Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 22nd, 2010
One of the lesser-known, but more visible, provisions of the Obama administration's stimulus bill is the provision that there must be at least one Sandra Bullock movie in the theatres at all times, regardless of quality. So now, as Bullock collects awards for her turn in the enormously profitable The Blind Side, here is the summer's offering making its home video debut. Our heroine this time around is a deeply eccentric crossword creator whose social skills are somewhere south of Pee-Wee Herman's. Her parents set her up on a blind date with TV news cameraman Bradley Cooper. She is immediately smitten. He is immediately terrified. He heads out on the road, working with reporter Thomas Haden Church. Faster than you can say “restraining order,” Bullock takes off after him. Cue the merry cross-country picaresque chase.
Never let it be said that Sandra Bullock is anything less than gifted when it comes to physical comedy. Her amorous lunge for Cooper, brought up short by a seat belt, is one for the books, echoing the dog-on-a-chain gag from Looney Tunes. She is also very good at inhabiting characters, and she does so very well here. Too well, in fact, as she very convincingly creates a protagonist you wouldn't be able to stand being around for five minutes, let alone the 99 of the movie. Yes, the film is aware of its creepy premise, and yes, it allows a tiny (very tiny) measure of realism to squeeze into the fantasy of its finale, but for the most part, this is a flat, unengaging and unsympathetic would-be romantic comedy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2010
Weeds started out as something very different from the 13 half hour episodes you will find in the 5th season release. In the beginning Weeds was an offbeat look at a suburban housewife who turns to selling pot to make ends meet. It was a very whimsical change of pace from what was commonly being offered on the networks in that half hour situation comedy dominated world most of us have grown tired of. The characters were certainly outside of the general mold, and their eccentric nature made the show entertaining, if not for the masses, for a tight cult following.
But a lot has changed here, and this series has become a bad parody of itself. Nancy Botwin (Parker) is no longer that suburban housewife. Her husband is now dead, and she's taken her pot selling operation to an international level. By the end of season four, Nancy was involved with big-time drug kingpins and was operating out of Mexico. The fifth season picks right up where those chaotic events left off. Nancy is about to be killed by Esteban (Bichir) when she drops the bomb that she is carrying his child. So for most of the season she lives day to day, under guard from Esteban's thugs waiting for him to decide if and when she finds her way to a landfill. Meanwhile her sons have gotten into the family business as well. Shane (Gould) is selling pot to his high school English teacher. Silas (Parrish) has gone into the medical marijuana business with cousin Doug (Nealon). They, in turn, are paying extortion to the local chubby cop. At the same time Celia (Perkins) has been kidnapped by her daughter and her new boyfriend who is running a rebel camp out in the wilderness. They are hoping for a ransom, but the situation ends up taking a page out of O Henry's Ransom Of Red Chief, and no one is willing to pay a dime to get her back. Andy (Kirk) comes into some money but blows it on video games and the General Lee car from The Dukes Of Hazzard. Still, he tries to take responsibility and is there for Nancy, even if she does tend to just use him. If all of this sounds like a bit of a jumble, it all leads to an off-again on-again romance with Esteban who is running for public office. And it's not his murders, drug trafficking, or police corruption that is holding him back. It's his relationship with a gringo woman. Go figure. I can't.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 20th, 2010
"Let me know when the Governor gets here."
Well, he's in the house, and I'm going to get a lot of razzing for this review of Last Action Hero. The person who thought I should see a shrink for looking forward to the next Saw film is going to be calling for my outright commitment to an institution dedicated to covering walls with nice padding so we won't hurt ourselves. I know this film is generally considered "bad" by critics and moviegoers alike. It swept the Razzies in 1993 and has since been only the kind of film 10 year olds would really like to see. Me, I've always simply loved this film. From the first time I saw it at the box office, I was hooked. It was one of the first new laserdiscs I bought back in the day, and I watched the heck out of that disc. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love this movie.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 12th, 2010
I'll be honest, at first Chuck sounded like a pretty bad idea to me. I expected it to be a kind of modern Get Smart with a reluctant geek hero. And that's pretty much what it turned out to be. Except it turned out to also be pretty darn entertaining as well. It all really starts with a solid cast and tightly written stories. Each episode manages to capture just the right blend of drama and comedy. I resist the trendy word dramedy, but if any series fits the mold, it would have to be Chuck.
In the first season we met Chuck Bartowski (Levi). He was a super smart student at Stanford when his best friend Bryce Larkin (Bomer) set him up to take the fall as a cheater and be kicked out of school in disgrace. The only job he can get now is working at the Buy More (Best Buy) on the Nerd Herd (Geek Squad). But Bryce wasn't done with Chuck yet. Turns out that Bryce is a CIA agent who has been working on the top secret project called Intersect. The Intersect is a computer program that can down load the entire government's database into a person's brain through a series of coded flash images. Not content with getting him kicked out of school, Bryce tricks Chuck into getting the Intersect inside his brain. Now Chuck is an important government asset and in need of protecting. Enter CIA agent Sarah Walker (Strahovski) who is Chuck's CIA handler. Their cover is boyfriend and girlfriend, which confuses Chuck's family and friends who never thought he could get such a hot girlfriend. The muscle for the team is Agent John Casey (Baldwin), who resents being assigned to such a lame mission. Not only do they have to keep Chuck and the Intersect safe, but they must take untrained Chuck on their missions because of the intel stashed in his brain. While Chuck is not consciously aware of the information he carries, when he sees something that triggers a piece of the data, something they call flashing, he is able to access the relevant data. The bad guys are part of an organization called Fulcrum which is this show's Kaos or Spectre.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 7th, 2010
High school was a nightmare for me, I try to forget most of it. For me, there was no 10 year high school reunion and I was glad I never went. Speaking of ten & high school, this is the 10th year anniversary of 10 Things I Hate About You, a Gil Junger comedy that helped launch quite a few careers. As such, they made the leap to Blu-Ray with a well-done anniversary edition. But how does the movie hold up?
Cameron James (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is new to Padua High School. He is assigned another student, Michael Eckman (played by David Krumholtz) to show him around. Michael introduces him to the various groups of kids and they start to develop a friendship. Cameron then spots a girl, Bianca Stratford (played by Larisa Oleynik) and his life would never be the same.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 6th, 2010
I've seen some dysfunctional families on television over the years. Haven't we all. It's fun to laugh at someone else's flaws. Along comes Showtime, and it's rather hard to classify the series The United States Of Tara. This one takes dysfunction to a whole new level. Tara (Collette) suffers from multiple personality disorder. Laughing yet? She has managed to control the problem by using medications and attending frequent therapy sessions. But the medication is sapping her creative ability. You see, Tara was once a gifted artist. She painted murals and was somewhat critically acclaimed. The meds put an end to all of that. With the blessings of her family, Tara goes off the meds, and the family grows by 4. Yes, there are 4 "alters" as she calls them inside of Tara's body. Now they are all coming out to play.
The first thing you have to understand about this show is who the alters happen to be. We learn over time that they were constructed by Tara's mind to protect her from a traumatic moment in her life. Tara can't remember the event, but from time to time, the alters offer up little clues to what might have taken place. She is totally aware of the alters and their personalities. The family has developed some protection techniques of their own. Husband Max (Corbett) is not allowed to have sex with the alters. They've decided that would be cheating. How about just f**ked up? The kids are to treat the alters as they are, not as Mom. I'll introduce you to the "real" people later. Here are Tara's alters:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2010
Few television situational comedies have produced the stable of A-list stars that this one did. Every one of these cast members were relatively unknown at the time that Taxi was taking fares on our television sets each week. Not so today. The cast was so remarkable that it is here that I decided to spend much of my review. The episodes were often funny, even more often hilarious. But after all of these years, it is the characters that are most remembered by the fans. Yeah, we all have our favorite moments. Many of them in this release. And I’ll get to those moments, but first:
Playing the hard-nosed and lecherous dispatcher for The Sunshine Cab Company was Danny DeVito. He spent most of his Taxi days sitting in a cage barking orders and insults with equal frequency to the crew of drivers in the garage. Each of them had dreams beyond the yellow sedans, and Louie took great pleasure in watching them try and ultimately fail to achieve their dreams. Of course, DeVito went on to star in a boatload of feature films and never looked back.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 4th, 2010
Parker Lewis Can’t Lose as anyone could guess was heavily influenced by the cult classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It lasted for three seasons and seventy three episodes. It actually did a fair amount of decent ratings (as far as Fox was concerned) during the run. The living cartoon as many have described it has kept its fans through the years. As a result, Shout Factory has decided to go ahead with the release of the 2nd season. Hopefully it still keeps its charm after all of these years.
For those who are not familiar with the show, let me spend a few moments setting up the show. The three main characters of the show are Jerry Steiner (played by Troy Slaten), Mikey Randall (played by Billy Jayne) and of course Parker Lewis (played by Corin Nemec). Parker is the quintessential slacker and cool attendee at the Santo Domingo High School.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2009
It seems to be commonly believed that Robin Williams’ acting career took an abrupt change from outlandish, eccentric comedic choices (Aladdin) to more dark, complex and satirical roles in the early ‘00s (Death to Smoochy). But Williams has always played both ends of the spectrum and roughly everything in between. He channeled a father willing to do whatever it takes to reconnect with his children in the 1993 classic Mrs. Doubtfire, a role that nabbed him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. In writer and director Bobcat Goldthwait’s latest film, Williams once again plays a single dad, but this time he’s struggling to raise his crude, sex-obsessed teenage son.
Lance Clayton (Williams) is a high school poetry teacher whose class receives little interest from the student body and even less faith from the administration. He’s involved in a secret relationship with the perky, much-younger art teacher, Claire (Alexie Gilmore), and is constantly reminded of his own insecurities as a boyfriend — and rejected author — when Claire starts getting close to hot-shot English teacher Mike (Henry Simmons).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2009
Disney has a knack for turning television shows into profitable movie franchises-- Lizzy McGuire, Hannah Montana, and now The Wizards of Waverly Place. Since the formula hasn’t deferred much, it should come as no surprise that its latest show has caught on like wildfire. In the wake of a Harry Potter-crazed nation of tweens, Disney’s latest show follows the Russos—former wizard father Jerry (David DeLuise), non-magical mother Theresea (Maria Canals-Barrera) and their three wizards-in-training. Unlike previous Disney Channel shows, Wizards offers a refreshing cultural spin on the situational comedy with the Italian-Mexican heritage of its starring family.
The show focuses on the three children: Alex, Justin and Max. Alex (Selena Gomez) is a modern day archetypical Disney lead—a fresh-faced girl with an appetite for disobedience and a sharp tongue. She retaliates with rolled eyes and a snarky remark for nearly every parental request. Justin (David Henrie) is the Golden Child—an attractive young man who’s not above ratting out his younger sister to save his own skin. The youngest child, Max, is played by Jake T. Austin, and he essentially provides the comic relief. He’s goofy, annoying as many younger siblings are, and more confident than any pre-teen kid I’ve met lately. None of these characters are seemingly likable, but that hasn’t stopped the show from being one of the most-watched cable programs ever since its premiere on October 12, 2007. So, naturally, a movie was in Wizards’ midst. And what an impression it made. 11.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the August 28 premiere, making it Disney Channel’s second highest rated film.
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