Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 29th, 2011
"Jellystone Park, one of the nation's oldest and most beautiful stretches of wilderness. For years, families have headed out from the busy city eager to enjoy a little camping, fishing, and, of course, observing the park's natural wildlife..."
He's smarter than the average bear. Children and adults alike have been watching his adventures since 1959. Yogi and his young sidekick Boo Boo were one of the most popular of the Hanna-Barbera stable of talking animal characters that reached a peak of popularity on the Saturday morning cartoon shows of the 1960's and 1970's. The two brown bears lived in the fictional Jellystone Park, which is often considered to be intended as Yellowstone Park. Such real-life fixtures as Old Faithful appeared in the original cartoons. The park was kept in order by Ranger Smith, who was always frustrated by the plots and exploits of Yogi, particularly his obsession with acquiring pic-a-nic baskets. It sure beat foraging, and Yogi would go to incredible lengths just to snatch an unsuspecting camper’s lunch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 29th, 2011
By 1978 the television detective model had been nearly complete and possibly already a cliché. Dan Tanna might have well been the complete model as far as the formula goes. It was almost as if you could go down a checklist and, like Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster, check off the necessary elements. The scripts could then almost write themselves, and you let the show fly on autopilot for three seasons or so until someone decides to look behind the curtain.
So let’s go down that checklist, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2011
The home video release of Hereafter, like its Asian box office release, is the victim of bad timing. The movie has been pulled from theaters in Japan since the tragic events that have struck that country in recent weeks. It's unfortunate that the movie opens with one of the most realistic depictions of a tsunami that I've ever seen. The ultra-realism will be an emotional pang for anyone who shares the sadness of the current disaster. The film has suddenly been criticized for its graphic portrayal, but that kind of statement bears the mark of the worse kind of insincerity. Anyone who has seen the recent works of Clint Eastwood knows that he's never been about such things. Eastwood has learned to mine the vast treasures of the subtle in recent years, and the scene here is an integral part of the story he's trying to tell. The movie was filmed long before the Japanese incident, and you certainly couldn't have expected anyone to anticipate such a thing. Still, with all of that said, this is not a movie you should be watching if you find yourself sensitive to those images. With the real images we've seen on our television and computer screens, this will be hard for anyone with a heart. I'm sure that Eastwood himself has experienced strong emotions in the last week or so. Is it disrespectful to watch something like this now? That's a question you'll have to answer for yourself. I will say it's an emotional experience. Perhaps it's a film best saved until distance has dulled some of the pain. It was absolutely the right move to pull it in Japan.
The film tells three very separate and distinct character vignettes that don't converge until the final moments. Each of the three characters has been touched by death in some fashion or another.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 24th, 2011
"Don't let the love of your life leave you for a damned Gringo. Come and see us, and I guarantee you that we'll save your life. United Parapsychologists Of America. Esoteric jobs, spiritual cleansing, taxes and immigration papers..."
If ever there was a movie that should have fired its marketing department, it's Zombie Farm. If you read any of the descriptions or look at the cover art, you are expecting this to be one of thousands of movies that offer up gritty images, plenty of gore, and a tried and true, but getting tired formula. Nothing can be further from the truth. Zombie Farm isn't any of those things. And I couldn't be happier that that's the case. Don't judge this one by its cover, or you're likely to miss out on a good time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 23rd, 2011
A sure sign that Easter is just around the corner is yet another home video release of perennial seasonal favorite The Ten Commandments. In years past, we got the multi-disc edition, complete with original silent version of the film. This particular version is rather more stripped down, as far as features go, but it does mark the film's extremely welcome arrival on Blu-ray.
The first act of Cecil B. DeMille's epic is as much a tale of Egyptian power politics as it is the story of a man coming to terms with his identity and destiny. We follow Moses (Charlton Heston) as, rising from triumph to triumph, he has the throne of Egypt within his grasp (much to the displeasure of Yul Brynner, the Pharaoh's actual son and rival for the affections of the sinuous Anne Baxter), only to lose all worldly power when he realizes he is actually the son of Hebrew slaves. Cast out of Egypt, he returns to demand the liberty of his people, and comes clutching a fistful of plagues to make sure his former brother pays heed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 23rd, 2011
The more famous a star, the more curious their early, pre-icon efforts become. Thus, we watch agog as Humphrey Bogart plays a murderous, blood-thirsty zombie in The Return of Doctor X (1939). And here, a 16-year-old Nicole Kidman makes her debut as a BMX-obsessed teen who runs afoul of a group of not-very-competent gangsters. Once again, one watches agog.
Kidman, Angelo D'Angelo and James Lugton are the trio of teens who need to raise funds to buy new bikes. They happen across a cache of walkie-talkies that are supposed to allow a gang of bank robbers to hear the police while being unheard themselves (though, as matters develop, the opposite is true), and sell them. Understandably irked, the thieves pursue our heroes, and all sorts of car vs BMX chase scenes ensue.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 23rd, 2011
The Virginian set itself apart from the others in two ways. The first was found in the source material. The series was based on a 1902 novel by Owen Winsler, a man who actually lived in the Wyoming badlands during the time the series was set. The source material helps to add a sense of authenticity that might well have been a slight step ahead of the rest. It wasn't as violent as the others, again reflecting a more realistic sense of direction.
Thus was the heart of the original novel. The stories were less about gunfights and more about the obstacles and challenges that these earlier settlers faced. Each, with different interests, tried to carve out a home in the vast wilderness of the open West. These challenges came from many places, and often from his fellow man, but not always. That's the type of tale captured in this long-running western series.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 22nd, 2011
While Scarecrow And Mrs. King first aired in 1983, this show is really one of the last of the 1970's crime dramas. It was an early attempt to bring in more of the female audience that seemed reluctant to join the popular detective shows of the era. While not really a "detective" show (they were spies), it employed a lot of the 1970's conventions. Even the film footage has that distinct style from those days and type of shows. The idea worked, and the series did bring in a sizeable female audience, but it never really caught on with the guy crowd who found it a bit too relationship-heavy. The two leads were chosen less for their character appeal than for their apparent "easy on the eyes" look. Again more fodder for the chick crowd. The show was always rather lighthearted, even if the material was somewhat serious cold war espionage. The two shared a banter that revealed a kind of love/hate relationship and the expected sexual tension that would eventually lead to the two getting hitched. And while the series only lasted four seasons, the formula would end up being tweaked to bring us the more successful Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, which took the idea into the 80's with slicker production values but still a mainly female appeal.
Amanda King (Jackson) is a recent divorcée with two sons and a nosy mother (Garland) who lives with her. She has a boyfriend named Dean who works as a meteorologist at a local Washington DC television station, whom you never actually get to see. While at the train station, she suddenly finds herself embroiled in an espionage plot when a package is handed to her on the platform. Then she meets government agent Lee Stetson (Boxleitner) who works under the codename Scarecrow. She's intrigued by Scarecrow and agrees to help him in his current case. Of course, she ends up in a more permanent role with "The Agency", taking a job at their cover corporation The International Federal Film Company. Every week we find Amanda trying to balance her new role as a spy with trying to raise her kids, have a normal dating relationship, and keep her cover safe from her particularly prying mother. The results are often quite funny. There is also Scarecrow's partner, Francine (Smith), who is somewhat jealous of Amanda and Lee.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 22nd, 2011
I have a penchant lately for reviewing stand up comedians. This is mostly a good thing. After all, stand up specials aren't usually that long, have few extras and will hopefully provoke a laugh from yours truly. But lately, it seems that the comedians I get to review aren't really that funny. Hopefully that trend changes with Daniel Tosh, star of the tv show Tosh.O. Heck, I wasn't even aware he did stand-up. Well, here goes nothing.
We open to stand up comedian Daniel Tosh who receives a smattering of applause. His line to open the show is “Thank you for clapping what my parents are ashamed of”. Indeed. We can’t exactly boo what we haven’t even heard yet. Such actions are reserved for prop comics and mimes. As many comics do, he admits he sucks live which shows some social anxiety on his part.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 19th, 2011
Most people know me to be a little bit quirky. *laughter comes from the back of the room*. Okay, very quirky. As to be expected, there are a lot of quirky movies out there for me to watch. But more often than not, most of those movies go way beyond anything I've ever thought was entertaining. Now here I am on the cusp of another review and I get a quirky romantic comedy called Spooner. I just hope that the movie I'm about to watch doesn't involve cutlery and other assorted kitchen gadgets.
Herman Spooner (played by Matthew Lilliard) is a salesman at Manfretti Auto. He's unfortunately not very good at what he does. Dennis & Alice, his father & mother(played by Christopher McDonald and Kate Burton)love him but want him out of the house by the time he turns 30 (which is just a few days away).
![The Ten Commandments (Two-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-ten-commandments-two-disc-spec-large.jpg)
