Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2006
Cedric the Entertainer – Taking You Higher is Cedric’s first solo HBO Comedy Special. He made his mark in the biz as a top-notch, critically acclaimed stand-up comedian, and has also appeared in a series of lackluster films like Be Cool and Big Momma’s House. I don’t think many would argue against the assertion that Cedric is at his best on stage, doing stand-up.
For proof, look to this hour-long HBO Special. Cedric the Entertainer lives up to his name in this show, which offers up about four parts stand-up, one part song and dance. Backed by an eight-piece band and a group of scantily clad dancers Cedric calls “the Cedibles,” he opens the show with a high-energy musical number. Turns out, Cedric can actually sing a little bit. He throws in a few jokes during the song, and it sets the flavor of the show to come.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2006
A letter from the filmmakers included with this disc reads, ”I guess some people will find… The King pretty extreme.” I had barely heard of this indy film going in, so I had few presuppositions to influence my experience. But before hitting play I read the letter, and that statement stuck with me as I watched. I wanted to know whether I was one of those people.
It turned out that I was. Sort of. There are aspects to this story that are so dark and twisted that I often found myself squirming as the scenes unfolded. At the same time, though, I found The King mostly the opposite of extreme. I had fully expected to see a blood-spattering climax of emotions fueled by secrets, sin and betrayal. In fact, after reading the filmmaker’s letter, I figured the picture would get messy pretty early on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2006
Sam Elliott is a fine actor, but he is almost always typecast as a cowboy. He is an excellent cowboy, tall and thin with a weathered face and a deep drawl. The thing is, he is a fine actor in more traditional roles as well. While I frequently enjoy his work as a cowboy, I have always felt that he may have turned in his finest performance as White House Chief of Staff Kermit Newman in The Contender.
He breaks out of his traditional role yet again with The Avenger, a TNT original film that stars Elliott as a mercenary hired to find a lost aid worker in Serbia, and discovers much more than he is looking for in the process. The typical plot lines of powerful men in high places plotting in smoke-filled rooms are plentiful, but it is enjoyable trash all the same. There was a time in the not-too-distant past that “made for TV” equaled “don't waste your time”. Networks such as TNT and HBO have tried their best to change that mindset, and I am happy to find that the stereotype is shifting toward the positive.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2006
If Jackass was on the Travel Channel, the result would be Wildboyz. I think this show can best be described as “perversely fascinating”. On the one hand, any sane person would never sit in a hot tub full of alligators, or step into the ring with a champion Thai boxer. On the other hand, it really is fascinating to see these morons visit the wilds of Africa, see rat-infested temples in India or face off against the Russian hockey team. While most travel programs would discuss the history of the locations...they visit, these guys truly experience the places for themselves, no matter the risk to personal safety. For instance, while many know of the ancient ritual of bathing in the Ganges river, only these fools are crazy enough to dive into the disease and sewage-filled water for a bath today.
Finally, a word of clarification; “uncensored” does not really mean uncensored. The language in these episodes is uncensored, but nudity is not. Believe me, it's all for the best. While the thought of visiting a nudist camp or seeing a tribe of cannibals may sound like fun in theory, believe me, once you see the boys visit a nudist camp in Louisiana, you will be thankful that the blurry boxes have been left in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2006
If Jackass was on the Travel Channel, the result would be Wildboyz. I think this show can best be described as “perversely fascinating”. On the one hand, any sane person would never sit in a hot tub full of alligators, or step into the ring with a champion Thai boxer. On the other hand, it really is fascinating to see these morons visit the wilds of Africa, see rat-infested temples in India or face off against the Russian hockey team. While most travel programs would discuss the history of the locations...they visit, these guys truly experience the places for themselves, no matter the risk to personal safety. For instance, while many know of the ancient ritual of bathing in the Ganges river, only these fools are crazy enough to dive into the disease and sewage-filled water for a bath today.
Finally, a word of clarification; “uncensored” does not really mean uncensored. The language in these episodes is uncensored, but nudity is not. Believe me, it's all for the best. While the thought of visiting a nudist camp or seeing a tribe of cannibals may sound like fun in theory, believe me, once you see the boys visit a nudist camp in Louisiana, you will be thankful that the blurry boxes have been left in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2006
Synopsis
I thought I knew all about Stick It based on the cover of the disc: “From the Writer of Bring It On”. That’s it, game over. What I could expect was a film where the girls ruled the show, the adults, if they could be found, were pretty marginal, and there would be a lot of ass shots. But despite all the semi-glorified ass shots, Stick It isn’t necessarily a bad movie. In fact, I kinda liked it. Maybe it’s all the ass exposure, I don’t know. Whatever the reason, the 103 minutes ...f Stick It start with Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym, Catwoman), your proverbial rebel with a load of talent who keeps pissing it away by rebelling on anything and anybody. And as punishment for vandalizing a house, her father (and yes, that is Uncle Rico himself, Jon Gries, from Napoleon Dynamite) gets her to rejoin a gymnastics academy she dropped out of as part of her restitution, community service, etc.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2006
I admit it. I thought our heroes at Stargate Command had finally had it for sure. Were the replicators back? How about the dreaded G’Ould? Perhaps another serious malfunction of the Gate caused by Carter’s meddling was about to tear a hole in the time/space continuum. What was I so sure might spell doom for Earth’s last line of defense? We’ve already escaped fiendish bombs and other devious devices. Plagues and epidemics? No problem. Just business as usual at the SGC. No. These things are just minor worries compar...d to that ruthless killer: major cast changes. Not only do we lose Richard Dean Anderson whose name appeared in larger letters above the title, but some of the new crew makes Stargate SG-1 look like a Farscape spin-off. Ben Browder takes over the team as Mitchell and Claudia Black returns as that interstellar con artist, Vala. Beau Bridges fills the very large shoes left by Don S. Davis as Gen Hammond to command the SGC. Yeah, I know Anderson took the gig for a while, but did we ever really believe that was going to last? A new base doctor comes to life, thanks to Andromeda’s living ship Lexa Doig. Even the villains are the new baddie Ori, and man, are they tough. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Shows like Law & Order have made cast changes the norm, but even on that show, never were so many major characters and threads changed so quickly. So call it Stargate SG-1 version 2.0. So how could all of this occur and leave our beloved series the same animal it always was? The answer is simple. It can’t.
I won’t go so far as to say the show is better, but I will say that it reinvented itself quite nicely after all. The powers that be made some smart choices after all. Teaming Black with Shanks avoids the inevitable Farscape trappings. It turns out the two of them have some rather fine, if awkward, chemistry. How about those new bad guys. Another great approach was to finally give us new enemies. The old story lines have pretty much run their natural course. The Ori are wickedly wonderful heavies. It’s not lost on me the religious fanatic angle either. Fortunately the creative team remains, so the writing and production values remain as high as ever. Now we’re exploring more Anglican mythology as we explore the traditions of Camelot and Arthur. The end result is a show we can still feel familiar and comfortable with, yet enjoy a fresh new take. If you are willing to give it a chance, I think that this new Stargate SG-1 will grow on you. So maybe let’s call it version 1.2.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2006
Tinto Brass, reigning high priest of the handsomely mounted skin flick, returns with this portmanteau feature. Six couples spice up their sex lives as the women have sex with other people and their menfolk watch/hear about it/join in too.This is the most explicit film from Brass to come out on the Cult Epics label, in that a fair bit of the sex here is not simulated. The tone is consistently cheerful, and there are some quite funny moments. The performers look more like real people than one might expect, and so, all in all, this ain't deep, but it's better than most efforts of its kind.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Fred MacMurray (whose line in match-lighting is so cool, I’d take up smoking just to be able to do that) is an insurance salesman. Edwards G. Robinson is a claims investigator with an infallible nose for fraud. MacMurray stops by the home of Barbara Stanwyck (as fatale as any a femme ever was) to make a sale. Instead, he’s sold on the idea of killing her husband for a massive insurance payoff. He concocts a scheme for what should be the perfect murder. But nothing in this life is perfect.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2006
Few names are as recognizable as that of Boris Karloff. The gentle English actor who brought us the sweet Christmas tale “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” also brought us some of the most terrifyingly wonderful performances in the history of the business. Cursed with a harsh enough look, Karloff was denied the mainstream success his ability so obviously warranted. He was one of the founders of the Screen Actor’s Guild and was extremely active in charity work throughout his lengthy career. Still, mainstream Hollywoo...’s loss was horrordom’s gain. From his first guttural grunts and hand gestures that brought alive the mute monster in Frankenstein, Karloff exhibited extraordinary brilliance in each performance. Even when forced to take unflattering parts in B productions, Karloff was the consummate professional. He always brought his A game. That dedication took what were originally throwaway parts and molded them like the craftsman he was into magnificent works of art. Here in the Boris Karloff Collection are five of those lesser known parts. No real monsters to speak of; Karloff shines in each film. Certainly these films can be described as diamonds in the rough, but leave it to Boris to teach us that there are no small films, at least not when the credits began with the name Karloff.
“Night Key” Karloff plays an inventor of a wireless alarm system. As often happens with Karloff’s characters, he’s ripped off by his partner who turns his system into a wealthy business for himself cutting Mallory (Karloff) out. But unlike other Karloff characters in this situation, Mallory seeks a non-violent revenge. What Mallory creates, he can also destroy as “Night Key”. Using his own device, Mallory, along with a small time crook, breaks into shops protected by his old partner’s firm, but not to steal. He’s only trying to make a point, until the local head hood comes calling to use the device to line his pockets. Of course, this really isn’t a horror film at all, but Karloff will make it worth your while.
