Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 20th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2005
After a very successful 11 year run on NBC, the cast, crew and writers of Frasier decided to call it quits. Unlike other series that went on far too long and seemed to die a slow and painful death, the Frasier team left an indelible mark on television history with excellent writing and great comedic performances. Just to give you an idea about how important this series was in the history of television, over the course of its run it garnered over 37 Emmys for excellence in acting, writing and direction in a comedy ser...es.
While so far there are only three seasons of Frasier available on DVD from Paramount, they followed a successful formula set by Friends – release the final season/episode while the hype is at it’s maximum. So I guess if you have not watched the series during it’s original broadcast and are only familiar via the DVD format, then you really should not watch this and wait for another 3 years for Paramount to release seasons 5 – 10 (Season 4 comes out February 1, 2005).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2005
Exit light…enter night. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is a documentary about the inner workings of the band. But it’s not a “behind the music” type piece or a concert movie. The filmmakers attempt to gnaw away at the troubling trials of fame, addiction, and friendship. It’s fascinating stuff. Now, I’m not a big fan of Metallica, but I’ve been in creative collective situations. The personal relationships are constantly shifting. You bicker one minute, you love one another the next. In Metallica’s cas..., they even hire a personal therapist (which borders on Spinal Tap territory). But there’s enough music to keep the fans happy. And the filmmakers, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, are veterans of the documentary world (Paradise Lost and Brother’s Keeper are excellent). Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is not an easy musical bio piece. It’s a lesson in the tumultuous tempest we call human relationships.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2005
What a find! Film footage from a landmark 1970 concert sat in a producer’s garage for almost 3 decades. So finally, after all the music rights and remastering were taken care of, we have a landmark rockumentary. Thank the maker. Festival Express is a rock concert movie about a 3 city train tour, with stops in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary (not to mention a stop in Saskatoon for booze). The performers included The Grateful Dead, The Band, Buddy Guy, and Janis Joplin (among many, many others).
<p ...The film doesn’t have the sociological impact of Woodstock and Gimme Shelter, or the melancholic “meaning” of The Last Waltz. Festival Express has more of a backstage pass quality. We get to see the performers (mostly in the bar car) sitting around talking or jamming. The retrospective interviews have some amusing anecdotes (I like the one where the concert promoter slugs the mayor of Calgary). The concert footage is not especially amazing, and some of the songs are merely OK. But Janet Joplin, man, she steals the show. Her two songs in the movie will blow your mind. It’s sad that she died just two months after the festival.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 20th, 2005
The best way to describe Season 5 is the calm before the storm. The two more prominent women, Russert and later Kay, leave the show. The season begins with Frank dealing with returning to work after his Season 4 ending stroke. Michelle Forbes of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame opted to join the Homicide cast, giving up the chance to star in the Deep Space Nine edition of Trek. She became Baltimore’s newest M.E. and would be in for a stormy ride. The show maintains its gritty feel and camera movements continue to ...eep viewers on edge.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 20th, 2005
Season Six signaled the inevitable decline of Star Trek Voyager. While there were certainly strong episodes, such as Pathfinder, there were far too many episodes like The Spirit Folk. The addition of the Borg children was, perhaps, the final push into the abyss. They are constantly irritating. It’s like a pack of Wesley Crushers without the passion. Voyager may have been struggling to get back to the Alpha Quadrant, but it was clear the writers were struggling even harder to keep the show fresh without resorting to o...ert cuteness or rehashing tired ideas. By now you would think Janeway would have turned off that dangerous holodeck.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 18th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2005
The rise in popularity of TV on DVD has brought about an interesting side effect. Namely, shows that would have previously faded into oblivion after a few airings are now finding a new audience. Often, such as in the cases of Firefly and Boomtown, audiences (and networks) are discovering that they may have pulled the plug too soon on some shows. While Crusade doesn’t exactly fit into this category, it does prove itself to be a show with promise, that may have developed into something special if i... had been given the time.
Crusade is a spin-off of the popular sci-fi program Babylon 5. This time, however, instead of the action coming to the cast, the cast goes to the action. The basic arc of the show involves a spacecraft and crew that have been charged with finding a cure for a virus that will kill all of the inhabitants of Earth within five years. It is this tie to Earth and humanity that makes the show so accessible to people that are not traditionally sci-fi fans. This also gives the show something of a tie to the original Star Trek series that started it all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 16th, 2005
Synopsis
