Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2009
It all starts with antique dealer Uncle Lewis. He made a deal with the devil to help His Evilness to distribute cursed and evil objects through his store. Objects included Jack The Ripper’s scalpel. Finally Satan comes to collect Uncle Lewis and his tattered soul, leaving his niece Micki (Robey) to clean up the mess. She and cousin Ryan (Le May) have the unenviable task of tracking down these items and sealing them safely away so they can do no more harm. They were often assisted in their task by Jack (Wiggins) who knew something of the occult. The series ran from 1987 to 1990 and never made more than a ripple in the ratings.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2009
When the later cartoon series ran starting in 1983, the show from time to time spoofed many of the popular films of the time. Over the years everything from Star Trek to Star Wars received the Chipmunk treatment. Collectively these episodes have often been released under the title Chipmunks Go To The Movies and have even appeared with Roger Ebert. One of the best of these spoofs is the hilarious Star Wreck. Actually, the disc comes with three episodes, each spoofing a different film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2009
“This is the Alvin Show, you’re positively gonna love the Alvin Show.
There's Dave Seville, and what is more here's the boy who giggles known as Theodore.
Now you see, on camera three, the brother known as Simon on the family tree.
And here's the star of the show… Alvin”
The hilarity continues with a second release: The Very First Alvin Show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 23rd, 2009
Written by Adrienne Ambush
See it with someone you ****
About a “$2,000-an hour Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients,” The Girlfriend Experience is the mainstream film debut of Adult Film Star Sasha Grey, who before this movie was known only for her other roles. Playing character Chelsea, Grey puts on what Esquire Magazine calls a "Totally Captivating" performance as a hired companion who spends most of her time throughout the movie juggling countless numbers of men and her steady boyfriend, who seems to have no problem at all that his girlfriend is a hired prostitute.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2009
This was the final of Miramax 4 martial arts classics released as a collection or separately on Blu-ray. The collection featured some extraordinary action and top line star power for the most part. Zatoichi, for the most part, is the weakest of the four films. It is almost a solo effort by renowned Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano. He participated in writing the script. He is also the director, editor, and star of this rather off the wall martial arts film. The character of Zatoichi has appeared in many films and is as much a part of martial arts culture as Jackie Chan.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2009
In the first season, Melinda was joined by her friend and business partner Andrea (Tyler). At the end of that freshman season, Andrea was killed and became a pawn in a good vs. evil struggle between Melinda and a mysterious “wide-brimmed hat man”. I was sorry to see the character literally depart the show, but I thought that cliffhanger was one of the more effective moments I’ve seen. The sacrifice of the character provided an ending I’ll admit I never saw coming. To replace Andrea, Camryn Manheim from The Practice joined the cast as Melinda’s new partner Delia in the second season.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2009
“About this startling new show as a whole, we say this. When ordinary people of our real world encounter the chilling world of the unknown, when normal men and women take that one step beyond, that we think is incomprable drama, all the more memorable and amazing because these strange adventures are true, absolutely true.”
The stories from One Step Beyond were reportedly true, but to paraphrase a rather disingenuous former president, it all depends on what your definition of true is. In interviews many of the writers later admitted that much of the material came from a couple of reference books.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 22nd, 2009
Written By Matthew Wiley
Good Dick follows a poor guy (Jason Ritter) living out of his car and working at a video store who takes a liking to one of the store’s customers, a lonely coffee shop girl who is not interested (Marianna Palka). One night after renting/recommending the girl some erotica, he decides to follow her home; he even parks his car across the street and sleeps outside of her apartment. He finally buzzes her apartment saying that he is with UPS to get into her building, later saying that his great aunt lives in her building. She is not a fan of his advances, but after a while and many attempts by him, the two develop a quirky relationship.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2009
It’s nice to see some of these staple films starting to reach the Blu-ray high definition releases. Unfortunately there really isn’t anything new here at all. The picture is an upgrade but not as outstanding as you might expect. The audio doesn’t really get much better at all. Finally, all of the extras are merely ported over standard definition pieces from the most recent DVD release. It’s the best way to go if you don’t already own the film, but not remarkable enough to warrant an upgrade from any but the most die hard fans. And they didn’t need this review to talk them into it. For the rest of you, here’s what you can expect.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 21st, 2009
Some of you might remember my review of the first two volumes of X-Men, the Animated Series. After the first thirty plus episodes, I secretly hoped that I would be able to bring you reviews of the rest of the series. Luckily, I was blessed enough to make this a reality when I received volume 3 & 4 at my door just before my fall vacation. How sweet it is.