Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 4th, 2007
Sometimes when you sit down to review a dvd, you are treated to a fantasy. However, sometimes that fantasy isn't all it seems and leaves you with a blank expression and curious feelings of being unfulfilled (kinda like that marriage I had). Anyhow, I took the dubious task of reviewing Lesbian Sex & Sexuality, a television show that is on the here! network who also bring you such fine shows such as Dante's Cove. (okay; so I gave Season 2 a 2 out of 5, who's counting?) The show is very simple and has a very provocative premise. That premise is to take a mostly uncensored (I'll explain later) look at the secret and rarely explained world of lesbian sex. All kinds of subjects would be explored from fantasies to erotic dancers to the ever popular porn films. No stone and no position would be left untouched. No girl either. Men, well...anyhow the show is broken down into six half-hour episodes across two discs.
The initial problem that most people realize is that this show very much has a documentary premise. Sure there is skin and plenty of it but any male or female who is looking for a good time should probably consult their partner or an escort service (I don't know anything). However, the show succeeds on many levels; the main one being to inform the viewer on all of levels of lesbian sex. An example episode might take you along with Cinnamon, Molasses and Sugar (Tarragon ended up finding a gig in Brookshire) as they take you on a tour of the world of Go-Go Dancing. While another episode might take you behind the scenes of SIR Video (who were initially famous for their Bend Over Boyfriend series of porno films (*drums fingers and sighs*)). There are aspects of lesbian sex that are very different from heterosexual sex or even gay male sex. This series helps to exploit that. Once you get past the first two episodes, the show seems to run out of gas. The rest of the shows are essentially uninteresting and while staying on subject; do little to further entice the viewer.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 31st, 2007
I don’t care what anyone thinks, A Night at the Roxbury is awesome. Back when Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan would do the skits on Saturday Night Live I loved it, and when the movie came out I pumped. This was back when I was barley a teenager and for me, this one has still got it. The hard part is explaining why this movie is so funny to me and its cult following. It has no real story, character development, etc. But still it manages to keep me laughing, time and time again. I’ll get more into that later, for those of you who haven’t seen A Night at the Roxbury I’ll play it out for you.
It doesn’t really get much simpler than this; Doug (Chris Kattan, Corky Romano) and Steve (Will Ferrell, Blades of Glory) Butabi (Are they brothers? No…. Yes!) love the nightlife, and aspire to be club owners. The only thing is they can’t ever get into any clubs despite there flashy threads and their dad’s BMW. Until one night a chance accident with Richard Grieco (21 Jump Street) leads them into the doors of the infamous Roxbury. Here they meet the clubs owner Benny Zadir (Chazz Palminteri, Running Scared) and hit it off with him and some club girls. The girls of course think they have money, and spend the night with them at Zadir’s house party. The Butabi’s pitch an idea for a club to Mr.Zadir that he loves, but apparently the next morning his assistant Dooey (Colin Quinn, Saturday Night Live) says that wasn’t the first time he picked up some losers and dumped them the next day. Everything seems to be falling apart for the Butabi brothers, can they get it together? Wow that makes this movie sound a whole lot more dramatic than it is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 31st, 2007
Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) is a successful engineer who recently discovers his wife’s infidelity. He becomes aware that she has been sleeping with a police detective, which pushes Ted to the point of shooting his wife. Initially he confesses to the crime, and it looks to be an easy win for rising star district attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling, The Notebook). This is of course until Ted redacts his confession and engages in a battle of wits with Beachum. After enticing the arresting officer and adulterer into attacking him in the courtroom Ted’s case begins to look optimistic. Eventually he is acquitted of his charges and Beachum becomes obsessed with the case knowing that Ted is guilty. He literally puts his career on the line to find out what happened and even tries speaking with Ted’s comatose wife.
Fracture is one of those movies that I really wanted to like, but I couldn’t. The story wasn’t very intriguing and it just seemed to drag on and on with no real closure. As well, for a movie claiming to be suspenseful I can’t even recall one time where I was holding my breath. But despite the film having what I thought was a pretty weak script, the acting all around was quite impressive. In each performance he makes Ryan Gosling gets better and better, I think this Canadian native has quite a bright future ahead. I don’t think I need to mention that Anthony Hopkins played a terrific role as well, and they really paired up nicely. But great acting couldn’t save Fracture which was ultimately to stale. Not to say it was a complete waste of time either, this movie is worth checking out once but I couldn’t recommend it being worth a purchase.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 30th, 2007
1998 marked an interesting time for the career of Robin Williams. The previous year he stared in his Oscar Winning Role via Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting, which was a somewhat rare role for Williams as it showcased his dramatic side. Obviously hoping for similar success, Williams followed that excellent role with another role that, at some points, finds itself just as good as his performance in Hunting.
Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) has just endured the part of life that any parent fears. Both of his children have been killed in a car accident. His wife Annie (Annabella Sciorra) is extremely distraught by this as is Chris. She falls into a suicidal state seemingly blaming herself for her the passing of her children. Events don’t improve when suddenly Chris is killed in a car crash. Upon his death, Chris wonders around the planet witnessing his funeral. Soon he finds out that his wife is dead, making him think that they might be reunited in heaven as perfect ‘soul-mates’. The only problem in this equation is that Annie has committed suicide, thus sending her to Hell (where all those who commit suicide go). Determined to bring his wife back from eternal torment, we (as the audience) are invited in a visual masterpiece from director Vincent Ward that includes almost 3-Dimensional glances into an Impressionist world of suffering that channels Dante’s Inferno in a splendid, visually stunning manner.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 29th, 2007
Maybe you're wondering why there's a movie starring Zach Braff (Scrubs) and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) that you never heard about. That's what I was doing when I first received this disc. I'm a big fan of Braff, and a moderate fan of Bateman, so why was I not in the know on The Ex?
I'll tell you why. The Ex had only a limited North American release in late 2006, and under a different title: Fast Track. It bombed. Then it disappeared for all but a handful of foreign markets, before washing ashore in DVD-land.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 29th, 2007
This HBO comedy series throws down a huge gauntlet, then flails its limbs around maniacally in a futile attempt to live up to the challenge. Bad Boys of Comedy is billed as an evolution of black comedy that builds on the revolution led by the likes of Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. P. Diddy, executive producer and host, promises young, edgy and unique comics, untapped virtuosos who will push the boundaries of humor and entertainment. What a crock.
I watched all nine 30-minute episodes in this second season, and I laughed aloud three times — one guffaw and two chuckles. More importantly, I heard something fresh and insightful once, from one comic out of 36. That's not exactly what I'd expect from a comedy revolution.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 28th, 2007
Lets face it, at one point or another we’ve all watched The Simpsons, and I’m sure at points we’ve all loved it. But I don’t think it’s a matter of debate that as the years went on the show seemed to have lost its touch, its uniqueness. With shows like Family Guy and American Dad pushing the envelope it’s hard to enjoy The Simpsons as much as we get older. But nonetheless there are millions of you who still love this show. For me its hard to pinpoint when The Simpsons took it’s turn for the worse, does Season 10 get classic status, or is it on the downside of the slope?
Simply put Season 10 gets thumbs up from me; these episodes still had the ability to make me laugh. Included are some classics like When You Dish upon a Star, Tree house of Horror IX, Lisa gets an “A”, Homer Simpson in: “Kidney Trouble”, and much more. These journeys take The Simpson family everywhere from Las Vegas, the Super Bowl, the open road, Tokyo, and all the way back to biblical times. The laughs don’t seem as cheap or predictable as the newly aired episodes do; these 23 episodes are uniquely enjoyable. So whether you’re buying every odd season of the show, or your buying them all in order, Season 10 isn’t one to pass up on. It sure is hard to believe that since this season aired nearly 200 more episodes have been drawn up. But this is back when the show had the ability to keep me captivated and surely not many more seasons beyond this will be able to get me to laugh.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2007
Every office has one. Peggy Spade (
If you come to the film expecting a cozy little dog film you can cuddle up with, you will be disappointed. Having a stubborn Siberian Husky myself, I am almost always suckered into pretty much any film that has dogs in it. I even converted my wife. A long standing cat person, she fell in love with the puppy dog eyes of a pointer mix. That should tell you that I am predisposed to like most dog films. I wish I could tell you I liked Year Of The Dog.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 27th, 2007
Holy crap, Soul Food was a show?!?!? Wait, let me rephrase that to even more unbelievable standards. Holy crap, Soul Food the show lasted for a lot of seasons? I’ve never really seen too much of Soul Food in either small box or large screen viewing, but amazingly I’ve been transformed into the resident critic of all things “African”, as Seth Rogen said in Superbad. I don’t have a problem with it, I’m just waiting for my improved athletic skills and membership card, that’s all.
For those not familiar with Soul Food, the tale is pretty simple. Based on George Tillman’s 1997, the show centers around the sisters of a family. There’s Teri (Nicole Ari Parker, Boogie Nights), Tracy (Malinda Williams, Idlewild) and Maxine (Vanessa Williams, Melrose Place). They occasionally fight, but they are family and are shown with their strengths and weaknesses. This season was supposed to be particularly strong, coming off of a cliffhanger to end Season One.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 27th, 2007
Over the course of all of the reality shows out there, someone decided to want to do one with the goal of finding the next big stand up comedian of North America. But with every comic remotely worth something having done at least a stand up special for a television show of some sort, the search to find a decent stand up was a long one, to say the least. And after several “winners”, are any one of them really top shelf material? Of course not.
So enter Showtime, home of such quality shows like Weeds, attempting to promote culturally aware entertainment down the collective premium cable buying throats of America, with their show White Boyz in the Hood. Simply put, the show pulls together some stand up talent of the caucasion persuasion and puts them on stage in front of a mostly African-American crowd. In the spirit of Def Comedy Jam and similar shows of that ilk, it’s an interesting idea.
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