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.
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?
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.
The movie takes place in an alternate universe some time in the future. Mala (played by Evan Rachel Woods), a smart and ambitious Terran, gets caught up in the mix of things after humans attack her planet and she decides to help one of them, Lt. Stanton (played by Luke Wilson), as he tries to return to his battalion.
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.
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.
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.
What starts out rather light-hearted with a baker standing in his kitchen singing a cheerful ditty about baking a cake, suddenly turns darker when an intruder walks up behind him and murders the baker with a rolling pin, throwing the lifeless body into a heap of dough just as the title of the movie pops up on the screen.
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.
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…).
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.
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.