Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2007
The Invisible appears to have been marketed a couple of different ways when it was released in early 2007, but the most used phrase for the film appears to be “Supernatural Thriller”, which might address it to some degree if it was, you know, thrilling.
Christine Roum (Bodyguard II) co-wrote the screenplay, which David Goyer directed. Goyer has been a longtime writer, providing words to such films as Dark City, Blade and Batman Begins. And for all the good work he’s put in as a writer, you’d think he would have learned some things when it comes to directing, but ultimately, he’s just another guy who was talented in one area and needs some work in his new one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 15th, 2007
There have certainly been more interesting family business shows on television over the years, so the premise for Brothers & Sisters is anything but original. Both
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 6th, 2007
This was my first ever exposure to Grey’s Anatomy. Certainly I’ve followed the buzz the show has generated with its multiple awards and the feuding between two of the show’s actors. My first impression was not altogether a very good one. You see, season three begins with the aftermath of an obviously big ending from the previous year. From what I can gather, a character died and it left a void for a couple of the characters. I immediately began to feel like an outsider, a feeling I wasn’t very comfortable with. Fortunately, before I could give up feeling frustrated and hounded by an impending review deadline, something quite remarkable happened. Simply stated, I didn’t stop watching. In that moment of hesitation, I began to catch a glimpse of what everybody’s been going on about.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2007
Wild Hogs is a pretty simple film for the most part. You have four guys who, for their own reasons, are finding their daily lives have gotten away from them. Their mid-life crises lead them to venture together on a cross country motorbike journey filled with enough peril to make them forget their ordinary lives and live the adventure of their dreams. The film has the standard sight gags that pretty much carry the first half of the film. Macy's character has a rather amusing computer glitch in a Wi-Fi cafe. A lot of these jokes, often dealing with a gay cop who thinks the four are a pretty hot and tempting, get carried too far and get stale rather quickly. I could certainly do without the naked butt shots myself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2007
What time is it? That’s right, Home Improvement fans, it’s once again Tool Time. Unfortunately for the show’s followers, Season 7 would be its next to last outing, and even the most loyal fans seem to agree that the show had lost its edge by now. For me the decline started around the 6th year when the age of the boys created a need to shift stories away from Tim Allen’s routine and become a little bit more serious in tone. It’s not that situation comedies can’t find a great deal of success mining such a territory. MASH often ventured away from its comedic roots and occasionally brought us dead serious material, and it only improved the quality of an already good show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2007
There are 8 simple rules for having a successful sit-com on television today.
1. Strong leading actor: John Ritter never really had much of a chance in his early career to show just how good his acting chops could be. Let’s face it. While Three’s Company had quite a loyal following, it was never mistaken for anything more than a parody. Ritter was never asked to stretch himself here, and the role likely cost him better opportunities over the years. Fortunately, while 8 Simple Rules wasn’t a great show either, it did offer quality enough work to allow Ritter to thrive. Unfortunately he would not live long enough to reap the rewards he was earning for himself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2007
The opening credits are a frantic run of images that is pretty hard to actually watch. The segment is made worse by the constantly changing images and strobe light f/x. At first you get the idea you’re in for just another horror film made in the modern deluge of images style. Fortunately this is not a portent of things to come. With a little patience, you’re safely beyond these trappings and find yourself in a rather good film. If you’re able to follow this montage, you’ll be introduced to the bloody history of Gus...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2007
Right off the top, I have to admit I’m a big Scrubs fan. Obviously, this portion of the review will be influenced by that bias, but at least I’m up front about it. Now, this DVD set brings us the ingenious sitcom’s fifth season, which aired in 2006. I didn’t catch any of these 24 episodes on TV, so this release was my first time.
Season five, like all of the previous seasons, picks up at the start of a new year at Sacred Heart. This time around, J.D. (Zach Braff, The Last Kiss) and Elliot (Sar...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 5th, 2007
What Time Is It? It’s Tool Time! Home Improvement was based on a stand-up routine that made a name for Tim Allen. In his act he would talk about his experiences with power tools and other manly misadventures. He came across as a comedic Bob Vila. Somewhere along the line it was decided this had the makings of a good sitcom for television. It was a rather inspired idea, and for many years it was one of the funnier shows on the tube. I often find myself referring to the show as Tool Time, which in reality is the cabl...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2007
Kyle XY is a quirky series that began about a year ago on the ABC Family Channel. Owned by Walt Disney, you can imagine the kinds of programs one can find there. It’s pretty much a safe haven for kids and their parents to be able to watch things together. That’s why I was a little bit surprised when I watched Kyle XY for the first time on these DVD’s. Certainly the show is pretty much family friendly, but not to the squeaky clean Disney image I’ve come to expect. There are a couple teenage make-out scenes in the pi...
