Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 5th, 2007
Maybe it’s just not possible to do a good western on television these days. Most of the more recent attempts have come up pretty empty, and The Magnificent Seven is no exception. I'd have to say that perhaps The Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr. might be the lone standout. The Magnificent Seven certainly tries. All of the traditional clichés are there, from the Ponderosa rip-off music to the “howdys” and “reckons” in the dialogue. There’s plenty of gunplay and horses to meet the expected quotas, but it all looks way...too staged for my tastes. It felt like I was watching one of those Amusement Parks Ol’ Western Shows. The cast is relatively impressive, but whether it’s that there are too many of them for true character development or no one on the writing crew decided character was important, I can’t say for sure. It’s just not there.
Seven unlikely men join together to protect a Western town from those that might take advantage of its peace-loving citizens. The seven are pretty much ordinary folk thrust into extraordinary circumstances working for an old judge (Vaughn) for $1 a day plus room and board. Michael Biehn plays Chris Larrabee, who is pretty much the unofficial head of the seven. He usually wears black, going against the “good guys wear white” western tradition. His family had been lost to a tragic fire. Following him are: Buck Wilmington (Midkiff), JD (Kavovit), Vin Tanner (Close), Ezra Standish (Starke), Nathon Jackson (Worthy) and Josiah Sanchez (Perlman), a defrocked preacher. Perlman gets most of the best lines. In the season opening he is asking God for a sign when a nearby dog barks, signaling the return of his fellows. He looks up to Heaven and says, “I bet you thought that was funny, didn’t you?”. The second season begins with a new lawman in town who doesn’t take to the seven’s tactics in protecting the town. When he posts a long list of new laws, including no firearms in the city, the seven leave the town to its own fate. As you might expect, a few of the local tough guys take advantage of their leaving and begin to run the town ablaze. Certainly the boys return and a new season is set up. Now they have the title of “honorary” marshalls. Let the good times roll.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 4th, 2007
With the release of Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer just around the corner, it’s no surprise to see the studio rolling out a double-dip of the first film. Fantastic 4 – Extended Edition revisits the film with an extra 20 minutes of footage, and a second disc full of special features. But is it a worthy acquisition for your collection?
First, a bit about the film for the uninitiated. This is the Fantastic Four’s origin story, including how they came to have their super powers, and who Dr... Doom, their first super-villain nemesis, was. And that’s enough about that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 3rd, 2007
Synopsis
Tom & Jerry cartoons used to be so much fun back in the day. The mayhem, the violence, the pursuit of one cat to vanquish one tiny little mouse (and never succeeding). I remember one episode very vividly that involved Tom destroying the whole house to get to Jerry and literally killing himself in the process (well the fake cartoon dieing anyway). They probably took that off tv these days with trying to sanitize children's programming and all. However, without Tom & ...Jerry, there would be no Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner, no Itchy & Scratchy & no Rosie O Donnell & Donald Trump. (all I'm saying is that Rosie is hungry). Since those old cartoons are considered too violent (*roll eyes*) and sometimes too racist (*even bigger roll eyes*) they try to bring back popular cartoons in new tv series. They do this to try to bring back today's viewing public back in by serving them friendly cartoons and keep the parents from suing or complaining to somebody.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 3rd, 2007
Synopsis
Groundbreaking is often a word that is simply used too much. People tend to sling it around whenever they find a movie or tv show that is just simply different. However, this is not the case with the groundbreaking show: Cagney & Lacey. It was to show two women in leading roles as police officers solving crimes and getting the bad guys. The show in its first season alone would explore such controversial women's issues as date rape and burnout (which a lot of women du...ing that time experienced when faced with both being employed and a domesticated wife). The cast was centered around Christine Cagney & Mary Beth Lacey (played by Sharon Gless & Tyne Daly respectively) and plays an important part in women's television even today.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 2nd, 2007
I must really love this job. That's the only explanation as to why I keep reviewing for this site. Then I get across my desk a copy of Dante's Cove - The Complete Second Season. (I guessed I missed the first one). On the cover they show three quite buff men (in the background two women, hey that's Tracy Scoggins), all with pants being a little too low. Uh-oh. *flips to the back*; oh geez is that two men kissing, *sigh*, it is. From the here! network for openly gays and lesbians comes the guilty pleasure show; Dante's Cove, a soap opera that let's just say really pushes the envelope. The backdrop or the events to season one are as follows.
One hundred and sixty years ago, Ambrosius Vallin (played by William Gregory Lee) had been imprisioned by Grace Neville (played by Tracy Scoggins) after she found him fraternizing with a man (they were engaged to be married). Okay, they were doing it doggy style. (if I have to live with the image, so do you). So Grace gave Ambrosius advanced age and threw him in the basement. He is returned to his former self by a kiss from Kevin (played by Gregory Michael). Naturally Ambrosius becomes obsessed with Kevin who is really in love with Toby (played by Charlie David). By the way, Ambrosius and Grace use the powers of a mystical religion called "Tresum". However in order to satsify this religion and keep their youth they have to fufill certain rites and passages. It's a blend of fantasy, soap opera, and really really open gay people in a beautiful island setting (second season was shot in Hawaii).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 1st, 2007
Synopsis
Most people don’t know where to place Puerto Ricans. Some would like to think they are Hispanic, some would like to think that they are African. To treat them as anything beside their own culture would be a mistake. They are Puerto Rican, proud and have been in the United States for almost a century. Puerto Ricans have been for the most part unfairly discriminated against and put into groups that they simply do not belong in. From Pedro Albizu Campos to Jennifer Lopez, there has ...een famous Puerto Ricans we have come to know and appreciate. Rosie Perez (White Men Can’t Jump, Do the Right Thing) decided to direct a documentary in 2006 that would talk how it was to grow up Puerto Rican but also explore the culture and the history of Puerto Ricans in relation to the United States. This is a side of Puerto Rico that few get to see.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2007
The Butcher Boy, originally released in 1997 and based upon the 1992 book of the same name, has found its way to DVD. The film has been the recipient of numerous awards, with critics hailing it as a dark comedy unlike any other. To be completely honest, I had never heard of this picture before today, but I’ve always enjoyed these little Great Britain pictures, so here’s hoping it’s as good as some say.
Francie Brady (Eamonn Owens, Breakfast on Pluto) appears to be your typical schoolboy, spend...ng his days hanging out with his best lad, Joe. Until he gets home, at least, where things are rather atypical; his father is an abusive alcoholic and his mother is a self-loathing, suicidal woman. Amidst the dysfunction, Francie seems for the large part to be unaware of all the problems surrounding him and continues his days as if nothing fazed him. Things are put in perspective one day when the mother of a boy he bullied, Mrs. Nugent, verbally attacks his mother and calls his whole family a bunch of pigs. Shortly after this comment, Francie walks in on his mother attempting suicide, and he promises he will never let her die. This is where his obsession with the Nugents begins, already blaming them for his problems. Finally fed up with his father’s actions, Francie runs away and spends some time in Dublin where he becomes quite streetwise and spends most of his time thieving. Upon his return to his home there is a funeral presiding, and he soon finds out his mother has taken her own life. This fuels more hatred for the Nugents and things really start getting out of control; Francis becomes hallucinogenic and borderline psychotic.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2007
Half Past Dead 2 is, obviously, the sequel to 2002’s lukewarm action picture, Half Past Dead. The main difference in this sequel is the lack of Steven Seagal so automatically that should make this a better picture, but not necessarily a good one. The film stars two unlikely actors – a rapper and a wrestler – The Dogg Pound’s own Kurupt and WWE’s Goldberg. Not exactly promising, but I’ve been surprised before.
Twitch (Kurupt, Dark Blue), an inmate at the New Alcatraz penitentiary, has ju...t has one thing in mind, doing his time and minding his own business. That is until the day the warden mentions that the next person to instigate a fight will be sent to a prison out of state. It just so happens Twitch’s girlfriend resides there, as does $160 million in gold bricks, so say goodbye to Alcatraz and hello to mainland. While adjusting to life in the new prison, Twitch doesn’t want to befriend anyone accept another loner, Burk (Bill Goldberg, The Longest Yard). Although he tries to avoid the gang life behind bars he gets pulled into a Black gang hell-bent on destroying the Hispanic gang, all while he’s trying to find a way to escape. Things really get out of control when a prison-wide riot is in the works, on the same day Twitch’s girlfriend and Burk’s daughter are visiting. The two get trapped inside the prison on lockdown while the inmates are slowly taking over the prison. It’s a race against time as Twitch and Burk team up to save their loved ones and clear their names.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 31st, 2007
Synopsis
I’m one of the few who hasn’t experienced the magic of Robert Cormier’s novel “The Chocolate War”, and I was surprised to hear that it was the most banned book for a time (and still might be). When the film came out, not only did I not hear about it, but in 1988 I was in the middle of high school, and I (along with many other people) sure as hell could have used this film back then, not to say that all the John Hughes films weren’t a welcome breath of air into my life.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 31st, 2007
Synopsis
After a whirlwind romance leads to a quick marriage, Gary Cooper’s introduction to his new in-laws ends in fiery catastrophe. The marriage annulled, he returns to his small town home and an earlier romance despite the best advice of father-in-law-to-be Frank Morgan, who wants to save his friend from the horrors of marriage. But when a critical number of months later, Cooper receives word that he is to be a father, and that his former wife (Theresa Wright) is planning on giving the baby up fo... adoption, he kidnaps the infant and holes up in a hotel, trying to raise the baby himself.
