Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 15th, 2010
Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books from my youth. One of my favorite birthday presents was a gorgeous copy of the book with illustrations from my aunt. So as a result, I have seen many incantations of the classic title from the famous Disney animated movie to a plethora of tv series & movies. Enter 2010, hoopla over the Alice in Wonderland remake with Johnny Depp, the way was opened for other adaptations attempting to cash in. Alice, a mini-series on SyFy premiered in late 2009 and became the 2nd most watched mini-series in SyFy’s history (first being Tin Man). But how good exactly was it?
Alice Hamilton (played by Caterina Scorsone) is teaching judo to her local students. She takes a strong interest in one of her students, Jack (played by Philip Winchester). As it turns out, these two are very taken with each other and Alice has invited Jack to meet her mom, Carol (played by Teryl Rothery). The dinner goes as planned and afterwards Carol leaves the two alone to finish the night.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 14th, 2010
The flesh-eating plague from the first film is still spreading and turning teens into gurgling vomitarioms of puss and blood. This film takes place a few short seconds after the first one as we see the original hero explode onto the front of a school bus right before the title sprawls across the screen, which then leads to a cute animation explaining how the tainted water has been bottled and shipped to a high school in a neighbouring town. From there we have a slight love-triangle story that is peripheral to the fountains of gore that fill the screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 13th, 2010
What good would come from me panning a series that ended over 15 years ago? Would personal satisfaction be enough? I hope so because I'm moving forward with this.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 12th, 2010
"Perseus and Andromeda will be happy together. Have fine sons... rule wisely... And to perpetuate the story of his courage, I command that from henceforth, he will be set among the stars and constellations. He, Perseus, the lovely Andromeda, the noble Pegasus, and even the vain Cassiopeia. Let the stars be named after then forever. As long as man shall walk the Earth and search the night sky in wonder, they will remember the courage of Perseus forever. Even if we, the gods, are abandoned or forgotten, the stars will never fade. Never. They will burn till the end of the time."
Talk about your perfect storm. You take the master of stop motion technology, Ray Harryhausen, and you combine those creature animation talents with one of the oldest stories surviving today in Perseus and Andromeda. How can the combination not be magical? The story has always been a favorite of mine, likely because I was born on the Summer Solstice, the critical moment of this story. I was preordained to love this film. The truth is that this film never got quite the recognition it so richly deserved. Now, on the cusp of a computer generated remake, it was my unmitigated privilege and joy to watch the original 1981 film in the glory of high definition.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 11th, 2010
In my lifetime, I’ve really only liked five zombie movies. There is Shaun of the Dead, the three Resident Evil movies, and Zombieland. Most of the other zombie type films either belong in the “Way too Gory” or “Nonsense” designation. So, naturally when I receive a zombie movie like Dead Snow, there is some apprehension. However, in this case I can say that this movie belongs in both of those designations and delightfully so.
The movie opens with a lady (played by Ane Dahl Torp) and she is chased through the snowy mountains of Norway. The creatures ultimately corner her and eat her alive. We notice that the zombies have strange costumes as we fade to black. We re-open with seven medical students who are spending their vacation at a cabin up in what appears to be the same mountains.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2010
There was a new Cowboy in Dallas, and he wasn’t throwing touchdown passes. But Walker was almost gone before he could really get started. After just four episodes the show’s production company suffered financial collapse, and the show was rescued at the last minute by CBS Productions, who would continue to run the show for its nearly decade-long run. For nine years Chuck Norris brought us the ultimate Texas Ranger in a formula cops and robbers show. The show often became a parody of itself, but maintained a solid viewer ship throughout. Hell, Norris even sings the theme song. Truthfully, what started as a one man show (it was originally called Chuck Norris Is Walker, Texas Ranger) became a good working ensemble that probably kept the train going for so long. Walker (Norris) is a tough guy Texas Ranger. He is partnered with Sydney Cooke (Peebles) and Jimmy Trivetti (Gilyard) who’s an ex-jock with a brain. Walker had a love interest and eventual wife in the local assistant district attorney Alex Cahill (later Walker). Together they fight the evils that come to the high plains of Texas armed with their fists, six-shooters, and Stetsons. After starting with the final season, CBS is finally halfway through the series back from the beginning.
Norris almost deadpans his entire performance. Let’s face it, the man is no accomplished thespian. Still, Norris fans are quite passionate about their guy. There’s a popular T-shirt design that lauds their hero in epic fashion. One of my favorites is : “McGyver can build a plane out of gum and paper clips but Chuck Norris can kill him and take the plane.” Another brags: “Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris Pajamas”. And there’s the humorous: “Chuck Norris knows what Willis is talkin’ about”. Fans of Norris were never disappointed in what they got here. The requisite martial arts and tough guy talk are present pretty much in every episode. Season 6 is no exception. You should also note if you’re using an episode guide: this is really season 8, as the first two were combined in the first season release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2010
The fourth 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.
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 that 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 Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2010
The concept would appear to be slightly misplaced on ABC’s Family Network. The prerequisite underage drinking and promiscuous sexual lives don’t appear to be the best “family” entertainment. We don’t get even halfway through the pilot episode before we’re already charting those waters. To be sure, Greek is no Animal House, and the atmosphere is toned down considerably, but the issues remain, and this is not a show for the kiddies. The story is very much like a soap opera. Casey (Grammer) is a sorority sister for Zeta Beta Zeta, and after two years is a woman on the rise. She’s dating the rich and handsome Evan (McDorman) and is in line to be the next House president. Her life is about to change when her nerdy brother, Rusty (Zachar) arrives at college. In his hope to experience college life and shed some of his geek reputation, he decides to rush a fraternity and enter Casey’s perfect world. Casey’s other problem is Zeta Beta Zeta’s own new pledge in the form of Rebecca Logan (Vadsaria), the spoiled daughter of a US Senator and rival for Evan’s affections as well as the future House leadership. To further complicate matters, Rusty has pledged Omega Chi Delta, which is led by Casey’s former boyfriend, Cappie (Foster). Most of the episodes deal with the crossover of these various worlds, and there’s a ton of competition not only between the houses but the characters. The show is all about the parties and the rivalries. There’s an interesting enough group of supporting characters, all well cast, which make this series a little more interesting than it really should be.
I think it started with the writers’ strike and somehow got out of control on this series. None of these sets represent actual seasons, which is why the releases are called chapters. The first two chapters represent the times before and after the strike from the show’s first year. I kind of understand how that might work out. What I don’t quite get is why it is now continuing. This chapter begins with the 11th episode of the second season and stops with the 22nd, even though the season actually included 22 episodes, all of them aired before the release of the DVDs. There doesn’t appear to be any reason to spread out these releases except to capture a couple of extra bucks from the fans. At least we are at a season end. With this logic "Chapter 5" will begin with the start of season 3. Let's see if we get to keep an entire season next time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 11th, 2010
Laurel & Hardy. Abbott & Costello. Martin & Lewis. And now... Harold & Kumar? Perhaps the comparison is a bit forced, but that latter day pair certainly follows the classic set-up: best friends who are also polar opposites (Kumar is the confident, slacker stoner; Harold is the shy, conservative stoner); one has mad schemes (Kumar); the other (Harold) suffers for those schemes, and so on. At any rate, here we have the complete oeuvre of these two characters (and since Kal Penn, who plays Kumar, has subsequently gone on to a couple of season of House before taking a job for the White House, I think it safe to say that we are unlikely to be seeing any further episodes).
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle sets the picaresque model for the two films. Our boys contract a bad case of the munchies after smoking up, and only White Castle hamburgers will satisfy their craving. Their journey to the fast food joint is beset by misadventures, and before the long night is done, they'll have been arrested, ridden a cheetah and encountered grotesques who seem to have wandered in from After Hours and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 10th, 2010
Possessed machines are long-standing horror staples: Christine, The Car, Maximum Overdrive, etc. It’s easy to understand why. Imagine driving down the road in your comfortable four-door sedan when your seatbelt suddenly tightens around your chest and crushes you to death. Now, obviously, that wouldn’t happen in the real world, nor would a thin car window have enough force to decapitate someone. Regardless, these are the kind of things you can expect from Phantom Racer.
The story begins with two rivals, Cutter and J.J., who used to be friends until they pined after the same girl. They get into a racing wreck during a tournament and only one survives. The remaining racer cuts his losses, leaves town and brings his guilt with him.
