Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2006
This was David Spade’s first HBO special from 1998. Following in the footsteps of giants like George Carlin and Rodney Dangerfield, he somewhat misses the mark here. For some reason Spade displays a serious lack of energy. The real hook for this show was his return to the Tempe Improv where he got his start in his home town. This is still your basic stand-up comedy concert. On Spade’s hit list are such topics as: Dating, Hotels, Parents, and Fast Food Workers. It’s not until about the last 12 minutes that some real...y funny material starts to come through. Even Spade admits that it takes him 40 minutes to warm up. That would be OK, but it’s only a 56 minute show..
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2006
Hawaii 5-0 was one of CBS’s most successful shows of the 1970’s. A great deal of money had been spent creating facilities to take advantage of the Island’s unique setting. When the show had finally run its course, executives with the network were not keen to give up the production resources, so they simply created a new show to fill the same time slot and utilize the Hawaiian settings. Instead of a cop, this new show would center around Thomas Magnum (Selleck). Magnum was a former Naval Intelligence operative from ...he Vietnam War. He worked for an unseen wealthy boss ala Charlie’s Angels. His intermediary was Higgins (Hillerman). The show might even be considered a spinoff of Hawaii 5-0, as there are times Magnum mentions McGarrett from the previous show. A great deal of the show’s charm was created in the relationship between the proper English gentleman of Higgins and the devil-may-care free spirit of Magnum. Detective shows of the era also featured cool cars. Rockford had his Firebird, Starsky had his stripped Tomato Torino, Crockett had his Ferrari. Magnum drove a flashy red Ferrari actually owned by his boss. Helping in the adventures was Island chopper pilot TC (Mosley) and Casablanca knockoff nightclub owner Rick (Mannetti).
The Fourth Season of Magnum begins with one of the series’ more unique episodes. In “Home From The Sea” you won’t find the normal antics and car chases that made the show famous. Instead, Magnum is adrift at sea treading water. The episode provides a wonderful opportunity for some insight into Magnum’s childhood through flashbacks. The rest of the season is pretty much more of the same from the first three years. Bad guys and friends in trouble dominate the collection of episodes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 13th, 2006
The Academy Awards are starting to build a case against their own validity. In 2005, they nominated a simply amazing film called Downfall in the Best Foreign Film category, but eventually gave the award to The Sea Inside. While Sea is a fine film, it was clear that the Academy got nervous about the ramifications of giving an award to a film about the last days of Adolph Hitler, and took the easy way out.
In 2006, they again got nervous and avoided ultimate controversy by giving their Best...Picture Oscar to the safe vote of Crash, thus avoiding the controversial choice of Brokeback Mountain. Likewise, Paradise Now was also the victim of the weak knees of the Academy. The Foreign Language Oscar in 2006 eventually went to a South African film called Tsotsi, instead of the proper (and controversial) choice of Paradise Now.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2006
The Greatest Game Ever Played?
When I saw that title on the DVD case my immediate thought was: “How did Disney find out about my 1981 Marathon game of RISK where I took out Mark “Trip Sixes” Shreader in 9 hours of battle? Of course, I soon decided they meant professional sports. This film would be about the Minnesota Viking playoff whoopin’ of the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Turns out that wasn’t it. Point of fact, not one game of the 1980 World Series victory of the Phillies made the cut. Sudde...ly it hit me. Disney does ice hockey films. They must have made one about the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Game Seven beat down on some Canadian boys to win the Stanley Cup. Wrong! Apparently long before my boy Abner picked up a bat or Dr. Nesmith was shooting soccer balls into his trashcan, some funny looking fellas in Scotland had come up with their own game. Golf. Don’t get me started. Still ESPN says it’s a sport, so who am I to argue?
So let’s talk about the film. It’s an old formula, and no one tells them better than Disney. Let’s face it who can tell a Cinderella story as well as the folks that brought you… well, Cinderella. Disney sprinkles enough of their traditional family movie magic to at least make this film somewhat interesting to those of us who do not enjoy golf. The opening credits hark back to Monty Python with clever use of cut-out animation mixed with period film. The screenplay was written by Mark Frost from his own novel.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 12th, 2006
Wonder Showzen is either the most brilliant post modern art piece that I have ever seen, or it's the work of a group of complete head cases. No matter what side of the fence you fall on, this show is undeniably offensive, creative, hilarious, disgusting... did I mention offensive? When I first heard that this show was a kids show parody for adults, I built up this image in my head of something between Pee Wee's Playhouse and South Park. I really couldn't have been more wrong. In fact, the show is...much more like what would happen if The Electric Company was created by a brain trust of some of the most offensive and secretly brilliant comedians on the planet. I have heard about shows that know no boundaries before, but this is by far the most boundary-free product I have ever seen. Honestly, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. I am all for comedy without limits, but this show is way, way over the line
Regular segments on the show include kids answers to inappropriate questions, disgusting and disturbing vintage footage, and a puppet who berates the public. One segment features a kid dressed as Hitler. Another shows a child drinking blood in a butcher shop. While this program is unquestionably fascinating and bizarre, and most definitely has some hilarious moments, that's not to say that it is always a pleasant thing to watch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2006
Time travel has always been a favorite staple in the Star Trek franchise. Since the days of Kirk and Spock, through the Temporal Cold War of Enterprise Federation, officers and their ships have traversed both past and future. It’s no surprise that the two most popular Trek films: The Voyage Home and First Contact happen to be time travel tales. In this collection, Trek fans have voted for their favorite temporal excursions from the first four versions of the show. Unfortunately some fine Enterprise entries are not ...ncluded. While all of these episodes are to be found in their individual season sets, this is nonetheless an impressive collection.
From the Original Series comes perhaps its greatest episode. Harlen Ellison’s “The City On The Edge Of Forever” features a compelling guest stint by a then very young Joan Collins as the ill-fated Edith Keeler. When McCoy escapes into the past enraged by an accidental drug overdose, he changes the past and strands the landing party on a dead planet. Kirk and Spock travel to Depression era San Francisco, where to Kirk’s horror he finds he must allow Keeler to die. To complicate matters, he appears to have fallen in love with her along the way. This classic is accompanied by that show’s Tomorrow Is Yesterday.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 12th, 2006
Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments hits store shelves in a new three-disc special edition, just in time for the release of the new made-for-TV mini-series. While the film classic is no stranger to DVD, it has yet to be released with this kind of gusto. At over three-and-a-half hours long, the film is simply too much for one disc to hold. The first disc contains the first 140 minutes, while disc two finishes up with the last 80. Plus, as a bonus, we get the original 136-minute silent version (also a DeMill... picture) on disc three. Since the later version is the most famous – and the centerpiece of this release – I will treat the inclusion of the silent version as a bonus feature.
Unless you’ve been living under a pyramid for the last 5000 years, you’re probably familiar with the story. Moses (Charlton Heston) grows up in the Egyptian palaces as a brother to Ramses (Yul Brynner). He discovers his true heritage as a Hebrew and forsakes all the riches and comforts of his childhood for the harsh life of a Hebrew slave. After killing an abusive Egyptian overlord (Vincent Price) in defense of a fellow Hebrew, he flees into the wilderness for about thirty years, until God decides it’s time for Moses to deliver the Hebrews from their plight. At first reluctant, Moses embraces the task at hand, and boldly marches back to Egypt for the famous showdown with the man he once called “brother.” Of course, the film takes certain liberties with the source material, but not so much to fall beyond the realms of reason. Moses really did grow up as an Egyptian, or so historians tell us, and so he must have had some deep ties to that people. DeMille does a fine job of honoring the text, while parlaying it into a compelling story of a house divided.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 12th, 2006
Synopsis
Three friends are driving across Australia. In a particularly desolate national park, their car mysteriously dies, and they accept help from a passing bushman. Big mistake. The bushman (John Jarrat) is a psycho of the first order.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2006
It’s rather stunning to discover that My Neighbor Totoro was made way back in 1988, long before the days of CG and all automatic illustration. And perhaps that animation does detract from the overall experience from the film, but if that’s the only reason that it would be a problem, then people simply need to get their taste in order.
In another film from legendary Japanese film director Hayao Miyazaki (who made the Oscar-winning film Spirited Away), the film follows sisters Mei and Satsuki, w...o move with their father to the countryside, to spend more time with their mother. They do some exploring and encounter Totoro, a mystical being in the woods that can only be seen by children. Totoro helps the children experience a world of wonder that they never would have previously seen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2006
Godzilla is now a hero after being feared for so long? Did I miss something? Anyhow, Godzilla – The Series featured 39 episodes created by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin shortly after the big budget remake. The show was run off the air in 2000 after pretty poor results. This is probably because Emmerich and Devlin transformed Godzilla from a huge monster to a practical little pet we would want to own. The animated series is worth a watch for children as there are only 39 episodes, but don’t expe...t anything groundbreaking. The Monster Mayhem DVD contains 3 random episodes listed below
For a show made for children, I’ll admit that the Godzilla series is not totally awful. The shows are somewhat entertaining, but really can’t be taken serious at all. They kind of remind me a bit of The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers in that the show provides 20 minutes of excitement for children. Maybe if I was a kid I could enjoy the show more.
