Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 3rd, 2007
Monty (Idris Elba, 28 Weeks Later) is a father struggling for custody of his three children. This has become of utmost importance to him especially since his ex wife is involved with a local drug dealer. He enlists the help of attorney Julia (Gabriel Union, Bad Boys 2) to get his children back. Of course sparks begin to fly between the two, and the children seem to take the backseat. I’ve seen this type of movie way too many times before, and I would be completely content if I didn’t have to again.
It’s a good thing I had no expectations of this one going into it, because otherwise I would have ended up being extremely disappointed. This movie is poorly played out, albeit pretty realistic in some aspects. But regardless I’m getting tired of these day to day struggle movies, they all end the same way, don’t expect anything different here. The acting in this movie was rather disappointing as well, including the one facial expression we are graced with from Gabriel Union throughout. The movie started off as a struggle for a man to get his kids back, but ended up being another horrific and predictable romance. But if you’re into these emotional types of movies about the struggle of Joe everyman, you might find this one worthwhile checking out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 2nd, 2007
Having never seen or heard of this program, I had to do a bit of research into the history of this show. I’ll share my findings with you in case you are new to the series as well. Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall, The Breakfast Club) was involved in a car accident that left him comatose for six years. Upon waking up he has a special gift, when he touches people or things he can see into the future, and sometimes prevent awful things from happening. The name the dead zone comes from the part of his brain that normally goes unused, but because of his accident it can now be attributed to his visions of the future. In season 5 there isn’t much ongoing story arcs, but rather a collection of different stories in which Johnny solves crimes and saves unwilling victims. He deals with the logistics of saving lives and changing the outcome of the world and his own personal life.
Well this show wasn’t spectacular but I liked it enough to label it decent. It was rather hit and miss with this show; some episodes were entertaining and others weren’t. But the acting was consistent throughout and surprisingly good for a cable TV show. Well I can’t offer any comparisons to past seasons of the show, but this seasons finale was extremely lackluster. Still, I can say that in the future I might check the rest of the seasons out after being left with a mostly positive perspective on the show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2007
I can just feel already, what an epic teen comedy Surf School is going to be, much pun intended of course. But appearance isn’t everything and I hope that this film can somehow surprise, as much as I doubt it.
Laguna Beach High School is tough for everyone, especially the outcasts, the non surfers. But when a group of social misfits band together, they decide to beat the schools reigning champions in a surf competition. The group goes to Costa Rica to learn, meeting some interesting people along the way. I bet you can already guess how this one ends, and trust me there are no surprises.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2007
Tyler Perry, best known for Madea's Family Reunion, is responsible for yet another film in Lionsgate's line of movies about nice black people. In Daddy's Little Girls, the writer-director explores the conflict between the ghetto-class African Americans we've seen so much of in films and the black middle- and upper-class we haven't. While this aspect of the conflict is relatively fresh in cinema, what the premise really boils down to is an age-old tale of love between princess and pauper.
When his mother-in-law passes away, Monty (Idris Elba, The Gospel) is forced to take care of his three daughters full-time. While he loves them and has been supporting them faithfully their whole lives, Monty is also struggling financially and the burden may prove too much. The mother of his kids, Jennifer (Tasha Smith, The Whole Ten Yards), has been absent for years, preferring to live it up with her drug-dealer boyfriend, Joe (Gary Sturgis, Pride).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 24th, 2007
The latest in Lionsgate's line of movies about nice black people (see Daddy's Little Girls and Akeelah and the Bee), Pride presents a well-tread story with a few tweaks.
Its formula is the sports team underdog winning against all odds. The sport is swimming, which I don't think we've seen much of in the past. All of the usual players are here, though: the frustrated coach inspired to lead, the unlikely athletes who are too poor and too black to succeed, the rival team too rich and too white to be beaten, the crusty old guy who helps out and the token love interest for our protagonist coach.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2007
The Lost Room was a Sci-Fi Channel 3 part mini-series. There are actually 6 separate segments on the DVD. We are quickly introduced to a special old style motel key. Yes, before we all got those slide cards. This key is apparently quite valuable, as it is the subject of an underground meet to purchase it. The deal looks like one of those Hollywood drug buys we’re used to seeing, and like those plays, this one goes horribly awry. Enter Detective Joe Miller (Krause), assigned to deal with the aftermath of this meet. ...eter Krause is best known for his wonderful portrayal of Nate Fisher in HBO’s quirky Six Feet Under. Here he gets to stretch his acting chops along with our collective imaginations. His investigation leads him into possession of the valuable key. He soon discovers the key has incredible power. Using it on any door can transport you to any other door you can visualize in your own head. Most importantly, the key defaults to a Spartan hotel room from 1961. When his daughter (Fanning) is lost in the room, Miller begins a quest to get her back. With each episode we discover there are nearly 100 objects originally collected from this room, each with extraordinary powers. A watch can hard-boil an egg. A bus ticket transports anyone who touches it to a small town in New Mexico, and a comb can stop time for a few seconds. Along with these objects, there are fanatical collectors. Some see the objects as sacred and form religious orders, while others wish to destroy them. Mostly, however, folks just want the power of possessing them. Miller must contend with these factions in his quest. We soon discover that using these objects does not come without a price, and those folks who do own objects are quite eccentric.
If you are willing to take the nearly 6 hour ride, you’ll be taken on an Alice’s journey through Wonderland. What is most amazing is the ease with which this show unfolds such a complicated mythology. I was drawn in almost instantly. Beyond the complex premise are the various factions and their myriad agendas. There are no clear cut good guys or bad guys here. The series operates in an almost constant shade of gray. Miller must make choices about who he can trust. The twists are as varied as the objects themselves. From the start we are guided with Twilight Zone precision into a world more out than “The Outer Limits”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 29th, 2007
Synopsis
Coming of Age is a film about a girl who goes to private school in New York City, and with the help of her friends, tries to find a way to achieve an orgasm. It sounds eerily family to The OH in Ohio, a more recent Parker Posey film I watched and enjoyed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 28th, 2007
Synopsis
Video game movies tend to fall into two groups; those that are based on video games (The Tomb Raiders, the Resident Evils) and those that follow video games and usually speaks on how it affects a person, driving their addiction. Often the latter pick it as a device of social commentary. Some do it in humor (Grandma's Boy) but more often than not they manipulate it as something that will take over your brain and kill you. Enter in Gamebox 1.0. Gamebox 1.0 is the story of a video ...ame tester Charlie Nash (played by Nate Richert (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch))who is not coping in life very well since his girlfriend Kate (played by Danielle Fishel (the gorgeous Topanga from Boy Meets World))got accidentally shot by a bad cop. (played by Patrick Kilpatrick) This leads him to completely cover himself in the world of video games. So much that he forgets his friends and any mention of the world's events around him. One day he receives a mysterious package in the mail. It is a new game system. This game system invites Charlie into the highly realistic gaming world contained inside. In that world he can do anything and interact with anybody but once he starts playing he'll never stop. (wow, I sound just like a tagline).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 16th, 2007
Synopsis
When the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series came out on DVD, they decided to go the 12 episodes on one disk Volume approach. Sure it was only $10, but when you are looking at near 200 episodes and realized that it would 16+ volumes to make it complete, it was a bit overwhelming. Add that to the fact they were only releasing a new volume every 4-6 months, you were looking at well over 5 years to get all of the episodes. Plus some major shelf space. Thank ...goodness after 6 volumes, they finally realized their error (took them long enough) and released Season 4 in one nice gulp. All 40 episodes spread over 5 discs. Less compression and a higher production value all around.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 20th, 2007
Ben Affleck is a good actor. So why does he make so many bad choices? I can understand how mistakes like Pearl Harbor could happen on the front end, but how do you explain the fact that he did wonderful work in Hollywoodland and he shows up in a low-budget film like this one all in the same year? He was wonderful in Good Will Hunting and ate up every scene he was in in Boiler Room. Then he did Gigli. This guy is all over the place.
What's frustrating is that he's pretty good...even here, in a film that is overwhelmingly bland. Our man plays a talent agent who is having a crisis of personality. He has lost his confidence, his marriage is falling apart, and there's some unfortunate business with a personal journal. In fact, it's the journal that is the crux of the film. Journal, journal, journal. Practically the entire film is told in voice over. The only thing that I can imagine that is more bland than reading the journal of a no-talent Hollywood agent is hearing the guy read it to you himself.
![Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/tyler-perrys-daddys-little-girls-large.jpg)
