Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 12th, 2010
Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is basically the kid from The Sixth Sense, only with boobs, killer cheekbones, and a formerly lucrative pop career. I may not be entirely accurate about that last item, but until this 6-disc set arrived, I had not really watched the show. It always seemed a little too Touched by an Angel meets The Sixth Sense meets Jennifer Love Hewitt’s aforementioned cheekbones for my taste. Upon viewing the episodes in this set, I pretty much stand behind that assessment, and though it is still not my particular cup of tea, I can understand its appeal to its fans.
The show revolves around Melinda’s ability to communicate with ghosts, spirits of the dead who have unfinished business in this realm and are unable to cross over to the next world. Whether that’s heaven or another dimension is never expanded on in the show, so it avoids awkward questions about religion. In most episodes, she comes in contact with one of these troubled spirits, and then spends the episode working out what happened to them, what’s keeping them from crossing over, and things of that nature. She does this with the help of a stalwart group of friends, some of who have abilities of their own. Jamie Kennedy’s character, for example, can’t see but can hear dead people. A second gifted character is introduced in this season, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 11th, 2010
The Trailer Park Boys are household names in Canada; the central characters even more than the show itself. The mockumentary TV series has been a cult sensation since its inception in 2001, right through its seven seasons and two feature films. Here is the introduction to Ricky, Julian, Bubbles and other charmers from the Sunnyvale Trailer Park.
To praise this show seems nearly redundant as its worldwide success and popularity certainly stands on its own. Nevertheless, this truly is a show that should be praised for managing to have brilliant subtle humour amidst the very loud and lowbrow style of humour it is best known for. As well, there is a certain level of Pathos that one might not think possible from such a motley crew but alas, many of us know people eerily similar to these lads, and can see their natural drive to avoid a painful life and strive for true happiness....yes, yes, all the while growing marijuana and robbing places.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2010
Having made it through WWII, fellow soldiers Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are now a song-and-dance team. Kaye is worried about the lack of romance in Crosby's life, but that problem seems likely to be resolved when sister act Rosemary Clooney and Ver-Ellen show up. These two pairs of entertainers must pool their talents in order to save the inn run by former general Dean Jagger from financial ruin.
The plot is, of course, very thin, a mere excuse on which to hang the sentiment and the songs. This is, of course, not the film which originated the title track – that was the earlier Holiday Inn (1942), which Crosby was teamed up with Fred Astaire. The holiday this time is strictly the Christmas one, and White Christmas goes its predecessor one or two better in terms of spectacle, thanks to Technicolor and VistaVision. The end result is not really the classic it self-evidently wants to be, but it and its cast are extremely likable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 10th, 2010
"From the dawn of time, we came, moving silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of The Gathering, where the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you ...Until now."
We all want to believe that we're special. We fantasize that one day we'll discover that we aren't the mere mortal people we thought that we were. That we are actually some hidden royalty, or better yet, that we have extraordinary powers. Connor (Lambert) makes just such a discovery in the 16th century as he goes off to war with his brothers to defend his highlander homeland against invaders. He receives what should have been fatal wounds on the field of battle. But he quickly recovers from them. His family and village turn against him, believing such powers can only come from evil. He discovers that he is an Immortal and can only be killed by having his head removed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 9th, 2010
"The hills are alive with the sound of music..."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 9th, 2010
His name was Fleming, Ian Fleming, and he would go on to create the most famous spy in literary history. James Bond would actually be based on Fleming's own experience in Her Majesty's Secret Service. But Fleming had another side. It's hard to believe that the man who gave us such ubervillians as Dr. No and Goldfinger brought us one of the most enchanting children's stories of our time. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's bond association doesn't end with its celebrated author. Albert "Cubby" Broccoli might have been just as instrumental for the success of Bond as Fleming himself. It was Broccoli who saw the potential and snapped up the rights to the spy series. He turned it into the famous Bond film series that still carries on the same traditions today, only at the hands of his daughter Barbara Broccoli. So it is only fitting somehow that Cubby would be the one to bring Fleming's children's story to life in movies, as well. The Bond associations don't end there. Director Ken Hughes brought us Casino Royale. The comic villain of the movie would be almost unrecognizably played by Gert Frobe, none other than Auric Goldfinger himself.
MGM has long been known for its epic musicals. The studio had a reputation for sparing no expense while delivering some of the most sweeping musical films known to mankind. Complete with complicated dance numbers and casts of thousands, the MGM grand-style musical was once something to behold. But Chitty Chitty Bang Bang wasn't really the model for these impressive spectacles at all. In fact, this movie follows more closely the Walt Disney model that it is one of the most misidentified films in the popular conscience. In a survey taken in the 1980's, only 1 out of 4 respondents correctly identified the film as an MGM production. The rest were confident that Uncle Walt and his Mouse House had given us the popular children's musical.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2010
As was the case for my two previous Madeline reviews (https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/07/20/madelines-great-adventures/ plus https://upcomingdiscs.com/2010/09/21/madelines-halloween-other-spooky-tales/#more-13938) there is little more I could say about the general premise of Madeline. But as I slowly become a connoisseur of this particular character (as this website feels I should be, it seems) I have a few more insights brought on by this Christmas themed edition.
My patience is wearing thinner as the title character insists upon herself this perpetual great-at-everything mien. Having a character be so adored at all times and yet feature little natural charm, can be extremely grating on my nerves.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2010
Grace, California is the kind of “small” town that all the young people wish to escape. Why? I suppose it is because they have ambitions for “greater” things. What are their ambitions while they have to stay? To be as catty and backstabbing as possible while living out a teen soap opera existence. Such is the groundwork for Seven Deadly Sins, a two-part mini-series created for the Lifetime network and based on a series of books of the same name. On this DVD the two parts are merged into a monstrous movie (clocking in at over 3 hours).
The story starts when a new girl arrives from Manhattan and uses the fact that she has designer merchandise and a snobby attitude to usurp the throne as coolest girl in school, all the while making a best friend out of the very girl she usurped. As the story progresses we are offered no more than the usual teen drama prattle of high school cliques, “who likes who” and “who betrayed who” which I frankly could care less about. Things do not perk my interest until a central character dies, only to have their ghost linger as the narrator and sometime provoker of events for her still living friends. It is through this implementation of the supernatural that the film desperately tries to tie in the “Seven Deadly Sins” theme, but it is VERY loose ties that it makes. Really, one should not come up with a provocative, albeit over-used, title first and worry about what it actually means to the story and characters second.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2010
Three couples are meeting for a trip out to the country to have an old fashioned, American orgy. What instigated said orgy is mostly a mystery, as is what truly keeps them motivated to go through with it. Needless to say, most of them are in it for reasons beyond being carefree and their ulterior motives and inner demons will only spoil the party.
The pacing of this film is like that of an art film...which is code for saying it's slow. This would not be a hindrance on the film if the mood of did not waver so often between being painfully uncomfortable and being curiously intriguing (more often the former). Some of the characters are perpetually unlikeable, while others are just so bland that one could hardly care enough to notice if they were likable or not. The last half of the film offers more for the audience as they inch closer to the moment of moving their relationships past casual friendship...and then when they do well beyond that, but that tension is all the film has going for it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 8th, 2010
I'm not exactly sure what it is that audiences expected when Splice hit the box offices in June. I will have to admit that the trailers were not all that impressive. But I guess that most people didn't see what I saw when I looked at the early promotion for the film. I was fascinated by the appearance of the "creature", and the overall Frankenstein overtones were too much for me to resist. The movie compelled me from the first images and descriptions. Apparently, that wasn't the case in general. Splice tanked at the box office. It barely made $17 million. That's bad news, because the film cost $30 million to make. That figure is actually quite impressive. This was a small movie for one so ambitious. It looks like something that cost twice that to make. It didn't matter, in the end. You stayed away in droves. Back in June, you just might not have known any better. Lucky for you, my gentle reader, you have me to help to guide your home video purchases to get the most bang for your hard-earned buck. In this case, to also correct a serious miscarriage of justice. Splice is the best film you never saw.
Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are a husband-and-wife super-science team in the field of genetics. They work for a small pharmaceutical company where they develop designer life-forms in the hope of generating new drugs and compounds for the company to market. They are driven by William Barlow (Hewlett) to produce. When they do finally create a creature with drug potential, the company scraps any future gene-splicing. They want the couple to now focus on synthesizing the important compounds they can generate with the life they've already created. But the couple, particularly Elsa, wants to take their process to the next level. They want to incorporate human DNA in their experiments. Even though the company has closed them down, they continue in secret. The result of their undercover work is Dren. The specimen grows at an incredible rate, allowing the couple to study an entire life cycle in compressed time. But, the experiment gets complicated as Dren matures and evolves, making it harder to keep the creature a secret. They move her to a farm that was once part of Elsa's family home. There the couple begins to deal with the consequences of their actions.
![White Christmas (Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/white-christmas-anniversary-editio-large.jpg)
![Highlander (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/highlander-directors-cut-blu-ra-large.jpg)
![Splice [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/splice-blu-ray-large.jpg)
