Disc Reviews

"Over 68 million Americans leave the safety of our borders every year. If danger strikes, the FBI's International Response Team (IRT) is called into action." 

In these days of international terrorism, I'm not sure that anyone feels particularly safe here or abroad. If recent events have taught us anything at all, it's that evil knows no country and that no quarter is completely safe. You would also get the idea that terrorism is one of the biggest issues this IRT deals with. The first 13 episodes of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders don't really deal with that kind of danger with the single exception one episode.

"Book 'em, Danno."

It's been 30 years since we first heard that phrase. Still it persisted in the modern lexicon along with the term Five-0, which is still shouted in high-crime areas in cities all over the country whenever a police presence is felt closing in on the bad guys. Hawaii Five-0 ended in 1980. That's when Tom Selleck took over the sets and production crew on Hawaii to work as Magnum P.I. until 1988 when it all closed down for good -- or did it? Wouldn't you know it, the show has been resurrected and become the hottest drama on television. A younger Steve McGarrett and company are back in action and Hawaii ...the world might never be the same again. Not sure what I'm talking about? You've got five seasons of the new Hawaii Five-O to catch up on. Let's give you the quick 411. Roll wave...

Imagine being able to move things with your mind, no matter the size. To suddenly be able to send a car or a person flying through the air merely through the power of your thoughts. I’m sure we have all thought about having such extraordinary power. For Zach Connors, it is a reality; however, the power is more curse than a gift. The Mind’s Eye presents an engaging and intriguing look into what it would be like to possess this psychic ability. From the inability to control the power, to the isolation, to the envy and lust to obtain the ability for themselves, the movie hits on several key aspect and all the while never loses steam as it heads towards the final battle, which in itself is quite the meeting of the minds. Pun intended.

Zach Connors (Graham Skipper) is a drifter with the ability to move things with his mind. It is an ability that he cannot fully control and has forced him to leave behind everyone he ever loved, from his father to the love of his life, Rachel Meadows (Lauren Ashley Carter). Following a confrontation with police which results in him losing control and injuring the officers, he is arrested and approached by the mysterious Dr. Slovak (John Speredakos). Claiming to be an expert in the field of psychokinesis and offering to help Zach, the stranger offers him a place at his institute in order to help him gain control of his power.  Zach is hesitant until the doctor mentions Rachel, who apparently is undergoing treatment at the institute.

He's been called the King of Late-Night. Today when there are so many talk shows on at pretty much every hour of the day, that might not appear to be such a huge distinction. There were talk shows on before Johnny Carson, but there can be no doubt that he invented the modern late-night show. For 30 years Johnny Carson was like a member of the family for millions of Americans. He was a friendly face at the end of a long, stressful day. He was that dependable routine that you could set your biological clock by. You would lie back in bed and let Johnny bring the world to you. You could count on a wide assortment of entertainment experiences. Johnny would deliver a monolog that often touched on the hot topics of the day. The news programs might be depressing, but Johnny always gave you a reason to crack a smile at the worst of times. There were characters like Aunt Blabby and Carnac who became comfortable old friends. The top names in show business competed for precious minutes on his stage, and if you were very lucky you spent some time on the couch and some face time with Johnny and his faithful sidekick Ed McMahon. Johnny could make or break your career in three minutes. He brought you the best of the new comics and musicians while delivering the big stars just as well. When you made it to The Tonight Show, you really made it.

There will never be a complete season or complete series set for Johnny Carson. There are several problems that present themselves almost immediately. Johnny was on nearly every night for thirty years. Do the math and you'll realize there have been thousands of episodes. The sad fact is that many of these moments are lost forever. Footage has either been lost completely or is in such bad shape as to be almost unwatchable. There was so much variety that having a full season would be a logistic nightmare to find those favorite moments. No, there just isn't ever going to be a complete anything when it comes to Johnny Carson. But leave it to Time-Life to go into the vaults and at least bring out some gems. This is the second volume, so the discs start with # 7.

Before The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling had a fruitful career writing teleplays in the early 1950’s. One of his earliest successes, Patterns (1955), was aired on a program named Kraft Television Theatre. The popularity of the play was so enormous that a second encore performance was aired the same week of its release, and it was written as a feature film the following year. Given its impressive history and my love of Serling’s writing, I was really looking forward to watching the the film. However, I was surprised that I did not enjoy myself as much as I was expecting. While the film demonstrates a lot of great dramatic moments that Serling is known for, the simplicity of the editing and camerawork really made the piece underwhelming. Certain images had so much potential to be utilized to service the actual plot, but it ultimately felt as if director Fielder Cook relied too heavily on the story’s earlier success as a teleplay.

Patterns tells the story of Fred Staples, an engineer brought into a large industrial company Ramsey & Co. in order to bring about new ideas and policies. He immediately produces a friendship with Bill Briggs, the company’s vice president. As Staples becomes acclimated to the company, he discovers that Walter Ramsey, the company’s president, has brought him on as competition to Briggs. From here, Ramsey begins to play multiple mind games with Staples and Briggs in an effort to force Briggs into a resignation. The film’s conflict becomes a battle between corporate practices and simple human decency.