Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2008
When the Learners are driving home from their son Josh’s recital, they stop off at a gas station where he is struck and killed by Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) who is heading home from a Boston Red Sox game with his son Lucas. Dwight flees the scene while Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and Grace (Jennifer Connelly) mourn the death of their son. In the following weeks, Ethan becomes obsessed with finding the hit and run driver while Dwight deals with his guilt and tries to bond with his son against the backdrop of the 2004 Boston Red Sox historic World Series run.
Reservation Road had a lot going for it on paper. Phoenix, Connelly, and Ruffalo are all talented actors and Terry George (Hotel Rawanda) is an acclaimed up-and-coming director. However, Reservation Road fails to hit the emotional high notes that come with the territory. None of the actors are given much to do with the material, and the film’s pace is drearily slow. Connelly and Mira Sorvino are severely underused while Phoenix and Ruffalo don’t explore the depths of their characters. Everything is paint by numbers and the end result is a film that never lives up to its potential.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2008
When last we left the fine folks of Weeds, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker, Saved!) and her herb-growing buddy Conrad (Romany Malco, Blades of Glory) were being held at the mercy of two rival drug groups, both of which were very interested in Nancy’s stash and her cash, but it was taken by her son Silas (Hunter Parrish, Freedom Writers), who was arrested by Nancy’s friend Celia (Elizabeth Perkins, 28 Days). I’m not even close to discussing how things got to this point, and needless to say, the twists and turns sound a little soap operatic at times, but when you’re invested into the characters’ fates as you are, they provide for some memorable experiences.
One of the things that Weeds does is push things to the edge of the envelope, and I‘m fine with that. What I’m not fine with, and what my wife and I get into debates about from time to time, is that in Season Three, Nancy’s transformation from widowed mother in a upper/middle class suburban neighborhood to full-fledged marijuana dealer becomes full and complete. In the previous two seasons, Nancy mixed her Caucasian naivete rather well with her cold and precise drug dealing livelihood. In Season Three, she becomes much more cold and precise, particularly around people she knows and calls friends. She takes care of her feelings first, particularly in one episode where she sleeps with her boss (played by Matthew Modine of Vision Quest lore), despite Celia’s urge to be with him. Her rendezvous with Conrad, one the show had been waiting for for almost three seasons, was more for her convenience than anyone else’s. She becomes much more distasteful than in previous seasons, and all the sweetness of sucking on an iced coffee straw isn’t going to help things.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2008
Honestly, I don’t know what the bigger tragedy is, the fact that John C. Reilly has been a funny performer for years, or the fact that it’s taken guys like Judd Apatow and Adam McKay a chance to show off his comedic talent. For those who don’t know, Reilly was in a hilarious ten-minute blooper reel in Boogie Nights which showed that he could improvise with the best of them. The guy also played Bigfoot in an episode of the Tenacious D show that aired on HBO in the mid ‘90s. But sure, put him in Chicago where he was nominated for an Oscar or in ensemble films directed by some of film’s greatest voices. His true love, that which gives him much joy and pleasure, appears to be when he’s goofing around, like he does in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Walk Hard was co-written by Judd Apatow, whom you might have heard of. Any R-rated comedy that has been released in the last 18 months to any sort of popular appeal has had some sort of involvement by the writer-producer-director. Jake Kasdan (Orange County) was the other writer and directed the film, where Reilly plays Dewey. He grew up in the shadow of his brother, who died after a tragic machete incident. Dewey grew up and had a hit early in his life, but then went through the usual period of drugs and substance abuse before his career went through a rebirth of sorts. If it sounds like the usual biopic treatment of a musical icon, that’s what it is, and what Apatow and Kasdan manage to do is stick a thumb in the collective eye of films like Ray and Walk the Line, as those films possess a slight precociousness that deserves lampooning of some sort. Reilly plays Dewey as a fifteen-year-old. The guy is over 40, OK? So yeah, that’s funny. When Dewey’s drummer Sam (Tim Meadows, Semi-Pro) shows him what drugs are like, it’s done with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Dewey’s various relationship issues are shown, starting from his first wife Edith (Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live) who seems to be pregnant in every scene as she puts down Dewey, to his second wife Edith (Jenna Fischer, The Office), who is a born-again Christian and hopes to get Dewey the same way. Every girl, boy, rock and stick in between is shown too.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2008
It’s ironic that 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake (which was originally a George Romero film), have jump-started Romero’s long-running “Dead” series that started in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead.
Since 28 Days Later and the Dawn remake were released, Romero has released two new installments: Land of the Dead in 2005, and now Diary of the Dead in 2007.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 4th, 2008
It sounds like nothing new. Hard boiled detective uses computers and other forms of technology to solve cases. It isn’t anything new, except the detective in question is Joe Mannix and the series aired in 1967. The computer that Mannix used took up an entire room and was queried using cardboard punchcards. This wasn’t science fiction. We’re not talking some newly discovered Irwin Allen series. Mannix didn’t go after aliens or robots. This was a down to earth gritty detective show. Mike Connors played the tough as nails detective. He was perfect for the part and blended into the role seamlessly for 8 years.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2008
The Pang brothers return with one more instalment to their series of ghost tales. This one also goes under the title of The Eye 10 (and The Eye: Infinity), which is actually the more accurate nomenclature, given the sheer number of hauntings that are present here. A group of friends on vacation in Thailand regale each other with ghost stories. Their host then produces a book that lists the ten ways of seeing ghosts. The group, whose instinct for self-preservation could do with some strengthening, proceed to put the book to the test. They get far more than they bargained for.
In the making-of featurettes that accompany the film, the Pangs talk about how they had too many ideas to fit into the first two instalments of the franchise. So here they have a structure that allows them to pack in a cornucopia of summonings and hauntings. Some of the manifestations are undeniably effective, and there are some pretty decent jolts. On the other hand, the Pangs recycle some of their greatest hits, sometimes to deliberately humorous effect. The tone generally is much lighter than before, but the humour has a tendency to disrupt scenes that are building up a good head of terror. The film is thus a frustrating mixed bag, where flashes of the Pang brilliance are present, but there are also plenty of moments where the brothers seem to be just going through the motions, when they aren't taking the piss entirely.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 2nd, 2008
You probably remember where you were when you saw the trailer for Twister. Hot off the heels of Forrest Gump, which was a nice story with some pretty cool computer effects at the time, Twister simply took the effects to a whole other level. Barns were torn apart, cars were tossed into the air, and that one shot, where the car is driving as a tractor is thrown and slammed into the ground, and the tire from the tractor hurdles through the car window. You wanted to go see that film, whatever the cost might be.
But holy crap, once that movie came out, the film landscape was redefined. But it was less about actual storytelling per se, and more about the computer effects that carried the film along, with not a lot of significant or even interesting story or characters that were appealing enough to care about. No real original ideas, just 113 minutes where director Jan de Bont (Speed) tries to dazzle you and say, “Hey look! Really cool twisters!” And you know why that is disappointing? Because one of the writers was Michael Crichton, who’s written some pretty cool stuff: Jurassic Park and Westworld, and yet nothing much is to be had here. Bill (Bill Paxton, Aliens) has returned to Oklahoma and “Tornado Alley” with his fiancée (played by Jami Gertz of Still Standing lore), to find out if Bill’s estranged wife Jo (Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets) has signed the couple’s divorce papers. Jo hasn’t yet, so Bill’s got to stay on her to get them done. In the meantime, the chase to find a twister has begun, and Bill, compelled by an urge to see a technology that he and Jo had envisioned come to fruition, helps Jo and her crew out for one day.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2008
The Minutemen was not a theatrical release. I get the impression it did run on the Disney Network at one point, but I never saw the broadcast. So, for most of us, this release is pretty much a direct to video affair. The film is strictly for the kids, which is a little bit of a missed opportunity here. The subject matter lends itself to the inclusion of some wonderful references that might have been enough to keep the adult in me interested more. Instead Disney decided on the strictly youth oriented course. Unfortunately for Disney, that market isn’t usually the one with the twenty bucks to bring home the bacon, or in this case, the DVD. All of the adults are pretty much bumbling idiots. There’s plenty of popping music to keep the energy level high enough to keep the kids into it and wear out the adults. There are plenty of teen stereotypes to go around.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 30th, 2008
TNA Wrestling has evolved from being nothing more than a small third party wrestling organization to something much more. While they aren't the WWE in ratings, they have arguably better storylines and on average more enthusiastic wrestlers. There are established stars such as Kurt Angle, Booker T, & Team 3d(used to be known as the Dudleys) that have built up their reputation thru WWE, ECW and WCW. There are also equally exciting homebred stars including AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal (now known as "Black Machismo") that play a prominent role in the league as well. Furthermore (without including the Japanese market), TNA also has the best wrestling females you will find anywhere from Gail Kim to the unstoppable monster Amazing Kong. So it is little wonder that from time to time, I pick up their ppv dvds including this one named Destination X 2008 highlighted by the main event: Kurt Angle,Tomko & AJ Styles vs the tandem of Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, and Christian Cage.
March 9, 2008 - Destination X. Several angles were taking place around this ppv. The Angle Alliance was in full swing despite the growing tension/love triangle between AJ Styles, Karen Angle and Kurt Angle. AJ Styles and Tomko had distanced themselves from one Christian Cage which made him angry and led to the concurrent feud. Samoa Joe had found himself into the main event since he had been feuding with Kurt Angle in a desperate attempt to finally secure the TNA World Title. Kevin Nash? "Big Sexy" was probably in it for the thrill...of money. Being a seven foot monster, he served as the powergame for the trio. In the last Impact before the PPV, Christian Cage and Kurt Angle were involved in a cage match which found Cage winning in a controversial finish where his feet supposedly touched the ground first and his hand was raised by referee Earl Hebner. Film later showed that perhaps Angle's feet touched the ground first (though looking at it several times, it's really hard to tell either way). This situation has led to a one man advantage (3 on 2) at the PPV for the first five minutes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 29th, 2008
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not really out to get you. That old axiom has never been more true than for David Vincent in the Martin Quinn series The Invaders. Quinn was best known for his police procedural shows like The FBI. At the time of the The Invaders Quinn was going into the final season of one of his most popular shows, The Fugitive. While most people over the years have compared The Invaders to that Quinn production, they were really not as similar as all that. In The Fugitive, the hero, Richard Kimball, played by David Janssen had a very specific mission. He was wrongly convicted of killing his wife and was on the trail of the real killer, whom he had witnessed. The “one armed man” became an iconic figure in television history and provided Dr. Kimball with his “Holy Grail”. David Vincent’s mission was far more complicated and seldom so cut and dried. He was honestly more akin to Dr. Bennell, played by sci-fi favorite Kevin McCarthy from Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. In both cases you had one man who knew that aliens were invading and even replacing humans. As I watched this collection of Invaders episodes, I couldn’t help but be reminded of McCarthy’s famous scene running down the street trying to convince the world of the impending invasion.
