Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 5th, 2009
They say that it isn’t over until the Fat Lady sings. Did you ever wonder what “it” was or who the heck this Fat Lady is they keep talking about? I can’t help you there, but I do know who the Fat Man is. It’s William Conrad, who came back to television in 1987 as J.L. McCabe, better known as “the Fatman”. McCabe was one of those tough as nails district attorneys. He was actually an ex-cop, so had great criminal instincts. McCabe wasn’t above bending the law to put away the bad guy, and he wasn’t considered a very friendly type of fellow. He majored in stubbornness and plain speaking. He relied on Jake Styles, his private investigator, to do much of the leg work for the office. Jake was a bit of a flashy playboy, but he always delivered the goods for his boss. Again, Styles wasn’t against breaking a few rules to get what he needed. Styles was played by Joe Penny. McCabe also served as a mentor, of sorts, to young District Attorney Derek Mitchell, played by Alan Campbell. Mitchell was quite wet behind the ears and a little too eager sometimes. His ambition often got the better of him, and it was the gruff McCabe who kept him out of trouble. Finally, the team was completed by Gertrude, McCabe’s loyal and trusty secretary, played by Lu Leonard. While The Fatman put crooks away instead of defending innocent defendants, there could be no mistaking the parallels between Jake And The Fatman and Perry Mason. The two shows were from different times, and the styles might not have been the same, but the dynamic was very much the same. You can see a lot of Della Street in Gertrude and more than a little of the Drake/Mason relationship in the two leads. There was far more action, but that was more a reflection of the change in decades than anything else. And like Mason, the Fatman rarely lost a case.
The Fat Lady was warming up after the first season of Jake. The show did not immediately return for its second year. It was delayed until March and so only ran for 11 episodes. That’s why Paramount has issued this as an “entire” season set. The show never really found its footing and struggled for the 5 seasons that it ran. It wasn’t a terribly original program and was steeped in cliché for its entire run. It was never a ratings monster, and there were constant radical changes in attempts to retool the show over the years. In this season McCabe and his staff, excluding trusty Gertrude, moved to Hawaii in an effort to spice the show up Hawaii Five-0 style. Even that exotic location didn’t help matters, and the series returned to California by 1990. These erratic changes in location and style meant that the show never found the solid fan base it needed to survive. It was likely William Conrad that was the only thing that allowed the show to last 5 years. What made the show work at all was the unlikely pairing of the two characters. It wasn’t only their weight that separated the two. McCabe looked angry all the time and had a slower pace to his method. Jake was almost too slick; at least that’s the way they tried to portray him most of the time. In the end the pair really was too unlikely for most viewers’ tastes. While it did get 3 Emmy nominations, it never won. These nominations were for cinematography and music only. Today Jake And The Fatman wouldn’t have gotten past the mid season.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 5th, 2009
Warner nearly single-handedly invented the cartoon medium as we know it today with the advent of their various Bugs Bunny and associates cartoons. Ever since the early 1930’s these characters have become an indelible part of the American pop culture. Their images became an important part of the World War II effort and even helped to put a face on the issues of the Great Depression. They represent one of the richest histories in animation, second only to Walt Disney. There are some, I’m sure, that would argue they might even belong in front of Uncle Walt. When I was growing up in the 1970’s, I had no idea I was enjoying cartoons and characters that were already 40 years old. The truth is that my grandfather had been a fan of these same cartoons when he was a kid. Today the Warner cycle of Loony Tunes cartoons is over 70 years young. Things might have changed with the passing of Mel Blanc, who provided most of those familiar voices for much of that time, but Bugs and the gang are still out there and going strong.
Which brings us to The Looney, Looney, Looney, Bugs Bunny Movie, which arrived in theaters in 1981. While the film wasn’t a huge box office success, it was pretty cheap to make. The film was made up of bits and pieces from various Looney Tunes shorts. The featured shorts included: Knighty Knight, Bugs, Hare Trimmed, Sahara Hare, Wild And Wooly Hare, Roman Legion-Hare, Golden Yeggs, Catty Cornered, The Unmentionables, Three Little Bops, Birds Anonymous, Show Biz Bugs, and High Diving Hare. All of these shorts were from the time period between 1949 and 1957. The shorts were edited into an opening and a three act film. The cartoons are not necessarily shown in their entirety and are used to create these three separate stories. There is new material that was created more to bridge the shorts and act as a wraparound for the whole affair.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 5th, 2009
Dustin Hoffman is the titular Harvey, a morose jingle composer who, with his job hanging by a thread, arrives in London for his daughter's wedding. He is a complete outsider at the rehearsal dinner, and feels even more cut off when his daughter informs him that she wants her stepfather to give her away. Meanwhile, the scarcely more cheerful Emma Thompson spends her time being set up for disastrous blind dates and being constantly harangued on the phone by her mother. These two losers at the game of love meet, and something blossoms between them.
And that is really about it as far as plot goes. The script is so insubstantial that it threatens to waft away on the first gentle breeze. The film is quite watchable, however, and that is due to the sheer force of its leads. They make the enterprise seem considerably more substantive than it is, their pained expressions conveying worlds to us. The film is at its strongest when it sits back and lets the two banter, and the relationship that develops feels easy and natural. It is all the more disappointing, therefore, that writer/director Joel Hopkins feels it necessary to shoehorn in the obligatory Romantic Comedy Third Act Falling Out by the most contrived and Deus Ex Machina-like of means. This is a turn of events that is a poke in the eye to any viewer who thought his/her intelligence was going to be respected.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 4th, 2009
With the gigantic success that the Blue Collar Comedy Tour has accumulated, it was only a matter of time before each one of the comedians received their own HBO or Comedy Central special. Jeff Foxworthy is associated with the “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” game-show. Larry the Cable guy is showcasing his acting range with box office phenomena (i.e. Witless Protection and Delta Farce). Bill Engvall has struggled to find his niche and seems to be on every sitcom pilot that has come out in the last two years. And then there’s Ron White, if you’re anything like myself, this is your next question, who?
Ron White is a stand up comedian that gained notoriety with his red neck self-deprecating genre of comedy. White did not want to be associated with Blue Collar TV because he was not interested in being typecast as a blue collar comedian. Unfortunately, his routine begs to differ. His set is riddled with low brow humor and a genre of observational comedy. There are still a few laughs and his recounting of his recent drug arrest is well told. However, multiple times throughout the set, his rants feel forced and the result is tiresome. There are similarities between this set and Lewis Black’s newer material. At least Black’s comedic performances take firm political and social stances. Any political or social stances that White takes are buried beneath piles of profanity, ethnic slurs and sexual humor. The high points of this set are when he struggles with his material. White stammers on his own words and laughs it off. The audience gets to see the natural, unforced side of his humor and these are true comedic moments. If low brow, uncouth and foul mouthed comedy is your interest, this DVD is for you.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 4th, 2009
As the times change, so do the plots of movies to stick with the time period. But in the same sense of keeping with the time period, the film usually sticks to an old theme. Take for example, the movie of Incendiary. There is the notion of terrorists, especially after 9/11 and this can show up in quite a few films like this one. However, throw in an old theme, let us say adultery. Then we string them together a plot line of what happens to a mother who has an adulterous affair and something that involves terrorists. Well then you hopefully have a hit movie on your hands. Or a giant waste of time.
A young woman (played by Michelle Williams) is finding it hard to cope with her married life. She has a 4-year old son (again not named but played by Sidney Johnson) and a husband named Lenny (played by Nicholas Gleaves). Her husband Lenny is rarely home since he is part of the bomb squad for the London police department. One day, the woman meets up with a news reporter named Jasper (played by Ewan McGregor) at a local pub.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 4th, 2009
Jean-Louis Trintignant (here dubbed into Italian) is a hard-boiled actor (!). Arriving at a night club to meet the proprietor, he instead finds the man dead, and the luscious Ewa Aulin standing over the corpse, protesting her innocence. Trintingnant believes her, and decides to help her out. The quest for the truth leads them though a series of encounters with various aspects of London nightlife and lowlife, 1967 vintage.
This early Tinto Brass effort is nominally a thriller, though, as he himself points out on the commentary track, the film is only vaguely interested in its thriller aspects. The big influence here is Antonioni's Blow Up, which is name-checked a couple of times. Deadly Sweet has the same kind of meandering plot and love of lingering over various examples of Swinging London counterculture. The other guiding muse is comic book artist Guido Crepax, and Brass mimics comic panels with multiple split screens, shifts between colour and black-and-white, and the like. It is an open question whether all of these games work at a cinematic level, but they are certainly visually interesting. The films is, like so many of its contemporaries, self-indulgent, but in a rather endearing way. For my money, it's a more engaging viewing experience than many of the erotica exercises from the director's mature period.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 2nd, 2009
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on May 2nd, 2009
This is the second season of this prime time soap opera's fourteen season run. This show is the stories of three couples who all live in the same cul-de-sac, along the second season addition of single temptress Abby Cunnigham (played by Donna Mills), whose role inspires the packaging's amusing tag-line "Abby Cunnigham moves to Knots Landing. Do you know where your husband is?"
The show is a spinoff from the massively popular Dallas, and it contains much the same level of drama peppered with some sassy comedy, leading it to surpass Dallas in ratings for a time. This particular season kicks off with a two part story where one of our Californian cul-de-sac heroes is accused of rape and needs the aid of his lawyer neighbour. From there on we get stories involving the FBI, the mob, and an especially interesting episode where the women of the neighbourhood are held hostage at a baby shower and newcomer Abby uses her seductive powers to aid their escape.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2009
Dexter continues his jump to the world of high definition as the second season finally makes its way to Blu-ray. The show is killer, if you’ll pardon the expression. In the first season, Dexter pointed out the contradiction of a crime scene in sunny Miami. The aftermath of brutality appears somewhat surreal in such a colorful and bright surroundings. On Blu-ray you really get to understand what he was talking about. It almost feels like the show shouldn’t look so clean, so crisp, so bright. But, of course, it should, and it does in this release.
As we begin the second season, Dexter’s run-in with his brother, as well as its ultimate solution, has again taken his confidence. He’s unable to kill. He must find a way to set his life straight. Rita thinks he’s an addict and makes him go to NA meetings where he meets Lila (Murray) who is as messed up as Dexter. While she might not be a killer, she’s obsessive and is drawn to Dexter’s dark nature. Her antics to keep Dexter are straight out of the Fatal Attraction Handbook. Doakes is also getting closer to finding out what Dexter really is, and that’s going to end badly for at least one of them. Dexter’s oceanic burial ground is discovered, and now he’s on the task force to bring in The Bay Harbor Butcher. Is this finally the end of the line for Dexter? You really need to take the ride and see for yourself. I guarantee you that these dozen episodes will just fly by. Jaime Murray is the best of the newcomers, and she’s simply fascinating to watch, as she appears more self destructive than even Dexter himself. Their relationship ends in one of the most chilling scenes of the series, so far. Keith Carrradine also joins the cast this season as FBI agent Lundy who is brought in to head the Bay Harbor Butcher task force. He’s also smitten with little sis Debra, making for some very awkward moments for everybody’s favorite serial killer. The Code Of Harry takes some hits this season as Dexter uncovers some secrets of both his and Harry’s past lives. The series continues to evolve and never ceases to amaze. This is the best cable series since The Sopranos.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2009
The Uninvited is yet another in a long string of Asian films that are translated and retooled for American audiences. It’s been a rather strong and long running trend that was kicked off with the wildly successful The Ring, from the Asian classic, Ringu. But, for every effective spooky thriller that comes out of this Asian pipeline, there appear to be a dozen or more complete failures. Some American directors think that all they need to do is throw fast moving creepy ghosts at us and often have them inhabit some modern electronic device. Presto! You have a horror movie for the purposes of generated cash. I’m happy to report that The Uninvited is a fresh approach that relies on almost none of these tired conventions to work. There is no morality tale about our modern conveniences here. No ghosts haunt cell phones, beepers, computers, video games, DVD’s, or even toaster ovens. The appearance of spectral creatures is actually quite limited and will disappoint the viewer who is there for the quick scare moments. This film uses the technique sparingly, and ultimately more effectively. The truth is that The Uninvited is really not so much a ghost story as a thriller in the vein of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. It gives us one of those rare endings that you won’t easily see coming at all. Most importantly, this movie completely shatters the mold of these Asian remakes by making it all about the characters; the human characters, that is. Based on the Korean film that roughly translates to Tale Of Two Sisters, this is a refreshing take on a stale theme.
Anna (Browning) is just getting out of a mental hospital. She’s been there for some time, following the death of her mother in a terrible house fire. She had been haunted by nightmares of that tragic night. Her doctors now think she will be able to cope and return home. Her father, Steven (Strathairn) is hopeful about bringing her home. There she is confronted by a harsh reality. Her mother had been infirm at the time of the fire. Now Anna has discovered that her mother’s former nurse, the very young Rachel (Banks) has moved into the house as her father’s lover and future wife. She notices that in her absence, her mother’s presence has been erased from the home as Rachel has redecorated and removed any connections to her dead mother. She takes comfort only in the company of her sister, Alex (Kebbel) who also hates the woman they see as an intruder in their home. Anna begins to have visions that her dead mother is warning her about Rachel and suspects the fire was not an accident. The sisters investigate, only to find that Rachel’s name is not a real one. Anna is convinced that Rachel killed her mother and will now do the same to her and her sister. When a local boy who claims to have information about the night Anna’s mother died turns up dead himself, Anna decides to get help. But no one appears interested in her story, and now Rachel knows she’s on to her. The film ends in a sort of typical cat and mouse game that ends up not being so typical after all.
![Dexter: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dexter-the-complete-second-season-large.jpg)
![The Uninvited [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-uninvited-blu-ray-large.jpg)
