Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007
Synopsis
It always feels good when you go into a film with very little expectations. Such as the case with Griffin and Phoenix, other than Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), who is apparently in every fricken movie that involves the words “romantic” or “comedy”. While Griffin and Phoenix is a mite bit romantic and its story is hardly new, its execution makes things a bit more pleasant.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007
Synopsis
It always feels good when you go into a film with very little expectations. Such as the case with Griffin and Phoenix, other than Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), who is apparently in every fricken movie that involves the words “romantic” or “comedy”. While Griffin and Phoenix is a mite bit romantic and its story is hardly new, its execution makes things a bit more pleasant.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007
Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as Dr. Frasier Crane in the ninth season of Frasier. Spanning eleven seasons, winning 39 Emmy Awards, and being one of the most critically acclaimed shows of its time, these are just a few of the achievements Frasier amounted during its eleven year run. So there’s no denying that Frasier has quite a following and for any of us who have watched can admit that it has its moments, and its more ‘sophisticated’ humor can be quite funny at times.
For those of y...u that aren’t familiar with this program I’ll fill you in on its premise before I get into the Season nine details. I’m sure most of you remember Dr. Frasier Crane drinking his money away with his fellow alcoholics in that little Boston pub, Cheers. If you know that much then I’m sure you can put it together that Frasier is a spinoff of the character created on Cheers, making Frasier the most successful spin off on television. The show began with Frasier moving back to his hometown of Seattle after a divorce. Before he gets to enjoy the bachelor life he takes in his father Martin, who is an ex cop and due to being shot in the line of fire has retired and left physically disabled. Among the frequent visitors to Frasier’s house are Daphne who is Martin’s physical therapist, Niles who is Frasier’s brother and a fellow psychiatrist, and Roz Doyle who is a producer on Frasier’s radio call in show. The overall feel of this show is somewhat intellectual, the main characters are pompous, but that doesn’t mean you have to be high society to enjoy the show. Although some of the jokes require a bit more thought that you’re standard sit-com just about anyone can enjoy Frasier.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007
Moral Orel airs on Adult Swim, and like a lot of programs on Swim, each episode is about 12 minutes long. After watching only a few episodes, I just knew this show must face a lot of criticism. A lot of the subject matters are pretty touchy - from the eleven year old Orel smoking crack to him impregnating the neighborhoods mothers. Although pretty much all races and denominations take a shot throughout this show, the blunt of all jokes are taken by Protestants. Without getting into a whole religious tirade, I’...l say that as a Christian I don’t find this show overly offensive. Sure there are some things I don’t like about the show, or views that are expressed, but you have to take it with a grain of salt. With that being said, this show isn’t for everyone. A lot of Christians will probably find it offensive, but if you look past the initial shock of some of the jokes, this show can be pretty funny.
The premise of the show is simple. It begins with Orel listening to his Reverend dictate a passage from the bible, then the rest of the episode is based on Orel taking this lesson way to literally. This show is so far out there, how could it be offensive?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 28th, 2007
Prior to Top Gun with Tom Cruise and long before The Guardian with Ashton Kutcher, An Officer and a Gentleman was the film about a hot-headed hotshot military trainee headed for glory or self-destruction.
Starring a youthful Richard Gere (Chicago), An Officer and a Gentleman follows the journey of Zack Mayo, a young man looking to find his place in the world, and to prove he can defy his chaotic, depraved upbringing. His avenue of choice is to become a navy jet pilo..., which means he must first survive officer training under hard-as-nails Gunnery Sergeant Foley (Lou Gosset Jr., Diggstown). Between the tough training and weekend romps with girlfriend Paula (Debra Winger, Shadowlands), a local townie hoping to marry a pilot-to-be and escape her dead-end life, Mayo has a hard time holding on to his selfish, loner persona, and he fights the battle on internal and external levels throughout the film. It takes him a long time to realize he can change, open up to others and actually succeed. It’s a no man is an island story, and while you’re probably familiar with aspects of it from the likes of The Guardian, this film tells it in a more realistic and thus more satisfying way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 27th, 2007
Synopsis
Steven Soderbergh has done a successful job of leveraging his reputation through the years in order to experiment with various directorial techniques and styles. With mainstream successes like Erin Brockovich and Traffic, he’s managed to keep in the spirit of anindependent film, producing stellar, less visible works like Bubble and a remake of Tarkovsky’s Solaris. Many of his works over the last few years have been with George Clooney, who starred in Solaris and < ...>Ocean’s Eleven, and was Soderbergh’s partner in a production house that released their own pieces of cinema. So Clooney and Soderbergh team together on film once again for The Good German, Soderbergh’s ode to ‘40s noir films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 26th, 2007
This just in: Hugh Grant stars in yet another formulaic romantic comedy. Having polished his shtick in such films as Nine Months, Notting Hill and Two Weeks Notice, I’m betting Grant barely had to pay attention on the set of Music and Lyrics.
Rom-com fans will find Grant’s turn with lovable Drew Barrymore (Fever Pitch) more than palatable, I’m sure. Heck, I enjoyed Music and Lyrics, in the way one appreciates the occasional handful of those tiny marshmallows in a mu... of warm cocoa. The film is absolutely formulaic, but it succeeds moderately thanks to the good on-screen chemistry of its star-blessed lovers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
Portions of this review have been "borrowed" from Brendan Surpless' recent review of the HD-DVD version of the disc, which can also be found on the site.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
Synopsis
When I was reviewing Season One of Martin, I was actually on a business trip in New Jersey, fondly recalling the early ‘90s and the huge popularity of the show that bore comedian Martin Lawrence’s name. Since that time, I’m no longer going to New Jersey on business, I’m working better hours, and a movie with Lawrence called Wild Hogs came out. It grossed over $150 million, and starred him, John Travolta and Tim Allen as aging adults who do the Easy Rider road trip. The only thi...g I really have to say about this is that I’m shocked and disappointed in you people, and I hope you never let this type of thing happen in American cinema again.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
OK, it's difficult to talk about Season Three of NCIS without talking about what happened in Season Two of the show, so I'd suggest anyone reading this who hasn't seen it to skip ahead to the next paragraph. OK, done. Season Two of NCIS brought in a cast change that virtually nobody saw coming, let alone the cast member who indicated they wanted to leave anyway. Agent Todd (Sasha Alexander, Mission Impossible: III) had been shot and killed by a terrorist, and her comrades made concerted attempt to avenge her death at the beginning of Season Three.
(OK, spoiler over, come on back). Still, the cast felt a little bit incomplete. Enter Agent Jen Sheppard (Lauren Holly, Dumb and Dumber), to fill the void. At least the remaining members of the cast were still around so that Holly's breaking in period could be a slow and gentle one. You still have the unofficial head of the group in Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon, St. Elsewhere), the young stud who frequently clashes with Gibbs when it comes to style points in Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly, Dark Angel), and the resident tech geeks in McGee (Sean Murray, Hocus Pocus) and Abby (Pauley Perrette, Brother Bear). Holly's character also has a past with Gibbs as it's discovered later in the show, which adds another layer to the relationship of the characters.
