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Dragonball: Evolution (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 7th, 2009

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“In a time before many can remember, our planet faced its greatest challenge. A warlord named Piccolo came from beyond the stars, bringing darkness and chaos to our once peaceful world. Aided by his disciple Oozaru, the evil pair brought the human race to the brink of annihilation. Cities and countries crumbled beneath them. Countless lives were lost, but finally a group of brave warriors created the Ma Fu Ba, a powerful enchantment that imprisoned Piccolo deep with in the Earth. With his master captured, Oozaru disappeared and balance was slowly restored to our world. And so it has remained for thousands of years…until now.”

Let me begin by stating that I have not had more than a passing exposure to the hugely popular Dragonball anime works.
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12 Rounds (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 2009

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I tend to wince a bit when I see these films that star wrestling names and are produced in conjunction with one of the WW A-Z’s. I’ve come to believe that WW means “Won’t Wow”. Along comes John Cena and this latest cooperative film, 12 Rounds. I have to say I was somewhat surprised to find that it was a pretty good action thriller, if a bit implausible. I’m willing to overlook certain aspects of inplauability, if you take me on a thrilling enough ride and try not to totally insult my intelligence. For the most part I found that to be the case here.
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Pink Panther 2 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2009

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“Let me bring you up to speed. We know nothing. You are now up to speed.”

The Pink Panther is one of those properties that has given several generations some wonderful memories. If you were a kid, of any age, in the 1970’s you remember watching the cartoon series on Saturday mornings. It was one of the more innovative cartoons in that it had almost no dialog. The titular cat was always trying to outwit the witless Inspector Clouseau, and in true comedic fashion would always manage to escape. If you were a little bit older, you remember the truly inspired comedy films by Blake Edwards.
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Miracle (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2009

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“Do you believe in miracles?”

Al Michaels’ famous coda to the 1980 Olympic Hockey Championship Game provides the title of this Walt Disney film based on the incredible feat. I have to admit that I’ve never been a big fan of the Olympic games. I’ve more times than not been annoyed at how much television time is preempted, and it dominates the headlines for over 2 weeks each time the games are played. Still, it was hard not to feel a little excited about this particular game. As Americans, we love those underdog stories.
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Spaceballs (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2009

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“A long time ago in a land far, far away, way East of Chicago, in a place called Brooklyn, actually, a great man named Mel Brooks was born. And, that man begat this and that, and then some, and then he did this…”

This, was Spaceballs. Brooks had tackled pretty much every genre of film before Spaceballs. He took on horror films with Young Frankenstein. He tore up the old West and the Western with Blazing Saddles. He was bold enough to offer us a take up on the Silent Movie. On television he took on James Bond
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Sin City (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 23rd, 2009

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Sin City arrives in high definition with some pretty high expectations. You get both versions of the movie here, and I have to say that I’m very pleased to see that. By now fans of the movie have seen the recut version of Sin City and likely have your own opinions as to what you thought of it. The fan base appears to be somewhat divided on the effort. For me it’s never been a case of better or worse. It’s merely a case of different. The two versions are very different experiences. Watching the recut version is not really like watching a movie at all. Frank Miller presents them more akin to the original graphic novel experience.
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Doubt (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2009

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Doubt is a case of art imitating art imitating life. John Patrick Shanley based the character of Sister James on a real sister that he knew as a child. He grew up attending Catholic school, and Sister James was one of the nuns he knew during that experience. While the character was based on something real, the events were not. He took this familiar character and developed the fictional story of Doubt around her. This story became a play. W hen it came to adapting the successful play into a movie, John Patrick Shanley took on the job nearly singlehandedly.
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Doubt

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009

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John Patrick Shanley brings his thought provoking play to the big screen in 2008’s best picture, in my book, Doubt. The Academy likely shied away from the controversial content, likely because it doesn’t make it clear this priest must have done what he’s accused of doing. Many of the actors received deserved nominations, but the film was generally snubbed in the final verdict. While I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire, for Doubt to not even get the Best Picture nomination is a crime.
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Marley And Me (Bad Dog Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2009

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“A dog has no use for fancy cars, or big houses, or designer clothes. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give ‘em your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

In the name of full disclosure, I should probably give you a little background in the circumstances in which I find myself watching and reviewing Marley & Me. If you’re a regular reader of this site and my reviews, you have come to learn that I have a Siberian Husky named Athena.
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The Lodger

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 25th, 2009

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In 1913 Marie Belloc Lowendes wrote the novel that this film was based upon. She claimed to have once met a woman at a dinner party who claimed to have had Jack The Ripper as a lodger at her boarding house. Lowendes never tried to verify the claim, or learned anything else about the incident, but it did cause her to do some research on the infamous killer. The result combined with that simple encounter’s claim became a best selling novel. It would be adapted to film not once but several times, including a film by Alfred Hitchcock.
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Linewatch

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

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On the surface it would seem that Linewatch is going to tackle the controversial illegal immigration debate that is going on in the United States these days. At first it seems that’s exactly what’s going on. We meet border patrol officer “Mad Dog” Dixon (Gooding, Jr.) doing patrol in the hotbed of illegal immigration the Southwest. He comes across a group of illegals dead and has a run in with a citizen patrol which acts much like the Minutemen in the media today.
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Impulse

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

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ABC has made a killing from the bored housewife situation. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that films would attempt to put those kinds of situations into their plots. The film is billed as an erotic thriller; however it’s really two separate films. The first half works the erotic side of things. There’s plenty of nudity and sexual situations, starting with three chicks all over each other for a photo shoot. Here we meet Claire Dennison (Ford). She’s a successful businesswoman, perhaps selling porn to the Japanese.
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Gattaca – Special Edition

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 24th, 2008

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A decade or so ago, Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca came to a theatre near you. It received a fair amount of critical acclaim, including a few award nods for production design and music, but wasn’t much of a commercial success. Beats me why not, because the film is right up there with the best in the science fiction genre, at least in my book.

Now on a Special Edition DVD from Sony Pictures, Gattaca has another shot at the mass popularity it deserves. But does the special disc treatment add anything to improve its chances?

Brothers Solomon, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 22nd, 2008

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Screwball comedies can be fun, sometimes. The comedy where the main cast members have the intelligence of a three-toed sloth…combined. Dumb & Dumber was a good example. Gags that get created simply on the premise of their inadequate brain power. However, Dumb & Dumber created an awful sequel. What’s worse is that created a few wannabes in the process. One of those films arguably is Brothers Solomon. However, this viewer hoped just for a second that I wouldn’t be holding my head in my lap the entire ninety three minutes asking for my very painful headache to go away.
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Reign Over Me

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 26th, 2007

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I have no idea what critics thought of this film. I don’t know how it did at the box office. I can’t even recall knowing anything about it, except for seeing its title on the showtimes board at the theatre. It doesn’t matter. I’m telling you now, Reign Over Me is a wonderful film.

I’m in one of those situations when I’ve discovered a really special movie, and want to recommend it to everyone I know without telling them anything about it. I’m not sure whether I can get away with that here, but I’ll try. Let’s talk about the DVD. Does it give Reign Over Me a fair shake? Read on to find out.

The Guns of Navarone (Collector’s Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 19th, 2007

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Based on a popular 1957 novel by Alistair MacLean, The Guns of Navarone was a smash hit in 1961, and the highest grossing film of that year. It’s a World War II movie, and for its time was considered to be packed with excitement. While it definitely has some great action sequences, for modern standards the film has nowhere near the fast pace or high action-to-dialogue ratio we’ve come to expect from the genre.

So many years later, can a slow, talky action movie still excite audiences? And is The Guns of Navarone – 2-disc Collector’s Edition a worthy upgrade over the 2000 special edition release? Read on to find out.

Are We Done Yet?

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 17th, 2007

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Are We Done Yet? That’s not just the title of this film, it’s a form of the question you’ll be asking repeatedly during the film’s runtime, until you eventually reach a climax of desperation and cry out for all to hear, “For the love all that is good and pure in this world, when will it end?” Not soon enough, my friend. Not soon enough.

Should you find yourself watching this torturously stupid sequel to 2005’s Are We There Yet?, all I can say is, you should have known better. While opinions about movies are subjective, this one’s a special case that allows me to say with 100% confidence: if you liked Are We Done Yet? you deserve a big ol’ smack upside the head.

Natural, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 14th, 2007

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Synopsis

Baseball films always hold a place near and dear to me. I would go see them with my dad when I was a kid and enjoy the plight of a team or an individual with a desire to win and overcome the odds. Sometimes it would be funny (Bull Durham), sometimes it would be sad (Eight Men Out), sometimes it would be uplifting (Field of Dreams). However, all of the above movies would have never been as successful without one movie in particular. That movie is The Natural . The Natura…
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Are We There Yet? (Re-Release)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 25th, 2007

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Synopsis

Family pictures usually miss when viewed by a lonely dvd reviewer who has nothing better to do on a saturday morning. There are no kids to laugh at the bad jokes and slapstick mayhem, there are no wives to go awwwww and marvel at the cute kids. All that one man can hope for is a decent lead who provides thought provoking characterisms and smart laughs. Wait, I’m watching Are We There Yet?, so I have pretty much no chance of that. Are We There Yet? is the stor…
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Running With Scissors (2006)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 29th, 2007

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Based on Augusten Burroughsï¿½ popular biographical memoir of the same name, Running With Scissors is a dark, comedic tale of surviving a bizarre and painful childhood.

The film covers Augustenï¿½s life mostly from about age 12 to 16. Part of what makes this film intriguing is that itï¿½s so outlandish that viewers can hardly anticipate events before they happen, so I will attempt to avoid spoiling it all in this review. With that in mind, hereï¿½s my very high-level plot summary: Augustenï¿½s parentsï¿½ relatio…
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Facing the Giants

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2007

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Certain Christian churches and organizations in North America preach something often called ï¿½the prosperity gospel.ï¿½ In a nutshell, this refers to the idea that God wants us to be rich, physically, emotionally and materially.

Itï¿½s a pretty controversial message, but also a very attractive one. After all, what could be better than marrying Christianity to the American dream?
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Population 436

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 1st, 2006

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There are so many sub-genres of horror these days. There is the ever-popular teen slasher flick, there is Japanese horror, gore, zombie, thrillers and even the recent popularity of the 70’s throwback. This one falls into the dramatic slow-burn category. The plot here sounds like something out of one of the better Steven King short stories. Someone in the federal government discovers that the population of little Rockford Falls seems to have remained steady for over a hundred years. An official is sent to investigate this anomaly, and what he finds is a mixture of small-town life, strong religious beliefs and some eerily strange goings-on.

Benchwarmers, The

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

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Synopsis

Benchwarmers at first glance appears to be a stupid comedy. Produced by Adam Sandler (Big Daddy) and starring Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow), the movie’s 85 minute existence appears to be an aberration in the space time continuum, something that should not be discussed or hinted at for all eternity. Now, I’m not in this to bash Schneider, God, every critic has done that already, and I can’t add any new material. But in his role as Gus, he just isn’t believable.

Gus is …
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13 Going on 30 (Fun and Flirty Edition)

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

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Synopsis

Quite frankly, I didn’t remember much about 13 Going on 30 when I first saw it (yes, I’m copping to watching it), but in revisiting it for the purposes of the review, I found that it was a cute film whose story is quite clearly lifted from the ‘80s Tom Hanks film Big (right down to the scene where the main character rides in a limo), but the performances by the cast is actually quite commendable.

Jenna Fink is growing up in the mid ‘80s and is disenchanted with her teenage l…
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8MM 2 (Eight Millimeter 2)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2005

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8MM 2 is a sequel to Schumacher’s 8MM in name only. It tells the story of an aspiring politician and his loving fiancée on a mission of sexual experimentation in Budapest, which quickly turns into a trust-no one game of seduction, blackmail, and murder. The crux of the story is a steamy threesome between the two lovers and a strange dark-haired beauty. The only eight millimeter tie-in is from the film which is shot during the escapade – unbeknownst to the lovers – which is then used to string the politi…
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