Disc Reviews

"What is reality?"

Television has been around for about 75 years now. In that time we've seen just about every kind of show you might like. Fads and trends come and go along with stars and characters. Crime dramas have been among the most popular throughout those 75 years, and there have been so many "cop/detective" shows that we've also seen just about every kind of crime and investigation possible. With few exceptions there isn't much that can surprise us in the cop procedural drama.

Ever notice when an actor is having a good year, suddenly a film that they made years before their success makes an appearance? I refer to this movie as “the bandwagon film.” It is film that is shelved and does not have a prayer of being released. It happens too often for it to be coincidence and usually features said actor center stage on the cover art with the mention of the popular film that the actor took part in. Take Christian Bale for example: not long after the release of Batman Begins, a low-level film by the name of Harsh Times came to theaters. In the case of Dead Mine, that actor would be Joe Taslim. Taslim is having a good year with a starring role in the action packed The Raid: Redemption and scoring a bad guy role in Fast & Furious 6; the movie had promise in the beginning, but as the film progressed it launched into complete insanity and will likely be an anchor holding Taslim down.

Legend tells of an abandoned Japanese World War II bunker hidden in the Indonesian jungle that stores a vast fortune of Yamashita gold. After an excavation turns up the bunker’s location, rich boy Warren Price (Les Loveday, Sweeney Todd), Rie (Miki Mizuno, The Flying Publicist), a wide-eyed researcher, and Stanley (Sam Hazeldine, The Raven), an engineer from his father’s company. Given the uneasy and dangerous circumstance of the area, the group is appointed a security team led by Captain Tino Prawa (Ario Bayu, Java Heat).

I wasn’t all too familiar with Al Madrigal’s work before receiving his album to review.  After looking up his web site I had realized it was The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that I had recognized him from, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was a fan.  With comedians, though, going into their act knowing very little about them, most often the experience seems to be more enjoyable; after all, with no expectations it’s hard to come away disappointed.

Six months ago I’m not sure how much I would have been able to relate to Madrigal's set, a set that has a very distinct storytelling style, and his stories for the most part consist of him being a father.  Sure, not everyone has to be a parent to find his set funny, but had I not recently had a child come into my life in the past few months I don’t believe I’d connect with as much of his set as I did.  Whether Madrigal is discussing how he disciplines his children when they talk back or talking about hiding from the kids just to embrace a little alone time, he maintains a narrative that everyone in the audience can appreciate.

Official Upcomingdiscs Autopsy Report:

There's a case to be made that it isn't exactly fair to review a television series that was axed after only 8 episodes. Fans of that kind of a show are already up and arms and just waiting to thrash you for, as they see it, putting another nail in the coffin while they're still looking for extraordinary measures to revive the corpse. It doesn't matter how long it's been dead or how slim the chances are for revival. If it's your show you just aren't ready to give up, and you certainly don't need a word jockey like me throwing dirt on the grave. When it comes to Red Widow, however, I think I've seen enough to make the official pronouncement of death.

I was starting to think the only comedians that get hour long specials any more were the ones with obscenity-soaked acts that were sprinkled with sexual humor (or riddled with just as much).  But then Pete Holmes came along.  Throughout his hour long special that was recorded in Austin, Texas sure, there are a few obscenities and a little sexual humor, but he never uses it as a crutch to carry his performance along.  From the moment he stepped out onto the stage he reminded me of that friend from high school who was that all around good guy that always knew how to make you laugh.  With first impressions set aside and as the act progressed I was happy to see I wasn’t disappointed.

Considering this was an hour long special, Holmes manages to cover a variety of topics and make them relatable to everyone in the audience.  Whether it’s discussing how he used GPS to get out of a bad neighborhood, hating a girlfriend’s friends (or family), to the awkwardness of carrying a dog, Holmes manages to deliver these bits as situations we all could have experienced.

Has there ever been anyone like Frank Zappa? He had a rare combination of incredible professionalism and steadfast sobriety mixed with zany insanity and freakish detours on offbeat paths. He is the freak of all freaks of the sixties yet had an unwavering distaste for the rampant drug use of the time. His music couldn't be more jarring or unconventional, yet he liked stately classical compositions to relax. A Token of His Extreme was a passion project for Zappa that he paid for with his own money back in 1974. It was produced with the intention of being an American Network Television special, but it never saw the light of day in the US.

The DVD also includes an appearance on The Mike Douglas Show in 1976 in which Zappa lamented about the television special. “This was put together with my own money and my own time, and it's been offered to television networks and to syndication, and it has been steadfastly rejected by the American television industry. It has been shown in primetime in France and Switzerland, with marvelous results. It's probably one of the finest pieces of video work that any human being has ever done. I did it myself. And the animation work that you're going to see in this was done by a guy named  Bruce Bickford, and I hope he is watching the show, because it's probably the first time that a lot of people in America got a chance to see it.”