Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2012
"In the pantheon of predators, it's one of the greatest discoveries since the T-Rex: a snake 48 feet long, weighing in at 2,500 pounds. Uncovered from a treasure trove of fossils in a Colombian coal mine, this serpent is revealing a lost world of giant creatures. Travel back to the period following the extinction of dinosaurs and encounter this monster predator."
With a title like Titanoboa: Monster Snake you might be expecting the latest huge monster mash-up from Roger Corman or the latest cheap CG creation from the SyFy's Original Movies series. Huge snakes have been common fodder for both of these places. But the monster snake depicted in this film comes to us from The Smithsonian Channel, and this guy really existed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2012
The Killing began life as a Danish television series. We are used to seeing British shows reinvented for American audiences, but it's rare to find something from Danish television that someone found so compelling they decided to work it for the competitive American television landscape. It's no surprise that such an effort would find its way on cable rather than network television, where boundaries can really be pushed and explored.
AMC is a pretty good choice to land such a show. They've committed to some pretty groundbreaking shows in the few years they have produced original programming. Anyone who has caught an episode of The Living Dead certainly knows what I'm talking about here. The once movie-exclusive network has already proven a willingness to push the boundaries of television. So with all of this boundary pushing you might expect a cutting-edge series that plays out unlike anything in the genre. You would think so, but you'd be pretty disappointed.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 6th, 2012
To just look at the cover of this DVD you would expect this would be your average run-of-the-mill talking animal kids’ film. Instead Animals United comes off as a call to arms for children to save the planet before it is too late. I could say how this movie suffers from having a weak script filled with the same characters we’ve seen from dozens of children’s films before, but that would just be too easy. Instead I want to praise this film, for while it lacked originality I appreciate the boldness of the message they are trying to send.
The film introduces us to several animals spread out across the globe and how their environment is simply being destroyed around them. There is a polar bear that falls through the ice as the ice shelves crumble around him. A pair of turtles need to flee their home after a tanker crashes spilling oil onto the shores of their island. A kangaroo and Tasmanian devil barely escape a brush fire started from a biker’s disregard for his trash. The main focus of the story revolves around a family of meerkats in desperate need of water after all the water in the savannah has seemed to have dried up. We meet them all in the opening minutes of the film, and already I was depressed and felt the need to recycle more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 6th, 2012
Review writers like regular authors often have difficult times coming up with beginnings. Personally, I like to use an event from my history or relate some curious fact that parlays into the review. I figure I will be spending eight to ten paragraphs about the actual product, why waste the time and do more. Well today, I am reviewing the Real Adventures of Johnny Quest and let us just say if it was up to me, I would deviate as much from the source as I humanly could. But onto the review I go.
Author’s Note: This is a Warner Archive Disc (or two discs rather). It is supposed to be available on Amazon in addition to the WB Shop but at the time of this writing, it is not (4/6/12). So therefore, if you really want this addition to your Johnny Quest library, go the following address (WBSHOP) to purchase it:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 6th, 2012
Roman Polanski's seminal neo-noir finally makes it to Blu-ray. Gino has already handled the previous DVD release, so I'm going to turn the reins over to him for a while, then jump back in.
"Jake Gittes is a Chandler style detective with all of the trappings. From the office to the secretary and the cop friend, Gittes is a cliché. He appears to specialize in tracking down extramarital affairs. When he’s hired to keep an eye on a rich millionaire, the subject turns up dead, and maybe it wasn’t his wife at all who hired him. Gittes now must investigate to save his own hide. His investigation leads him to a corrupt water department taking advantage of a manufactured drought. His client has a dark secret that only complicates Gittes’ efforts.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 5th, 2012
When I first got this DVD I really had no idea what to expect. The title of the stand-up act, That’s How I Dooz It, didn’t inspire much confidence in this comedian I knew nothing about. Instead of checking him out online and getting a feel for the guy, I decided to risk it and go in with a blank slate; after all, it’s only 60 minutes and can’t be that bad. So I slid the DVD in the player and got comfy.
Right from the start JB Smoove knows how to make an entrance. He comes out with his hip-hop theme That’s How I Dooz It, and he is full of energy as he explains to the crowd how much he loves the song and how it is perfect for nearly every occasion. He goes on to act out a police chase while driving a stagecoach as the theme plays on. His expressions alone were enough to get me laughing from the start. On stage with him is a microphone stand and a metal chair; both are used as props throughout the performance, and it shocks me how many uses one man can find for a chair.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 5th, 2012
Thankfully, I have never been scammed out of any large amount of money unless you count my ex-wife. *drum roll*. I think of myself as fairly intelligent but sometimes intelligence is not enough when a large enough pyramid or ponzi scheme walks across your front lawn. Furthermore, when somebody you trust tells you it is a sure thing, it is hard to look the other way. Let us proceed with a documentary on one of the most famous ponzi schemes of them all with deception played by one Bernie Madoff.
Melodramatic music go! Blood dripping! Fire crackling! Wife snoring! Oh wait, nevermind. In the beginning, we hear a quote that Wall Street has always been about making a profit. Then we hear a bunch of news reports about Bernie Madoff pulling off a $50 billion ponzi scheme. Outrage is rampant and people want to know why the SEC did not catch this sooner. Let’s join H. David Kotz, Inspector General for a sentence or two before we get more dramatic special effects.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on April 4th, 2012
Nine college friends are reunited by the death of a beloved former classmate. While attending his funeral, they learn their wealthy friend has left behind a will stipulating that each of them will receive a big chunk of his fortune if they can stay at his mansion for five days without a single person leaving. So basically, this terrible movie is an unholy mash-up of The Big Chill and The House on Haunted Hill. Come to think of it, I would've liked this flick a lot more if everyone had been murdered by ghosts.
That's because pretty much every character in Dysfunctional Friends — the early frontrunner for the 2012 Just Go With It award for Laziest Movie Title — is completely unbearable. (This, despite the fact that notorious NFL malcontent Terrell Owens isn't even playing himself!) I know this group of estranged "friends" is supposed to be self-centered, but it's impossible for the audience to get invested when we simply can't stand any of them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2012
Wallace and Gromit is the brainchild of animator Nick Park. The British filmmaker tried for years to bring his clay creations alive, but on his own finished a mere 10 minutes in a little over two years. When he met up with Aardman Animations, he was teamed up with the creative talents he needed to make his dream come alive, and come alive these two characters did indeed. They’ve become an overnight sensation in the UK and now all over the world. I was introduced to the characters with the full length feature Wallace And Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit.
I have to admit that I was completely won over by the magic of this creation. It’s so simple-looking that it almost appears to be child’s play. The truth could not be further from the perception. Stop-motion animation goes back to the beginning of the cinema itself. Pioneered by the genius Willis O’Brian and perfected by Ray Harryhausen, it is one of the most painstakingly tedious tasks in the film industry today. It has been all but abandoned except for a select few who still follow in the footsteps of greatness. Give Nick Park credit for keeping the art alive and making it look effortless.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2012
If you haven't heard of South Park by now there is certainly something wrong with you. You're just not paying attention. More important, you've got a lot of catching up to do. The show is entering its 16th season on Comedy Central, and Paramount is now giving us the 15th season on high definition Blu-ray. And, if you are just hearing about South Park for the first time, what a wonderful journey you have ahead of you. You might need an airline sickness bag on occasion, but you are in for a solid treat.
After 15 years you would think any show might have to start losing steam. It's true that South Park did appear to suffer some during the middle years, and I was one of those critics asking how much longer the show could go on. But the series experienced something of a renaissance in the last couple of years and is better than it has ever been.
