Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 9th, 2012
Coming off the staggering crossover success of the world’s loveliest and catchiest booty call song — “It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk/ And I need you now” — Lady Antebellum were the kings (and queen) of the country pop world. (Non-Taylor Swift division, of course.) That means the pressure was on for their follow-up third album. Though Own the Night brought the band a more modest truckload of critical and commercial kudos than Need You Now, it also inspired the raucous world tour captured on this Blu-ray, a must-have for any Lady A fan.
Lady Antebellum: Own the Night World Tour finds lead singers Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott along with guitar/piano/mandolin player and background vocalist Dave Haywood in Little Rock during the final days of their global trek earlier this year.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 6th, 2012
“You think this can last? There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
In the spirit of full disclosure, let me state that my favorite comic book hero is Batman. As a child, even before the sixties TV show premiered, I loved the tale of Batman. It is a story of a child who overcomes the fear and destruction of his childhood and becomes stronger because of it. He grows into an extraordinary man and, in spite of having no super powers, created a legend out of himself by becoming an icon for justice. Bruce Wayne channeled his lust for vengeance into mastering his intellect, detective skills, science and technology, physical prowess, martial arts skills, an indomitable will, fear, and intimidation skills to fight his continuous war on crime. He may have inherited almost limitless wealth, but he didn’t let it make him soft; instead he converted the riches into a crime-fighting asset. His behavior may have been borderline psychotic, but he lived by an impossibly strict, but simple, set of rules… no guns, no killing, no glory, but most of all, zero tolerance for crime.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2012
"I'm back. You're welcome."
I didn't see the series during either of its first two seasons on HBO. When the second season arrived to be reviewed I was more than a little nervous about jumping in without knowing what had come before. Certainly, I checked out the buzz on the show and got an idea of what it was about. But nothing could have prepared me for what I finally encountered when I popped that first disc in my Blu-ray player. It's safe to say that you can join this show for the third season without having seen the first two. I'm sure it helps, but it didn't take me more than five minutes to completely understand who and what Kenny Powers was. He literally speaks for himself. I'll give you a quick up-date.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 4th, 2012
Stemming from a backdoor pilot episode within the series Girlfriends, The Game is a comedy series about a woman (played by Tia Mowry Hardict) who gave up her career as a doctor in light of the success of her boyfriend's being a star athlete (this is the first pang of misogyny, with more to come). This is the show's fifth season, which is its second after being canceled by CW and revived by BET.
Most of the male, lead characters in this show are current or former members of a fictional professional football team called the San Diego Sabers. In fact, most of them seem to have been cut from the team for one reason or another but coast day to day on their fame and burn through their riches. The first few episodes do siphon some comedy from this situation when the character Derwin Davis (played by Pooch Hall, which is a perfect name for a baseball player...but that has nothing to do with anything) has to sell off his cars, home and learns the true cost of all things he used to buy while abiding with the “baller's code.” Suddenly a $900 bottle of champagne is no longer casually sent to friend's tables at the bar.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 3rd, 2012
There was some real enjoyment when I took on the reviewing reigns for the first season of Transformers Prime. It was the best thing since the infamous Generation 1 cartoons and showed great sound, dazzling video and fantastic character development. Now, we enter season two and if we watched the teasers, we learned that Optimus Prime was branded with the Decepticon logo possibly meaning the impossible. How could this be? Well tune in true believers, we shall find out all this and more.
In light of Unicron’s awakening, drastic measures needed to be taken (such as Optimus Prime and Megatron uniting as a team). The Matrix of Leadership had kept Earth safe, for now. But when Optimus lost the matrix, he lost himself too and reverted to his form before he assumed life as a Prime. That life he was simply known as Orion Pax, librarian and researcher. Doing what Megatron does best, he deceives Orion into joining him on his ship and branding him under the image of a Decepticon.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on December 3rd, 2012
Jimi Hendrix. Carlos Santana. Jimmy Paige. Eddie Van Halen. Slash. These are arguably some of the greatest guitar gods to ever rock the stage. Yet somehow this pantheon feels incomplete. I humbly submit Peter Frampton’s name for inclusion with these mighty warriors of rock. In 1976, the singer released his most successful album — Frampton Comes Alive! — and, according to this Blu-ray’s box, “the best-selling live album in the world.” In 2011-2012, Frampton went on tour in celebration of its 35th anniversary. This concert Blu-ray was filmed over two shows on this tour and features 26 songs. The first 14 are the entirety of Frampton Comes Alive! played front to back, with the remainder of the songs being highlights from his long career all the way through his most recent album, Thank You Mr. Churchill.
At 62, Frampton hasn’t mellowed at all. His vocals and guitar-playing prowess haven’t diminished one bit and blend smoothly with the backing vocals and guitars of Rob Arthur and Adam Lester. Arthur pulls triple-duty, playing keyboards as well. Stanley Sheldon and Dan Wojciechowski anchor the concert on the bass and drums, respectively. An especially cool moment occurs when Frampton invites his son, Julian, to come on stage and sing with him. Julian Frampton performs “Road to the Sun” and “I Don’t Need No Doctor”. I wish he had sung some more, because his energetic voice pairs well with his dad’s epic guitar playing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on December 3rd, 2012
In 1975, Gerald Ford was President of the United States, Wheel of Fortune made its debut, disco was groovy, and Patti Smith burst onto the music scene with her debut album, Horses. She would go on to become known as the “Godmother of Punk” and greatly influence the New Wave genre of music. I admit, before watching this concert, I had only heard one of Smith’s songs — her #1 single, “Because the Night” — so I was curious to hear more of her material. The fact that my aunt says she still owns an LP of Horses she bought as a teenager intrigued me more.
This concert was filmed during the 2005 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Smith and her band spend 83 minutes playing 12 songs, including 11 from Smith’s records and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” The entire group performs with the ease and familiarity that only comes with years and years of playing together. Lenny Kaye and Tom Verlaine’s guitar work anchors each song and blends very well with Tony Shanahan’s bass and Jay Dee Daugherty’s drums. Smith herself even jumps on guitar for a song or two, but someone needs to keep her away from the clarinet. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure the clarinet shouldn’t sound like someone strangling a sick goose. I actually ended up muting my TV whenever she got to wailing on the clarinet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 30th, 2012
So you say Shipping Wars was not enough Waring for you? Are you back for more? Alright, let us dig through the review pile and get some more action for you reality show freaks. How about Hamster Wars? Okay, okay perhaps Paper Airplane Wars? Never mind, I can not stand paper cuts. Ah I have the perfect one here, a spinoff of one of the most popular reality shows out there. Its name is Storage Wars: Texas. Well yee-haw and get me my cowboy hat. This might be a hootenanny after all.
This season one of Storage Wars: Texas is actually something of a misnomer. It contains sixteen episodes and actually it is comprised of the first two seasons of the show. There is a distinction between the seasons which I will explain in just a little bit. As with any reality show, there are usual lists of players who need some introduction.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 29th, 2012
This is the eighth and final season of this slightly offbeat crime drama. Nothing has brought me more joy than seeing that instantly recognizable CBS packaging that is used for older programs being revived onto DVD releases such as Perry Mason or Barnaby Jones. Now Mannix has the opportunity to wow me as I have been before. Will this be a pleasant experience or surprisingly disappointing?
This show is pleasant enough to behold and was certainly surprised by the strange, almost comedic attributes that are injected. To draw this comparison again, I'm not talking about the endearing way that Barnaby Jones always drinks milk in his own series. I'm talking about Mannix getting hired by a politician to while riding a carousal, or surprising a musician at home who is walking on his hands for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Such things do not explain the plot any better nor suit the intensely serious tone these stories always end up taking. There were times where this series was reminding me of Police Squad! (a complete lampooning of shows like Mannix) when it should be demonstrating the seeds being planted for serious crime shows to follow. When a character refers to another as “baby” or says they “dig it” I can understand that as symptoms of taking place in 1974, but this show goes further than that into oddities. Heck, even the opening credits contains a mixture of images that includes gun fights, fights, skiing and Mannix burning his hands on some toast...I just don't understand what tone this show is trying to set.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 29th, 2012
Some movie titles are almost comically blunt. Recent examples that didn’t leave much to moviegoers’ imaginations include Cowboys & Aliens, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and, of course, Snakes on a Plane. So when I saw the title of Disney’s latest live-action, family-friendly offering, I wondered just how odd this movie could really be. (At the end of the day, we’re still talking about a Disney film here.) Turns out, The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a strange little flick for a variety of reasons.
Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton star as Cindy and Jim Green, a childless couple living in fictional Stanleyville, “the Pencil Capital of the World.” The movie very quickly and subtly — no need to bum out or bore the younger members of the target audience — establishes Cindy and Jim are not able to have children of their own. The couple is understandably dejected. To cheer his wife up, Jim suggests they write down the qualities their ideal child would possess — including having a big heart and being honest to a fault — and place the pieces of paper in a box, which they bury in their garden.
