Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 17th, 2012
"Do you want me to give it to you straight?"
When last we left our main characters from the first two Madagascar films they were stranded in Africa after being shipped from their home in the New York Zoo. We knew the sequel was coming. They couldn't have left it any more wide open than they did. Of course, the reasonable questions were already being asked by the time the second film began. Do we really need another Madagascar film? Is there any new territory to explore? What could they possibly add to make us want to come back for more?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 17th, 2012
When I first learned that Adam Green (director of Hatchet and Frozen) would be creating a show to air on Fear Net, this seemed like a slice of heaven to me. I love horror, and with the exception of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story there just hasn’t been much to watch from the genre. So when I discovered that Green was going to be actually developing a sit-com instead, it would be fair to say I was more than a little disappointed by this news. But then I was given a glimmer of hope when I heard it would be about a pair of struggling horror filmmakers. As a film graduate and a lover of horror, this instantly became something relatable to me.
The first season for Holliston consists of only six episodes and is a bit of a mixed bag for me. As I mentioned above, it’s about two friends, Adam (Adam Green) and Joe (Joe Lynch) who film bad local TV commercials as well as share hosting duties on their cable horror show. The two are working at getting a trailer made to help get funding for their first big feature Shinpads. The guys are simply looking for that big break that will get them out of their home town of Holliston and get their movies up on the big screen. Every episode is filled with horror references, which fans of the genre should enjoy, but don’t be mistaken, this isn’t horror at all. In fact the show has a lot of heart in both the romantic as well as the bromantic form.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 16th, 2012
“Greed is Good.”
No other cinematic phrase described the 1980’s better. And no other movie captures the financial corruption of the 80’s better than Oliver Stone’s Wall Street. Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a small-time stockbroker, making cold calls to businessmen who won’t give him the time of day. His father, Carl (Martin Sheen), is a hardworking airline mechanic for a fledgling airline and is worried about the path his son is headed down when big-time investment broker Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) takes Bud under his wing. At first, Bud loves the money, the women, and the power that Gekko gives him. But when Bud involves his father in one of his investment schemes, he sees Gekko for the greedy slimeball he really is, and starts to see the error of his previous ways.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 15th, 2012
There have been numerous DVD releases of Spongebob episodes that are linked together by a theme. Holidays are obvious choices and Halloween is an inevitable choice for any series that has multiple seasons under their belt. As expected as it may be, that does not dampen the loony fun that comes along with Sponebob.
Spongebob Squarepants is the children's show that seems geared more for the college-age crowd than toddlers. This is not a revelation in cartoons, but I feel like this particular DVD set emphasizes this fact about Spongebob more than previous DVD releases of this show. The zaniness translates to all ages (just as it has from Tex Avery right through Ren & Stimpy) but this particular assembly of episodes displays some unnerving imagery that younger viewers may not be able to appreciate as much as older ones. Yes, there are subtle jokes spliced in that kid's will not catch (such as Spongebob's best friend Patrick explaining that looking at clouds helps to calm his “inner demons”), which is perfectl harmless, but it might be a bit much for someone just entering grade school to see Spongebob's eyes melt before bursting into a pile of spiders or being infested with the ghosts of snakes. Such imagery, to me, is a testament to how little concern this show for being stricly for youngsters, and how much it wants to be lapped up by that media hungry 14-30 crowd.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 13th, 2012
Ever wonder what a martial arts epic directed by Baz “Moulin Rouge” Luhrmann would look like? Me neither. But that’s pretty much what we get with Legendary Amazons, (loosely) based on the exploits of the Yang family during the Song Dynasty. The story has an intriguing hook — the men of the Yang clan are massacred in battle, leaving their women to throw on armor and take to the battlefield — but is ultimately bogged down by its cartoonish tone and embarrassingly bad production values.
For the cartoonish tone, we can probably thank/blame producer Jackie Chan since the Hong Kong superstar has crafted a wildly successful career out of injecting comedy into the martial arts genre. (Legendary Amazons even has Chan’s signature bloopers during the end credits; although the actress who fell off a horse and hit the ground hard didn’t seem to be laughing.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 13th, 2012
“I thought this was a family show.”
“Well, it depends on your family.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2012
"Every ambition has a dark side."
And that includes the world of the cable television series. The world of cable series has brought us some of the most ambitious and compelling television shows we've ever seen. There's no censor board to answer to, so that means the shows have the freedom to expand into visual areas that have long been taboo on network shows. Nudity, sexuality, language, and even violence are often huge parts of these kinds of shows. Because there isn't really a ratings pressure, the shows can also cater to more specialized audiences. Of course, it's not completely true there are no ratings issues. For these networks it's getting the carriers to distribute their networks, and for some it's signing up premium members. There's little doubt that HBO did enjoy subscriptions completely tied to having The Sopranos. But that kind of programming is no longer rare. It no longer shocks us with its novelty, and the standards for quality have been established at a high level. When you watch a cable show, you don't just expect R material. You expect film-quality production values on the small screen. You also expect quality writing and compelling drama. In the case of Starz new Magic City, you'll have to settle for 2 out of 3. You get the edgy R material and outstanding production values. Unfortunately, the series misses more than it connects on the compelling drama front.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 11th, 2012
Among the more unjustly ignored performances was Jack Nicholson’s turn as union boss Jimmy Hoffa in Hoffa. Fox finally decided to put out the Danny DeVito-directed, David Mamet-written film on DVD. Mamet’s script seems to romanticize Hoffa, portraying him as more of a union man, as one who was forced to make deals that could compromise his integrity, but he overlooks his integrity in order to help benefit the American working man. The story is told in the point of view of Hoffa aide Bobby (DeVito), a fictitious character whose flashbacks are used to help us see how Hoffa perhaps should be viewed, as opposed to the punchline in some jokes we may make now.
As is usually the case with Mamet’s screenplay, the dialog is well-written and engrossing, and Nicholson’s portrayal of Hoffa is both powerful and persuasive. You see him with a prosthetic nose and hairpiece, along with a couple of dental devices that get the look of Hoffa down to a T. In DeVito, a longtime real-life friend, one who knows his ins and outs, Nicholson pulls out all the stops. Recent Nicholson performances seem to glide along on a gentle stride, using the occasional (and very effective) use of his noteworthy eyes. But in Hoffa, he’s a guy who is clearly more animated, as the role dictates, and it’s a much more dynamic performance than you’re used to seeing. Is Hoffa historically accurate? Probably not, and God knows there are more informed people who will tell you so. However, DeVito does manage to use the time period where Jimmy feuded openly with Robert Kennedy to great effect, using the congressional hearings as an interesting start of a plot device that helps provide an interesting hypothetical on Hoffa’s possible Mafia ties. With an outstanding supporting cast including Robert Prosky (Hill Street Blues), the late JT Walsh (Sling Blade), Armand Assante (Q & A) and a very young John C. Reilly (Chicago), the movie’s overall impact is very clearly felt.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 10th, 2012
“Did you pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?... Have you ever been to Poughkeepsie?... When you were in Poughkeepsie, you sat on the edge of the bed, didn’t you? You put your fingers between your toes and you picked your feet…. If I can’t bust you on this other thing, I’m going to bust you for picking your feet in Poughkeepsie.”
There can be no argument on this point. The 1970’s was a golden age for the cinema. When you think about the iconic characters and films the decade produced, it’s hard to contradict the point. Films like The Exorcist, The Godfather (both parts), Jaws, Dirty Harry, Star Wars, Superman The Motion Picture, The Sting, Rocky, Deliverance, Apocalypse Now, Alien, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, and yes, The French Connection. They redefined film genres. The slasher film was born in the 1970’s. Their influence is felt on nearly every film today, and inspired nearly every new filmmaker to come along in the years since. Yes, there were golden eras before then, but I’m not sure there’s been one since. Of course, there have been truly great movies since, but can you remember a decade with that kind of a run?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 10th, 2012
Direct to Video movies is usually just a clever term to mean “We have a small budget and B-List stars so we are going to skip the theater and go straight to video and hope to capitalize on the people who might pick this up on a very slow Friday night.” Today’s review is about a man simply known as the “Courier”. It could be a ripoff of the Transporter. It might be a mailman who handles packages by day and the ladies by night.
Bad B-Movies aside, let’s see how this one plays out.
We start this bright day with an amusement park. A wristwatch shows six minutes left. Let’s go over the cast of characters shall we? We have a grieving woman in peril, a deadbeat carnival owner and a gunman sitting on top of a rollercoaster. Wait, who’s down there? Why, it is the Courier (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan), he is here to deliver the goods for the banker’s daughter. What, are they not allowed to use train tracks anymore (federal regulations and all)?
