Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2009
“Nobody has everything they want. It’s a survival pattern. You get what you want, you want something else, something more extreme, something more specific, something perfect….”
A Joss Whedon universe is always a strange and fantastical place to visit. It doesn’t matter if it’s populated by vampires and demons or space cowboys. If Whedon’s name appears anywhere on the credits, you know you’re going to be in for one hell of a ride. It’s been a little while since Whedon’s been back in the saddle. His most recent series, Firefly, was fraught with problems with the network. It was very badly handled, and the show died an undeserved swift death after just a few episodes. Whedon appeared somewhat bitter after all of that and disappeared from the television radar for a few years. They say you can’t keep a good man down, and now Whedon is back with his latest mythology heavy series, Dollhouse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 2009
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. Cena doesn’t feel the need to work in impractical wrestling moves on his opponents. In fact most of the action is not the hand to hand tripe these movies tend to lean toward. You’ll find plenty of action sequences. There’s a pretty cool runaway rail car, plenty of car chases with the expected carnage that follows, and enough gun play to drive home the point. Renny Harlin, the director, worked on the second Die Hard film, so you know he has a good eye for this kind of action. And while no one will confuse him with John Woo, I think you’ll get enough of an adrenaline hit here to make the 2 hours worthwhile… until we get to the end. More on that later.
A sting to bring down a dangerous terrorist goes horribly awry when the fed’s informant has a sudden change of heart. The result is a lot of shooting, chasing, and dead guys on both sides of the law. Patrol officer Danny Fisher (Cena) is one of the cops drawn into the chase and eventual takedown of the chief terrorist, Miles Jackson (Gillen). In the mayhem that follows, Jackson’s wife is killed. Jackson blames Fisher for the death and vows his revenge.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 2nd, 2009
“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. Here it was the absolute genius of Peter Sellers who brought to life the famous bumbling detective. With his brilliant combination of physical sight gags and clever word play, Sellers would create an iconic character that would entertain through several films until his death in 1980 brought an end to the franchise…at least it should have. But MGM was too in love with the money stream the films had provided.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2009
“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. Just look at our most popular sports films and you’ll find characters like Rocky Balboa crawling up from nothing to take on the world. The story gets even better when we, the Americans, are the underdogs. It’s a role we seldom really see ourselves in. Call it arrogance. Call it nationalism. Whatever name you give it, it’s a position we don’t consider to apply to us whether deservedly or not. Finally, the traditional kind of story is all the more powerful when it’s based on a true event, and one that many of us can still recall. Put the Disney imprint on such a tale and you have the makings of a truly remarkable film…except when you don’t.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2009
“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 by giving us Agent 86 in Get Smart. With the success of Star Wars and the consistent top box office performance of the science fiction films, it was only a matter of time before he turned his trademark Jewish wit towards the space opera. While Spaceballs aims primarily at the first Star Wars franchise, there is plenty of fun poked at everything from Star Trek to Alien. Certainly there have been quite a few such spoofs since then, but most of them have been the standard dry slapstick in the Airplane mold. With Brooks there’s always a certain amount of class to go with your comedy. He always gives you a little meat to go with all of that cheese.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2009
When the second season of Lost hit the airwaves, expectations were very high. The show enjoyed a very successful first year in the ratings, and many of us were looking to see if the show would suffer the all too common sophomore slump. Lost exceeded our expectations. The show changed dramatically, yet managed to keep us hooked with the same blend of mystery and solid storytelling that made the show such a huge hit to begin with.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2009
“My name is Michael Weston. I used to be a spy until, ‘you’ve got a burn notice’. When you’re burned, you’ve got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history. You’re stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in. You do whatever work comes your way. You rely on anyone who’s still talking to you, a trigger happy ex-girlfriend, an old friend who used to inform on you to the FBI, family too, if you’re desperate. Bottom line: Until you figure out who burned you, you’re not going anywhere.”
Burn Notice has all the earmarks of a really great television series. It has Bruce Campbell, and that alone should make it worth watching. The concept is a clever one and not the usual kind of spy show we’ve already seen too much of. The problem is that it’s not a great show. It’s not even a very good show. Campbell is way too underutilized and would have improved this series if he’d been in the lead role. I can see him as Weston big time. The series is also way too over stylized. Ever since 24 and those distracting frames there has been this race to see who can be the most distracting and annoying. Burn Notice wins hands down. There is this incessant need to freeze frame the image at the most ludicrous moments. Somehow this is intended to up the drama ante. If that’s the ante, I fold. There’s too much annoying narration from Weston. Back in writing school you’re taught over and over again that you need to show, not tell. Here the Weston narration treats us like we’re kindergarten kids who need every little action he takes explained in incredibly boring detail. He then throws in some not very funny moments of wit that just fall flat.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2009
It’s time to go back to the beginning and see how it all began. If you’re a fan, you’ve already seen these episodes, likely several times. You also probably have the DVD sets that have come over the last couple of years. You might be trying to decide if a television show is really worth your while to upgrade to high definition. The answer is a resounding yes. Lost is one of the most innovative series to arrive on network television in quite some time. In an age where the true quality appears to be dominated by cable stations anymore, it’s refreshing to know that there’s a show once in a while that can entertain, thrill, and make you think all at the same time. And no matter how frustrating some of these plots have been to follow, follow we do. No matter how many times you’ve seen these episodes, I highly recommend that you pick up this first season set immediately. The show has a high level of rewatchability, and these Blu-rays are long overdue. But, hell, I didn’t need to tell you that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2009
Neither of the Predator vs. Alien films were as successful at the box office as was hoped. And this film has had its share of detractors since its release in 1990. I, for one, find it to be as good as, if not better than, the original film. Watching the two governors Arnold and Jesse take on the Predator in the Columbian jungles was certainly a hoot. Let’s be honest, however. Who didn’t cheer, if only inside, when the big bad ugly started to take on LA’s drug lords in Predator 2? This sequel is more than just a romp with a monster. The story is far more compelling. The cast of Danny Glover, Bill Paxton, Kent McCord, and Gary Busey team up well. The film’s production partner Joel Silver’s influence hangs heavy over the film. Glover’s Harrigan is really just Lethal Weapon’s Murdock without Riggs. The LA street firefights and car explosions are ready-made for the Silver cop buddy series. Don’t get me wrong. This is not great filmmaking here. It is a lot more fun than it has been given credit for, however. Now with the release of the movie in high definition on Blue-ray, I advise you take another look at this one.
An alien warrior is back on Earth for another safari. This time the jungle is the mean streets of LA. The prey happens to be ruthless drug lords. Federal Agent Keyes (Busey) heads a secret government team to track and capture the creature. Det. Harrigan (Glover) wants to avenge his partner’s murder even if it means clashing with the feds.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 3rd, 2009
For most of us, we thought it was a crime when Eddie Murphy hijacked the Dr. Dolittle brand back in 1998. He turned a classic into yet another assembly line crude humor product. The original material was carelessly sacrificed for the sake of another Eddie Murphy romp. Well, it was harmless enough, I suppose. But then the sequel and direct to video follow ups began. Eddie was out, and so were the fart jokes and other bodily function staples. Now after a couple of direct to video attempts we get Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, and suddenly we actually miss Eddie Murphy.
The series of direct to video films has focused on Dolittle’s young daughter, Maya (Pratt). She also has her dad’s ability to talk to the animals. With each film we hear that the Doc is off around the world somewhere helping out some animals. In the latest outing, Maya wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and be able to help the animals she can speak to. She’s a couple of weeks from entering college with the ultimate goal of becoming a veterinarian. But she’s really not too happy with the 7 years of study she has before her. So, when she gets an opportunity to help out some animals now, she follows the dream. Enter reality star Tiffany (Moss). She’s a Paris Hilton clone complete with her pampered little dog. It appears that her pooch is feeling a little depressed of late. She comes to Maya to ask her to talk to her dog and see if she can help. So Maya flies to Hollywood where she instantly discovers two things: Tiffany’s princess is actually a prince, and there are a lot of temptations in the hip world of stars and lights. That includes star Brandon Turner (McLaren) who she immediately falls head over heels for. It turns out that Tiffany’s agent has been trying to get a Dolittle in his fold for years. So, he tempts Maya with a reality show where she can “help” celebrity animals. Of course, she has to learn that she can’t really help anybody just yet. Just being able to talk to them doesn’t mean she can help them.
![Dollhouse: Season One [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dollhouse-season-one-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![12 Rounds (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/12-rounds-digital-copy-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Pink Panther 2 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/pink-panther-2-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Miracle [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/miracle-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Spaceballs [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/spaceballs-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Lost: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/lost-the-complete-second-season-b-large.jpg)
![Burn Notice: Season Two [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/burn-notice-season-two-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Lost: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/lost-the-complete-first-season-bl-large.jpg)
![Predator 2 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/predator-2-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dr-dolittle-million-dollar-mutts-large.jpg)
