Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 13th, 2012
The wife and I have spent quite a few weekends within the last year going to antique shops and malls, flea markets and basically any place where we might go through a pile of stuff to find that one special item for our collection. The search has produced many interesting items and it brings us joy to see all of the items that simply do not show up in a retail store. Today, we are reviewing American Pickers volume 3, a show that lives on the art of finding that next treasure by going through America’s backyards.
For those who are not familiar with what exactly is American Pickers about, here is a short synopsis There are these two guys, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz who roam the United States in search of knick knacks, car parts, collectibles, anything that will bring them money. A picker. Their method is somewhat unorthodox as they actually visit people’s homes, storage sheds, and any other place where somebody might store their collection.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 12th, 2012
-"And what do I say when they ask me why it wasn't regulated?"
-"No one wanted to. We were making too much money."
At first glance, sitting down to watch a film about the financial meltdown of 2008 seems only slightly more fun than going through the actual meltdown again. Fortunately, director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) and a towering ensemble cast — I felt like I'd died and gone to Character Actor Heaven — mostly keep Too Big to Fail away from CNBC territory and deliver a brisk, entertaining film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2012
"Before my father died, he said that the worst thing about growing old was that other men stopped seeing you as dangerous. I've always remembered that, how being dangerous was sacred, a badge of honor. You live your life by a code, an ethos. Everyone does. It's your shoreline. It's what guides you home. And, trust me, you're always trying to go home."
It would be easy to dismiss Act Of Valor as either a recruiting tool piece of propaganda or yet another in an endless line of war films attempting to capture some form of authenticity. It would be easy, if you haven’t seen the film. I can promise you that no matter what your views on war or the military in general, the one thing you simply won’t be able to do is dismiss Act Of Valor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2012
"I'm Rick Harrison, and this is my pawn shop. I work here with my old man and my son, Big Hoss. Everything in here has a story ... and a price. One thing I've learned after 21 years? You never know what is going to come through that door."
Remember that PBS show where some old-stuff expert would come to your town and sift through a lot of junk that folks found in their basements or attics? Remember that he would give you a story about the items these people brought in? The idea was that once in a while someone discovered valuable treasure in those dusty rooms. Remember that show? This isn't that show. It does, however, have some things in common with the old PBS program.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2012
"I'm Brad Meltzer. I've spent my life collecting stories. The best include signs, symbols, and coded messages that are hidden in plain sight. Some have become the basis for my novels. But I've only scratched the surface of what's out there, and now History has given me the resources to investigate the rest. This is Decoded."
What if I told you there was an author out there who was known for writing novels that include historical conspiracies, secret societies and buried treasures, and that this author has found a way to parlay his moderate writing success into a television series for History?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on June 11th, 2012
“Ugh. How many times do I have to explain this to you? If you see the neighbor's house getting broken into, it's probably Karl high out of his mind thinking he's locked out of our house.”
When it comes to office based slacker comedies, Mike Judge’s Office Space still sets the gold standard. Workaholics wishes it could be as quotable and timeless as Office Space, but settles for goofy, instantly forgettable juvenile ramblings suitable for a stoner’s short term memory. Much like the boy’s prank of choice, involving a dollar bill wrapped around poop, Workaholics looks good on the surface, but is pretty much the same old crap underneath.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2012
"Make no mistake. Blood will be spilled. Lives will be lost. Fortunes will be made. Men will be ruined. There will be betrayal and scandal and perfidy of epic proportions."
With a statement like that, how can you not want to check out AMC's newest drama series Hell On Wheels? I've been told the title sounds like it's about motorcycle gangs, and I couldn't agree more. The term refers to the mobile tent city that housed the workers on the Union Pacific Railroad and the support entourage the camp attracted. It was a virtual tent city that had all of the essentials: a church, bar, and whorehouse. It was just after the Civil War, and the American government believed that a railroad connecting the East and West coasts was just the kind of project the country needed to pull back together and heal still-festering wounds. As one of the filmmakers accurately points out, this was the Apollo moon project of the day. Long believed impossible by the brightest engineers of the day, the railroad would cut the time it took to go from coast to coast from six months to just under seven days. It was a truly remarkable feat, and it carried with it more than a fair dosage of corruption and blood. Now AMC has brought those days from 1865 back to our television screen with an ambitious and smartly produced series. It's a must see.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on June 6th, 2012
“When I saw you, I believed it was a sign… that something new can come into this world.”
John Carter first appeared in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom magazine serial nearly a century ago in 1912. The science fiction pioneering Carter stories captured the imagination of masses and inspired countless authors and directors. For example, George Lucas himself has stated there would be no Star Wars without John Carter of Mars. It took nearly a century to get it to screen and in time countless others have mined the series for inspiration. The result is a massive “been there done that” experience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 5th, 2012
A successful writing team, who also happen to be a married couple, are the creators of an award-winning show in the UK that has just completed after four seasons. An American network wishes to create a US version of the show. The couple are flown to LA, put up in a lavish mansion and are introduced to the Hollywood method of creating television...and it nearly destroys them.
Even before they arrive in LA, this pair begins sinking in a quagmire of big-time Hollywood lies and bluffs that drive them to losing their lead actor, a respected, elderly British man, in exchange for Matt LeBlanc, converting their program from the story of a headmaster at a boarding school to that of a handsome hockey coach who is chasing after a sexy librarian, and generally sacrificing all they hold dear (both creative and personally) in order to survive the shoot of a single pilot episode (which, by the way, seems to be the most arduous and lengthy studio shoot I have ever witnessed...it lasts the entire season of Episodes!).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 5th, 2012
"I'm yelling for society, for everybody! It's not just me!"
That's Larry David chastising a dog walker who didn't bring along a bag to clean up after her pooch, but that statement also tidily summarizes the premise of Curb Your Enthusiasm. After 11 years, seven seasons and 70 episodes of over-analyzing and kvetching — and after pulling off an incredibly well-received Seinfeld reunion in season 7 — a small part of me wondered if David had anything left to complain about heading into season 8. I should've known better.
