Sony Pictures

World Poker Tour – Season Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2005

Poker viewing on television has been a phenomenon that has exploded over the last few years. This 8-disc set of The World Poker Tour – Season Two (14 episodes and one disc with bonus material) is a viewing pleasure for any poker fan who just enjoys watching it or is looking to improve their game.

Each episode includes poker instruction and player profiles for an inside look at the professional poker world. The host team of Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten are very knowledgeable and add excitement t…
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Love Song For Bobby Long

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 2nd, 2005

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I didn’t think that Scarlet Johansson had an active eye or ear for drama films, that she does different stuff and has generally been incredibly lucky. Apparently, she’s got a good knack for appearing in films that have good stories also, as she had been attached to this film for quite some time.

Based on the novel by Ronald Everett Capps, A Love Song for Bobby Long tells the story of Pursy (Johansson), who has recently found out her mother died, so she travels back to New Orleans and meets Bobby Long…
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American Chopper: The Series – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 27th, 2005

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posted by Kim Lee

The father & son team behind American Chopper are back for another thirteen new episodes in season two of this great Discovery Channel show. This time, the Orange County Choppers (OCC) crew gets down to the nuts and bolts of building 6 new bikes:

Tool Bike
Football Bike
POW/MIA Bike
Miller Welder Bike
Celebrity Bike
Liberty Bike

As usual, it’s extremely entertaining when the talent (Paul Jr.) mixes in with the temper (Pau…
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Boogeyman

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 27th, 2005

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Synopsis

Little Tim is convinced the boogeyman is in his closet. He’s right, and it gobbles up his dad.Fifteen years later, after many years of therapy devoted to convincing him that he didn’t reallysee a monster that night, Tim (Barry Watson) is still afraid of closets and is haunted by terrifyingvisions. When his mother dies, he returns to his home town for the funeral, and decides to stay atthe old house in order to confront his demons. Big mistake.

The basic set-up is no…
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American Chopper: The Series – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 16th, 2005

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posted by Kim Lee

Orange County Choppers (OCC) is a legendary custom motorcycle shop run by a father & son team. The Teutel family business consists of Paul Sr., Paul Jr., and Mikey featuring Vince DiMartino, Rick Petko, and Cody Connelley. Paul Sr. runs the show at OCC and Paul Jr. is the artistic genius behind custom bike fabrications while Mikey is the untalented son that’s there to bring humor and motivation to the shop. The cast of American Chopper is what makes everything interesting as each character brings a different level o…
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Jeffersons – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 15th, 2005

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Very few shows had the longevity that The Jefferson’s did. Its eleven year run is one of the longest tenures for any sitcom in any decade. Season three was not one of the better seasons… as proved by TV ratings (24th in 1978). Who knows why ratings were not as good as most other seasons… You still get George’s shuffling, Weezie’s tirades, and now in season three we are introduced to Florence… the wise talking maid.

Season three did have its fair share of moments. Here is a brief season three syno…
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Dogtown and Z-Boys

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

This documentary gives us the birth of skateboarding culture as we know it today. In theearly seventies, the Z-Boys of the title, a group of surfing enthusiasts from a hard luckneighbourhood, move from surfing to more and more elaborate skateboarding tricks, worked onin guerilla fashion in the empty swimming pools and the like. Director Stacy Peralta (who alsomade the surfing documentary Riding Giants) was one of those skaters, and so he ispretty damn close to the ma…
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Lightning in a Bottle

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 7th, 2005

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So how come a doughy looking white guy like me enjoyed these performances, and didn’t watch a single part of the Martin Scorsese miniseries that covered Blues music? It’s because growing up, the first big musical influence in my life was Jimi Hendrix, so I was a bit familiar with the Electric Blues sound that Jimi had. And names like Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Leadbelly were not new ones to me. And with the help of Led Zeppelin, I also learned about Robert Johnson too.

So while Antoine Fuqua (King Ar…
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Merchant of Venice, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

Antonio (Jeremy Irons), silently in love with his friend Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes) acts asguarantor for a loan Bassanio needs in order to woo the beautiful Portia (Lynn Collins). Theyborrow the sum from Shylock (Al Pacino) who demands, should Antonio default, a pound offlesh (literally). Bassanio’s adventures in love are successful, but Antonio’s ships founder, andShylock, distressed over his daughter’s elopement and incessant anti-Semitism he hasexperienced, demands his te…
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Are We There Yet?

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

Nia Long is the sexy single mother of two vile little monsters who do everything short oftorturing and killing would-be suitors in the illusory hope that their father will return to thefold one day. Ice Cube plays a fellow who doesn’t like kids (and with these two case studies, whocan blame him?). He falls for Long, and foolishly volunteers to carry her two spawn cross-country for New Year’s Eve. Cue no end of trouble. You got it, it’s Planes, Trains andAutomobiles m…
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Starsky & Hutch – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2005

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The third season of Starsky and Hutch offered some changes from the first two seasons. Two-parters were a little more prevalent, the tone was often more serious, and the light banter remained as did Huggy Bear’s schemes and dreams. Still, the actors were looking to stretch their thespian muscles in the third year.

The writers took more chances and the stories were far more intense. One of my favorite episodes begins the third season. The two-parter Murder On Voodoo Island featured prominent guest star Joan Collins.
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Control

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005

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When first reading the synopsis of Control I thought that it would be something similar to the Michael Keaton-Andy Garcia movie Desperate Measures, and how violent criminals can be reformed somehow. Lee Ray (Ray Liotta, Goodfellas), a convicted criminal sentenced to death, is offered the chance to start life anew with the help of counseling from Dr. Copeland (Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man), along with some behavior suppressing drugs.

And of course, Lee Ray resists at first, but soon g…
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xXx

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 28th, 2005

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Sony once again hits us with not only a double dip, but a triple dip release of xXx. What started out as a Special Edition, evolved into a Superbit release, and has now ultimately become the Uncensored Unrated Director’s Cut of the film. What is different this time around you ask… well, you get 8 more minutes of action and skin.

Let me guess… you want more specifics don’t you? Well here is what has been added… The scene with the girl “dancing” in Xander’s room has been extended. The…
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Spanglish

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 25th, 2005

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Synopsis

Mexican immigrant Paz Vega comes to work as a maid for the household of Adam Sandler (a chef who is very reluctantly accepting his growing renown) and Téa Leoni (insanely overwrought neurotic interior designer). Vega and her daughter wind up living with this family during a summer, and Vega’s presence is the catalyst for many changes, particularly in the relationship between Sandler and Leoni, which is veering into very treacherous shoals.

I have maintained before that a comedy nee…
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Wild Things 3 – Diamonds in the Rough

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2005

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There are just some trilogy’s that should not be made – and the Wild Things trilogy is one of them. This is not really a trilogy per se, since each of the films carries with it the same story, with the same twists. If you have seen the first, you have basically seen each of the sequels… except the sequels are both much worse. Take out the big name actors and make a direct-to-DVD release… and you have Wild Things: Diamonds In The Rough.

I am sure you all know the story by now, but here is a brief syn…
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Wake of Death

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2005

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I don’t expect this film will appeal to any but the biggest Van Damme fans; even many of them will be disappointed. If you’re a Van Damme fan, you might not be looking for the most original of story ideas. What you want is good solid action and some sweet action f/x. This film simply doesn’t deliver the goods on any level. The action is too sparse for anyone looking for an adrenaline rush. The dialogue is entirely lame; I mean, does anyone talk like that? To be fair, it is possible the script is an English translation of a French work.
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House of Flying Daggers

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2005

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While House of Flying Daggers may be easy to pigeonhole as a movie similar to Zhang Yimou’s own Hero or even Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the only thing you could say about all three is that they have an impressive level of stuntwork that also, features the acting skills of Zhang Ziyi. But where Lee’s work is more story based around three characters’ feelings for one another, and Hero had some great stuntwork set against some breathtaking cinematography, House of Flying Dag…
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She Hate Me

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 10th, 2005

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Synopsis

Anthony Mackie, VP of a biotech company, learns the hard way that no good deed goesunpunished. When he blows the whistle on the corporation’s misdeeds, he is the one who windsup losing his job and being investigated. Given his desperate straits, he agrees to impregnate, fora price, his ex-girlfriend and her girlfriend. So begins a new business for our hero: stud-for-hireto well-heeled lesbians. The two tales intertwine, and sex and capitalism/corruption collide whenMackie i…
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Zelary

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 6th, 2005

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Synopsis

In 1943, medical student Aňa Geislerová is living the sophisticated life in Prague, carryingon with a doctor. She’s also working for the Czech resistance, and when her lover decamps andshe is betrayed, she is forced to seek refuge in the country. She poses as the wife of GyörgyCserhalmi, whose life she saved with a blood donation when he was in the hospital. At firstdismayed by her new surroundings, she gradually comes to love both the countryside and herersatz husband…
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Art Heist

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

After a daring art heist in Barcelona, Ellen Pompeo is ordered by her aggrieved client (EdLauter) to track down his lost paintings. Pompeo’s ex-husband, William Baldwin, arrives inSpain to protect his ex whether she wants his help or not. It looks like she’ll need it, as she findsherself up to her neck in conspiracies and being framed for the thefts herself.

Behind an utterly banal title lurks an utterly banal thriller. The opening shot is pretty nifty,but that’s mo…
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Woodsman, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 4th, 2005

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The Woodsman is not a story for the faint of heart. The content is disturbing to say the least… it is a story of a convicted pedophile that has a “thing” for young girls. The story is actually much more then that… it has a strong focus on the inner demons that the pedophile faces in attempt to clean up his life.

After being released from a 12-year prison sentence, Walter Rossworth (Kevin Bacon) tries to re-enter society by getting a job at a lumberyard, and moving into his own apartment (coincident…
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Astro Boy (2003) – The Complete Series

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 4th, 2005

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I’ll start this review with a disclaimer about my Astro Boy knowledge level – for those Astro Boy fans reading this, I’m not an Astro Boy die-hard, and while I have some hazy recollections from my youth, until a few days ago, that’s about where my AB knowledge ended.

Astro Boy Backgrounder

The box set reviewed here contains 50 new episodes, released on television in their entirety overseas in, and in part in North America, in 2003. This is in fact the third incarnation of Astro Boy:

Mad About You Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 3rd, 2005

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If you’re not the type who enjoys watching complete seasons of your favorite show on DVD, this set was made for you. Mad About You has already had its complete first and second seasons released on DVD, but this collection takes the best episodes from the show entire run, and slams them out in this “Best of” collection.

I for one, as a completist, prefer complete seasons over these best-of collections. I find the flow very disjointed, with each episode having very little to do with each other.

Crimson Rivers – Angels of the Apocalypse

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 2nd, 2005

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Synopsis

A monk is found walled up alive in an eccentric monastery, and Inspector Niemans (JeanReno) is on the case. Murders multiply around the country, connecting the cases worked on byNiemans and a young hotshot (Benoit Magimel, whose role is very similar to the one played byVincent Cassell in the original). The victims are all deeply religious, were all disciples of asurvivor who bears a more-than-passing resemblance to Jesus, and have the names andprofessions of the Disciples. They mur…
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Good Times – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2005

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Good Times is one of several shows from the 1970’s to trace its origins back to All In The Family. Florida was the maid to Maude, Edith’s cousin, who also got her own show. It wasn’t very long before Good Times became the Jimmie Walker show. His ghetto witisms and trademark “Dyn-o-Mite” exclamation took any attention from the other cast members. In the Fourth season John Amos left the show and his character, James, was killed in an accident. Esther Rolle would also depart for a time after this season. It’s no surprise that JJ’s role was beginning to increase and perhaps peaked here in Season Four.

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