Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 9th, 2006
Synopsis
As one of the discs in this set is exactly the same as the previous release, my review is the same too:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 7th, 2006
Ahh, Moonlighting. For people of my generation, this may be the golden age of television. That's not to take anything away from I Love Lucy or The Andy Griffith Show, but when you grew up in the 80's, there was this, L. A. Law and Miami Vice. For my money, Moonlighting was the best of the three. Even by today's standards, it is extremely rare to find a show such as this. A genuine drama/mystery program that succeeds in being very, very funny. The fact is, the entire show was ...uilt around the skill of a new actor on the scene named Bruce Willis, and had he been anything less than stellar in every single scene that he was in, the program would have crashed and burned. Suffice to say, the show soared. Cybill Shepard was both beautiful and clumsy, and quirky character work by Allyce Beasley and Curtis Armstrong filled in the supporting plotlines, but it was Willis who stole the show every week. By the time the series ended, he had made himself a superstar.
Season Three may very well be the best season of this shows five year run. On the one hand, the early introductions and quirks of the first season had been worked out. On the other hand, we are still in the midst of the brilliant episodes that came before David and Maddie took the plunge, so to speak. These episodes are the cream of the crop. If you are thinking about trying out this series to see if it is for you, Season Three actually might not be that bad of a place to start. It's cheaper that the combined Seasons One and Two release, and you don't necessarily need the back story to dive right in and have fun.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Well, a Terry Gilliam children’s film might seem like a bit of an oxymoron, however writing a film with fellow Monty Python alum Michael Palin actually resulted in a funny, and even philosophical film, reflecting on themes of good and evil.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Let me tell you a story. Back in 1904, I used to be in the Army. For 3 glorious years, I went to the office every day from 9 to 4:30 (with an hour and a half for lunch), typing up and processing awards and various evaluation reports and generally doing the best job I could. When I had to, I went out for field training and would (for lack of a better phrase) “play Army”, where I would sit in a communications center for 8 hours at a time, checking to see if the radios worked occasionally.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 3rd, 2006
Every so often, an idea for a movie, mini-series or TV show becomes so hot that multiple projects are given the green-light, even though the subject matter is very similar. Remember Dante’s Peak and Volcano in 1997? Murder at 1600 and Absolute Power the same year? Deep Impact and Armageddon in 1998?
Now comes ABC’s mini-series, Empire and HBO’s on-going series, Rome. Both were high budgeted, epic projects about ancient Rome, and both networks strived ...o get on the air first. ABC eventually won, airing Empire over the summer of 2005. However, HBO had the last laugh as Rome gained momentum in its fall 2005 run and was rewarded with a second season to be aired sometime in 2007.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2006
Utter the simple phrase of Harry Potter to any age, and it is nearly guaranteed that they will know what you are speaking about. Since becoming a worldwide phenomenon in 1999, the Harry Potter series have been turned into everything from video games to bathing products. Most notably, the series have been turned into a set of excellent films that are successful, for the most part, in recreating the major elements presented in the novels by author J.K.Rowling.
With this being the fourth film in the series of ...even, I had a few fears going into this film. With this book being the longest of the four books at this point, I was worried that new director Mike Newell would’nt be successful in presenting all the ideas Rowling went over in the book. While the film does not mention every little detail (the most notable gripe is the lack of the Dursley’s), Newell is very successful in bringing the action, suspense, fear, emotion, and growth of the characters to the big screen in stunning style.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2006
Wildfire has all the subtlety and charm of an ABC After School Special. Truth be told, the pilot episode reminded me a lot of Showgirls, but instead of becoming a pole dancer, this girl is becoming a horse trainer. The basic elements are still the same, though. A girl with a rough past gets an entry-level position at her dream job, and must work her way up the ranks. Only this show is on ABC Family. Gone is all the glitz and flash that tried to cover up the horrid plot of Showgirls. Withou... all those distractions, the viewer is sadly left only with lame, tired dialog and incredibly predictable plot lines to keep them warm.
If this was a dog show, and you asked me what I thought, I'd say “woof”. However, it's a horse show. Therefore, I say “neigh”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2006
Synopsis
I think that by revisiting Unbreakable, and looking at it outside of M. Night Shyamalan’s other films (The Sixth Sense and Signs), there’s actually a pretty good movie going on there. I mean, a movie that grossed $95 million domestically can’t be considered a failure, right? It did, however, do amazing overall numbers, the international totals brought the film up to a near $250 million gross. However, I guess when you put them up against Signs ($227 million domestic, $40... million worldwide) and The Sixth Sense ($293 million domestic, $672 fricken’ million worldwide), maybe it can be considered disappointing, but the film itself is pretty good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 24th, 2006
The death of a celebrity usually brings sadness to many of their fans. However, whenever a celebrity does die, you can definitely expect a best of or some type of collection to find its‘ way to your video store shelves as soon as possible. After Richard Pryor died in December, Universal decided to wait one short month before releasing this four disc movie collection which features four of Pryor’s films that he either starred in or had something to do with. While the film’s contained her are not the best work of Pryor...s (other studios have rights to those particular works), the film’s Universal chose are pretty entertaining and remind us of the genius that Pryor was.
First up is the film Which Way is Up? which is re-make of the 1972 Italian comedy The Seduction of Mimi. The Italian version concerns the mob, but this version concerns Corporations and Labor Unions, where the workers at an orange-picking field want to form a union to ensure better and less-dangerous working conditions. Pryor steps up the plate when he falls off his ladder one day. Pryor is asked to leave the town by the big bosses at the orange corporation. This causes him to move to the city, fall in love with a union supporter, and funny comedy simply ensues. While the comedy presented is nothing that will have you laughing on the floor, it did have me similing many times simply because the type of comedy is something we can all relate to. The comedy is about human beings and their life lessons through family and work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 23rd, 2006
My name's trouble... and you got some of it lady.
I admit, I wasn't even a big fan of The A-Team back in the day. I mean, I was a boy, and Mr. T was cool and all, but the show itself never really grabbed my attention. Even at a young age, the whole thing just felt a little too unbelievable. I mean, if these guys are a group of deserters and felons who are wanted by the government, then how is it that everybody knows who they are? Plus, Mr. T isn't exactly inconspicuous wearing 832 gold ...hains around his neck everywhere he goes. Then, of course, there is the fact that they frequently open fire with fully-automatic weapons in public places (and nobody gets hurt). Apparently the government hasn't made finding The A-Team priority one.
