Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2012
"It's funny how you wake up each day and never really know if it will be one that will change your life forever. But that's what this day was. The day I left the city to spend a week in the house where my mother grew up. A day I'll never forget."
The Secret World Of Arrietty comes from the collected works of English writer Mary Norton. The first book, The Borrowers, introduced us to the Clock family. They were a race of tiny humans known as Borrowers. They lived beneath the floorboards of normal-sized humans and lived off the things they could "borrow" from the human family. It was important to remain unseen or their lives would be in danger. The first book was published in 1952 and was followed by several sequels which continued the many adventures of the family and the fantasy world in which they lived.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 22nd, 2012
Hi, this is Casey Casem (play along, alright) and welcome to American Top 40. Michael “Mick” Hucknall was often made fun of due to his red locks in Lancashire, England as a young boy. Little did those children know that Mick would use that to propel himself into a music career at just eighteen years old with the Frantic Elevators during the 1970’s. That was the start of a very fruitful music career for Mr. Hucknall. This long distance dedication goes out to Eddie in Tuscaloosa, Mississippi celebrating his 84th birthday today and here is “Holding Back the Years” by the band known as Simply Red.
Simply Red has always been one man’s brainchild and that was Mick Hucknall. It is said that in 1976 when he watched a Sex Pistols gig in Manchester that well that led to the formation of his first group known as the Frantic Elevators which debuted in 1977. That band would actually last for about seven years until they broke up in 1984. The punk band never really caught attention and was only liked by the locals that saw the band perform. However, before they split up, they released a very important song by the name of “Holding Back the Years”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2012
At first glance Haywire appears a bit out of character for the likes of director Steven Soderbergh. It's not that he hasn't delivered action films in the past. It's that he's never quite tied himself to such a tried and sometimes true formula before. When you first look at the press for Haywire you're going to pretty much dismiss it as a standard action-hero film that follows in the mold of a Steven Seagal/Chuck Norris mold with a touch of Bourne Identity thrown in to meet the more recent trends. If that's what you think, then you've pretty much called it, because that's exactly what it is. But that's not a good reason to dismiss the film either.
I won't lie. The film pretty much follows the path you expect it to follow. Mallory (Carano) stumbles into a bar in an isolated town where she's meeting with a contact. But she's wary because something has gone wrong and she's not sure exactly who she can trust. She's right. No surprise there, is there? She takes Scott (Angarano) hostage for his wheels and makes her getaway. During their flight she begins to tell him the story of how she got to where she is. It's through this narrative that the story unfolds for us. This is where Soderbergh offers up a little of his own tweaks to the story and, for the most part, there's enough of his wit here to keep the narrative humming along. Of course, she's out to find the guys who tried to get her killed, and there's a ton of carnage in the wake.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2012
By 1978 the television detective model had been nearly complete and possibly already a cliché. Dan Tanna might have well been the complete model as far as the formula goes. It was almost as if you could go down a checklist and, like Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster, check off the necessary elements. The scripts could then almost write themselves, and you let the show fly on autopilot for three seasons or so until someone decides to look behind the curtain.
So let’s go down that checklist, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 16th, 2012
As one progresses as a reviewer, we come into contact with a wide variety of television shows. Some shows we even come to appreciate season after season. So, after I reviewed season 1 and 2 of Flashpoint, I was a little disappointed that I missed season 3. Later on, I would catch up obviously, but I was more than delighted to take on Season 4 when it came to my door. Thankfully, I was able to pick right up and continue to watch one of my very favorite shows of the last 5 years.
Since this site did not review Season 3, it is only fair that I recap the last few episodes before we break into the most recent string of episodes. The Other Lane saw Ed Lane’s brother Roy get caught up on the wrong side of the law. Jumping at Shadows saw a family under witness protection be exposed by corrupt police officers. Meanwhile, team leader Greg (played by Enrico Colantoni) gets to see his son Dean. Finally, Acceptable Risk puts the team under a microscope for spending too long on a killing spree.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 16th, 2012
"In the beginning there was darkness. And then bang, giving birth to an endless expanding existence of time, space, and matter. Every day new discoveries are unlocking the mysterious, the mind-blowing, the deadly secrets of a place we call The Universe."
The History series has lasted for six seasons to date. The show uses modern space photography, computer-generated images, and demonstrations along with respected scientists to explore the various aspects of our universe. While more time is spent in our own back yard exploring our solar system, the series does take us to the outer reaches of space, going back about 13 billion years. That's as far as we're able to see. The show is narrated by Erik Thompson. Of course, there is plenty of narration by the scientists.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 15th, 2012
"...So when I walked into the hair cutting place, I was taking a leap. But I wasn't doing it for a guy — I was doing it for me."
Season 2 of Felicity features Keri Russell getting one of the most infamous haircuts in TV history. When people think of super-producer J.J. Abrams and his television projects, images from Alias, Fringe and a little show called Lost probably spring to mind. On the other hand, a significantly smaller portion of weirdos the TV-watching population may think of the relationship dramedies Abrams has produced, such as What About Brian, Six Degrees and Felicity, by far the best of this latter group. (Then again, Felicity — co-created by Abrams and Matt Reeves — resorted to time travel towards the end of its run, so it probably has more in common with the producer's genre shows than you think.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on May 10th, 2012
“If my family can’t live in this house, you sure as hell can’t either!”
Daniel (Frank Grillo) and Beth (Jaime King) Sohapi picked up a great deal on a recently foreclosed house, and they’ve invited a handful of friends over to celebrate. A tornado threatens the area, but everyone is partying in the basement, which has been recently reinforced as a tornado shelter. Things look great in suburbia until three frantic and deadly bank robbers, Ike (Patrick Flueger), Addley (Warren Kole), and Johnny (Matt O'Leary), return to their childhood home following a botched bank robbery. Johnny is dying from a gunshot wound, their accomplice in the robbery made off with all the stolen cash, and the boys lost their secure contact phone to mother. Now, on top of that, they discover the home they grew up in is no longer theirs as mother lost it to foreclosure, a fact they would have known if they could have contacted her after the bank heist. Well, when life gives you lemons… They decide to hole up in the house until mother (Rebecca De Mornay) and sister Lydia (Deborah Ann Woll - Jessica from True Blood) arrive to sort things out, keeping the current residents and their guests as hostages. Things turn from bad to worse for the victims when mother shows up and takes charge. With the authorities closing in and the outlaws in need of $10,000 to secure their escape across the border into Mexico, desperation ups the ante in what these home invaders are willing to do to get what they need from the new homeowners and their most unfortunate guests.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 10th, 2012
"My name is Charles Carmichael, and I have one final question for you. Have you ever had to subdue a Basque terrorist on a Swiss train? Or fight your way through the jungles of Southeast Asia? Or, take out an arms dealer with a penchant for murder and ice cream? Well... we have."
And, if you've been a fan of Chuck for the last five years, you know exactly what we're talking about here. And, for now, the ride has come to a close. Fear not, fans. This is quite a satisfying ending. And when you consider that by rights the show should have gone away after the second season, if you trust those guys at the Nielsen's, we've been given quite a lot of bonus time with Chuck.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2012
This series from Comedy Central began as a low-budget film hosting show in a small television station in Minnesota. It was the brainchild of Joel Hodgson. It ended up running for 11 years and a feature film version. Mystery Science Theatre is an acquired taste. For me, I’ve really got to be in that certain mood to watch it. That’s the beauty of these DVDs. You pop them in when you’re ready. The idea is pretty whacked. Depending on the season you’ve got, Joel or Mike is trapped in space on the “Satellite of Love”. Doomed to spend his life watching very bad films, our hero makes the best of a bad situation. He uses his resources to construct a couple of robot pals. There's Crow T. Robot (Beaulieu), Tom Servo (Murphy), and Gypsy (Mallon). Part of an experiment together, they watch the films from the front row, constantly ranting throughout. If you’re like me, you’ve invited a few friends over to watch a schlock festival. The movies weren’t as important as the banter you created while watching. That’s exactly what you see here. The silhouettes of our host and his robots dominate the lower portion of the screen, where they provide alternative dialog and sometimes witty commentary on the action. The two evil station owners/mad scientists send them a new bad film each week to observe their reactions to the bombs. The films are broken up by off-the-wall skits and fake commercials to alleviate the tedium. The collection includes two Mike and two Joel episodes.
If there is a theme to the set it is that three of the four films are from Robert L. Lippert.
