Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 10th, 2012
After watching Tyler Perry’s Awkward Attempt at Action Stardom less than a month ago, it was oddly comforting to see the multi-media superstar back in his wheelhouse. Don’t get me wrong: I like to see a performer expand his horizons. It’s just that Perry looks infinitely more comfortable in his signature character’s wig and muumuu than tracking down a serial killer and grimly saying things like “I will meet his soul at the gates of hell before I let him take a person that I love from me.”
So it’s no surprise to see the actor/writer/director’s latest in-house production truly comes to life whenever Perry throws on heavy makeup or an outrageous costume. Unfortunately, the rest of Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection isn't very good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 8th, 2012
My favorite genre of music to make fun of is Metal (even though I like listening to it). As an example, This is Spinal Tap, the best musical mockumentary ever, we learn that metal can be freaking hilarious. That’s why when my webmaster offered me Metalocalypse Season Four on Blu-Ray, I eagerly said yes even though I had only seen the cartoon once or twice. However, once I opened it up, I realized before me was perhaps one of the funniest dark comedic cartoons I have ever seen.
This site has not really touched this series since Season One, so I will go ahead and go over the basics. Metalocalypse is about a band, possibly the world’s greatest death metal band, Dethklok. This band has become so successful that they are considered the seventh largest economy in the world. Dethklok consists of five members: Nathan Explosion (lead singer), Skwisgaar Skwigelf(lead guitar), Toki Wartooth (rhythm guitarist), Pickles (drummer) and William Murderface (bassist).
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 8th, 2012
“Hold up! Wait a minute! Let me put some Brown in it.”
With this DVD I learned a valuable lesson (several actually), about not judging a book by its cover. Around the time it was announced that this show would premiere on TBS, I was in the middle of watching Tyler Perry’s first series on TBS, House of Payne. Assuming that Meet the Browns would nothing more than a variation on what House of Payne was, I ignored this show. However you know what they say happens when you assume, and that’s just what happened to me.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on November 7th, 2012
Please put down the torches. The mediocre rating you see attached to this review is in no way an indictment of Queen, one of rock history’s most iconic bands fronted by, arguably, the best male vocalist of all time. No, this mediocre rating is specific to this two-disc DVD collection of Freddy Mercury and Co’s music video oeuvre.
Queen: Greatest Video Hits features 33 clips starting with the band’s mid-1970s breakthrough, continuing through their reign as the kings of stadium rock in the early and mid-1980s, and concluding right at the dawn of the 1990s. (Mercury died in 1991 of bronchopneumonia resulting from AIDS.) For the most part, the music videos — especially the earlier clips on Disc 1 — seem relatively primitive by today’s standards, but they serve as a great time capsule of the burgeoning art form. Plus, the music is undeniably terrific.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 7th, 2012
Is it “absence makes the heart grow fonder” or “out of sight, out of mind”? That is the principle question of Tyler’s Perry’s newest stage creation, I Don’t Want To Do Wrong. As usual Tyler Perry continues to demonstrate his mastery of wearing multiple hats, acting as writer, director, and producer. It only requires watching this play a quarter of the way through before realizing that in the world of stage work, Perry has no equal. Balancing comedy, spirituality, and an important message, there’s no wonder why Tyler Perry has become the king of playwrights.
I Don’t Want To Do Wrong is written in Perry’s traditional format for an ensemble play, parallel stories running simultaneously. The main story follows Yolanda (Kislyck Halsey), a medical student and young wife of Jamal (Tony Hightower), a soldier away fighting in Iraq. Due to financial strains, Yolanda is forced to move back in with her mother and father, Rev. Wallace and Hattie (Brilliantly portrayed by House of Payne alum Palmer Williams Jr. and Madea’s Christmas’s Patrice Lovely). In her husband’s absence, Yolanda succumbs to desire and begins having an affair with fellow student Marty (Andre Pitre). Things spiral out of Yolanda’s control when Marty falls in love with her and wants her to leave her husband for him. That coupled with Jamal’s sudden and unannounced return from Iraq spells disaster for Yolanda, who learns the hard way that there’s a cost when you try to have your cake and eat it too.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 5th, 2012
For those who do not know, I am half polish. My mother was born in Poland during the 1950’s after the second World War. Often through my youth I would ask my mother for stories of World War II from her father. However, this was met with much resistance as my grandfather was rather tight lipped about anything that happened in that time period. It was understandable, but I still wanted to learn. In fact, today we visit World War II and more specifically the Nazi Collaborators in our dvd review.
This documentary set includes thirteen hour long episodes spread over four discs. All of these deal with a different section of Europe including Poland, France, Belgium, and Finland. The specials also deal from right within Germany itself as it examines delicate subjects like Jews inside Germany and the Killer Police. This is six hundred and fifty minutes that covers virtually everything about leaders and people who would later be labeled as collaborators. Here are a few examples.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 4th, 2012
“Quirky, messy women whose problems only make them endearing are not real.”
On the surface, Ruby Sparks could be mistaken for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl biopic no one asked for. In case you’re not familiar with this particular cinematic archetype, MPDG derisively describes any unabashedly artsy, quirky young female character that inevitably brightens the life of a brooding, young male protagonist. However, the quote at the start of this review only hints at the fact that this whimsical romantic comedy isn’t afraid to stare down the ugly side of relationships.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 31st, 2012
"Fairlake, West Virginia, established in 1814. The entire population disappeared in 1817. To this day nobody knows what happened to them."
I know what you're thinking. When I look at a direct-to-video horror series and see a number 5 next to the name, it's usually time to roll my eyes and reluctantly place the disc in my Blu-ray player so that I can warn you guys just how bad it really is. But we're not talking about just any horror title. We're talking about the Wrong Turn franchise, which has actually gotten better since it went into sequel-hell. We're also talking about a director in Declan O'Brien who knows that his job isn't to create the next museum piece of art. He doesn't care one bit if he's inspired conversations about form and style. He's a horror film fan himself who has only one goal in mind each time he takes over a project: let me entertain you. And as hard as you might not want to believe it, Wrong Turn 5 does just that. You will be entertained.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 30th, 2012
Whether you’re into their music or not, The Doors: Live at the Bowl ’68 gives fans a chance to see a band (and a rock icon) at the height of their powers. Admittedly, The Doors didn’t have the longest shelf life — the band was formed in 1965, released their self-titled debut album in 1967, and frontman Jim Morrison was found dead in a Paris apartment in 1971 — but their impact can be felt to this day. Of course, when I say the band was at the height of their powers, you should understand that means there’s a pretty good chance Morrison was on acid.
That’s not irresponsible guesswork on my part; drummer John Densmore makes the claim himself in one of the behind-the-scenes documentaries on this disc. (For what it’s worth, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger pass up the chance to confirm Densmore’s statement.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2012
"Somewhere in the valley, there is a woman living in a basement. She's actually amassing followers. These people believe that she will actually lead them to salvation, or whatever. And yes, she's dangerous - but we have to see this thing through. All the way."
When The Sound Of My Voice opens you really don't know what to expect. We watch a group of people acting almost as though they have been taken hostage. They are given drab clothes to wear and ordered to clean themselves very thoroughly. They are then bound and hooded and placed into a van for transport to where? Soon we discover that these people have not been abducted at all. They have done these things willingly so that they may be brought into the presence of Maggie (Marling) who claims to be from the year 2054. Her disciples gather around her in a circle as she delivers her enigmatic teachings. Then again, perhaps they are captives after all, but not in the manner you might expect. They are obviously captivated by Maggie's personality, and we soon discover that they fear banishment from her side more than anything else. They are there for enlightenment, of sorts. The earlier routine has been put in place because Maggie is apparently allergic to our time and is dying. She must maintain a germ-free environment at all costs. She's more than a religious leader. She's a martyr who just hasn't died yet. Yet her subjects would gladly die for her.
