Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 28th, 2012
Josephine Baker was an international sensation who faced adversity all her career because of the colour of her skin. Terrified and sickened by the treatment of black people in the US, Baker fled to France where she found joy, fame and fair treatment as an entertainer. As her career exploded into super-stardom, she was more than just an exotic singer/dancer, she became a war hero and civil rights defender.
After being teased during the opening credits with visions of Baker performing an intimidatingly sexualized dance, we are shown her traumatic childhood experience of witnessing race riots in St. Louis; riots that cost the lives of many black people and helped to enforce Baker's decision to flee the US as soon as she could. Before her exodus, she made a name for herself as a vaudeville comedienne, often performing in black-face. Stifled by the racist laws of the early American 1900s, Baker did not hesitate to tour Paris with a band of performers. Said tour would turn into her permanent residence in France.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 27th, 2012
Carlos Santana is too cool for words. When I say that, I refer to both his widely-acknowledged status as a "Guitar God" and to the fact that he doesn't utter a single word until the 21-minute mark of his latest concert film, Santana — Live at Montreux 2011. Santana may not be chatty, but he and the rest of his eponymous band do a valiant job of holding your attention throughout most of this 167-minute concert in Montreux (which is in Switzerland, and I'm only a little ashamed to admit I had no idea where Montreux was located before I watched this disc).
The music starts almost immediately after you press play — following a short and sweet on-stage introduction by festival creator Claude Nobs — and what follows is a no-frills performance with minimal between-song banter that will nevertheless delight fans of salsa, jazz and rock and roll, genres that Santana has been masterfully fusing for decades. Santana performs his most popular hits — including "Black Magic Woman", "Oye Como Va", "Smooth" and "Maria, Maria" — a few personal favorites of mine (like the playful "Foo Foo") and more than a handful of instrumental numbers that seamlessly blend into one another. There were a couple of instances where I didn't even realize a new song had started until I checked the handy track list on the pop-up menu. (That 23-track song list also allows you to skip ahead to your favorite tunes.)
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on February 27th, 2012
What takes 13.7 billion years.? The history of the world. This History Channel special takes two hours to cover everything. Of course, Earth is only 4.5 billion years old, so when we talk about the history of the world, we are really talking about the history of the universe and everything that led up to where we are now. Little things like a gigantic planetary collision which then shoots off molten debris which forms into our moon.
3.8 billion years ago, something happened all over the planet. Bacteria. This was the beginning of life.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on February 25th, 2012
“At this very moment, I have no desire to stab you in the neck.”
Between Weeds and Nurse Jackie, Showtime has the corner on shows about drugged up, ethically challenged women. The great Edie Falco somehow keeps Nurse Jackie relatable even though she is an unrepentant drug addict, thief and manipulative narcissist. It doesn’t hurt being surrounded by such a smart supporting cast and given lines that crackle with poignancy and humor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 24th, 2012
One of the more popular characters from the Shrek franchise steps into the starring spotlight here, in an adventure whose locale is rather different from the familiar swamp-forest-castle fairy-tale settings of the parent films. Seeking to steel magic beans from the husband-and-wife thugs Jack and Jill, Puss (Antonio Banderas) and rival Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) become caught up in a wild scheme masterminded by the duplicitous Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis).
The plot is really more of a premise, serving as the means to set up a grab bag of set pieces (an extended flashback showing Puss and Humpty’s past, and how the latter betrayed the former; the spectacular sprouting of the beanstalk; the dance-off between Puss and Kitty and the Glitter Box). There is a lot going on here, and the jokes come a fast clip. Younger viewers will likely get the most out of this, but there are plenty of bones thrown to the adults in the crowd, including such touches as the in-joke casting of Banderas and Hayek bringing in a whiff of Desperado to the antics. The animation is stunning, and while I can’t speak to the 3D theatrical incarnation of the film, it looks simply stunning in 2D.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 24th, 2012
"There's no need to fear. Underdog is here!"
Indeed, Underdog was the champion of many a child's fantasies in the 1960's when it first reached the airwaves. The show would become the most famous title from the team at Total Television Productions who also brought us the likes of Tennessee Tuxedo and his many friend.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on February 24th, 2012
After watching The Son of No One, I'm afraid I have some good news and (significantly more) bad news. The good news is that I get to say the following sentence for the first time in at least ten years: Al Pacino was probably the best thing in this movie. The bad news is Pacino has only a relatively tiny role in this dramatically stagnant crime drama that ends up squandering a talented cast, a vividly-realized setting and some interesting ideas.
Channing Tatum stars as Jonathan White, a young cop who has been transferred to the 118th Precinct in Queens where his late father was a cop and located in the same district where White grew up. The precinct's captain (Ray Liotta) is troubled by some anonymous letters published in a small local newspaper by a persistent reporter (a miscast Juliette Binoche). The letters claim the police covered up two murders 16 years ago in the same neglected housing project where White grew up.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 24th, 2012
The seventh season of Matlock brought more of the same. If you’re a fan, that’s very good news indeed. What is that, you ask? Imagine Sheriff Andy Taylor older and now an attorney, and you pretty much have the setup for Matlock. Forget for a second that both characters were played by Andy Griffith. That’s not all they have in common. Matlock is every bit the “southern gentleman” that Taylor was. He might be a little smarter, but he walks and talks like Andy Taylor. The series did, however, jump networks with this season. After spending six seasons on NBC, the show moved to ABC with a couple of changes. Michelle, played by Nancy Stafford left the show as the 6th season was originally considered the series finale. As the 7th opens Matlock's older daughter Leanne enters the partnership, played by Brynn Thayer. Law graduate Cliff Lewis, played by Daniel Roebuck, also joins the firm as a new lawyer.
Matlock began life as a television movie from Dean Hargrove, who brought us Columbo. Hargrove would later work the same magic with Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder. In fact, the two shows could easily have been companion pieces. Both featured sit-com stars from the 1950’s and 60’s who had become somewhat iconic characters. Both would don the role of professionals. Both shows would subscribe to the “formula” mode of storytelling. Diary Of A Perfect Murder would set up the Matlock formula. It’s simple, really. Matlock was a lawyer in Atlanta. Some wronged defendant, usually charged with murder, would show up asking for Matlock’s help. Matlock and his team would investigate the crime with an eye toward, as OJ Simpson is fond of saying, finding the real killer. His team consisted of his daughter Charlene, herself a competent lawyer, and Tyler Hudson (Holliday), his private investigator. In the pilot the Matlock character was less Andy Taylor and a little more slick at first. I’m sure that while it was intended to show Matlock’s prowess as a high-priced attorney, somewhere along the line it became obvious that the show’s finest asset was Griffith himself and that southern charm he was already famous for. Whatever the reason, you can see the character soften significantly during the early episodes of the season. And that decision was a smart one, as Matlock would continue for nearly a decade.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 23rd, 2012
Looking over my sports dvd library, one might notice a lot of contact type titles. From Wrestling to MMA to high intensity action films, I have my fill of male testosterone fueled viewing. The question remained what would I think of some bare knuckled fist fighting in the documentary that took over ten years to make: Knuckle. Would it be simply too barbaric or would I crave more?
We see a man punching a bag held by another man with his bare fists and then the same guy sparring later on the beach. This soon prompts a scene with a police cruiser where they have to explain themselves that not only are they shooting a documentary that has lasted the last ten years but this Irish man is preparing for an upcoming fight in London. This man is simply known by the name of James Quinn McDonagh. And the credits roll.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2012
"The darker picture is always the correct one. When you read the history of the world you are reading a saga of bloodshed and greed and folly the import of which is impossible to ignore. And yet we imagine that the future will somehow be different."
One thing that is absolutely different is HBO's The Sunset Limited. I can assure you that this film is unlike any movie you've ever seen before, or are likely to see again. There are a lot of reasons for this, of course. The most glaring difference is that the film is staged and performed very much like a live stage performance. You will get the feeling almost immediately that you are watching a play rather than a movie. It's a natural enough sensation when you consider the film has been written by Cormac McCarthy from his own stage play. The entire film takes place in a rather depressing and claustrophobic tenement apartment. The furniture is sparse and worn. The smell of poverty prevails in every inch of the small space. All of this brings us into more intimate contact with the players and enhances that feeling of watching a play.
