Comedy

Spongebob Squarepants – Extreme Kah-Rah-Tay

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 19th, 2013

Spongebob Squarepants, the flagship cartoon for Nickelodeon for the last few years, has been churning out DVD specials inbetween releases of complete seasons. Sometimes these are linked by a theme (such as the Halloween DVD I reviewed in October http://upcomingdiscs.com/2012/10/15/31-nights-of-terror-spongebob-squarepants-ghouls-fools/) and this would mean taking episodes from numerous seasons. This particular special mostly contains more recent episodes, all of which have some sort of “extreme” or somewhat violent/action oriented story.
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Chris Hardwick – Mandroid

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 19th, 2013

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Chris Hardwick is a card carrying, flag-waving nerd. He is very proud of said nerdiness and has devoted the lion’s share of his career expressing this. Probably best known for his various hosting duties, especially for the Nerdist podcasts, Hardwick gets to display his stand-up chops in his first, full-length DVD special and he does not disappoint.
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Anthony Jeselnik – Caligula

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 12th, 2013

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Probably most known for his roasts on Comedy Central, Anthony Jeselnik offers an hour (included the many long pauses) of stand-up comedy that is 100% bad taste. Dark humour and a huge ego are Jeselnik’s shtick so you have absolutely every reason to walk away from this…except you might actually catching yourself laughing.
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Episodes – The Complete First & Second Seasons

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 7th, 2013

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(I have covered the first season on this site already so this review shall begin with that one then segway into new write-up for Season 2):

A successful writing team, who also happen to be a married couple, are the creators of an award-winning show in the UK that has just completed after four seasons. An American network wishes to create a US version of the show. The couple are flown to LA, put up in a lavish mansion and are introduced to the Hollywood method of creating television…and it nearly destroys them.
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Anger Management: Season One (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on January 6th, 2013

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The following sentence is taken directly from the back of the Blu-ray case for Charlie Sheen’s latest small-screen vehicle: “Charlie thrives on the chaos in his life while still battling his own anger issues.” So it’s fair to say FX’s Anger Management isn’t afraid to blur the line between reality and fiction. It’s actually a good move because the latest TV show tailored specifically to Sheen’s talents doesn’t have much else going for it.
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Tosh.O – Deep V’s

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 19th, 2012

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The debut season of this Comedy Central program was entitled “Hoodies” on it’s DVD and Blu Ray release. Season 2 is called “Deep V’s” in honour of the garment Daniel Tosh, the host, wears in each episode. Very little is different as far as format or new segments are concernced since the last time I wrote about this show (http://upcomingdiscs.com/2012/06/05/tosh-o-hoodies-blu-ray/). To avoid redundancy I shall simply add to that review with a couple new relevant points for this season.
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Heavyweights (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 17th, 2012

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Most Disney live-action kid’s films do not have a kind memory in my heart. They feel contrived, full of soft characters and contain tons of bad comedy. They also proceed to force upon the audience some kind of weak message about morals and attempt to make us feel better about ourselves. This never works. However, today I have a shining light in the sea of bad Disney live-efforts and that film is the 1995 cult classic, Heavyweights.
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Red Dog

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 13th, 2012

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A small mining community in Western Australia get visited by a vagabond dog. This Red Dog (named after the fact that the red dust of that desert region stained his fur that colour) has a deeply significant effect on every worker’s life yet not one of them can truly claim to own him until an American bus driver begins working there. Red Dog was a big fan of hitchhiking across the country and seems to be attracted to riding great distances on a bus with his new best (human) friend.
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Backstage at Budz House

Posted in No Huddle by J C on December 11th, 2012

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Even if you managed to catch the little-seen Budz House when it was released on DVD earlier this year, chances are you weren’t exactly begging for more. (At least not if you’re one of my esteemed colleagues.) The cast of the wannabe cult stoner comedy featured a handful of comedians, some of whom have reunited for this hybrid talk show/stand-up special. Although too many of the jokes rely on tired clichés, these live performers seemed infinitely more comfortable in their natural habitat.
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Eastbound & Down: The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2012

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“I’m back. You’re welcome.”

I didn’t see the series during either of its first two seasons on HBO. When the second season arrived to be reviewed I was more than a little nervous about jumping in without knowing what had come before. Certainly, I checked out the buzz on the show and got an idea of what it was about. But nothing could have prepared me for what I finally encountered when I popped that first disc in my Blu-ray player. It’s safe to say that you can join this show for the third season without having seen the first two.
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The Game – The Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 4th, 2012

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Stemming from a backdoor pilot episode within the series Girlfriends, The Game is a comedy series about a woman (played by Tia Mowry Hardict) who gave up her career as a doctor in light of the success of her boyfriend’s being a star athlete (this is the first pang of misogyny, with more to come). This is the show’s fifth season, which is its second after being canceled by CW and revived by BET.
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Hope Springs

Posted in No Huddle by J C on December 4th, 2012

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Help me out here. I know the traditional gift for a couple’s 25th wedding anniversary is silver and that gold is supposed to mark 50 years. But what do you get a spouse to commemorate your considerably less ceremonial 31-year wedding anniversary? I’m not sure what the answer is, but I don’t think one week of intensive marriage counseling is the conventional way to go.
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Men in Black 3 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2012

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“I promise you the secrets of the universe, nothing more…”

It’s been an astonishing 15 years since Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones first teamed up as Agents J and K respectively for the intergalactic police force Men In Black. The film was like a breath of fresh air. It combined top-flight science fiction fantasy with whimsical humor. It was a hit at the box office, and like most wonderfully original hits it was quickly followed by a sequel that had almost none of the cleverness and freshness of the original film.
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Christmas in Compton

Posted in No Huddle by J C on November 27th, 2012

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“‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the hood/Not a hater was stirring, cuz it was all good.”

With Thanksgiving in our rearview mirror, ‘tis officially the season of packed shopping malls and cheesy Christmas movies. Most of these flicks will air on ABC Family or the Hallmark Channel over the next few weeks, but Santa got ahead of himself and recently delivered Christmas in Compton to my doorstep. Though the film has more on its mind than its dopey cover art suggests, I kinda wish Santa had also left me a gift receipt.
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I Heart Shakey

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 21st, 2012

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A single father gets a major job offer working in a prestigious Chicago restaurant, but the job requires him to move his entire family from out of their hometown of Toledo. They are set up with a new apartment but their dog, Shakey, is not permitted in the building. This family must then decide whether staying for this swanky job is worth losing a member of the family, or is there any other alternatives to losing Shakey?
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Friends: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2012

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“So no one told you life was gonna be this way. Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s D O A. It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear. When it hasn’t been your day, your week ,your month or even your year. But I’ll be there for you…”

And for ten years and 236 episodes, they were there for you. It was part of NBC’s famous Must See TV Thursday Night. The show has been a perennial Top 10 placeholder in the Nielsen ratings.
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My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2012

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“Nice Greek girls are supposed to do three things: marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone until the day we die.”

If ever a movie could be negatively affected by monstrous box office numbers, it’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding. When a five-million-dollar film rides a tsunami of critical buzz and excellent word-of-mouth past the two hundred million dollar box office gross (finally ending somewhere over $230 million), it’s impossible to see it for the first time completely free of expectation.
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Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 10th, 2012

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After watching Tyler Perry’s Awkward Attempt at Action Stardom less than a month ago, it was oddly comforting to see the multi-media superstar back in his wheelhouse. Don’t get me wrong: I like to see a performer expand his horizons. It’s just that Perry looks infinitely more comfortable in his signature character’s wig and muumuu than tracking down a serial killer and grimly saying things like “I will meet his soul at the gates of hell before I let him take a person that I love from me.”
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Ruby Sparks (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on November 4th, 2012

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“Quirky, messy women whose problems only make them endearing are not real.”

On the surface, Ruby Sparks could be mistaken for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl biopic no one asked for. In case you’re not familiar with this particular cinematic archetype, MPDG derisively describes any unabashedly artsy, quirky young female character that inevitably brightens the life of a brooding, young male protagonist. However, the quote at the start of this review only hints at the fact that this whimsical romantic comedy isn’t afraid to stare down the ugly side of relationships.
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Holliston: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 17th, 2012

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When I first learned that Adam Green (director of Hatchet and Frozen) would be creating a show to air on Fear Net, this seemed like a slice of heaven to me. I love horror, and with the exception of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story there just hasn’t been much to watch from the genre. So when I discovered that Green was going to be actually developing a sit-com instead, it would be fair to say I was more than a little disappointed by this news. But then I was given a glimmer of hope when I heard it would be about a pair of struggling horror filmmakers. As a film graduate and a lover of horror, this instantly became something relatable to me.
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“31 Nights of Terror” Spongebob Squarepants – Ghouls Fools

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 15th, 2012

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There have been numerous DVD releases of Spongebob episodes that are linked together by a theme. Holidays are obvious choices and Halloween is an inevitable choice for any series that has multiple seasons under their belt. As expected as it may be, that does not dampen the loony fun that comes along with Sponebob.
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“31 Nights of Terror” Jeff Dunham: Minding the Monsters (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 13th, 2012

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“I thought this was a family show.”

“Well, it depends on your family.”

Quick, who is the highest-grossing stand-up comic in America? Well, if you follow the live comedy scene — or you can’t help but notice you’re reading a review for one of his shows — you probably know the answer is Jeff Dunham. The man has single-handedly made ventriloquism cool again. (Pause.) Well he’s made it astoundingly lucrative, anyway.
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 7th, 2012

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“I don’t want to grow older, to become marginalized and ignored by society. I don’t want to be the first person they let off the plane in a hostage crisis.”

Normally, a movie has to have the words “Harry” and “Potter” in its title to attract the caliber of British acting talent assembled for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The characters in the film may be in the twilight of their lives, but the performers who play them are at the top of their game.
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Modern Family: The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2012

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We all remember Ed O’Neill as Al Bundy from Married With Children. It’s an iconic role that he’ll never be able to shake no matter what he does for the rest of his life. After that series ended its 11-year run, he even attempted to get out of comedy and take more dramatic roles. I’m sure there was a deliberate intent to try to distance himself from Al. It’s not that he likely didn’t love playing the role. He just wanted to avoid getting forever typecast in the mold. Those efforts weren’t all that successful. But now he’s back where he belongs again in a pretty solid sit-com.
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Key & Peele: Season One (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 2nd, 2012

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It’s been quite some time since The Chappelle Show went off the air, and it would appear Comedy Central has finally found its replacement. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the two shows are on the same par, but what Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele bring to the small screen is something that has peaked my interest and shows some potential. Both Key and Peele got their big breaks from working on the sketch comedy show MADtv, and it would seem they are taking their talents and what they learned to bring us something that is a little familiar but still fresh, and keeps its audience laughing.
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