Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 1st, 2010
Since I get to review a lot of sitcoms, I tend to see the gambit of shows designed for only purpose. That purpose is for me to laugh. But there is another word in sitcom which can restrict how funny the comedy will be to a given person. Situational. The situation I present here involves a female sports columnist and her male friends. One can only wonder if this formula created by Betsy Thomas will be what I'm looking for.
P.J. Franklin (played by Jordana Spiro is a sports-writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and she works and lives with a whole lot of males. She rooms with a radio DJ named Brendan Dorff (played by Reid Scott). They have two close friends named Mike Callahan and Kenny Moritorri (played by Jamie Kaler and Michael Bunin) who run a sports memorabilia store. Mike and Kenny are also single and spend their times trying to get the ladies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 26th, 2010
"Would you give up 20 years to prove a stranger's innocence?"
That's the question that is asked and answered, at least for one person, in the docudrama The Wronged Man. The film is a made-for-television movie that appeared originally, and still does from time to time, on Lifetime.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 23rd, 2010
Let's see if you can follow any of this. Jesse Warren is a wannabe actor/director/gofer. He's taking acting classes like a million other Hollywood hopefuls. During his classes he begins to write the "way cool" story about a character named Neil Bannen. As luck would have it, he runs into another aspiring star in Mark Gantt. Gantt appears to be exactly like the character in Warren's fledgling script. So, he approaches his classmate and both agree that the story is "way cool". They know someone at a major studio with more development money than good sense, a guy likely parking cars at The Hollywood Bowl these days. The script gets greenlit, and before you know it the a couple of B list actors along with other film students gather for what is described as an internet series that will also be cobbled together to form a feature film, direct to video, of course. Cut to a hapless reviewer who, as luck would have it, is not an aspiring Hollywood actor. He's given an advance copy of that "way cool" film and sits down in his home theater to watch the movie. As the curtain falls, we find the reviewer sitting down to his computer terminal as he begins to type. He begins his review: "Let's see if you can follow any of this. Jesse Warren is a ..."
Sounds like it might be the plot of the new Sony direct to video release The Bannen Way. No such luck. That might have at least made an interesting comedy. Instead, the above isn't quite the plot of the film. It isn't exactly based on a true story. It IS a true story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 19th, 2010
In an attempt to win over more of the male viewers into their audiences, filmmakers of the romantic comedy genre have tried many tactics. To date, very few of them have worked to any great extent. The problem appears to be getting the mixture just right. Too much of the guy stuff and you'll turn away your core "chick" audience. Too little and you're really not reeling in too many guys. Of course, we go anyway to please the ladies in our lives. Just between us, I once found myself at a Barry Manilow concert for a girl. Yes, I'm trying to get some help for that. We'll go. That doesn't mean we have to enjoy ourselves. Hopefully, it's just enough that we go,because no matter how much it tries to be a guy flick, The Bounty Hunter might as well have a neon sign hanging from the marquee that says "Ladies Only, Please".
Nicole (Aniston) is a reporter who is onto a big story, or at least it could be. She thinks that a recent death ruled a suicide was really a murder and that some cops are trying to cover it up. As you might expect, she's not too popular with the police department,and she's also facing a charge of assault on a police officer stemming from a "misunderstanding" between her car and a police horse. When she's ordered to appear in court for the crime,she gets a call from her informant who claims to have info that will break her suicide case, but he has to meet her now. Naturally, she blows off the court appearance to meet the snitch. Unfortunately, the snitch has been snatched by the bad guys,and now there's a warrant out for her arrest. The bail bondsman who posted her bail sends one of his best bounty hunters to pick her up;that'll be Milo (Butler),her ex-husband. For most of the film we have the two ex-spouses playing their own cat-nd-mouse game while the killer in Nicole's case is out to kill her. Then there's the mob boys that Milo owes a huge gambling debt to. Finally, to complete a hat trick of pursuers,there's Stewart (Sudeikis) who is in love with Nicole and decides to "rescue" her from her situation. As you might have guessed, Stewart is going to end up in a world of hurt.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 7th, 2010
“In the 1940’s, a new genre – film noir – emerged from the world of hard-boiled pulp magazines, paperback thrillers, and sensational crime movies. These films, tough and unsentimental, depicted a black-and-white universe at once brutal, erotic, and morally ambiguous.”
And so Sony collects five more of these films as part of what looks like is going to be an ongoing series. But what exactly is film noir? You hear the term used from time to time, but what does it mean?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 28th, 2010
Most people associate the book, War and Peace in the same respects as they do torture. A one thousand, two hundred and twenty five page book that is regarded as one of the most brilliant pieces of historical fiction is a nightmare to most advanced high school and college kids. However, perhaps more fascinating than any single piece of work by Leo Tolstoy is the life in which he lead. Last Station attempts to give us the last few years of the Count’s life in film form.
It is the last year of Leo Tolstoy (played by Christopher Plummer)’s long and prosperous life. He has developed principles that reject private property and advocates passive resistance. Those same principles have led to the birth of the Tolstoyan movement, championed by his disciple, Vladimir Chertkov (played by Paul Giamatti). Chertkov has unfortunately also been placed under house arrest and has no way to keep regular ties with Tolstoy who is in failing health.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 16th, 2010
The closest I ever got to regularly watching a medical show in my life was watching General Hospital, a soap opera with my mom growing up. When I was out of school, I would catch here and there an episode of Scrubs which was a wonderful comedy. I then wondered how I would fair with the brand new medical drama: HawthoRNe which just wrapped up its first season on TNT. Man, do I miss Luke and Laura.
Richmond Trinity Hospital is one of the finest medical establishments in Richmond, Virginia. Like most hospitals, it is run by a board of directors. However, if one were to walk the hallowed halls, one would immediately realize it is really run by the chief nursing officer, Christina Hawthorne (played by Jada Pinkett Smith). She and her quite adequate nursing squad handle a multitude of patients with unique personalities and different aliments.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2010
"Comrades, I've called you together again because the people of England face a grave crisis. Many years ago as Robin Hood, I led you as an outlaw band. Here in Sherwood Forest, together we resisted the tyrant King John. When he died, we dispersed because we believed that tyranny had died with him. But tyranny did not die. It merely slept. And now it has awakened again."
Speak the name Robin Hood and one immediately conjures images of the swashbuckling hero of medieval England. The character's origins go back as far as 15th century ballads that herald the daring deeds of an outlaw who fought against tyranny and injustice. In some texts the man is given a dual identity as one of the very noblemen that he had most of his fame defending the people against. The most popular modern notions have the figure in tights with a bow and arrow, equally talented with his sword. He robs from the rich to give to the poor. Such populist notions have been a part of the legends in whatever forms they have taken over the centuries. While the early legends and ballads place him at several locations in England, it is the famed Sherwood Forest dwelling that survives the telling to this day. Believe it or not, one of the earliest mentions of the character, Robin Hood And The Monk from around 1450, is actually a story of Little John as the prominent one, and Robin is merely a fanciful supporting character. He was considerably more religious during those days, dedicated to the visage of The Holy Blessed Mother. By the 16th century Robin Hood was the subject of a series of plays written by Anthony Munday. Here Robin's nobility origins are made clear, as is his hatred of tyranny. The character we know today, however, didn't begin to take shape until the 17th century and Martin Parker's The True Tale Of Robin Hood. Still, with all of this rich literary history, Robin Hood's iconic image owes much to the introduction of the motion picture. It is here that the flights of fancy were given free rein, and Robin Hood became one of the world's first superheroes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 28th, 2010
Spectacular Spider-Man is back with his eighth volume and the final one for the 2nd season. As we saw in the last few episodes, it appears that Green Goblin is again rearing his ugly head and looking to get rid of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Furthermore, there are other super villains chomping at the bit to get back at Spider-Man for being put behind bars. Can Spidey survive this onslaught? Let’s find out.
Episode 24 opens up with Spider-Man in a battle with Molten Man at a local pool hall while Liz Allan (Peter Parker’s girlfriend at this point) and Mary Jane Watson are trapped behind the bar. We later find out that Molten Man is Liz’s brother: Mark who has a severe gambling problem. Somehow you know that Green Goblin is the cause of what is going on. Is Spiderman all-in or will he bust?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 9th, 2010
Growing up in life came a little later for me than most people. Most people seem to hit maturity right around their later teen years and early twenties. Honestly, I didn’t really grow up until I hit my mid twenties. But what would happen if one was forced to grow up sooner, say around their seventeenth birthday? Well then, you might be like Jenny Mellor from An Education who had to grow up a lot sooner than she probably expected to.
It’s 1961 in England. Jenny Mellor (played by Carey Mulligan) is 16 and entering her last year of school. She studies literature, plays the cello and is certain to ace her A-levels and be accepted to Oxford University. Her weakness is currently Latin but she promises to bring up that grade as soon as possible. Or else her father, Jack (played by Alfred Molina) says that she won’t make Oxford.
![The Bounty Hunter [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-bounty-hunter-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![The Last Station [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-last-station-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![An Education [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/an-education-blu-ray-large.jpg)
