Disc Reviews

"I think this is just the beginning."

Walker is out on DVD. No, this is not the next spin-off of the zombie Walking Dead franchise. There's a new ranger in town, and his name is Cordell Walker. I know what you're thinking: "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." That's where you'd be wrong. They might share the same name and job, but this Walker is nothing like the Chuck Norris version that lasted for over a decade when you include made-for-television movies. This Walker is much younger. He was a Marine who had joined after 9/11. He has a family. His wife was killed a year ago, and now he's trying to raise his son and daughter with the help of his parents, who were no longer living in the Norris series.

"If you've got the money you can do what you like. Buy another man's life? Why not?"

There are few writers in the 20th century who have had the kind of career Graham Greene had. He was recruited by England's secret service MI6 where his sister was also an agent and spent time around the world. These experiences likely helped him write the kinds of international thrillers that made him one o the most successful writers in the 20th century. His final novel went a little against the grain of his reputation. The Tenth Man doesn't take us too far afield, and it's far more of an intimate tale than he was known for. It would also be his final novel before his death in 1991. But he lived to see it filmed, albeit as a Hallmark Television made for TV film in 1988.

"There is an old saying that blood is thicker than water."

We've had Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Gene Simmons with his Family Jewels, and even Snoop Dog's Father Hood. It's become a bit of a trend to follow these celebrity families around and watch the drama of their privileged lives unfold on our television screens. You might think it's a relatively recent phenomenon, but would you believe they were doing it back in the infant days of television when we followed around a musician named Ozzie and his wife way back in 1952? No, we're not talking about Ozzie Osbourne and his family. I'm talking about Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. They were television's darling family before we ever heard about Lucy and Desi.

Not crazy about the title. Personally, I think that the title of the novel on which this film is based  would have been better suited given the film’s plot. Based on a 1989 Sara Bird novel by the name of The Boyfriend School, this 1990 comedy tells to story of Gus Kubicek, a depressed and overweight cartoonist who is in love with a woman that won’t seem to give him the time of day. I’ve heard some excuses for getting out of having to go out with someone, but lying and saying you have to have dental surgery; that’s pretty low. Despite seeing numerous movies that utilize the “judging a book by its cover” trope, I still was able to see the appeal of the film, as soon as I was able to put myself into the mindset of the film’s time period. By doing this, I was able to avoid perceptions of it being cliché. This was a necessary measure to take, especially if you would like to be able to enjoy the film in 2022. Even so, I’m still not a big fan of the title.