Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 14th, 2013
When the show ended in 1966 it was still one of the most popular shows on television. Both Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore wanted to do something else. Both were made confident by the huge stardom the show provided them, but neither was ever able to reproduce the magic here. Of course, Mary Tyler Moore found great success with a different kind of show in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. That one would go on to become a classic in its own right.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 13th, 2013
“Well, when you love someone you don’t have to be nice all the time.”
In this current age of message boards and morning-after recaps, the pressure is on to make your voice the loudest if you want to be heard in the wilderness of the Internet. For snarky TV critics, that often means declaring something is either the “Best ____ Ever” or the “Worst ____ Ever”, with little room for anything in-between. But even within these sharply-divided times, I believe HBO’s Girls — which is brilliant just as often as it is maddening — stands out as the most polarizing show on TV.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 5th, 2013
The fact that Kumail Nanjiani decided to call his first Comedy Central special Beta Male immediately gives you a sense of his self-deprecating style. Fortunately, the ability to laugh at himself is merely one of many comedic gifts this on-the-rise comic possesses. This consistently funny, frequently hilarious hour-long set — filmed in Austin’s Moody Theater — touches on a wide range of topics, including his Muslim upbringing, cats disguised as pizza delivery men, and outdated rollercoasters.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 10th, 2013
Oregon may have been the 33rd state to join our union — and Portland may be its most populous city — but Portlandia is a (dog-dressing, raw milk-drinking, Seattle-hating) state of mind. And after three seasons of lovingly mocking upper middle class indulgence along with the denizens of the Pacific Northwest, Portlandia — created by stars Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and director Jonathan Krisel — feels more like a fully-realized destination than ever.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2013
When one thinks of The Dick Van Dyke Show it's hard not to think of its star Dick Van Dyke. After all, it's his name on the opening credits, and he does play the lead character in this groundbreaking television comedy. There's little question that the show became a wonderful vehicle for his many comedic talents. But the genius behind the show wasn't really Dick Van Dyke at all. It was Carl Reiner (yes, Meathead's father) who is the true brains behind the show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 25th, 2013
Every generation since “X” has lionized its slackers and frat boys with films (perhaps earlier if you look to Animal House as the beginning). Workaholics dances between this honouring of the stoner/slacker lifestyle and satirizing it. This show's third season is just like the previous two. Three best friends, Adam, Anders and Blake, spend their work days with pranks, pot and parties on their minds, and each episode showcases their adventures therein.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2013
"Welcome to the wonderful world of magic."
They say that the hand is quicker than the eye. Through the art of misdirection and skillful manipulation we have been awed by magicians ever since Glog made Ooof's club disappear somewhere in Mesopotamia circa 20,000 BC. It's not all skill, really. The truth is we've always wanted to be fooled. We're begging for "magicians" to tamper with our sense of reality. I don't know how fast the hand happens to be, but today we're fooled at the speed of 24 frames per second (unless you happen to be Peter Jackson)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 30th, 2013
Before Jay & Silent Bob, Harold & Kumar, and Seth Rogen, James Franco and their current band of merry stoners, there was Cheech & Chong. In terms of pot humor, they were the trailblazers who happily blazed on screen and on stage. The comedy duo’s popularity hit its apex with the release of 1978’s Up in Smoke, which became the year’s highest-grossing comedy. Still, Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong’s roots were always in music.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 1st, 2013
When The Sandlot first came out 20 years ago, I connected to the coming-of-age baseball story as strongly as Babe Ruth connected with one of his titanic, 400-foot homers. I grew up in baseball-obsessed Puerto Rico and I happened to be the exact same age as dorky protagonist Scotty Smalls. Though I’ve kept in touch with the film over the years, Fox’s new 20th Anniversary Blu-ray re-release of The Sandlot marked my first time watching it from start to finish in a long while. It surely won’t be the last.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 25th, 2013
The great, central joke of Veep — HBO’s sharp, profane political comedy — is that no self-respecting politician aspires to become the Vice President of the United States. (Just like no self-respecting kid dresses up as Robin for Halloween.) It’s no accident the POTUS is completely MIA from the show, leaving his second-in-command and her beleaguered staff to deal with the countless indignities of a job described on “The Making of Veep” featurette as “so close to being important.”
