Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 28th, 2006
Teddy Pendergrass, one of the lesser known soul rebels of the seventies, comes to DVD in this lackluster edition, which purports to be 80 minutes – but that’s only true if you factor into the running time the one bonus feature. This fact could be a detriment to fans of Teddy’s music. For me, however, it was a relief to discover the actual concert only ran about an hour. There was nothing here to justify the man’s status as some kind of legend, as his audience interactions and movements on stage were limited in scope ...nd creativity. Also, his raspy voice doesn’t translate well to the performance setting. Not that I’ve heard his studio work, but it seems that would be the most effective venue for him.
Still, he seems to enjoy performing – he just doesn’t bring anything remarkable to the table. Some of the tracks on this disc will be familiar, but it’s pretty much just Teddy conducting someone else’s orchestra – and a couple of songs, which do ring familiar, have been performed better by other artists. This disc includes the following tracks: “Life Is A Song Worth Singing,” “Only You,” “All By Myself,” “Medley: If You Don’t Know Me By Now / The Love I Lost / Bad Luck/ Wake Up Everybody,” “Easy, Easy, Got To Take It Easy,” “Close The Door,” “When Somebody Loves You Back,” and “Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 5th, 2006
Judd Apatow and Paul Feig may have been stung by the criticism and cancellation of their show Freaks and Geeks back in 2000, but that did not deter them from pressing forward with another project. Freaks and Geeks was about a group of kids growing up in high school in the 1980s, while Undeclared is about the first year of college for a group of kids.
Now there are a lot of similiarities between Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, but I’ll focus on some of the bigger things, b...cause, not really watching Freaks and Geeks back in the day, and doing a IMDB search, some of the cast seems to have carried over to it. Jason Segel played Nick in Freaks and Geeks, and frequently appears as the crazed boyfriend Eric in Undeclared. Seth Rogen played Ken in Freaks and Geeks, and appears as a roommate named Ron here. The series focuses on Steven Karp (Jay Baruchel, Million Dollar Baby), a freshman new to the University of North Eastern California, who meets Ron, Marshall (Timm Sharp, Fun with Dick and Jane), the eccentric Lizzie (Carla Gallo, The 40 Year Old Virgin) and her roommate Rachel (Monica Keena, Entourage), and the handsome Lloyd (Charlie Hunnam, Green Street Hooligans).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2006
Synopsis
For fans of comedy, the influence that the original “Not Ready For Prime Time” players on Saturday Night Live was indelible, but did not deter from enjoyable sketch comedy after the group left in 1980. Sketch comedy was being done at an equally accomplished level with the Second City players, some of whom Lorne Michaels recruited for the initial cast of SNL. Those that remained provided some hysterical moments and quality comedy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 23rd, 2005
Miracles is a unique television experience in the same vane as X-Files but with a religious rather then an alien spin. Many seem to blame this series short network run (6-episodes) on its misplacement and movement within ABC’s schedule, but there is also talk of the War in Iraq possible having something to do with it. As we all know… timing is everything. This set adds seven episodes to the six that originally aired on ABC… giving us all a chance to see the full 13 episodes that were filmed.
< ...>So what is this show all about? Here is a brief synopsis from Shout Factory… “Paul Callan (Skeet Ulrich) is an investigator of modern miracles. While consistently disappointing hopeful believers by finding simple explanations for “miraculous phenomena,” Paul finds his own faith sorely tested. Then something happens to reignite his passion for discovery and he joins a team that works to uncover the unexplained.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 16th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
This is the life story of Howard Hughes, as told by the man himself. Literally. Sort of. Michael Ferreri is the voice of Hughes, and he narrates his life from birth to death. This narration is intercut with interviews with Hughes’ surviving friends and widow. The visuals are a lively mix of footage and animated stills. Though the case boasts a running time of almost three hours, this is when all the extras are factored in. The actual feature is only 56 minutes long. Though the effort is alwa...s interesting, the decision to go with the fiction of Hughes telling his story is a very odd one, and one that I, personally, found very off-putting.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2004
Born Rich is a documentary about, well, rich kids. The subject makes it hard to sympathize with the piece (“oh those poor millionaires”). But the director and main character, Jamie Johnson (an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune), gives us interviews with other heirs from rich families - Ivanka Trump (Real Estate Heiress), Josiah Hornblower (Vanderbilt/Whitney Heir), Cody Franchetti (Textile Heir), S.I Newhouse IV (Publishing Heir), Luke Weil (Gambling Heir), and others. Johnson makes his subjects talk abo...t that taboo topic: money.
There are some revealing interviews, and we get taken inside a secret world, which is the whole point of documentary filmmaking. And the subject matter, obviously, satisfies people’s curiosity (remember Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous). But the problem with the film (an “official” selection at the Sundance Film Festival) is that we’re only scratching the surface here. It’s an interview based documentary, and the interviews aren’t nearly exciting to support an entire film. What about the clubs? The parties? The chi-chi stuff? We just get glimpses. The movie is only 67 minutes long and NOT the 81 minutes advertised on the DVD cover. Surely a rich kid could afford a little bit more budget?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2004
SCTV is back with Volume 2. We all know the players, Joe Flahrety, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, and John Candy. Martin Short wasn’t on board yet. But this volume has all your favorite characters, Bob and Doug MacKenzie, Count Floyd, Johnny LaRue, Dr. Tongue, Jerry Todd, Lola Heatherington, and I always loved the Hi-Q sketch.
SCTV’s kind of satire and parody is not biting like Monty Python. It’s more endearing, like wrestling match with a friend.... When not parodying real TV shows, the show also make gentle jabs at Russian culture, feminism, and Canadian tax shelter films. The jokes might seem a bit dated, but the talent of this septet goes with out saying. But I will say something anyway: SCTV sports one of the funniest casts to ever grace the sketch comedy stage (or tube).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 30th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 15th, 2004
Synopsis
