Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 31st, 2008
Director's cut can be a misleading term. The very definition of cut means to take away. A lot of Director's Cuts add in footage to the original release to make it longer. Then there are Director's Cuts which don't even involve the director. They involve a team which could possibly care less about whether the finished product resembles a movie or a saturday morning cartoon. Then there are Director's Cuts which involve a family member like a son. That my friends is another animal indeed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2008
What started as a Neil Simon play and eventual film became one of ABC’s most endearing comedies of the 1970’s. One could credit the clever premise of putting a neat freak and a slob under the same roof. One might look to the fact that both the film and play were considerable hits to explain the success of the series. The truth is, it was none of these things. Plenty of hit films have spawned crappy shows. Remember That Big Fat Greek Wedding? Even Neil Simon plays have been the starting point for bad television. Remember Barefoot In The Park? My point exactly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 22nd, 2008
Screwball comedies can be fun, sometimes. The comedy where the main cast members have the intelligence of a three-toed sloth...combined. Dumb & Dumber was a good example. Gags that get created simply on the premise of their inadequate brain power. However, Dumb & Dumber created an awful sequel. What's worse is that created a few wannabes in the process. One of those films arguably is Brothers Solomon. However, this viewer hoped just for a second that I wouldn't be holding my head in my lap the entire ninety three minutes asking for my very painful headache to go away.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2008
It's not often that a review starts with the final score, but I'm going to break that rule. Go out and buy this DVD set. Stop reading this review, leave your residence, and go directly to your nearest DVD retailer for a copy of the 3-disc version of Hot Fuzz. When I first watched Shaun of the Dead, I was absolutely blown away at how deftly creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright were able to mix the comedy, spoof and horror genres into one of the most entertaining and original films of the decade. While I had high hopes for the follow up project, deep down I was expecting to find a case of the sophomore slump; a good film that manages to fall short of the success of the debut. Not only was my gut feeling dead wrong, but I am of the opinion that the two have actually been able to surpass their previous success. Shaun of the Dead was not a fluke, but merely a warm-up to the amazing success of Hot Fuzz.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 16th, 2008
So from time to time, I get television shows to review that frankly I don't really follow. However, my wife does, so she grabbed the tenth season of Frasier from me quicker than a crackhead getting a fix at the methadone clinic. I encourage you to peruse and enjoy her literary stylings.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 16th, 2008
What we've got here is a nasty case of the Sequels. Rush Hour, the original Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker vehicle, was a fun action-comedy with an amusing twist on the buddy-cop genre. Rush Hour 2 was a re-hash, bigger but not better, but still worth a rent. Six years later, Rush Hour 3 proves the third time is definitely not the charm, with 121 minutes of recycled gags, bad acting and uninspiring action.
This two-disc release may be a top-notch DVD, but I certainly hope you don't get suckered by a nice transfer, good audio and a whole whack of extras. No matter how well you dress it up, this film's a walking, talking turd.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 14th, 2008
Two of my favorite comedies are Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and the first Mortal Kombat(well perhaps it wasn't meant to be a comedy). Films that have slapstick humor with a good sporting event of where the underdog wins in the end over their lavishly dressed opponents. Balls of Fury was to take that one step further by going into the dangerous underworld of Ping Pong and parody old kungfu tournament stories in the process. With an array of famous character actors including Christopher Walken; how could one not enjoy the game the Chinese call "Peing Poong"?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 14th, 2008
Political humor has been around since the dawn of time. Just go look at History of the World Part One. Of course, these days, comedians aren't getting fed to the lions. In fact, on some occasions they are even invited to the White House. Bill Maher has been doing leftist political comedy for quite some time. I had not watched him on standup in nearly 20 years (One Night Stands) prior to receiving this dvd but I have enjoyed his show Politically Incorrect fairly recently. I honestly hoped that it wouldn't be all political humor but we shall soon see.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 8th, 2008
Nathan Maguire (David Leon) is having a very bad day. The boneheaded bully at school has it in for him. Jessica (Samantha Mumba), the girl he loves, doesn’t show up for their meeting where he was finally going to declare his feelings, and then he sees her in the car of one of the local studs. Plus he gets soaked in the rain. And just to cap things off, he is accidentally hanged, and his distraught mother performs a voodoo ritual to bring him back from the dead, only the manual was missing a page and he returns as an infectious zombie. Oops.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2008
The only place that I think anyone would really know Andy Samberg is as the brains behind some of the hilarious Saturday Night Live digital shorts over the last couple of years. The most notable being a Christmas gift that you can give your beloved. A gift you can make yourself, using three easy steps. Step one, cut a whole in the box…
