Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 17th, 2010
A 911 operator returns to work after suffering the loss of her child during delivery, only to start suffering what seems like hallucinations of a lost girl and a menacing man. Obsessed with what she sees, she starts a journey from New York to Pennsylvania to discover the truth behind her visions.
Catherine Bell is solid as the lead but the supporting cast is less than stellar, placing the weight of the film onto her shoulders. Sadly, the pacing does nothing to help her. The building of this film's mystery could have been edited down to fit within a hour as if it were a prime-ime drama. Granted, the conclusion is interesting enough but the path getting there contains too many scenes of filler dialogue that seem only there to get it closer to a feature length of an hour and a half (which it still doesn't quite make). So all in all, Bell is largely left stranded while everytone else plods through the motions, and we the audience are left less than riveted (Fun Fact for Geeks: Keep an eye out for actor George Buza, who might be recognized from Sinbad or as the voice of Beast from the X-Men).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 17th, 2010
Based on the books by Jan Guillou this film is in fact the merging of two epics produced in Sweden. It also happens to be Sweden's most expensive production thus far. It tells the tale of a boy raised in a convent and trained to become a warrior by a former knight Templar. He falls in love and has a child with a young woman named Cecilia and the two are forced away from each other. Cecilia must pay penance living as a nun while Arn is sentenced to 20 years fighting in the name of God as a Knight Templar in Jerusalem.
This is indeed a huge production, and a beautifully shot one at that. The director of photography deserves any credit he recieves for making this film look as big and epic as it wishes to feel, allowing it to rub shoulders with the monster budgets of Kingdom of Heaven and Braveheart.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 17th, 2010
Written by Diane Tillis
Sociopathic serial killer James Bennett (played by Silas Weir Mitchell of Prison Break) has escaped a maximum security mental hospital after being incarcerated for nine years. Two FBI agents team up with a Federal Marshall to figure out where Bennett is heading next by investigating clues left behind in Bennett’s cell. They also turn to the mental hospital’s director Dr. Green (played by Gail O’Grady of Boston Legal) for insight into Bennett’s mind. What they don’t know is that Bennett’s first order of business is to return to his childhood home. Meanwhile six graduate students are traveling to Bennett’s childhood home for inspiration to finish their thesis. When Bennett arrives, the students begin to disappear one by one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 16th, 2010
My dad was a Vietnam veteran. He did his time and came home to his wife (and eventually me). Because of when I was born, I never knew my father before the war. Therefore, I can’t really speak on his personality changes after he went off to fight the good fight. But in the same breath, I can tell you that we really don’t talk about that time except in very broad brush strokes. War is heck and hopefully my experience with The Dry Land is one that isn’t such a painful undertaking.
James (played by Ryan O’Nan) is an Army man and has come home from Iraq and arrives in the El Paso airport. He is greeted by his wife, Sarah (played by America Ferrera) and his best friend Michael (played by Jason Ritter). They exchange pleasantries and affection and go home to their doublewide trailer so that James can adjust to civilian life once again.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2010
"They rob, kill, and terrorize, and they've left their mark on our nation's history."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2010
"The rule of law, it must be held high! And, if it falls, you pick it up and hold it even higher. For all society, all civilized people will have nothing to shelter them if it is destroyed."
Agatha Christie created the rotund Belgian detective in 1920 with the book The Mysterious Affair At Styles. The detective would go on to feature in about 30 more books over the years. He was a distinctive character. He was picky about the order that things were placed. Yes, there's more than a little Adrian Monk in the man. He insists that his eggs be exactly the same size. He refers to himself in the third person and does not own the virtue of modesty. He often calls himself great and talented. He doesn't suffer fools and is somewhat closed-minded for a detective.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2010
This series from Comedy Central began as a low-budget film hosting show in a small television station in Minnesota. It was the brainchild of Joel Hodgson. It ended up running for 11 years and a feature film version.
Mystery Science Theatre is an acquired taste. For me, I’ve really got to be in that certain mood to watch it. That’s the beauty of these DVDs. You pop them in when you’re ready. The idea is pretty whacked. Depending on the season you’ve got, Joel or Mike is trapped in space on the “Satellite of Love”. Doomed to spend his life watching very bad films, our hero makes the best of a bad situation. He uses his resources to construct a couple of robot pals. There's Crow T. Robot (Beaulieu), Tom Servo (Murphy), and Gypsy (Mallon). Part of an experiment together, they watch the films from the front row, constantly ranting throughout. If you’re like me, you’ve invited a few friends over to watch a schlock festival. The movies weren’t as important as the banter you created while watching. That’s exactly what you see here. The silhouettes of our host and his robots dominate the lower portion of the screen, where they provide alternative dialog and sometimes witty commentary on the action. The two evil station owners/mad scientists send them a new bad film each week to observe their reactions to the bombs. The films are broken up by off-the-wall skits and fake commercials to alleviate the tedium. This DVD collection is better than some because it includes films from four different seasons to give you a good sample of the overall series. This edition features an all Joel collection.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 12th, 2010
Lock ‘n’ Load is a hidden camera reality TV series that is based out of a gun shop in Colorado. The show is centered on the gun shop proprietor Josh T. Ryan. He interjects himself into every story and casually interviews each customer. The show attempts to personify each gun owner and provides a background for each purchase. The show is marketed as a comedy but I found myself rarely laughing.
Josh T. Ryan is the host of the show and is too frequently involved in each story. In the later episodes there are personalized interviews with the customers without the host. These interviews are far more thought provoking; as they contextualize the customer’s story as to what made them purchase a gun. The show needs to incorporate more of the customer and less of the host. Audiences are far more likely to identify with a common person than a caricature.
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.
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