Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 6th, 2011
Monster mash-ups have been with us for almost as long as there have been monster movies. Universal gave us Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. The Japanese delivered Godzilla vs. King Kong. Dracula's taken on Jesse James, and Universal brought the whole band together for two House Of movies and an Abbott And Costello romp. In recent years we've been treated or subjected to, depending on your own point of view, Freddy vs. Jason and Alien vs. Predator and its rematch. Lately, SyFy has been attempting to create an entire subgenre out of the monster mash-up idea. One of those movies happens to be Mega Python vs. Gatoroid.
This one takes advantage of several themes. The movie serves as a vehicle for two 1980's teen singing idols who were just barely bigger than one-hit wonders. Debbie Gibson went from Tiger Beat in the 80's to Playboy Magazine in 2005. Her career hits a new low with this camp disaster. Tiffany was so cool she figured she just needed one name. Her big hit was I Think We're Alone Now; if only.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 6th, 2011
A pair of serial “gawkers” are getting into awkward spots in their marriages until their wives offer them a 6-day “Hall Pass” that grants them freedom to act as single men for that time. As each couple go their separate ways, each do battle with the temptation to act on their freedom, versus learn some sort of lesson about the virtues of domestic monogamy.
Each scene has the actors standing in such a staged manner that nothing feels natural about this film. Not that the token R-rated language and lowbrow gags didn't already give that effect, but there is something to be said about actors being able to deliver their lines without cheating their bodies towards the audience, as if this were a theatre production. If only this were some magical new form of performing where a camera is able to show the audience angles of a performer we cannot see from stage, without the actor having to move at all! My goodness, what a marvel that would be! Alas, the Farrely bros have forgotten what century we live in and let each scene look the first off-book day for amateurs in an Intro to Comedy Acting course.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 6th, 2011
There is hardly any differentiation between the Jackass series and its films, aside from a few more celebrity cameos and bigger budget stunts as the years have gone by. A testament to this is the “.5” editions of each film, which are literally cobbled together using rejected sketches and stunts from the original release. Unlike when such films as X-Men or Spiderman put out a DVD called 1.5 or some such, this is not simply an expanded version of the original release, but a whole new film. Saying that the Jackass series has X amount of seasons on TV or X amount of movies is relatively useless because that would suggested there is a more defined time line in their history, and we'd have to exclude the copy-cats and offshoots such as Viva La Bam and Wildboyz in the canon. These boys have been filming for over a decade and whenever they get 3 hours worth of usable footage, they put out two movies (one to theatres, one straight-to video), that's the basic gist of it.
There is honestly not that can be criticized because, at this point, audiences know exactly what they're in for when it comes to Jackass. Mind you, those that are fans will notice that the stunts have become tamer. In some backwards way, some of the older stunts had either a way of being entertaining for being clever or cute in perfectly harmless ways, or even slightly educational when it came to becoming human guinea pigs for tazers, rubber bullets or other devices that are being used to harm humans on purpose. The stars of Jackass have become just that: “stars.” They have invested many injuries and humiliations to get to where they are today, and are not as willing to take chances these days. There was an interesting bit about paranoia and just how miserable being on a Jackass set can be because pranks can happen at any point. Perhaps some of the stars' hesitation comes from being exhausted of being victimized whenever they turn their backs or attempt to nap.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 5th, 2011
Dear John centers around a soldier, John Tyree (Channing Tatum) who falls in love with a college student, Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) while he is back home on leave. This film is adapted from the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name and directed by the melodramatic romance aficionado Lasse Hallstrom. If you are looking for a romance tale that offers very little surprises, look no further.
Hallstrom and Sparks seems to be a match made in heaven. For the better part of a decade, Hallstrom has entirely dedicated himself to romantic films: Chocolat, The Shipping News and Casanova. These films do not really demonstrate a form of versatility. Usually, I am fascinated with directors or writers that stay in their proverbial lane. They are not interested in writing or directing anything other than the genre that has garnered them any form of success. Sparks churns out the same romance novels because there is an appetite for them. Hallstrom provides the same service with romance films. Therefore, from a studio’s perspective, why wouldn’t you want to make film with these two?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 4th, 2011
The story begins with the immediate validation of superstition. Anesi Gebara is the head of an illegal lottery and so numbers are crucially linked to his life, both in his work and in the aforementioned superstitions that haunt his life.
The first episode features Gebara's dearest son, Anesinho, killing himself, and the rest of the series follows his remaining 3 sons as they vie to take Anesinho's respected place. As seems to be customary with the majority of HBO programs, dark secrets about each character's past come to light before our eyes. Said secrets often involving lurid sex and death (again, staples in the HBO realm).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 3rd, 2011
Capadocia: Un Lugar Sin Perdon is an HBO Latin America Original that showcases both the political and social angles of an experimental penitentiary in Mexico City. The penitentiary exploits the inmates as a form of cheap labor for the government. A riot begins that uncovers the violent truths behind the experimental prison and viewers are thrust into the lives of these female inmates. This series depicts the complexities of prison life as well as the political posturing that takes place. There is plenty of emotion in this series and it is executed at a very high
level.
The performances in this series are brilliant. Much like the HBO original series Oz, there is a proliferation of important characters. With a series such as this, each character needs to be both written and performed exceptionally well. Oz achieved transcendence as a series because it had its share of memorable characters. This series uses a similar template by engaging its audience with a range of interesting personalities. For example, Lorena Guerra (Ana De La Reguera) is a common housewife that commits a crime of passion when she walks in on her husband with her best friend. Once she enters the prison, her performance becomes exceptional as she reacts to the brutality of the violence. A character comparison to Oz would be Tobias Beecher. Guerra and Beecher both are introduced as wide eyed optimists and the system chews them into tougher individuals.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 1st, 2011
And now we enter the final year of The Medium. The final season has several bright spots. On Bring Your Daughter To Work Day, Paulie Walnuts, Tony Sirico, plays a mob guy ghost that keeps haunting Allison. It's a rather nice episode, and Sirico gets to provide some wonderful moments that remind us of his days with The Sopranos. Scanlon gets to be a ghost, for a short time. Allison has a vision of the future. John Glover even gets to play a devilish character that reminds us of his short-lived days on Brimstone. The final episode is a fitting send-off for the series.
Medium was based on a real person with alleged psychic powers who apparently has helped out various law enforcement agencies in some actual cases. If you’ve seen the series, you might find that hard to believe, and the episodes are obviously fictional adventures and not based on the real Allison Dubois’s experiences. At first glance it might be easy to lump Medium in with Ghost Whisperer or The Dead Zone. Actually, there are almost no similarities to any of those shows. Allison does not gain any understanding through touching, and while she does see ghosts at times, that aspect of the show has been made to play in only a small percentage of the episodes. Allison accesses her powers through dreams. These nightmares are usually vague and often provide additional clues with each recurring dream. The formula for the show is that she must interpret these images and signs in time to do whatever it is she needs to do. Now that her secret is out, she’s not able to continue her work at the DA’s office. Joe’s career is also in jeopardy, so the show is going through some changes here. The strike likely did some damage, so we may never know exactly what was in store.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 30th, 2011
I never had a big momma growing up. My mother and each of my grandmothers were never what I would call big. My mom and her mom barely cleared 5 feet tall and my grandma on my dad’s side while pretty tall was very wiry and thin. So I never had the huge momma experience and it was probably for the best. However, I am not foreign to the concept of Martin Lawrence playing a Big Momma as I saw the first movie. Two movies later, does it still have its magic?
Malcolm Turner (played by Martin Lawrence) is a FBI agent who specializes in the art of disguise and witness protection. But today, he is threatening his local mailman (played by Ken Jeong) to pull the postal vehicle over. Eventually he does and then the two get into a fight because the mailman has to deliver the mail. Malcolm gets the letter he was looking for. His son has just been accepted to go to the school he went as young adult, Duke University.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 30th, 2011
"Angry souls will do just about anything to escape their tortured purgatories. That's why they say no rest for the wicked."
And there's no rest for Bloody Mary. That's a good thing for us. We get treated to a rather sweet little bloody film from the folks at Lionsgate called Blood Night. It's a better film than you might think on first look. It never betrays its independent spirit, but that doesn't mean it has to sacrifice a good look and entertaining romp. The acting is all above average for a budget bloodbath. It's a little Lizzy Borden mixed with some familiar elements from other recent horror films to create a bit of horror comfort food. It might not be good for you, and it certainly isn't going to claim any position as a classic. But it goes down nice and easy and leaves you feeling a little satisfied when it's all over.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 30th, 2011
"Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? And if so, what if there were clues left behind, something hiding in plain sight? What if we could find that evidence?"
Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory. The idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA. These believers point to a world of evidence to support their claims. There are tons of images from earlier civilizations that could certainly be interpreted as depicting modern devices, concepts, or even space men. There is plenty of speculation that some of the knowledge and accomplishments of these peoples could not have been possible without some outside interference. There are even those who believe that aliens best explain our religious beliefs and that God himself was/is an extraterrestrial being. Whatever your own beliefs on the subject, there are certainly some fascinating points to be made. There is no question that the speculations and observations bring up some interesting queries that deserve our attention. This series attempts to document much of this evidence and the beliefs these findings have inspired.
![Mega Python vs. Gatoroid [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/mega-python-vs-gatoroid-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Jackass 3.5 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/jackass-35-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/big-mommas-like-father-like-son-b-large.jpg)
