Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2006
Synopsis
Geena Davis is the Vice-President who was chosen as running mate by the Republican President because she would balance out the ticket (she’s an Independent) and help him with the female voters. When he is felled by a stroke, the possibility that she might become President fills the powers that be with dread, and her resignation is demanded so that the hard-right Speaker of the House (Donald Sutherland) can step in instead. Davis refuses, and the series follows her struggles as the first woma... to be President of the US.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2006
Not being a big fan of Black Hawk Down, I can't really tell you how many releases of the feature this makes from Sony. I know it's a title, which has seen at least two prior offerings. There is nothing new here to recommend the extended cut over the previous three-disc monster edition; however, it may be the way to go if you've yet to add this Ridley Scott war film to your collection. I'll be the first to admit that Scott does some of his finest work as director in this gritty combat picture; but his style is ...lso the reason why I feel Black Hawk Down fails to deliver, and pack the same emotional punch of a Saving Private Ryan or We Were Soldiers. Most of the young stars involved in this film, and in the grisly fighting, stay masked under a thick layer of dirt and grime throughout the 152-minute running time. While that contributes largely to the chaotic and confusing authenticity during battle scenes, it hinders the audience from getting attached to any of the characters.
I know character development needn't be sacrificed on the altar of battle realism; yet that's exactly what happens in Black Hawk Down. It's the kind of film, which needs Mark Bowden's book on which it was based to fill in the gaps left by the dramatization. The contemporary war efforts mentioned above are proof this sacrifice is an unnecessary one. Still, as disorienting as the film is, you can tell Scott is a seasoned director, who knows his way around a camera. And who knows? Perhaps his style creates some of the most realistic battle scenes known to film. And if this is all he wanted to accomplish, then Scott's film succeeds. But I can't imagine a director actively indifferent towards how his audience feels about the characters. And if this assumption rings true in Scott's case, then he can't look back on Black Hawk Down pleased with how it all turned out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 26th, 2006
The truth may never come out as to why HBO cancelled Carnivale after the show's second season. They claim that it was a combination of decreased ratings and rising production costs equaling $2 million an episode. What doesn't make sense, however, is that the network also admits that they received as many as 50,000 emails in a single weekend following the cancellation announcement. The facts also show that they followed up this show that was “too expensive to be profitable” with Rome, a show that has been widely recognized as the most expensive television series ever produced.
Several months after the show was cancelled, HBO offered the show's producers the chance to shoot a 2-hour movie to finish up the story which was left hanging. They refused, as they claim that the entire story was planned out for six complete seasons, so a two-hour finale would not even come close to finishing up the story. The show runners then announced plans to finish up the story in comic book form, but nothing has been seen of this plan as of yet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 25th, 2006
Synopsis
Tyler Perry once again dons multiple costumes to incarnate several characters, most prominently Madea, the no-nonsense but mischievous matriarch of a very fractious family. She is ordered by the court to take in a runaway as a foster child, and that project of reclamation joins that of helping out her nieces. They have a mother from hell. One sister is struggling to learn how to love again, while the other is being forced into marriage with the hideously abusive Blair Underwood.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 25th, 2006
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby have created some of the most iconic superheroes of our time. Marvel Comics brought us such great names like Spiderman, X-Men, Iron Man, and of course, The Incredible Hulk. Now, television has had a jaded history with comic superheroes as series material. A bad Spiderman and Captain America set of episodes are good examples. The Incredible Hulk is one of the exceptions. Why? Mostly because the series was less about super heroics and more about human drama. The Fugitive style set-up gives the writers the entire country to play with. Instead of superhuman villains, Banner is really his own worst villain. The very human McGee, who haunts Banner, is an aggressive writer out to expose The Hulk. This grounds the entire show in reality as much as is possible. Enter Kenneth Johnson, also known for the Alien Nation series, and you know that quality isn’t going to be compromised. Insurance is obtained through the extremely likable Bill Bixby as the Dr. Jekyll to Lou Ferrigno’s Mr. Hyde as manifested by The Hulk. His ability to pump up the action is rivaled by his surprising ability to convey emotion with his eyes. This Hulk appropriately doesn’t speak.
The series started with two tele-films, both included in this set. While the stories and cinematography seriously date this material, the themes resonate on into the 21st Century. Far better than the 200 million dollar film, this series is quite a catch on DVD. The episode 747 features Brandon Cruz who starred with Bixby as Eddie in The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father, another fond memory from my childhood. A nitpick Hulk fans still rage about is the name change from Bruce, in the comics, to David. As a homage to these fans, we are shown his middle name is Bruce. Johnson has addressed these “problems,” and I understand his wanting to create a very different character here. Comics and television are very different media. We would have been quickly bored watching a grunting, wise-cracking crime fighter after too long.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 24th, 2006
Synopsis
Will Rogers was once the biggest star in Hollywood. Think of any other big name from the late 20's and early 30's, and he outpaced them all. Today, he is little more than a name, and there are plenty of film guides out there that don’t even list his films. Quite the sobering lesson on the evanescent nature of fame. The films in this collection were all made in 1935, the last year of Rogers’ life, before he was killed in a plane crash. These comedies have definitely dated, but Rogers’ charm i... undeniable. He was an inveterate improvisor, but he apparently stuck pretty closely to the script of Doubting Thomas. Dismayed by his wife’s sudden theatrical ambitions, Rogers plots to derail those hopes and keep her in the kitchen, where she belongs (did I mention the films had become a bit dated?). Life Begins at 40 sees Rogers in full aphoristic mode as the crusty, mischievous and independently-minded newspaper editor determined to clear the name of an ex-con employee and triumph over the small town’s evil banker. In Old Kentucky has a feud between two families centred around horse racing. Rogers is the trainer who switches loyalties. Finally, <i <steamboat ‘Round the Bend has con-man Rogers captaining a steamboat as he searches for the half-crazed preacher who can prove that Rogers’ nephew killed a man in self-defense.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 24th, 2006
Synopsis
In 1985, Steven Spielberg backed this TV anthology series. It took its name from the very first SF magazine (which was briefly revived to coincide with the TV show), but have very little in common with that mag. It was almost purely fantasy-oriented, and its real model was the likes of The Twilight Zone (which itself was revived for TV the same year). Spielberg himself directed the pilot, and plenty of other big names singed on as well. So Harvey Keitel stars in an episode directed by...Clint Eastwood, for instance. Other directors of note include Joe Dante and Martin Scorsese.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2006
Sybil is one of those movies that has turned into something of a running joke. It certainly didn't start out that way, though. Probably no other made-for-TV movie is as famous as this one, based on a true story about a woman that had an astonishing 13 distinctly different personalities. Looking back on the film now, there are some definite cheesy moments. However, the vast majority of the film is really quite compelling, especially when the viewer reminds themselves that this is a true story.
Sa...ly Field, who plays the nut-job in question, won an Emmy for best actress for her work in the film. She really is extraordinary here, essentially playing thirteen different roles at once, many of them intertwined and overlapping. It is a role that would have made the film nothing more than a glorified After School Special in the hands of a lesser actress. Instead, Field plays the character(s) deftly and flawlessly, making the movie's three-hour running time fly by. This is an amazing film even by today's standards, and I hope this new edition brings an all-new audience to the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2006
Keanu Reeves really really wants to break out of his pigeonholed role as the charismatic good guy in an action film, but sometimes he just can't help himself, and takes the easy paycheck (Chain Reaction may be a good indication of that). But in the action roles he's noted for, both as Neo in The Matrix trilogy and as John Constantine in Constantine, he's got the "protagonist with an internal conflict" down pat, that's for sure.
Written by Kevin Brodbin (who came up with the initial story) and directed by Francis Lawrence, who was previously well-reputed as a music video director (think Tarsem or David Fincher maybe), Reeves plays Constantine as a man with a conflict. While others may think that he has a gift in exorcising and deporting demons, he sees it as a burden, a duty he thinks he should get into heaven for. With the help of a grizzled priest (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Nobody's Fool) and an aspiring apprentice (Shia LaBeouf, IMDB), he plods along through the days and nights, doing his duty while battling an aggressive form of lung cancer which he doesn't make any better by chain-smoking.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 22nd, 2006
On Jerry Seinfeld's first comedy CD after his run on Seinfeld ended, he does a joke where he talks about why he hasn't done a movie yet. He talks about what a huge commitment it is to do a movie, and how he fears that when it is all over, he will be on the screen looking out at the audience saying, “this sucks, doesn't it? I didn't know. I really meant well.”
This movie is that punchline. Catching Ray Romano after his show's run and Kevin James just before the end of his sitcom, the two pair up as a co...ple of door to door meat salesmen who somehow get themselves involved in a situation between the mob, some killers... whatever. You know the drill. On the one hand, I can most certainly understand how someone could get talked into something that sounds better than it is actually going to be. On the other hand, surely they read the script before hand, didn't they?
![Constantine [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/constantine-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
