Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 13th, 2012
Grey's Anatomy was originally going to end in its 8th season, and the final episode nearly leaves us with a pretty good indication that it would actually happen. The show's fate was on the bubble for a little while and it seemed that both Grey's and its sister show Private Practice might be leaving the airwaves forever. Of course, now we know that both shows are returning in the fall. Both will have major shake-ups. Without seeing the first episode of the upcoming season I'm left with some doubt as to how much of the show's current format will remain intact. As it was there were some serious events leading up to the explosive cliffhanger.
Grey’s Anatomy follows the life and tribulations of a group of doctors and interns at Seattle Grace Hospital. There’s certainly nothing original about the premise, except that the story is told by one of the more unlikely characters, Dr. Meredith Grey (Pompeo). As a lead she’s really not all that remarkable, but the show doesn’t put everything on her narrow shoulders. The series is populated by a solid supporting cast, giving it all a far more ensemble feel despite the title. James Pickens, Jr. is perhaps the most extraordinary actor in the show. He’s underused, but steals every scene he’s in. His Dr. Webber is a powerfully serious voice in an otherwise often frivolous world. Chandra Wilson as the once-intern teacher Dr. Bailey is another standout performance, offering tremendous range. Her character, often referred to as a Nazi by her interns, is capable of outstanding empathy just when it’s required. Too many of the characters serve as eye candy, but I can’t say that any of them don’t have some good acting chops. The show is also populated by Patrick Dempsey as the "McDreamy" Doctor Shepherd. Rome's Kevin McKidd as ex-Army doctor Owen Hunt who is recovering from psychological trauma from his days in combat. Jessica Capshaw is the always bright and cheery Dr. Arizona Robbins, who runs the hospital's pediatric unit. She's an item with rough-around-the-edges Callie. The hospital's cosmetic surgeon and resident playboy is Mark Sloan, played by Eric Dane. This is the sleazy guy that fans love to boo and hiss at. Chyler Leigh plays Lexie, Meredith's young and often too-optimistic sister.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 12th, 2012
Less than 100 years ago, the Mexican government declared war on the Catholic Church. This movie tells the story of the ensuing conflict known as Cristiada (also called the Cristero War), which took place between 1926 and 1929. In showing us all the different ways war can affect a country and all the different ways rebels can contribute to a cause, the movie sort of forgot to tell us why the Mexican government declared war on the church in the first place.
For Greater Glory is told from the perspective of the brave souls who stood up to the oppressive Mexican government led by President Plutarco Elias Calles (Ruben Blades). This includes members of the non-violent National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty like real-life figure Anacleto Gonzalez Flores (Eduardo Verastegui) and a woman named Adriana (Catalina Sandino Moreno). The men and women who take up arms to join the cause — including a flashy, badass rebel named Victoriano “El Catorce” Ramirez (Oscar Isaac), who earned his nickname by single-handedly killing 14 men — are known as Cristeros.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 12th, 2012
Of the standup comedians that are working the circuits and bringing new material to the stage with every tour, my favorite guy without too much hesitation is Jim Gaffigan. His deadpan delivery of observational humor hits me just right. Whether he’s making comments about Hot Pockets, bacon, or just being lazy, he manages to pull humor from some of the most mundane things and make it relate to his entire audience.
For those unfamiliar with Gaffigan you may have seen him on such TV shows like That 70’s Show as well as the TBS series My Boys. Now if you’re still scratching your head trying to figure out where else you may have seen him, he’s also done some work on the big screen as well. He had a role in 13 Going on 30, 17 Again, Going the Distance, Away We Go, and many other roles. If even still you’re shaking your head, its okay, because for those that are new to the comedic styling of Jim Gaffigan, Mr. Universe is a nice introduction for a first time viewer.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 12th, 2012
It would be fair to say Lewis Black is not for everyone. When in the mood for comedy, few people would decide on watching an old man rant and rave on a stage to the point you expect him to simply keel over from a self induced heart attack. You won’t find any puppets or redneck humor when watching one of Black’s routines. In fact what you can expect is at some point to maybe get a little upset if not outright offended. But that’s okay. He knows his routine is not for everyone, so much so in fact he even opens this show with a note of warning about what to expect from his show. And then the anger-fueled rants continue from there.
When I first sat down for this I really wasn’t sure what I’d be getting into, since all I had seen to judge him on were from the times he appeared on The Daily Show. But I have to say he had me reeled in once he started ranting about the absurdity of Valentine’s Day being six weeks after Christmas and at the height of flu season. Granted I can’t even picture Black celebrating any holiday with the exception of possibly April Fool’s and using it as ammunition to simply degrade people even more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on September 12th, 2012
There is a long line of adaptations of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and here we have a modern re-telling of the classic horror tale. Like the original, Dr. Jekyll is experimenting on a wild potion, but while experimenting on himself a malevolent alter-ego named Mr. Hyde emerges from within him to go on killing sprees.
The original tale is told from the point of view of the attorney enlisted to help solve this problem. In this film, the attorney is both an aid to Jekyll and a love interest. While this added romantic element does make for some added moments of increased tension when Hyde attacks the woman Jekyll is falling for, it mostly just makes the movie feel more cliché and makes the flow of the story much more boring and predictable with the plot falling into the usual "final-girl" or "boy must save girl" trappings when relying on their relationship to be the anchor of the conflict, when there are so many more interesting elements at play.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on September 10th, 2012
Geared towards pre-schoolers, and their fascination with dinosaurs, this show teaches us about dinosaurs, one at a time, in 10-minute episodes. A group of young dinosaurs, eager to learn, travel on a magical train through time to meet the dinosaur highlighted in their episode.
This particular DVD collection focuses on the biggest of the dinosaurs, the sauropods (long neck behemoths). The lack of variety might hinder whatever education this show is wishing to tender to it's young viewers. Making a dinosaur one neon colour versus another doesn't do enough to distinguish each beast. There are unique mini-adventures attached to each lesson but there is hardly enough narrative or even gags for children to be grabbed by this. If your child happens to be a huge fan of this type of dinosaur...then by all means, feed them this assembly line of incredibly similar beasts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 10th, 2012
Remember when I mentioned the difficulty of reviewing a season in the middle of the show’s run? This week, I shall attempt to review two different HBO shows at the end of their respective run. Yes, I will be piecing together a show that is in its last season with very little (or no knowledge) of the seasons before. This should be a fun ride and our last entry is the third season of the HBO Comedy: Hung.
Our very own M.W. Phillips was able to review the second season of this show, so feel free to check that out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 10th, 2012
If you have a low tolerance for quirky indie comedies, just listening to the premise of Goats might be enough to make you gag. The film follows Ellis, a responsible 15-year-old Tucson boy who decides to attend a prestigious East Coast prep school. Left behind are his flaky, New Age-y mother and Goat Man, a pool man/weed grower who is also Ellis’s primary father figure. In case you’re already rolling your eyes, let me assure you there’s slightly more going on here than quirk for quirk’s sake.
The central joke is that the most stable adult Ellis (a mature, non-showy Graham Phillips) has ever known is Goat Man (David Duchovny), a kind soul who appears, at first glance, to have worse hygiene than the goats he spends most of his time with. Then again, Goat Man pretty much wins by default because Ellis’s mother Wendy (Vera Farmiga) is more interested in her own spiritual rituals and new boyfriend (Justin Kirk) than she is in trivial things like paying her bills. (Ellis handles all the finances.) Wendy, however, is lucid enough to become enraged when Ellis decides to attend Gates Academy, the same prep school where his father (Ty Burrell) studied.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 9th, 2012
One of my strongest assets is my ability to compute numbers. It has helped me to excel at my paying position in the workforce as well as stay ahead when it comes to my finances. However, to date I have never really been placed in a position where my mastery of numbers would determine life or death. However, our movie today, Safe does involve a girl named Mei whose very life indeed could end on the basis of whether or not she can properly remember her numbers.
As our story opens, we find ourselves in a subway with a Chinese girl named Mei (played by Catherine Chan) who is very scared and alone. But if we transport ourselves just an hour earlier, we find that same girl in front of the Russian mob. Emile Docheski (played by Sandor Tecsy) demands that Mei give him the numbers. Numbers? Well, to understand that we need to travel to a year ago.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on September 7th, 2012
James Caan and Paul Sorvino are prominently featured on the DVD cover of this true life gangster tale. (The cover also features a bloated Edward Furlong of Terminator 2 fame, but the trio only has a combined 20-25 minutes of screen time.) It’s almost as if the filmmakers figured that, by having supporting actors from The Godfather and Goodfellas, some of the greatness from two of the best crime films of all time would somehow rub off on their modest venture. As you can probably tell from the tone of this opening paragraph, it didn’t exactly work.
For the Love of Money introduces us to Izek (Cody Longo), a Tel Aviv teenager in 1973, and his colorful family. Izek and his cousin Yoni (Jonathan Lipnicki…yes, THAT Jonathan Lipnicki) dream of becoming successful enough to buy their own Ford Mustangs. Yoni’s brother Levi (Oded Fehr) is a bank robbing criminal, while Izek works in his older brother Jacob’s (Michael Benyaer) bar, which features an illegal casino frequented by local scumbags including wild card wannabe tough guy Tommy Goldberg (Furlong).
