Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 3rd, 2011
Somewhere, somehow, Usher has been dubbed the reigning “King of R&B.” I understand his sales are immense and popularity is undeniable, but I am hearing his name being said in the same sentence as James Brown and Michael Jackson. Those are insanely high standards to live up to, so I was was expecting a lot from the “OMG Tour” live performance.
Amidst scantily clad women, soaring lasers, massive video screens, a hyperactive backing band and sweating buckets in front of a sold out crowd, Usher does an 19 song long Michael Jackson impression. Am I watching the next King of Pop? Or (lord help me) King of R&B? (may the ghosts of Motown have mercy on whomever anointed Usher with that moniker). No, I am not. I am, however watching an extremely smooth dancer, a hard working entertainer, and charismatic singer lead an enormous stage production with a confident, cool professionalism.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 2nd, 2011
A pirate radio station offers to grant wishes to listeners on full moon nights, but all of said wishes come with grave consequences as it seems that there have been monthly murder/suicides occurring since the radio station's inception. Without knowing what sort of evil she might release, a teenage girl, who is grounded by her parents, makes a wish with the “Oracle” of the station and soon her friends are falling victim to evil possession.
Like a million horror films before it, we start of the film by being introduced to a band of sexy teenagers (played by actors most likely in their twenties) who pal around and generally act like annoying idiots (for lack of a more graceful label) to the point where I could care less if they fall victim to a maniac or curse of any sort....but we'll get to that later on. The story goes, one of the sexy teens is grounded by her parents and cannot attend a party where she was planning to meet up with her crush; which in the teenage world, seems to be the equivalent of having your limbs sawed off. In her angst she calls a mystical pirate radio station and makes a wish that starts off a set of tragic events involving all of her friends and family. Apparently, only a young girl's crush triangle and petty feud with her parents were at stake, which meant that the audience has nothing worthwhile invested in these characters when some of them start to die.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2011
"You have been activated."
You've got to hand it to Robert Rodriguez. Since he came onto the film scene in 1992 he has earned a reputation for delivering some very innovative films. His specialty appears to run toward more adult fare with such cult hits as Dusk To Dawn, Sin City, and his recent splashes into grindhouse territory. Anyone who has seen those films might find it strange that the writer/director is also responsible for a somewhat beloved children's franchise with the Spy Kids films. First introduced in 2001 the film pulled in a respectable box office and became a hit for the younger crowd who have fantasies of being James Bond spies with all of the terrific gadgets and the extra benefit of making evil adults look bad.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2011
John Bonito has had very little experience in filmmaking. He's done a few wrestling tidbits and one earlier film called The Marine, and that was nearly six years ago. Chances are you haven't heard of either. If Carjack is any indication of his limited ability, the new film out on Blu-ray isn't going to help with that name recognition. So, with a no-name director and a direct-to-video release, the film really left small expectations. We might go into a film like this expecting a rather dull, "been there, done that" feel to it. In that sense Bonito doesn't disappoint at all. But take a closer look at the cast and hope emerges for something perhaps a little better than that. The only response I can offer for that is that a car wasn't the only thing jacked here. Someone made off with nearly a couple hours of my life. In that Bonito is guilty of grand theft, while some of you might plead it down to petty larceny.
Lorraine (Bello) is trying to put together the pieces of a broken life. Her husband has left her and is threatening to take her son away. She was once negligent and he wondered off into the night alone. She's in group therapy trying to work out those kinks in her life. Her therapist tells her she needs to take control more, and that aspect of her development is about to be tested.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 1st, 2011
My parents were always an oddball lot when it came to music. My mom liked the crooners and if she ever did touch rock and roll, it was something very light and airy. My dad however was a totally different animal. He listened (and still does) to Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues and Queen. But perhaps one of his favorite albums of all time is Paranoid by Black Sabbath. The front man for Sabbath is the one and only Ozzy Osbourne. I find myself in a fortunate position where I get to review his documentary, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne.
As we open up this documentary, we are told that the makers of this movie have spent the last two years on the road with Ozzy Osbourne. Nearly everyone survived. We visit Argentina as one of Ozzy’s tourstops. We get a very candid look at Ozzy as he puts on makeup, exercises his body and his voice and his slow walk to the stage. He seems to be an everyday normal heavy metal singer but this person who is always been labeled as “Rock n Roll’s definitive crazy person” has a special tale to tell.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2011
The Disney magic faded for a little while during the 1980s. There were still animated features, but they weren’t the groundbreaking triumphs of the studio’s golden age. All of that changed as we entered the 1990s. The Little Mermaid is considered the first of the new wave of Disney classics. It certainly signaled a change in the direction of animation at Disney. While the change may have begun there, I believe it was Beauty And The Beast that started a wave of productions that would peak with The Lion King. With Beauty And The Beast, everything is cranked up a notch from the mediocre affairs the studio had been churning out for a time. Beauty And The Beast had the epic proportions, fluid animation, and bright colors that set the Disney Express back on track.
With that much importance, is it any wonder that the folks at Disney kept the theme going for as long as they could? There was a television series that featured a live-action Belle who would sing stories to children and teach valuable lessons along the way. There were also some direct-to-video follow-up stories that took us back to the days in the middle of the original animated feature. That in and of itself isn't all too extraordinary. Disney, like any other studio, knows how to milk a cash cow. What is quite extraordinary in this business, even for Disney, is that they kept the original voice cast pretty much intact. It was a bold move that likely cost a few more dollars but was well worth the extra effort. With the return of Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Jim Cummings, Robby Benson, and Paige O'Hara, the connection between this holiday film and the original material is unmistakable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2011
"The party is most definitely on."
This direct to video sequel of Disney's Beauty And The Beast is a much more low-budget affair than The Enchanted Christmas was to become. While the film did use the voices of many of the original cast including Jerry Orbach, Robbie Benson, Paige O'Hara, and David Ogden Stiers, the production values show the economy of the project.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 28th, 2011
For those who might not already be aware, I am currently living in the state of Texas. I would say great state of Texas but my lack of a straight face would give that away. “Go back to where you came from”. Well, I would love to go back to North Carolina and perhaps the Minnesota transplant that is using four letter words against me can do the same. However, I am very interested in how some of these states got their shapes. Perhaps the first season of “How the States Got Their Shapes” can help.
Most people take the shape of their states for granted. However, the shapes of the United States of America have went through a library list of changes to get to their current shape. Often, the story of that shape is far more interesting than the cracks and bends that many states currently possess. Thankfully, we have our host: Brian Unger who is willing to be our Johnny Cash of cable television and “Walk that Line”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 28th, 2011
It is 1979. While filming a Super 8 horror movie, a group of young friends on the cusp of adolescence witness a spectacular train wreck. They later discover that they accidentally captured evidence that there was an alien creature on the train, and it is now loose in their small town. But if the mysterious disappearance of dogs, engines and (increasingly) people wasn’t trouble enough, the military descends upon the community with an agenda far more merciless and inhuman than that of the alien itself.
I was 12 in 1979, and I was shooting Super 8 monster movies, so I get the nostalgia that writer/director J.J. Abrams is going for here, and this is an utterly unapologetic exercise in nostalgia. Abrams is is out to recreate the experience of a Spielberg movie from that era, and with the man himself acting as producer, the mission is accomplished. Super 8 plays like the Lost Spielberg Movie, with all the wonder, thrills, and sentimentality one would expect. There is so much here that works beautifully. The young cast is terrific, the dialogue crackles, the effects are spectacular, and the creature is both menacing and sympathetic, like some unholy version of ET reworked by H.P. Lovecraft.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on November 23rd, 2011
“You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire. Once the flames begin to catch, the wind will blow it higher”
Peter Gabriel, the flamboyant original front man for Genesis from 1967 to 1977, left that band to pursue recording his own solo albums. Although none of his early albums scored a top 40 hit, they were deeply loved by the art house music crowd. Gabriel’s penchant for exotic world musical instruments, dark moving lyrics, and complicated arrangements built on his fiercely loyal following.
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