Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 16th, 2007
Despite its lame title, I've been excited about seeing Live Free or Die Hard since it was announced. The Bruce Willis franchise has been a favourite of mine for a long time, thanks to the original Die Hard which stands as one of the greatest action films of all time.
Willis reveals in the commentary that he and director Len Wiseman (Underworld) set out to make a Die Hard movie that surpasses the middle two in the series and is as good as the first. While Willis apparently feels they succeeded, I beg to differ. Live Free or Die Hard is certainly a good action flick, but nothing can ever surpass Die Hard in my book. Opinions of the film aside, this DVD set is sure to satisfy John McClane fans of any stripe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 15th, 2007
You would think that after seven years, CSI would begin to show a little wear and tear around the edges. When you factor in the dilution of the two other versions of the franchise with a combined 8 years of episodes, you end up with 15 years and over 250 episodes of CSI total. Certainly even the best of shows with the most imaginative writers can’t stay fresh for that long. Still, somehow, the gang at CSI continues to crank out compelling drama, rarely repeating itself. Every year I go into a new season of CSI expecting to find it starting to show its age a bit, and every year I continue to be amazed. The fact is that season 7 just might be the best year of CSI to date. Each episode begins with The Who asking the question: Who are you? I have to say that after seven years the answer is, still a fan.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 12th, 2007
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Five years ago, Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme were riding high with the best drama on Television, The West Wing, which is hands-down my favourite show ever. When word got out about a new Sorkin/Schlamme project set for the '06-'07 season, I was more excited than a monkey at the banana harvest. Expectations — mine and everyone else's — were sky-high for this new series, a behind-the-scenes drama about an SNL-type sketch comedy show. It would be the finest new show since The West Wing debuted in '99, Sorkin would once again raise the bar in prime-time entertainment and the collective intelligence of the human race would be elevated to the stratosphere.
Ok, not so much. While Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip premiered with much fanfare and critical praise, the series quickly slumped and never recovered. That made me angry, like a monkey whose monkey-mom made him stay home from the banana harvest. It's just not fair! So this review is about a good show killed by hype. Alas, Studio 60, you died too young.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 5th, 2007
The name of this double-pack is slightly misleading, but that is not to suggest the film and television mini-series on offer are in any way bad. Quite the contrary, in fact. It’s just that they aren’t exactly “action” films per se. So don’t pick this up hoping for something in the vein of The Road Warrior. Instead, these are brutally intense dramas with strong action elements. Both titles are excellent.
Metal Skin is a 1994 effort from director Geoffrey (Romper Stomper) Wright. He returns here to the world of youth subculture. Here, instead of Skinheads, this is a world of underground races, but the denizens are just as doomed as in the earlier film. The main character is a disturbed young man whose dreams of driving a fast car and forming a romantic attachment are utterly deluded. He has a fraught relationship with a trio, each of whom has his/her own reasons to see the world as a black hellhole. When the car-duel climax arrives, it is earned at the emotional level, and makes the likes of The Fast and the Furious look even more anaemic than it already is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 5th, 2007
There are few things as tragic as potential that is unrealized. Whether it’s by choice or by extenuating circumstances, to see a life cut down before it has a chance to develop and make an imprint on the world is sad to see. And it seems to happen disproportionately among musicians. In most casts, drugs frequently has been the main culprit (see Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin), or suicide in some cases (Kurt Cobain being the more notable name in recent memory). But when an entertainer is murdered, the abrupt nature of the crime seems to shake many to the core. It was sad four decades ago when Sam Cooke was murdered, and equally disappointing two decades later when Marvin Gaye was felled by the hands of his father. When Selena Quintanilla was murdered by her business manager in 1995, it sent shockwaves through the Latin music community. Here was a young woman on the fast track to superstardom, gunned down before her full promise could be delivered.
With the cooperation of the Quintanilla family, Selena was made in part to make sure any films that were being made without the family’s approval would be made null and void. So while Selena’s father Abraham had the final say over what was included in the film, the film itself was written and directed by Gregory Nava (Bordertown), and in the main role, a young pre-diva Jennifer Lopez (Gigli) as the Tejano star. Her charisma is noticed early in her life by Abraham (Edward James Olmos, Miami Vice), who was a musician in his early days and he wants Selena to do well and maybe be a star while avoiding the things he had to endure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 2nd, 2007
This box set of three movies tries to take advantage of a college course theme to generate interest for films already available in these same editions. This collection uses Astronomy to bunch together three lighthearted science fiction adventures. The films are Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Spaceballs, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension. The lesson we’re really learning here is how corporate quests for profits can reach almost ridiculous proportions. Many studios are running low on the films in their libraries that have yet to be released but still have a market to sustain a DVD title. The obvious answer to this dilemma is double, triple, and beyond dipping. The idea is to repackage a film, maybe add an extra or two, often not, and put it in a newer, shinier package. In theory we unsavvy buyers are like wild raccoons who can’t resist putting their hands on that new glittering design and will buy products which we already own. It would sound silly, except that it works. Record companies have been doing it for decades. Elvis has been dead for almost 30 years, but there’s still at least one new Elvis CD every year since. OK. Rant out of the way. Let’s talk about the three films in the package.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 2nd, 2007
The Sopranos, called by some the greatest TV show in history, is over. With a much-publicized fade-to-black finish, the series finale aired June 10, 2007, leaving fans to forever speculate about the fate of Tony Soprano. Many were disappointed at this ambiguous ending, but I'm sure a similar number enjoyed having some major loose ends.
It's all academic for me, because I hadn't watched the series since its season three finale, and only caught the end when this DVD set came my way for review. After catching up on seasons four, five and six (part one) through synopses, I sat down to experience The Sopranos' closing act.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2007
I love CSI and have been an avid fan from day one. I think it brought a fresh look to the procedural crime dramas that have long ago become just a little stale and predictable. The problem is that the series has gone the Dick Wolf route of branching out so that the final product might be a little diluted. Unlike the Law & Order franchise, each version of CSI has attempted to take on a unique look and style to reflect the location without giving up those elements which are the tradition of the series. CSI:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 28th, 2007
What happens when the reviewer who did Dante's Cove decides to tackle its vampiresque cousin, The Lair? (Besides scheduling more sessions with his psychiatrist) You get somebody who starts understanding what makes up the Here! network. We're homies, we break bread together. Just don't expect me to wear my pants that low nor participate in your late night parties. I got an image to uphold. Season one of the Lair provides something that no other show on the Here! network has proved to this point. A show where there is actual dialog and something more than a cheap excuse to show lots and lots of male on male action. Welcome to the Fang Bang.
The Lair is the story of a journalist, Thom (played by David Moretti ) who is investigating the John Doe murders when he comes across a janitor, Frankie (played by Brian Nolan) who gives him information about a club called the Lair. The Lair as it turns out is a sex club with all gay male clientèle (expect gratuitous scenes of six or seven men at a time doing things that would make Ron Jeremy walk out of the room) who have much darker secrets than their lifestyle. They are vampires. The vampires are lead by Damian (played by Peter Stickles) and Colin (played by Dylan Vox). Colin looks like he should be the double for Billy Idol's next televised concert. Seriously, I expected him to bust out with White Wedding at any moment. The story starts to get interesting when Thom's jealous boyfriend Jonathan (played by Jessie Cutlip) goes to the Lair and finds himself in a deadly situation. This leads to Thom who must keep himself alive and in the process unravel the mystery of how the John Doe murders and the Lair are connected.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2007
I don't think any documentarian in history has been as famous as Ken Burns. His series on the Civil War is what first made him a household name, and his in depth looks at baseball, New York City and jazz are what has solidified his place in the American consciousness as the world's premiere documentary filmmaker. He is so well-respected, in fact, that his method of making still photographs interesting by zooming and panning is actually known as the Ken Burns Effect.
Burns' latest film endeavor focuses on World War II, which may be the most covered documentary subject in history. This topic should present his greatest challenge; a subject that has millions of experts and thousands of pre-existing documentaries, including the very well respected "The World At War", which is considered the gold standard. There are still many veterans of the war alive today, which could be both a blessing and a curse. While they can certainly help with insight into key events, they are also the first to criticize if the film does not accurately portray the battles as they transpired. It is a tall order, but if anyone could meet this challenge, Ken Burns is the one to do it.
