Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 30th, 2006
It’s true that MASH was winding down by year 10. Everyone involved already knew that the next year would be the last. This is what separates the true professionals from those in it for the money. Instead of dragging out the concept until there was virtually nothing of quality remaining, the entire cast and crew decided it was time to finish on top. A lot of folks would have simply gone through the motions once the end was in sight. Instead, these guys kept pouring it on. The stories and acting in this season are just as good as in any other. The saddest thing about this release is that there is only one more to come.
For the first time in a while there were no major cast changes in this season. All of the characters from season 9 remain. I think if anything can be said about this particular year it might be that the characters have become a bit more vulnerable. Almost every character comes into a story where they are left questioning themselves. For Hawkeye it is mostly philosophical. For Potter and Winchester there are real questions of limitations. For Houlihan there are a ton of emotional issues when she is stranded on her birthday. BJ has to deal with changes in his wife. Klinger has a close encounter with the spirit of a dead soldier that causes his own inner reflection. Finally, Father Mulcahy has to decide a huge moral issue in one of his best episodes. An AWOL soldier seeks sanctuary in the mess tent after Mass.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 23rd, 2006
Synopsis
The setting is a recently decolonized Africa in the early 60's. The British army still has a presence here, but is trying no to interfere with domestic politics. As the unrest reaches the boiling point, however, the army is ordered to turn command over to local commanders. No sooner is this done that a coup turns everything upside down, and the African captain of the local garrison is captured by mutinous troops. He escapes and finds his way to the officers’ mess. There, Regimental Sergeant ...ajor Lauderdale (Richard Attenborough) determines to protect the man, no matter what grim odds mount outside.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 11th, 2006
Synopsis
Jack Nicholson is a journalist in Africa, fed up with his job and his life. When an acquaintance in an adjoining hotel room dies, Nicholson, struck by the other man’s physical resemblance to himself, switches identities, allowing everyone to believe that he is the one dead. But his new self doesn’t turn out quite to be the escape he had hoped for, as the man he has now become turns out to be an arms dealer.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2006
I'm not in to the whole Harry Potter thing. I tried to watch couple of the movies, and I just found the whole thing to be bland, contrived and downright boring. I realize that I am in the minority on this, and that's fine. I have no problem with that. If you enjoy it, then by all means, buy the books and watch the movies. I'm just saying that it is not for me.
When Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events was released in theaters, I assumed that it was a copycat film. Take another series...of children's books that appeal to adults, add one part Jim Carrey, slap a "fun for the whole family" quote on the poster, and watch the cash roll in. I avoided it entirely. Again, it's fine if you are into that kind of thing, it's just not for me.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2006
John Singleton burst on to the scene in 1991 with the gritty urban drama Boyz N Tha Hood. While this excellent film brought him critical acclaim, I think it also brought some misconceptions about who he is as a filmmaker. While he certainly has an urban element to his films, he is not content to keep re-making urban films throughout his career. What made Boyz N The Hood so good was not the fact that it was an urban drama, but that it was a genuine story about the love that a parent has for a child.
Four Brothers brings this theme full circle. Again, we have a non-traditional urban family. Again, we are given access to the first good look at a rap artist with real acting chops in Andre Benjamin from Outkast. Instead of focusing around gangs, however, this is a film that explores just how far children will go for the mother that they so dearly love. When it comes to the love of a family, there are no good people and bad people, there are just families.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2006
The original 1959 version of The Shaggy Dog is notable for two reasons. First, it is the first live action film that Disney ever produced. They had created some animated features, of course, but this was the company's first real foray into the live action market. Secondly, the film marks the screen debut of Annette Funicello, a name certain to be familiar to fans of later Disney films. Later known as “America's Sweetheart”, Annette became a staple of the popular teenage beach movies of the 60's.
This ...VD release is notable for a couple of reasons as well, though they are not nearly as positive. The box states that this disc contains the original theatrical release, but it then goes on to say that the cut includes 10 additional minutes of footage. How can the same cut include both the original theatrical version and 10 minutes of additional footage? The disc also contains a second, colorized version of the film. Any true cinephile will tell you that colorization is a horrendous practice that completely changes the original vision of the filmmaker. So what consumers are left with is two versions of The Shaggy Dog, neither of which is the original. Clearly, this disc was released solely as an additional money making scheme to tie-in with the theatrical release of the remake, but at the very least I was expecting to find the film in its original format. That's just common courtesy. This is just the kind of horrible decision making that has plagued Disney over the past several years. Walt Disney would never have let such poor decision making go unchecked.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2006
When MTV picked up The Tom Green Show, they opened the floodgates to a whole new (and bizarre) genre of television; reality pranks. "But what about Candid Camera?", you might ask. That show was close to this genre, but not quite the same. This new breed of prank show takes much more from reality shows such as The Osbourne's than their earlier counterparts. In these new shows, the prank is not really a one-time event as much as it is a lifestyle. The main target of Bam Margera's pranks are his loving and amazingly understanding parents. Viva La Bam is much less physically harmful than Jackass... and much more entertaining. Part of what made The Osbourne's so addicting was the fact that for as odd as the family was, it was clear that they still genuinely loved each other. There is something of that spirit here as well.
So the show is entertaining enough. However, there are only 6 episodes on this disc. It is as if the producers of the disk know that they are offering a poor product to the consumer, as a note on the back of the package clearly states, "This is not the complete first season and contains no bonus features." If that's not the studio's way of saying "this is a poor product", then I don't know what is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 10th, 2006
Synopsis
Laurel and Hardy’s career highs were all at Hal Roach Studios, and these three films are from their Fox period, in the twilight of their filmography. It is hard to call any of these classics, but there is still some very worthwhile comedy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 5th, 2006
First things first; there was a big hullabaloo about the fact that this is not the first season of Beavis and Butt-Head, but merely the first volume. Turns out, there are some episodes that Mike Judge has decided he didn't care to see again, so now nobody can see them again. Personally, for a show like this, it really makes no difference to me. If you are the kind of person who is going to be bothered by that, however, then consider yourself warned.
Also gone are the music videos, which is a bigger deal to me. Some of the best parts of the show were hearing the fellas' comments about Alice in Chains or Bono from U2. There are a fair number of music videos included with the DVD release of this title, but they are conspicuously missing from the UMD release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 4th, 2006
For those Flintstones collectors out there, the ride is almost over. Season five of this show's six season runis now available on DVD. Of course, this show will never completely go away, and for good reason. The Flintstones was quite progressive for its day. Not only was it the first prime time cartoon program to develop a following, but it also has other things in common with modern animated sitcoms. It is easy to see traces of the characters of Homer Simpson and even Peter Griffin in these episodes. F...ed means well, but it is abundantly clear that Wilma is the brains of the family. This is a plot device that has almost been taken for granted today.
There are 26 episodes in this season, and each one includes some great laughs that easily translate to today's modern lifestyles. Though the show was created in the 1960's, it is still funny to see Wilma hang clothes on a clothesline with birds, or to see Barny fix the garbage disposal by poking it in the hindquarters with a stick. Our tools may have changed, but the personalities still ring true today.
![Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events [UMD for PSP] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/lemony-snickets-a-series-of-unfort-large.jpg)
