Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 6th, 2010
“’Have gun, will travel’ reads the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land…”. Those words ended every episode of Have Gun Will Travel, sung by Johnny Western in a time that such words could be sung without irony. Outside of Richard Boone’s black-clad, craggy Rhett Butler gone-to-seed gunfighter, that song was all I could really recall about this venerable Western from television’s golden age. Would it, like so many revisited shows from my youth, ultimately disappoint? Or would it hold up fifty years after it was originally broadcast, viewed as it would be by the far more jaded, cynical man I’ve grown into?
The verdict? It’s pretty darn good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2010
“The man is Richard Kimble and, not surprisingly, the man is tired. Tired of looking over his shoulder, the ready lie of the buses and freight trains. Richard Kimble is tired of running…”
The elusive “one-armed man” is one of the best known television icons of all time. The plight of Dr. Richard Kimball has been the subject of numerous imitations and even a feature film staring Harrison Ford as Kimball and Tommy Lee Jones as his pursuer. Tim Daly left the ranks of comedy to fill the shoes of Kimball in a very short-lived revival series. While some of these efforts managed to capture the essence of The Fugitive, none can truly compare to the real thing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 17th, 2010
The teenage soap opera sensation of the 90s came to an end with this, its 10th season. As one would expect, in a season all about wrapping up storylines, along with various assorted crises, romantic and otherwise, weddings are in the offing. One is supposed to be between Kelly (Jennie Garth) and Matt (Daniel Cosgrove), but is complicated by the brooding presence of Dylan (Luke Perry). Will Kelly and Dylan sort out how they feel about each other (and I note with amusement that the jacket copy describes the relationship between these two twenty-somethings as “age-old”)? Perhaps more promising is the wedding between David (Brian Austin Green) and Donna (Tori Spelling), which provides a reason for most of the cast, past and present (minus the problematic Shannon Doherty) to reassemble for the grand finale.
This was always a pretty slick package, and for all that it was about terminally pretty people, the series did delve into some heady topics (gay bashing is one that is handled this season). But the overpowering odor of cheese was never far away (I remember a particularly hilarious studio-set version of Paris that the gang visited), and how did anyone ever take Perry's Poor Man's James Dean impression seriously? This will be an enjoyable nostalgic trip for fans, though, and a startling reminder of how many cast members became household names, only to plunge into the Where Are They Now File within seconds of the series' cancellation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 12th, 2010
Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is basically the kid from The Sixth Sense, only with boobs, killer cheekbones, and a formerly lucrative pop career. I may not be entirely accurate about that last item, but until this 6-disc set arrived, I had not really watched the show. It always seemed a little too Touched by an Angel meets The Sixth Sense meets Jennifer Love Hewitt’s aforementioned cheekbones for my taste. Upon viewing the episodes in this set, I pretty much stand behind that assessment, and though it is still not my particular cup of tea, I can understand its appeal to its fans.
The show revolves around Melinda’s ability to communicate with ghosts, spirits of the dead who have unfinished business in this realm and are unable to cross over to the next world. Whether that’s heaven or another dimension is never expanded on in the show, so it avoids awkward questions about religion. In most episodes, she comes in contact with one of these troubled spirits, and then spends the episode working out what happened to them, what’s keeping them from crossing over, and things of that nature. She does this with the help of a stalwart group of friends, some of who have abilities of their own. Jamie Kennedy’s character, for example, can’t see but can hear dead people. A second gifted character is introduced in this season, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2010
Having made it through WWII, fellow soldiers Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are now a song-and-dance team. Kaye is worried about the lack of romance in Crosby's life, but that problem seems likely to be resolved when sister act Rosemary Clooney and Ver-Ellen show up. These two pairs of entertainers must pool their talents in order to save the inn run by former general Dean Jagger from financial ruin.
The plot is, of course, very thin, a mere excuse on which to hang the sentiment and the songs. This is, of course, not the film which originated the title track – that was the earlier Holiday Inn (1942), which Crosby was teamed up with Fred Astaire. The holiday this time is strictly the Christmas one, and White Christmas goes its predecessor one or two better in terms of spectacle, thanks to Technicolor and VistaVision. The end result is not really the classic it self-evidently wants to be, but it and its cast are extremely likable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 15th, 2010
Gunsmoke, in all of its 20 seasons, making it the longest running prime-time drama of all time, has such a strong legacy that it feels odd to review it. Thankfully the challenge is an enjoyable one as the show is at a full head of steam in its fourth season (it was ranked #1 at this time) and each episode is still as engrossing today as it was over 4 decades ago.
James Arness plays Marchall Matt Dillon, and is the law of Dodge City. Both him and the local doctor have rather stony demeanors when it comes to death, and death seems plenty common in 1800s Kansas. More often than not the criminal behind each episodes story is shot dead by the quick draw of Dillon before they could ever see a trial. I suppose that just makes the opening narration all the more suiting as many episodes start with a stock scene of Dillon wandering through a graveyard as Dillon narrates his musings on those that have made one too many mistakes and earned themselves a spot in that yard.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 13th, 2010
Having been dropped by NBC, Medium finds a new home for its sixth season at CBS. The story of a psychic working for a Phoenix (I could have played off their location's name and used it as a metaphor for this show rising from the ashes onto a new network...but I'm a much classier and restrained writer than that) district attorney's office. Meanwhile, her husband struggles with a new job and when it comes to her daughters, there is evidence that there might be more than one psychic in her household.
I did not follow this show before, but had watched a few episodes previous to reviewing this season. Something I had always admired about this program was the dynamic the family has with each other. Driving the plot of each episode is a crime mystery, but instead of new evidence arriving as it might in a CSI or Law and Order, our hero would dream the truth, making for a supernatural side to things. Despite this, the writing would blend said supernatural elements into their daily bickering and family matters until it seemed utterly domestic. Now with a daughter showing powers the family is becoming significant in different ways but all the while never ignoring facts of life that occur and change over the six years that this show existed, such as the girls growing up, job changes, sickness etc. Perhaps what I admire about this is not only how the show does not hinge on the psychic aspect of things, but also creates an all the more believable family unit while doing so. Much credit for this goes to the more than capable leads Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber (who plays her husband) as well as the writing staff.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 5th, 2010
For somebody who does a lot of the cartoon reviews on this website, I often miss many new cartoons that crop up on Saturday mornings, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, etc. One such animated show cropped up on my review slab. In the spirit of Halloween, (but not an official Nights of Terror post), it is my pleasure to take a look at Ugly Americans, the newest animation from Comedy Central.
Mark Lilly is a newcomer to Manhattan. He moves into his first apartment that he found on Craiglist, a nice two-bedroom with a roommate. One little problem, his roommate is a flesh-eating zombie named Randall Skeffington. Randall became a zombie in an attempt to win over a hot girl who was into zombies. The only issue is that the hot girl had moved on to warlocks by the time Randall had turned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 2nd, 2010
Three friends, who have been close since grade school, are approaching their 40s and feeling like they are well past their prime. One friend had a 4.0 grade point average, works at a retail store. One was a star athlete bound for a scholarship, is 25K deep in gambling debt. The final of the three was a successful working rock musician, now drives a beer truck and lost his knack for song writing. As they all hit rock bottom, they venture on a road trip with a pair of tickets to a major College Football match and the hope of starting fresh...or end it all on a high note.
So much seems to happen in this film, as it plays out like a series of bits that have been sewn together. Things happen so quickly that it is hard to keep track of what is motivating these men. They seem to go back and forth between seeking a meaning, then redemption, then they want to kill themselves, and then the cycle starts over again. The “bits” (as I just called them) are amusing enough but it is hard to connect with characters when you're not sure how seriously to take them. They play for beer-fueled, road trip laughs more often then not, but then confuse you with a sudden heavy desire for catharsis (and overload of which comes at the end). One might assume that because so much happens so quickly in a movie that is 90 minutes long, that it has a good pace, but it doesn't. The funnier bits certainly pick things up but then we hit a grinding halt on more than several occasions with inexplicable scenes like this Ed Harris cameo at a carnival which has nothing in the way of exposition or character revelation, thus doesn't feed the film at all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 27th, 2010
I often have trouble believing that South Park has been around for as long as it has. It’s not just the passing of 14 years, but the sheer brilliance in the face of an increasingly politically correct society. It’s like watching old episodes of All In The Family. Who believes that Archie Bunker would have any chance of survival in the 21st century? It’s no wonder that Norman Lear has become involved in the series. It’s the last remaining vestige of a once great freedom to be ridiculous and offend. Eric Cartman’s a lot worse than Archie ever was. We always knew that, in his heart, Archie had a soul. Cartman’s a psychopath without a conscience, and in a civilized society we would be terrified of the existence of such a demon spawn…except he’s just so dang funny. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been walking a tightrope for over 14 years now, and it just doesn’t get old. One of the reasons the show doesn’t grow stale is their ability to make such a quick turnaround on current events. Because the show takes literally days to write and produce, they are quite often the first to address an issue. They had an election-night episode on literally the next day in this season. That means the ideas stay as fresh as the headlines. Finally, you have to credit the expanding universe of good characters. The core group of Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny were great for a lot of years. You have to admire how much Butters has infused himself into that core. We also have such great semi-regulars as Timmy, Jimmy, Token, and lately the Goth kids. These characters allow the stories to expand in ways the core group could not. I’ve honestly come to think of Butters as one of the core now. It looks like Paramount agrees. We now have a Butters collection called A Little Box Of Butters.
So what about the episodes themselves? Let’s play a little game called: The Good The Bad, and The Ugly, shall we?
![White Christmas (Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/white-christmas-anniversary-editio-large.jpg)
