Disc Reviews

“If I step on your toe, I was aiming for your heart. But if you step on my toe, I’ll cut your f&@#ing heart out.”

Isn’t it always the case that the people closest to us usually bring us the biggest trouble, or perhaps that is a pessimistic view. However, I must admit it’s likely a view that the lead character of Betrayal could agree with as he finds himself drawn into a web of deception that threatens to destroy the lives of not only his family but his own as well. Vaz is a gangster. Based on what I saw there is no way around characterizing him that way; however, he does seem to have a few redeeming qualities such as the love he has for his family, specifically his elder son. He also appears to have inspired as well as employed a lot of loyalty to his number two, as displayed by his number two’s willingness to execute anyone on his order as well as lay down his life for his boss.

Satellite is a small, micro-budget independent film that went to a bunch of film festivals and got a bunch of great reviews....in 2005. Why is it taking so long to get a proper DVD release? Such is the fate of many small, micro-budget independent films. It apparently also had some music rights issues, which can be hugely problematic because of the expense. There is also the problem of marketing and advertising, which can be expensive. Then they should be better in some way than the Hollywood product, or it doesn't have a chance. Independents usually try to be more real, honest and risky to garner attention. Independent films just have a different feel, but they also have huge disadvantages because they can't pay for the best talent. Satellite is a middle-of-the-road type film about two young people who fall in love who hit the road. It's the middle-of-the-road part that might be the problem.

The young lovers live in New York in corporate drudgery. Ro (Stephanie Szostak) spots Kevin (Karl Geary) for the first time on the subway and follows him. He sees her in a bar, and they fall in love in short order. Ro is a true romantic and is desperate to move on from the last loser she was with. Karl gets caught up in the spirit of romantic abandon and persuades Ro to run away from her job with him. Maybe all of us want to do something like that, but we also know that doing it is crazy. Kevin says in the movie, “In order to feel this good, you need to break all the rules”. They are two sweet kids, but they do break some rules like stealing stuff like motorcycles and shoplifting dresses and cowboy hats. Kevin's brother thinks Ro must be bad news, but maybe it's Kevin who is the bad boy. Of course, money starts to run out with neither of them working, so there are bound to be rough times ahead. After all, stealing cowboy hats doesn't put a roof over your head.

Now that it's over, Comedy Central has put together the entire six-season run of Reno 911 in one big DVD collection. The show that started out as basically a Cops parody (which is pretty funny on its own trailer-trash merits) had become a holy grail of sorts for the Comedy Channel. While some sketch shows like The Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show have managed to touch on the Cops parody with their material, the only one that did it regularly was the show that used it for inspiration. The show spanned six seasons and a major motion picture. Reno 911 can be best described as a faux-reality show with a good deal of improvisational comedy performed by some very capable actors and actresses.

The show focused on a group of police officers in the sleepy Nevada town doing what they can to keep law and order. You’ve got Lieutenant Dangle (Thomas Lennon, The State), a bicycle cop who perpetually wears hot pants, Deputy Jones (Cedric Yarbrough, Meet the Fockers), probably the guy who best looks the part of a menacing cop, Deputy Williams (Niecy Nash, Malibu’s Most Wanted), who has no bones about being the only black woman on the force, and Deputy Johnson (Wendi McLendon Covey, Bewitched), the blonde-haired, big-chested female member of the force. Lennon, who helped create the show, also brought a couple of members of his State alumni with him, Kerri Kenney-Silver (who plays Deputy Weigel) and Robert Ben Garant (who plays Deputy Travis).

A show about divorce, now I know what you are thinking: “Yeah, Yeah what else is new, the market is flooded with shows about people trying to put their lives together after having their world rocked by divorce.” On the one hand I would agree with you; however, I challenge you to think about this. In my experience these shows are normally from the female perspective and deal with the woman dealing with a bum ex-husband, kids, and getting back into the dating pool. None of these things embody what The Exes is about. Not enough to convince you? OK, what if I told you the cast was made up with actors from some of the most beloved comedies of the past twenty years, how about now?

The Exes features Donald Faison, most notable for his portrayal his nine-year stint as Dr. Christopher Turk on comedy Scrubs (he also was a fixture in the Clueless movie and television show, but it’s best for all of us if we simply put that out of mind). This time around Faison plays Phil, a sports agent regulated to living in a rented condo provided by his former divorce attorney Holly (Kristen Johnson, 3^rd Rock from the Sun) that he shares with Haskell (Wayne Knight, Seinfeld), who since his divorce spends his time buying and selling things on the internet. Safe to say that during their divorce their exes took them to the cleaners, laying claim to their homes and forcing them to provide alimony for the foreseeable future. So imagine their surprise when Holly takes on new charity case Stuart (David Alan Basche), who is still working through the denial phase, believing his wife will come back to him.