are far too many plot points and characters to keep track of, and ultimately little development is made of any of them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2008
First of all, if you expect to find an actual cyborg soldier in this film, you will be looking for a long time. The title character played by UFC fighter Rich Franklin is actually a human who has been genetically engineered with amphibian DNA. There are some nanobites working inside the guy, but you won’t be finding a Borg clone in this low budget affair. Unfortunately, you won’t find much in the acting department either. Many of the show’s supporting cast are actors who are usually stunt performers and not often charged with doing the hard stuff… like delivering lines.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 13th, 2008
Standup comedians live interesting lives. The typical stand-up comic performs for fifteen to thirty minutes, two or three times a week. For many their sole purpose in life is to make people laugh. Many often suffer from depression when their acts bomb or they go through dry spells where they can’t get gigs or write new material. However, the best ones make their own breaks and find their way into their audience’s heart. Sometimes that can be accomplished through a MC. This MC or master of ceremonies can often take a grand event such as a tour that lasts 30 days & 30 nights and turn four men into superstars.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2008
To start with I give Spielberg credit for going against the wishes of Lucas to film this thing in digital. Not only did he attempt to reproduce the same film stock look, but he edited the film, not on a computer, but an old movieola. The attempt to make this look like the other films is obvious and appreciated. Some of the sets are simply incredible. The Akator set is massive and dressed with all kinds of detail. It conjures up images of many of Indy’s tomb-raiding past. Again you have to credit Spielberg for wanting his actors in a real place as often as he did.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2008
Do you believe that a numbers wizard can predict the most random of human actions with mathematical equations so accurately as to know where and when such a person will be? If so, then I suggest you put down that letter you are writing to Santa, finish eating that egg a bunny left for you, go to your pillow and pull together all of the loot you got from the tooth fairy, and plunk it down on season three of Numb3rs. No, that’s not a typo, apparently they believe that letters aren’t good enough to stand on their own,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2008
The CSI phenomenon has been going strong for many years now, and CBS has ridden that wave to become the top network these past couple of years. It all started with the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigator. This
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2008
“Who? Or What is the newest, most breath-taking, most sensational super-hero of all?”
That was the question asked on the cover of Marvel’s Tales Of Suspense issue number 39. Pictured with that buildup was a character quite different from the Iron Man that we would come to know and love over the next 40 plus years. He was all silver and appeared to be wearing combat boots. He was not very slender, and you could almost hear the clunking as he moved.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 26th, 2008
Shonda Rhimes had a big hit on her hands with Grey’s Anatomy, so after five years she did what comes naturally in her situation. You spin the success off in the hope that the fans just can’t get enough in just one night. At first it appeared to me she had chosen the wrong character to put out on her own. I mean, I never considered Kate Walsh as
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 25th, 2008
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. No, I’m not having a Charles Dickens flashback or reliving Star Trek II. I’m pondering the release of this new Fan Collective featuring alternate realities. This new 5 disc collection brings together episodes from all 5 live action television Star Trek shows. They all deal with some adventure into a twisted or fabricated reality outside of the Trek universe we already know. Of course, that covers a lot of ground when you’re talking about Star Trek
