Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 13th, 2009
Shrink is an exploration of loss. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is a celebrity psychiatrist with an A-list clientele. Henry attempts to juggle his career with his ongoing personal battles and he begins to breakdown. The loss of his wife to suicide sends him into a downward spiral of alcohol and substance abuse. It is not until he agrees to his first pro bono case with a young girl (Keke Palmer) that Henry attempts to rebuild his life.
Kevin Spacey is a brilliant actor. His performances are usually always strong and he chooses roles that challenge his acting ability. However, with this film, he seems to have chosen poorly. There are good moments in his performance that do showcase his range. For example, his monologue at the intervention is very strong. Unfortunately, even Spacey cannot carry the entire workload for this film. The supporting cast is weak. Dallas Roberts is not believable as the Entourage inspired super agent and Mark Webber is flat as the struggling writer. However, Keke Palmer shines as the conflicted teenager. Her performance is understated and audiences will admire her strength.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2009
What do a messy divorce and a clan of flesh eating cannibals have in common? Well, in both cases someone gets their heart eaten out. They also share plot points in Offspring. Lionsgate brings back their popular Ghost House Underground series from last October. The series title likely borrows a bit from the old Grind House Theater that Quentin Tarantino brought back to fashion in the last couple of years. I assume it is intended to denote a horror film that skirts the art house scene. So, how does Offspring fit into that mold?
If you’re looking for a plot, you really shouldn’t look at this one too closely. It’s more of a set up and then let the cannibal carnage begin. After a quick scare shot we’re introduced to a young family who live in a relatively isolated house in Dead River County, Maine. A friend has arrived with her young son on the run from an abusive husband who was about to get served his divorce papers today. Of course, he’s not taking it lying down, and phones to say he’s on his way. Mom’s got a restraining order, so the solution here is an easy one. Call the local cops. Unfortunately the local police already have their hands full. Another family has just been massacred. It seems an old trouble has returned to Dead River County. Enter former Sheriff George Chandler (Art Hindle). (To make things more complicated, the character’s name was apparently changed from George Peters. So, if you look up the character on the IMDb, that’s what you’ll get.) Chandler was Sheriff 11 years ago when he faced a nomadic clan of cannibals that rained down some serious carnage in the small county. He took care of ‘bidness and thought he sent them all to cannibal heaven. Now it seems there were survivors who had worked their way up to Canada and have returned for dessert. What remains of the clan are mostly young children and barely adults. Play ball.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 13th, 2009
Written by Ashley Orr
Despite its over-animated cover, Battle for Terra, directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas, was a surprisingly interesting flick. With an all-star cast playing the voices, this movie takes animated sci-fi and marries the ideas of philosophy and entertainment in an unusual way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2009
“On the full moon of the seventh lunar month, the gates of Hell open and the spirits of the dead are freed to roam among the living” – Chinese Myth.
I wonder if there’s a roaming charge on that plan. Lionsgate brings back their popular Ghost House Underground series from last October. The series title likely borrows a bit from the old Grind House Theater that Quentin Tarantino brought back to fashion in the last couple of years. I assume it is intended to denote a horror film that skirts the art house scene and Seventh Moon certainly fits that description. This is absolutely the kind of horror film you might expect to encounter at Sundance or an independent horror film festival.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2009
Wallace and Gromit is the brainchild of animator Nick Park. The British filmmaker tried for years to bring his clay creations alive, but on his own finished a mere 10 minutes in a little over 2 years. When he met up with Aardman Animations, he was teamed up with the creative talents he needed to make his dream come alive, and come alive these two characters did indeed. They’ve become an overnight sensation in the UK and now all over the world. I was introduced to the characters with the full length feature Wallace And Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Sadly this “complete” collection does not include that longer film. This should more appropriately be called the Nearly Complete Collection Of Shorts.
I have to admit that I was completely won over by the magic of this creation. It’s so simple looking that it almost appears to be child’s play. The truth could not be further from the perception. Stop motion animation goes back to the beginning of the cinema itself. Pioneered by the genius Willis O’Brian and perfected by Ray Harryhausen, it is one of the most painstakingly tedious tasks in the film industry today. It has been all but abandoned except for a select few who still follow in the footsteps of greatness. Give Nick Park credit for keeping the art alive and making it look effortless.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2009
Written by Adrienne Ambush
Nightmare on Elm Street it is not, but Wallace & Gromit’s: A matter of Loaf and Death is anything but a movie you should let your kids watch without parental supervision.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2009
If someone told you there was a movie out there starring David Carradine, Bruce Dern, and Rip Torn as three retired sea captains sharing a house together, what would your expectations be? I personally would expect a raucous production with colorful characters and a whole lot of the kind of scenery-chewing that those three guys are known for. However, set it at the turn of the century, fill it with unmemorable supporting actors, and change its title from Chatham (not a great title I admit) to the far more generic The Golden Boys, and it doesn’t take a perch in the crow’s nest to see that this schooner is close-hauled and tacking into the wind. See what I did there? I cleverly used nautical terminology to illustrate the disappointing quality of a movie about sailors. Now I feel like a big-time reviewer.
The DVD cover trumpets the quotation, “A cross between Grumpy Old Men and Three Men and a Baby”. This quote is attributed to Cindy Adams of the New York Post, and I’m not sure which film she watched, but it certainly was not this one. The three lead characters are not grumpy, there isn’t a baby to be seen anywhere, and the romantic rivalry for the affections of Mariel Hemingway amounts to nothing and, in fact, is pretty much nonexistent. I looked up the source of the quote and found that it didn’t even come from a review, but from a puff piece she wrote about Rip Torn. This gives you an idea of how desperate the publishers were to find a way to market this thing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 4th, 2009
At first glance, it is quite easy to see why this show has been compared to Sex and the City by many critics, and is about to again by yours truly. Mainly this comparison occurs because of the shows’ similarly humorous approach to sex, never wavering from any sort of topic therein. The first similarly I noticed though was the meta-cinematic use of our heroine Hannah (who escorts under the moniker “Belle”) when she talks to the audience directly. This device was only utilized in Sex and the City’s first season but we still see a similar mix of voice-over narration (which would take over Sex and the City) and the viewer being acknowledged (used more often than not with Secret Diary…).
This second season of Hannah’s trails dealing with having a secret life is changed in typical sitcom fashions, that is, introducing a main love interest (a man named Alex whom she mistakes for a client in the season opener) as well as a goofy pseudo-side kick by way of a young girl calling herself Bambi who wants to prostitute simply for the money. The drama revolves mainly around Hannah and Alex’s romance as Hannah loses the thrill of escorting in exchange for the desire to build something ‘real’ with Alex. At the same time, Hannah does face some moral questions throughout the season regarding her profession. Of course, these internal dilemmas (often accompanied by slow-motion shots of a Hannah/Belle looking about blankly) are mainly squashed immediately, or else the show would stop all-together. With the season lasting only 8 quick episodes, thankfully her brooding bits don't get enough time to became too tiresome to witness, although the drama certainly amplifies (less wink-at-the-camera moments) as the season passes the halfway point.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 17th, 2009
Back in 1998 there was a very promising television series on the Fox Network. Unfortunately, the network never gave it a fighting chance, and it was soon gone as quickly as it had appeared. It was called Brimstone. The idea was that a dead cop (Horton) went to Hell for killing his wife’s rapists. He gets a second chance when the Devil (Glover) offers him his life back if he would become Hell’s bounty hunter. He would capture souls who had escaped from Hell. I loved the show and even participated in its attempts to be reprieved. I never did get to see the return of Brimstone, but the concept would return in the lighter Reaper. Reaper is like Buffy The Vampire Slayer meets Kids In The Hall.
Sam Oliver (Harrison) is a young guy who works at The Work Bench with many of his high school friends. The Bench is basically a Home Depot clone. One day the Devil (Wise) shows up in his car. It appears that his parents sold Sam’s soul to him, and now that he’s turned 21 it’s time to collect. Sam’s job is now to collect and returned escaped souls back to Hell. For each job he’s given a vessel that is, in some way, appropriate to the soul he’s tracking. The vessel can be a vacuum cleaner or an 8-track tape. Failure is not an option, as the Devil doesn’t take rejection lightly. To help him in his tasks he recruits his two best friends and co-workers. Sock (Labine) looks and acts a lot like Jack Black. He has crazy pointed hair and is basically a slacker. He’s always looking for the easy way out or the scam that will pay off for him, regardless of who gets hurt. He really does have a good heart and comes through just when Sam needs him to come through. Ben (Gonzales) is always coming up with crazy ideas like a self sucking straw. He’s hungry for attention and lacks in self confidence. He’s somewhat of the team tech guy. Sam is in love with Andi (Paregrym) who’s not sure if she can take the whole evil thing. She’ll help out in a pinch, and they have an on again, off again relationship.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on May 25th, 2009
Two guys enter a 3-on-3 Basketball tournament, but they stink. They work at a morgue and their crazed former coworker reanimates a gigantic man...they put him on their team...he's good because he's big (almost automatically)...they try to get money, girls and yadda yadda yadda, you can guess how it turns out for them.
This film is a mundane, predictable tale that is low on the laughs and big on the stereotypes. Our two heroes even lure in the zombie giant to be friend's with them with fried chicken and weed! I'm not black but I was feeling rather offended by the amount of lowbrow and unfunny stereotypes being deployed.
![Offspring [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/offspring-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Seventh Moon [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/seventh-moon-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/wallace-gromit-the-complete-coll-large.jpg)
