Special Category

Osbournes – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2003

Ozzy’s back! Jack, Kelly, Sharon, and of course Ozzy, have returned for a second season where they share their insane lives with all of the world; the result is a hilarious look at a functioning dysfunctional family. The shock and uniqueness of this show is waning somewhat, but it is still extremely entertaining to watch.

Video

Considering the source material, this set looks just fine. The picture quality is pretty standard “TV on DVD” fair, and the color levels and blacks are maintained…
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Dark Angel – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

Having been recaptured by the government at the end of the previous season (not to mentionalmost killed), Max (Jessica Alba) breaks loose at the start of this season. Also freed are otherexperiments, mutants who are very visibly mutants (their DNA was crossed with that of animals,for instance), ultimately leading to some very X-Men style battles with human prejudice. JamesCameron himself comes in to direct the final episode.

Audio

An energeti…
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Full Bottom – Not Another Half-Arsed DVD Set

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 5th, 2003

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Rik Mayall (Drop Dead Fred) and Adrian Edmondson are the stars in this British comedy about two obnoxious loaners at the bottom of the food chain. Follow along with Richie Richard and Eddie Hitler on their quest for love and money as they try out pheromones, dating services and visit the carnival. This DVD collection contains all three seasons of the show for a total of 18 episodes.

Video

This disc contains a 1.33:1 fullscreen transfer of very good quality. The putrid green color of Richie and Eddie’s apartment comes through in all its grimy glory.
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Smallville – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

The pilot episode lets you know immediately that this is going to be a bit different from thebucolic Smallville stories we might be familiar with. The spaceship containing the child Kal-El(soon to be Clark Kent) doesn’t arrive on its own: it is accompanied by many fragments of theplanet Krypton, which smash destructively into Smallville, killing the parents of Lana Lang (andalmost putting paid to a young Lex Luthor). Flash forward to the present, and we follow ClarkKent thr…
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Holes

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2003

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Disney has done a very good job bringing the children’s novel Hoels to the big screen (or little screen for this DVD release). This film contains a good story with some solid moral values being taught to the young viewers. The story and acting are both quite good, creating a film that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.

Outer Limits: Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2003

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Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with your television set, but what were the network executives thinking? It’s hard to believe that a show as influential and as well known as The Outer Limits never made it to the end of its second season. The original Outer Limits was cancelled just 17 episodes into season 2. Like Star Trek after it, this short-lived show found its footing in later syndication and revival projects. It is fortunate indeed that today’s general rule of 100 episodes to qualify for syndication did not exist in the 1960’s.
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Alias – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2003

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Alias might well be the first TV series better on DVD than its original broadcast. I tried to get into this show when it began two years ago. Fans could have warned me that any attempt to join this series mid-season is a big mistake. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger and the plots are complicated enough that it can be hard to keep up with the intrusion of preemptions and repeats. These DVD’s allow you to watch the show in a logical order without fear of missing an episode which could leave you completely lost.
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Sleeping Beauty

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2003

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In the tradition of DVD releases of other classic Disney films, Sleeping Beauty as been given an all-star DVD treatment. Everyone has grown up watching Disney animated classic films, and everyone knows the story. No matter how many time you see these films, they never go out of style… and so is the case with Sleeping Beauty.

C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2003

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Make no mistake about it. CSI is not your father’s Quincy. The idea of forensic science on drama is not really a unique one. CSI makes its mark with an incredible style not seen before on TV or even in films. The cases are always engaging and the characters and writing remain strong. This second season set is far superior to the initial outing. Paramount finally got the message and released this set in widescreen and with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The packaging, however, is the same awkward and flimsy design offered in year one.
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Stargate SG-1 – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2003

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The fourth season of Stargate SG-1 started with one of the largest f/x episodes of the series. The Replicants, which look a lot like the mecha-spiders from the Lost In Space film are threatening Earth, and it seems all is lost. Of course, fans of the series know that SG-1 will save the day. The stories have continued to build in expanse as the series enters its fourth year. Stargate SG-1 just keeps getting bigger and better. By now I think this might have become the best sci-fi series on TV, rivaling even the …
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Escape to Witch Mountain

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 9th, 2003

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Synopsis

Tony and Tia Malone are different from the other kids at the orphanage. They can makethings move just by thinking about it. Tony can levitate. Tia can talk to animals. They come tothe attention of evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland, doing his patented Mean Rich Guyroutine), who dispatches Donald Pleasance to bring the children to his isolated mansion.Realizing what Bolt wants to exploit them, Tony and Tia escape, and, with the help of crusty-but-good-hearte…
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House of Cards Trilogy, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 2nd, 2003

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Synopsis

Ian Richardson is Sir Francis Urquhart (FU to his friends), a scheming politician whocombines the guiles of Richard III and Iago. In House of Cards, the first mini-series ofthe trilogy, he is the Tory Chief Whip, and has just been disappointed in his expectations by anew prime minister he considers weak. Furious, Urquhart sets about the destruction of his ownprime minister. In To Play the King, Urquhart, now PM, comes up against the willfulnew king (who…
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24 – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 1st, 2003

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24 is one of the most ingenious television plots ever devised… a real-time day in the life of a Counter Terrorist Unit. Like the first season, this second season contains twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat, never knowing what will happen next. Kiefer Sutherland has resurrected his career with this series, and I could not picture another actor more suited to his role. This show is wonderfully casted, magnificently written, and flawlessly executed. If you have never seen this show… now is the p…
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Casablanca

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 26th, 2003

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Synopsis

Surely you know the story. It’s WWII. France has fallen. Refugees from Europe are flowing into Casablanca. Humphrey Bogart is the cynical owner of Rick’s Cafe. His life is disrupted byt he reappearance of former lover Ingrid Bergman, who is married to Resistance leader PaulÂ Henreid. They need to escape to the US. Which way will Bogart go? Will he obey the demands of his heart? His greed? His honour? The film hasn’t aged a day since its release, its grip is as powerful as …
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La Femme Nikita – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 10th, 2003

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Synopsis

Peta Wilson takes on the role previously incarnated by Anne Parillaud and Bridget Fonda.Once a street person, Nikita is forcibly recruited by an ultra-secret government organization andtrained as an assassin. Many adventures ensue. While Wilson certainly has the requisitetoughness and sexiness demanded by the role, the character herself has been largely defanged. Inits film incarnations, the story already ran into problems in the second half, as the formerlyferocious street…
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Tinto Brass Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2003

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Synopsis

There are three movies here: Miranda, The Key and All Ladies Do It(whose Italian title, Cosi Fan Tutti sounds much less awkward). Though taking place indifferent periods (the first two are set in Fascist Italy, while the third is more modern), all threeshare some similarities in terms of plot: a dark haired-beauty has a long series of eroticencounters, but her true love belongs to one man. Handsomely mounted, with nice attention tocolour and costume, the…
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Sherlock Holmes Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2003

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Synopsis

There are four 90-minute telefilms here: “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” “The Sign ofFour,” The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire,” and “The Royal Scandal.” They are of varyingand iffy degrees of fidelity to the Conan Doyle stories. Starring as Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson are, respectively, Matt Freuer and Kenneth Welsh, who essay British accents to varyingdegrees of success. Ex-Max Headroom Freuer puts plenty of energy into his role, but takes it soover-the-top that he co…
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Best of Bonanza – Volume One

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2003

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In the late 1950’s Westerns accounted for six of the top ten programs on TV. Only Gunsmoke had a longer run than Bonanza. From 1959 to 1973 Ben Cartwright and his boys rode across the small screen. Years later in syndication the series re-emerged as Ponderosa and a handful of TV movies continued the tale into the 90’s.We never have grown tired of the genre that gave us such heroes as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. While I am far more in favor of season sets, this best-of collection is a might heapin’ helping of tall tales.
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Chaplin Collection Volume 1, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 30th, 2003

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Synopsis

Chaplin’s career was a long one, and the four films here cover a good span. Chaplin is bestknown for his silent work, and that is represented by Modern Times and The GoldRush. Though the former is also technically his first talkie, it is still primarily silent. Thelatter comes in two versions: the original 1925 release, and the 1942 re-issue, which featured afew new scenes, and the intertitles replaced by Chaplin’s narration (though the film remainsbasically a…
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Futurama, Vol. 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 29th, 2003

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Synopsis

The complete set of episodes from the second season, with our 20th-Century hero nowrelatively well adapted to life in the far-flung future. The characters by this point are wellestablished and a fairly broad ensemble. The series has never struck me as being quite as funnyas the The Simpsons in their prime, but there is still lots of choice material.

Audio

The audio is a 2.0 mix. This is pretty common for TV discs, though it is certainly notnecessary…
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Cape Fear (1991)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 29th, 2003

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Once in a blue moon, though, there’s a re-make that not only takes the original to a new level of appreciation, but actually improves upon it. In musical terms, it’s Ike and Tina’s “Proud Mary.” In the cinematic forum, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 re-work of the B-movie thriller Cape Fear is another.

Max Cady (Robert DeNiro, lost the Oscar to Anthony Hopkins) is a recent parolee, fresh out of the joint after serving a fourteen year stretch for aggravated assault. During his trial, his lawyer, public…
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NYPD Blue – Season 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2003

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The second season of the gritty cop show turned out to be an important test: could the seriessurvive the departure of important cast members? In particular, could it survive the departureof David Caruso? As it turned out, it survived without him much better than he without it. This season includes such turning points as the trial of Amy Brennerman and attendant consequences(i.e. bye-bye Caruso), the wedding of Dennis Franz, and the arrival (and his gradual acceptance of) his new partner (hello Jimmy Smits).

Gangs of New York

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 17th, 2003

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In 1927 Herbert Asbury published a book entitled The Gangs of New York: An informal history of the Underworld. This book would prove to be the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. This film was originally supposed to start filming in the late 1970’s, and after numerous delays and many financial issues, the film finally came to fruition in 2002.

It is an epic film of staggering proportions about a little known part of the history of the United States and New York City. We follow a story filled with both real and fictional characters through the slums of the lower Manhattan’s Five Points.
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Shield, The – Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 9th, 2003

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FX decided to jump on the cable bandwagon last year and come up with their very own original series, The Shield. The show stars Michael Chiklis, formerly of The Commish, as Vic Mackey, a hard-nosed Los Angeles detective that gives bad cops a good name – but in a bad way.

Mackey is head of a tactical Strike Team that is comprised of plainclothes officers working in one of the most crime-ridden areas of Los Angeles – the Farmingdale District. Mackey’s group shows impressive results however – s…
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Rebecca

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 2nd, 2003

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Film

To film fans, the clause “Directed by Alfred Hitchcock” has almost become an adjective in and of itself. It has come to mean suspense created by using the viewer’s imagination and mind as a part of the film, first and foremost. These films didn’t have the freedom of CG, and consequently had to invent ways to achieve visual effects (Watch the documentary on Birds or Rear Window for example). Besides the lack of freedom of creation that digital filmmaking now provides, the filmmak…
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