Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2004
I had never seen, or even heard of this show until I received this complete first season to review. I was a little hesitant heading in to my first viewing… especially after seeing that the main characters are played by Luke Perry (of 90210 fame), and Malcolm Jamal Warner (of The Cosby Show fame). But after viewing a couple of episodes, I must confess that I was hooked. Sure, the story is full of holes, and the acting is suspect at times, but the overall show is quite gripping and entertaining.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2004
If your only contact with the original series Lost In Space is the episodes available in syndication ala the Sci-Fi channel then you really don’t know Lost In Space. The first season was a lot different than the final two. The most noticeable difference is that the first season is in black and white. The stories are much less schlock and camp. More Star Trek than SpaceBalls. The cheesy rubber monsters are there, but the characters have a harsher edge to them.
As the season progressed through 29 episodes (Can you imagine having a 29 episode season!) the tone of the later series begins to come through.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 16th, 2004
Synopsis
The film is also known as Black Lolita because it’s protagonist (Yolanda Love) isnamed Lolita, and not because she’s underage. On the contrary, this Lolita is a karate-choppinghellion, like a downscale version of Cleopatra Jones. After her uncle is murdered by the mob, ourheroine determines to take revenge. She hooks up with centerfolds Serena and Susan Ayers andpresto: a more explicit version of Charlie’s Angels. Approached in the right frame ofmind (i.e. you...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 15th, 2004
Synopsis
Evan Rachel Wood plays Tracy. As our tale begins, the 13-year-old is still on good terms with her mum (Holly Hunter), and is very much one of the nice girls in junior high. In that environment, you get devoured, and it isn’t long before she resorts to theft to befriend the popular Evie (co-writer Nikki Reed). Cue the rapid descent into crime, sex and drugs.
These are the teen years as chronicled from the lower circles of Hell. The handheld camera matches the high energy...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 15th, 2004
Slam is one of the rarest of films, an intelligent urban drama. These days, most films that deal with inner city African American youth either glorify the violent world that they live in, or turn into an After School Special on just saying "no". Slam disses both of these paths, and instead, forges its own path. Luckily, this path leads to truth, to knowledge, and to awards at Sundance.
This is the story of one young man coming to grips with his time and place in the history of the world. Being pinche...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 15th, 2004
Synopsis
The format is familiar (as is pointed out by the series creator): this is a “precinct” show. Onlyinstead of cops, we’re dealing with spies, who fight against threats to Great Britain, whilejuggling complicated personal lives. Given the combination of ensemble cast, investigations, andsnazzy, futuristic look of the MI-5 headquarters, you might want to imagine a cross betweenNYPD Blue and La Femme Nikita. The performances are strong, the productionvalues are hig...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 15th, 2004
Synopsis
After five months in space, the crew of Ironman One (Richard Crenna, James Franciscus andGene Hackman) are returning to Earth when their ship’s retrorockets do not fire. They aretrapped in orbit, with only 42 hours of oxygen. Back on Earth, NASA chief Gregory Peck at firstsees no way of saving them, but at the urging of David Janssen, a Hail Mary rescue attempt isput together. The problem: the soonest the rescue ship can arrive is in 42 hours. And there’s ahurricane closing...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 15th, 2004
Synopsis
This is pretty redundant, I know. If you don’t know what Cheers is about, you won’tstart watching it now. Anyway, Sam and Diane are having an affair, Norm is out of work, Carla’sex-husband (Dan Hedaya) resurfaces, and so on. Definitely a sitcom whose ensemble approachwas a real strength, and backed up by consistently witty writing.
Audio
The audio is 2.0, and is crisper than most people would have heard it back in 1983-4. Thereis a definite s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 14th, 2004
Synopsis
In the Heat of the Night (***1/2) is probably the best known film in the set. HereSidney Poitier plays Virgil Tibbs, Philadelphia homicide detective. Waylaid in a smallMississippi town, he battles racism and his own arrogance as he both clashes and cooperates withPolice Chief Rod Steiger in a murder investigation. Directed by Mr. Concerned Cinema himself,Norman Jewison, the film can hardly be taken seriously, what with all the inhabitants of Sparta,with only the par...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2004
If you are a fan of space flight, this DVD is your holy grail.
While the Spacecraft Films series of releases is full of high-quality products covering the history of space flight, Apollo 11 – Men on the Moon pushes their usual high standards to the outer reaches. The few frustrations that I had with their previous titles have all been remedied here, and the result is an absolutely fantastic DVD set covering every aspect of NASA's famed Apollo 11 mission.
The amount of footage and informatio...
