Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 14th, 2011
Ever watch one of those movies that you don’t quite get or understand the first time around? You are certain that the movie is decent and the plot moves along well. But the problem is there are plot holes and the viewer is sure of them. Until they watch the movie a second time. Then either the viewer realizes the movie is brilliant or still full of plot holes. Well, today I encounter one of those films, Dressed to Kill and I think this one has filled out nicely.
It is another morning. Mike Miller (played by Fred Weber) shaves his face with a straight razor and we pan to the very nude Kate Miller (played by Angie Dickinson) taking a shower. She watches him intently and then starts to touch herself (this is unrated kids, we get to see a whole lot of Angie). As she becomes more aroused and more into herself, she doesn’t notice that there is now a man behind her. He takes her aggressively and she cries out in pleasure as we fade to black.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2011
"I just missed your heart."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on September 13th, 2011
“One – you can't do it. You just can't. This isn't a personal attack towards you, I'm just saying that no man can do it, it goes against nature. The male was biologically designed to spread his seed. You're gonna piss off the seeds, Matt! It goes against science! You wanna be the guy who goes against science?”
In 1988, director Michael Lehman brought us Heathers, one of the great, all time classic black comedies so ballsy it could never get made our current post 9/11 and Columbine culture. Then something happened to him and began to spit out tepid, careful comedies like Hudson Hawk and The Truth about Cats and Dogs. 40 Days and 40 Nights taps into the abstaining-from-sex-and-keeping-the-reason-from-one's-potential- mate premise Judd Apatow mastered with the far superior 40 Year Old Virgin.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2011
“Ride into this world all alone. God takes your soul. You're on your own.
The crow flies straight, a perfect line on the devil's back until you die.
Gotta look this life in the eye”.
When these guys send a message, they don’t use Western Union. Not only will they blow up your warehouse, but they’ll catch one of your guys and plant a stick of dynamite in his butt cheeks to set off the explosion. That’s the world of the motorcycle club, the Sons Of Anarchy. In the wake of The Shield, FX stays true to form with the latest from that show’s alumni Kurt Sutter. Sons Of Anarchy has a familiar tone and quality to it for fans of that now-gone cop drama. There’s a lot of handheld camera stuff, and you have very similar themes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2011
"Where life had no value, death sometimes had its price. That is why the bounty killers appeared."
If you had asked Clint Eastwood about the chances of Fistful Of Dollars being at all successful, he admits he hadn't given it much of a chance. The film took a lot of chances with what was already a tired genre. Add to that the fact that it was a low-budget European effort and there really was no chance that the movie would be remembered a year later. But the film did pretty good money and made a ton of international noise. The men involved ended up with more than a fistful of dollars in their banking accounts. Who could blame them for wanting A Few Dollars More?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 7th, 2011
Somehow in addition to my love for bad action movies and cartoons, I have developed another feather in my cap as being one of the people on this site that regularly reviews concerts and musical documentaries on dvd or blu-ray. This is despite the fact that about the only musical talent I possess is the ability to sing glam metal or hair band rock. Okay, perhaps I can sing some other rock songs too but I would not consider myself a musical aficionado. So today’s musical act to review? That would be the Counting Crows.
Most people when they hear the band name Counting Crows think of the song, Mr. Jones, a very curious alternative rock hit that blew up the radio rock airwaves in late 93 and early 94. The truth is that song was an unexpected hit for the band who sang the song out of fun and fantasy. Lead singer Adam Duritz ’s childhood friend, Marty Jones (Himalayans bassist) was one of the inspirations for that song that spoke of the desire of musicians who wanted it to make it big.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on September 3rd, 2011
“They're right. All those people who say it's our job to just sit and watch people die. They're right.”
A starving, war savaged toddler girl squats, burying her face in the sun baked earth of the Sudan. She remains motionless, near death and locked in catatonic despair. A few feet behind her a vulture, nearly as big as the child, eyes her hungrily and patiently waits for her to grow too weak to fight it off. A photographer quietly circles the scene, snapping away and looking for the best angle. He finds it, gets the shot and leaves. The photo wins a Pulitzer Prize. The little girl presumably gets eaten by the vulture.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 2nd, 2011
"Everybody here has become very rich, or else they are dead."
In 1964 things were very different from the way they are now. The Hollywood western movie was winding down. The genre had pretty much played itself out and was struggling to maintain even on television. Few people knew who Clint Eastwood was. He had a pretty sweet gig on the television series Rawhide but wasn't anywhere near a household name. Sergio Leone was a name almost no one had heard of. And there was no such thing as a Spaghetti Western. With the release of one very low budget film, all of those things changed practically overnight.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on September 2nd, 2011
“How would you like to use that gun belt for something more than just holding up your pants?”
Although the title of the blu-ray is Return of the Magnificent Seven, the original film’s title sequence just calls it Return of the Seven, and for good reason. There is nothing vaguely magnificent in this movie. This is the type of sequel that gives sequels a bad name.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 31st, 2011
"This is a picture of Walter Black, a hopelessly depressed individual who becomes The Beaver, who becomes a phenomenon."
When I first heard about this film, it was hard to keep the Mel Gibson story out of my mind. It almost seemed as if his casting was related to his off-screen situation. After all, this is a story of redemption, and there isn't anyone in Hollywood searching for that more than Mel Gibson. But as I watched the film, it became surprisingly easy to let go of that baggage and direct all of my attention to the performances and character delivered by the film. And while a lot of credit goes to Jodie Foster and her exceptional job of directing the film, the real credit belongs to Mel Gibson himself who creates a compelling character who you just can't take your eyes away from. It might be the best performance of his career, and it doesn't appear that very many people will ever see it. The film was never given a wide release. It never appeared on more than 200 screens for any given weekend and made less than $1 million at the box office. Unfortunately, I don't see it doing any better on video, and that's a bit of a shame, I think.
![Dressed to Kill [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dressed-to-kill-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Hanna [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/hanna-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![40 Days and 40 Nights [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/40-days-and-40-nights-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Sons of Anarchy: Season Three [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/sons-of-anarchy-season-three-blu--large.jpg)
![For a Few Dollars More [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/for-a-few-dollars-more-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![August and Everything After: Live at Town Hall [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/august-and-everything-after-live-a-large.jpg)
![The Bang Bang Club [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-bang-bang-club-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Fistful of Dollars [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/fistful-of-dollars-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Return of Magnificent Seven [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/return-of-magnificent-seven-blu-ra-large.jpg)
![The Beaver [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-beaver-blu-ray-large.jpg)
