Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 6th, 2007
In the United States, we tend to take for granted; influences. In the case of movies, we take certain film styles for granted. We just figure that they always existed. Doesn't really matter where they came from, we just know we like that style of movie; over and over and over again. Enter Hard Boiled, a 1992 film directed by John Woo. This featured Chow Yun-Fat as Tequila, a hard nosed cop who is on a quest to derail an arms smuggling ring that has both cops and innocent civilians dead in its wake.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 5th, 2007
Dan Chupong plays a young warrior, armed with rockets and martial arts skills, who roams the Thai countryside in the 19th Century, searching for the man who killed his parents. His only clues are that he trades in buffalo and is a unique tattoo on his chest. He finds the man he believes is his target, but this trader, who possesses magical powers, is also in the sights of an evil local aristocrat who is trying to get rid of the local buffalo population in order to drive up sales for his tractor franchise. Said ne’er-do-well sets up our hero to do his dirty work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 4th, 2007
(Non-format specific portions of this review are culled from my review of said film, so enjoy or read elsewhere.)
In watching Being John Malkovich again recently, for the first time in awhile, the thing I was struck by is how unique it is (duh!). It doesn’t try too hard at being different, to the point that it’s going to suck, everything is matter of fact, and it’s hilarious. Its characters are flawed, but we feel for some of them a great deal. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s dramatic, it works on many levels.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2007
What do the following huge stars all have in common: Elton John, George Burns, Peter Sellers, Don Knotts, Bob Hope, John Cleese, Madeline Kahn, and Milton Berle? They all were guests on the second season of Jim Henson’s The Muppet Show. I can’t believe how many of the episodes I remember watching occurred in the show’s sophomore season. It would be pretty hard to argue that the series became the in place for A list entertainers to have a little fun. Like a neighborhood clubhouse, the top stars would come to the show and allow themselves to be often upstaged by Henson’s cute little creatures.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 3rd, 2007
One hundred years after Abraham Van Helsing and allies fail to annihilate Dracula, the vampire arrives in a small American town looking for an amulet that, if destroyed at the prescribed moment, will usher in a reign of darkness. Recruited to aid in this project are versions of the Wolfman, the Frankenstein Monster, the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Opposing Dracula is the titular Monster Squad, a group of monster-crazy boys and one very little (and very adorable) sister, who befriends the Monster.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 3rd, 2007
Monty (Idris Elba, 28 Weeks Later) is a father struggling for custody of his three children. This has become of utmost importance to him especially since his ex wife is involved with a local drug dealer. He enlists the help of attorney Julia (Gabriel Union, Bad Boys 2) to get his children back. Of course sparks begin to fly between the two, and the children seem to take the backseat. I’ve seen this type of movie way too many times before, and I would be completely content if I didn’t have to again.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 2nd, 2007
Having never seen or heard of this program, I had to do a bit of research into the history of this show. I’ll share my findings with you in case you are new to the series as well. Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall, The Breakfast Club) was involved in a car accident that left him comatose for six years. Upon waking up he has a special gift, when he touches people or things he can see into the future, and sometimes prevent awful things from happening.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 2nd, 2007
The War tells the story of newly returned Vietnam soldier Stephen Simmons (Kevin Costner). Steve is the father of Stu (Elijah Woods) and Lidia (Lexi Randall) and wants nothing more than to show them the meaning of life and what it (really what HE) can provide them. The only problem is that Steve isn’t getting the adequate funds a soldier should receive. Bouncing from job to job because of his mental history (he’s had numerous flashbacks to the war), the family struggles daily to survive. The children seem to be mixed on their father with Stu loving him, but Lidia calling him a loser.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2007
Superheroes are huge these days, at least most of them are. Some are a little under 3 feet. In the Disney afternoon universe of Ducktales comes Darkwing Duck, or DW as his friends and arch enemies refer to him. Darkwing appropriately enough inhabits a more sinister side of the Ducktales world where he is ever vigilante for the exotic criminals that threaten St. Canard. If you still don’t get the idea, think of Adam West’s Batman as a Disney duck. DW comes complete with the prerequisite Duckmobile and steady supply of crime fighting gadgets and gizmos. His faithful, if not overly intelligent, sidekick is Ducktales holdover Launchpad McQuack. When not fighting crime, DW has the expected secret identity of Drake Mallard.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2007
This is, I gather, part of a series of documentaries under the wider umbrella of “America Undercover,†and is not the first of the taxicab ones. What we have here is a collection of vignettes as various people hail a cab and, captured by the cab’s security camera, engage in revealing conversations with the driver. Most of these discussions deal with relationships and sex (the guy and his transsexual girlfriend, the guy with the big woman fetish, the guy with a thing for “crazy chicks†and so on). Over the course of the hour, this becomes a little tiresome, and one hopes for a passenger with something else on his/her mind.
![Being John Malkovich [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/being-john-malkovich-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
![Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/tyler-perrys-daddys-little-girls-large.jpg)
![The War [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-war-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
