Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 6th, 2007
Synopsis
Hey lookee here, in this movie called Off the Black, there are two Oscar nominees and one Oscar winner! So with this pedigree of talent, you’d expect to be a gangbusters piece of dramatic storytelling, right? Well, not exactly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 6th, 2007
Posted in Disc Reviews by Joshua Noyes
The Jerk, released in 1979, is a rags-to-riches-to-rags comedy film of belated self-discovery. This was Steve Martin's first starring role in a feature film and was also written by him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 5th, 2007
Catch and Release is appropriately dubbed as a chick flick. Written by Susannah Grant, who also makes her directorial debut, is responsible for the screenwriting of some rather dismal movies in the past, including Ever After, Erin Brockovich, and 28 Days. Although I hint at a dislike for romantic comedies, I'll have you know that in the past I have enjoyed several, and am going into this completely unbiased.
The movie starts off on a sad note, Grey (Jennifer Garner) a grieving a...most widow mourns the death of her fiancé Grady. Originally they were to be married on that day, but due to an accident on a fishing trip, Grady was killed. Dealing with the loss in her own way, Grey sits in a bathtub where she can be alone with her thoughts. Before long, Grady's friend Fritz (Timothy Olyphant) bursts in and seduces a waitress. Waiting until the woman leaves, Grey reveals herself and tells Fritz she never understood why Grady was his friend.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 5th, 2007
Grace (Sophia Bush) and Jim (Zachary Knighton) are your average college students. They love each other and with the arrival of Spring Break, they want nothing more than to spend a week down in Mexico with their friends. Leaving their campus, everything is progressing smoothly until they nearly run over a man who simply wants a ride to the nearest motel. They speed off thinking they obviously shouldn’t pick up any stranger, especially in the pouring rain. Once they arrive at the nearest gas station, they’re shocked to...find out that the same man they didn’t pick up has just arrived at the gas station after receiving a ride. Now comes the fun part. The man asks Jim for a ride and, for some reason, Jim can’t refuse. Enter your midnight psycho who calls himself John Ryder (Sean Bean) who decides to torture these folks and you have yourself a decent remake of the 1986 classic.
As I just mentioned, this film is a remake of the 1986 film of the same name by Rutger Hauer. This film was clever and downright horrifying. You had the similar psycho killer who simply wanted to play a few mind games with our two lead characters. But where the 1986 film had a few twists and actual real horror that felt, well, real, this 2007 remake lacks everything that made the original so good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 5th, 2007
Synopsis
Well in the ever ongoing series of reviews of the James Bond series, this particular installment is the last of the Pierce Brosnan collection (the others are on the site, so go find them). And in Tomorrow Never Dies, I saved it for last because well, I needed some form of drama to keep me going.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 4th, 2007
When Just Jaeckin's glossy exercise in softcore, Emmanuelle, earned boffo box office in 1974, imitators piled on, and no imitators anywhere were as shameless as the Italians, who began the Black Emanuelle series (note the missing "m"). Laura Gemser starred, and Joe D'Amato directed many of the entries (though not the first). This set offers three.Both the double-"m" and single-"m" series were characterized by the heroine having sex in exotic locales, and the travelogue aspect is most dominant in Emanuelle in Bangkok (1977). Plot here is almost nonexistent. Photojournalist Emanuelle begins to run afoul of political skullduggery in Thailand, but before anything really develops there, she leaves town. The film is little more than pretty landscapes interrupted by frequent nudity.
Emanuelle Around the World (1977) has a bit more of a storyline, though it is still very picaresque in nature. Picturesque as well. Our heroine becomes outraged by the sex traffic of women, and so travels from location to location, exposing the evildoers. D'Amato (who also directed the previous entry) here rather unconvincingly dons a pseudo-feminist stance, but there are moments actually approaching suspense. The sex scenes of both these films are, for the most part, laughable, though occasionally well shot. Any sense of eroticism is thanks to Laura Gemser, whose ethereal beauty and grace are such that she moves through the films as an almost divine presence, above and untouched by the events around her.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 4th, 2007
Synopsis
A serial killer who sounds just like Jigsaw (only rather less interesting) and kills exclusively using explosives (!) blows up the brother of a criminal psychologist, then turns his unwanted attentions to seminary student Marc Blucas, taking his life apart one explosion at a time. Blucas is convinced that the killer is a dark figure from his past, and turns amateur sleuth even as he is consumed by guilt. Most of his time, however, he puts his energy into being one of the whiniest protagonist... ever.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 4th, 2007
Gary Lennon is a first time writer/director and it shows with .45. Milla Jovovich is the obvious centerpiece of this misguided drama. We know we’re in for a long haul from the opening shots of Kat (Jovovich). Talking about the sexual prowess of Big Al, her abusive boyfriend. Big Al is played quite single dimensionally by Angus MacFayden). It’s not that the actor’s don’t have the skills or the desire it’s that they are severely limited by the script. The only entertaining moments occur when the film heads more into ...he black comedy realm. This momentary effectiveness is soon lost with rather graphic displays of domestic violence. We are intended to feel for Kat but no matter how inclined we are to find her sympathetic I just can’t. With the help of her manipulated friends Kat sets out to rid herself of her partner in crime once and for all. When she finally does pull it off it is so senseless and anticlimactic. The trailer and box art promise a thrill ride journey of cunning and revenge. What the film delivers is boredom and no satisfaction when it’s done. The film tries to be too many things at once and ultimately succeeds at nothing. Trust me. Pass on this one. You’ll thank me for it later.
Video
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 3rd, 2007
Synopsis
The Ant and the Aardvark were regulars on the old Pink Panther show. They were the DePatie-Freeling equivalent of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Every episode would see the Aardvark deploy one strategy after another to catch that Ant, and every attempt would blow up in his face (often quite literally). The animation, the invention and the energy are a long way from being up to the level of the Warner team. What is fun, though, is that both antagonists here are very loquacious (voiced by ...ohn Byner). Not all the lines are funny, but the characterizations are good fun, and all 17 of their adventures are present.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 3rd, 2007
The Drew Carey Show originally aired its pilot episode in 1995, focusing on a simple group of friends living their simplistic lives. Known for its everyman characters and situations, the show enjoyed a 9-year run on ABC, getting yanked from the schedule in 2004. Drew Carey and Bruce Helford, who both continued to write for the show in the following seasons, created the show with the premise of Drew Carey’s life if he hadn’t become a comedian and pursued a different career. I wasn’t even aware that this show wa... going to be released on DVD anytime soon, so I was happy to see that it was.
The show focuses around a close group of friends and their relationships, romantic lives, and their jobs. The main characters, Drew (Drew Carey), Kate (Christa Miller), Oswald (Diedrich Bader), and Lewis (Ryan Stiles) are life long friends’ living there everyday lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Drew works at a department store as a mid-level manager, Kate bounces from job to job and lands one working under Drew, Lewis is a janitor at a drug company, and Oswald is a delivery driver. None of them are too adamant about their jobs, but enjoy each other’s company and drinking beer. Some of the shows greatest moments occur while Drew is sitting in his cubicle, where behind him sits Mimi. She’s quite the heavyset make up ridden, trash talking assistant for Drew’s boss. The two share witty insults towards each other and often prank each other as well. Outside of the work world the group all have romantic lives, but only Drew’s and Kate’s get top billing. As the season goes on their relationships face problems and at other times look strongly optimistic, making for pretty entertaining side stories.
![The Jerk [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-jerk-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
