Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2011
"Once upon a time in the projects..."
Eddie Murphy co-created this controversial situation comedy that aired first on Fox and was later picked up by the WB. It was quite an original undertaking. The show was made using stop-motion. The process was very much like the traditional claymation process that brought such classic favorites like Gumby to life. But since the models were made of foam instead of clay, the process was dubbed foamation. There's a bit of a coincidence at play here since Eddie Murphy often played a version of the Gumby character on a regular basis during his stint with Saturday Night Live.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on May 11th, 2011
Lesser know than the Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra and many other crypotzoilogical monsters is the Mongolian Death Worm. This SyFy production gives the mythological beast the Tremors “graboid” treatment and makes them desert prowling beasts with extending tongues/second mouths. Being compared to Tremors is a high summit to reach., as this film is outclassed by that film in all aspects.
Things are shaky right off the hop. The opening title has the same size and font as the text used to detail the characters' location, making it seem as if Mongolian Death Worm is the name of the setting. Such things are not monumental problems, but there are enough of these lofty mistake to mark sloppy composition and lack of care by the filmmakers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on May 10th, 2011
I suppose there is something to be said about shows where we literally watch the main characters grow up. This season of Boy Meets World sees Cory Matthews (played by Ben Savage) and his cohorts enter their final year of high school. In some fashion, this is the season where the boy really is about to “meet the world,” but perhaps that is just a little too much poetry smeared onto this season of family friendly prose.
If you can somehow crawl past the horrendous theme song and opening title sequence, you will witness an acceptable Disney comedy, filled with cheesy smiles, over-acting supporting cast, madcap scenarios that have no edge whatsoever, and hearty doses of family oriented life lessons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 1st, 2011
Sometimes you walk into a movie simply knowing that you are about to watch a train wreck. I am not talking about Unstoppable or Under Siege 2 (though the latter was arguably a train wreck in its own right) either. It is the kind of movie where you hope there is enough action and some mindless t&a to get you through the ninety minutes. Then maybe at the end of it all, one can forget about it and move on. Let us move on to the dinner course this evening, Blood Out.
It is just another day in Anytown, USA (this movie was filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana but you would never know it). Drugs are all over the streets and the sides break down between those who deal the dope and those who try to deal the justice. On a bust, Sergeant Michael Savion (played by Luke Goss) chases after a drug dealer and lays him out with two bullets to the back. But unfortunately before he falls dead, the thug shoots a little girl beside him, killing her instantly. Michael blames himself as he goes back to the station.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Bob Ross on April 14th, 2011
Urine jokes. Fart jokes. Breast and penis jokes. What could be more tasteless? How about telling them all in a place where people are trying to eat? That’s the unappetizing summary of Still Waiting …, one of those unnecessary, straight-to-video sequels designed to make a quick payoff before the first film’s fans catch on.
The 2005 original Waiting . . . was, well, fairly original. Writer-director Rob McKittrick based it very loosely on his own experiences working in typical franchise restaurants – think Bennigan’s, Chili’s or TGIFridays. That ensemble comedy, set in a place named Shenaniganz, starred Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris, who wisely avoided this tacky follow-up. Returning cast members include Rob Benedict as a horny manager and Alana Ubach as an exceptionally testy hostess. Others, including Justin Long, Chi McBride and Luis Guzman, show up in extended cameos, as do Max Kasch and Andy Milonakis as the white boys who pose as gangsta rappers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Bob Ross on April 9th, 2011
Everybody loves dolphins. We marvel at their graceful rolls among the waves. We enjoy watching trained ones do tricks for Sea World audiences, and some of us even pay big bucks to swim with them at specially built facilities. But behind these glimpses of intelligent marine life, there’s a deadly, disgraceful hypocrisy. There are mega-millions being made at the expense of innocent creatures, and the people behind the conspiracy will stop at nothing – including murder – to preserve their lucrative, dirty business.
The Cove exposes the evil, bringing the documentary format into the world of cinematic thrillers. Hidden cameras, hostile authorities and horrible slaughter are key elements in this eloquent but depressing documentary that won dozens of awards last year, including a well-deserved Oscar.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 9th, 2011
I must admit, I came at The Storm Warriors with very little knowledge of its creators, the Pang brothers, but as someone who appreciates Asian cinema, I felt that I had the sensibilities to enjoy the film. The movie deals with a Japanese invasion of China by a dread warlord named Lord Godless. As the film opens, we learn from an almost impossible to follow title sequence, he has captured China’s mightiest heroes and is preparing to execute them. Being invincible, Lord Godless is almost assured of victory, unless two of the aforementioned Chinese heroes, Wind and Cloud, can combine their power to defeat him and his army.
We learn all this and much more in the first two minutes of the movie.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 2nd, 2011
Ok...here's the pitch! A movie that's just jokes! Dirty jokes! Story? Maybe sure sure, but its all about jokes! We all love dirty jokes right? We have some actors act them out...one after the other...and that's it...the whole movie is jokes!
That is the theory behind this film, and almost verbatim the opening scene. A sleazy looking producer wants to help resurrect a Hollywood production company with his idea for a movie that is nothing but a series of dirty jokes, played out one after the other. And this is exactly what we the audience received. Chapterised with portions showing the filmmakers trying to create and ultimately punished for making this film, we see a gaggle of actors, and a LOT of topless women, act out dirty jokes. The film compares itself to The Aristocrats in the sense that it is just jokes for the duration of the film, but the main difference is The Aristocrats is a documentary whereas Dirty Movie is almost meta-cinema in how self-aware it is in its presentation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2011
Everyone knows Charlie Chaplin. For many, he is the symbol of the silent age of film. The stiff figure in trademark hat and twirling cane comes easily to mind. But that wasn't really Charlie Chaplin. That was a character he created called The Tramp, or often The Little Tramp. So, it would seem that Chaplin spent most of his career playing The Tramp, who in turn played many different characters on the silent screen. He was known for his subversive antics and charming stare. He became the champion of the common man, all the while becoming the first elite star in Hollywood. With his troubled life and numerous sex scandals, you would expect that Chaplin would have been the subject of a bio-pic before 1991.
The script is based on two books. One of them is Chaplin's own autobiography. The other is David Robinson's book Chaplin His Life And Art. You get the idea that the material is authentic enough. It doesn't attempt to gloss over the flaws in the man's character. While it obviously spends much of the time on his films and the things that went into them, we don't get an over-stylized idea of Chaplin as anything less than what he was: a flawed human being like the rest of us.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2011
"Hello. I want to play a game."
![Still Waiting... (Unrated) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/still-waiting-unrated-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Cove [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-cove-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Chaplin (15th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/chaplin-15th-anniversary-edition-large.jpg)
