Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2006
Poseidon doesn’t waste any time getting to the action so I won’t waste any time with an introduction to this review. Yes, it’s a remake of the 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure. Yes, it is chock full of convenient cardboard characters (a former Navy man, a fireman, a nurse, etc...). But we don’t watch movies like Poseidon for character exposition, do we?
Poseidon is a rip-roaring 90 minutes of intensity and even delivers some gory goods. Yes, I said gory. I know Poseidon...is a PG-13 movie, but it is chock full of carnage. It's also very exhausting. I haven’t had a movie leave me feeling beaten down in a long time, if ever. Does that make Poseidon an excellent movie? No. But it’s 100% effective for a disaster film – and deserved a better fate at the box office.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 4th, 2006
Taking place in the 1950’s, Good Night and Good Luck deals with the impending threat of Communism in the world. Many feared it so much they decided to never speak of it. One Senator in particular, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy used a type of propaganda basically creating this threat of Communism as one of the single biggest threats anyone could face. Ala President Bush, many Americans who wanted to take a stand against McCarthy and his views, decided not to for fear of being called an unpatriotic American....It wasn’t until eight members of a CBS radio show, lead by Edward R. Murrow (Clooney), decided to take a stand against McCarthy. The film, instead of showcasing Murrow’s entire career (and quite the career it was indeed), focuses on this one portion of his career. I applaud Clooney for doing this film, since a character like Murrow would be eventually viewed as a hero for standing up against the power. It just goes to show that sometimes, if you try fight the good fight, the right will prevail.
What makes a film like this so powerful and necessary viewing is not the direction of George Clooney (even though it is rather good), but more the power of the message behind these eight men. In a time of fear and worry in the country, these men stood up as one and decided to take a stand against a man who used fear and his power to take advantage of his audience (sound familiar no)? Subtle little things also make this film’s message powerful. Instead of casting a McCarthy look-a-like to shoot these scenes, Clooney, in a wise move that brings more credibility to the film’s message, used archival footage of McCarthy actually speaking about Communism. After viewing these messages in the film, one can easily see where a certain man may have come up with messages of fear in hopes of winning over an audience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 19th, 2006
Clearly, I am in the minority when it comes to Veronica Mars. Reviewers go on and on about the sharp writing on this show, but I just don't see it. With character names like “Beaver”, “Butters”, “Weevil” and my favorite, “Dick Casablancas”, this is a show where the writing is actually one of the things that is wrong with this show. (And yes, Beaver and Dick are friends. How's that for creativity?) The character of Wallace is an African American stereotype that is embarrassing, and stinks of what old while people think young black men are like. Not only are these characters one-dimensional and unrealistic, but some of them are borderline offensive.
Veronica Mars is really just Nancy Drew for the 21st century. The writers have tried their best to add some real adult drama to the series by throwing in a murder mystery, but they have somehow managed to make even that seem soft, thanks to the amateurish acting. Story lines are basically teen faire, meaning that things are made to appear much more tragic than they actually are. That's fine if you are a teen girl, but for the majority of the population this should not be a desired trait in an hour-long drama.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 19th, 2006
Written By Jeff Mardo
This disc certainly had me fooled. I though I was in for another one of those lame teenage “comedies” where the emphasis is on lame and cliché jokes and the occasional glimpse of gratuitous nudity. What I wound, however, was a wonderful movie that is the very definition of an indie film. If you liked Kevin Smith's first foray into filmmaking, then you will probably like this piece as well. I would contend that Clerks was a better film, but this Mexican film certainly has it's on charm as well. While Smith's fi...ms are packed full of dialog, Fernando Eimbcke has crafted a piece that is about those moments when there is nothing to say.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 15th, 2006
Synopsis
Robert Mitchum shows up twice here, as does Robert Ryan. The two clash in The Racket (1951), where Mitchum is the incorruptible cop, and Ryan is the old-school gangster whose brutally direct methods put him in conflict not only with Mitchum, but with the more sophisticated crime syndicate spreading over the land. The focus of the film is rather split between the two, but is pretty tense, and is further enlivened by a memorably sleazy turn by William Conrad as a VERY corrupt cop.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 13th, 2006
I've said it before, and as long as Warner Brothers keeps putting these classic discs out, I am going to keep on saying it. No studio respects their classic film catalog like Warner's. They have done marvelous things with their special editions of classic films, such as their fantastic 2-disc tin box release of King Kong. They have the largest collection of classic films on the planet, including the entire RKO Pictures catalog, and they are succeeding in introducing an entirely new generation of film fans to the best that cinema has to offer.
In addition to their wonderful single-title releases, they started releasing “Signature Collection” boxed sets of a couple of years ago. These are sets of films featuring a single actor or director, and they are packaged in beautiful boxes, complete with the original artwork for each film. This time around, they are focusing on five films by Ronald Reagan. Included in this box is the 1942 Best Picture nominee King's Row, 1949 film The Hasty Heart, the surprising (and way ahead of its time) drama Storm Warning, the inspirational baseball film The Winning Team and the beloved film Knute Rockne All American, which reminded the world to “win one for the Gipper”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 12th, 2006
You would have to either be from another planet, been raised by wolves or be under the age of 15 to not have some sort of a personal history with Full House. The show was a staple of Friday night television for eight seasons, defying all logic and proving that the general public doesn't always know quality when they see it. The story about a non-traditional household was inexplicably popular, despite the fact that it got consistently poor reviews year after year. Even more surprising was how many careers came out of the show. Of course, Bob Saget went on to play a similar role as the host of America's Funniest Home Videos, but John Stamos went on to marry Rebecca Romijn... a match that nobody saw coming or truly understood. And then, of course, there is the multi-million dollar phenomenon that is the Olsen twins.
This particular season falls fight in the middle of the show's run. The big storyline here is the marriage of Uncle Joey and Becky, a plot line that runs from the proposal to the wedding and beyond. Other storylines include Stephanie getting glasses (apparently a major trauma) and one major character getting pregnant. I respect the fact that the show is trying to evolve, but in the end, this is just the same old soft crap that we have already seen for three previous seasons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 11th, 2006
I think the fact that Invasion only ran for one season is more of a result of circumstance than anything else. The series starts with a very large hurricane hitting Florida, and the rest of the season dramatizes the aftermath of such a tragic event. Unfortunately, the series made its debut right after the real life hurricane Katrina wiped out much of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. With the 24-hour coverage of the real-life disaster plastered all over the airwaves, audiences just didn't feel much like unwinding with a dramatization of the very same experience.
It's a shame, too, because the hurricane aspect of the story was really just a catalyst to bring on the true story of the series. This was not a show about hurricanes, this was a show about extra-terrestrials. I am always a fan of sci-fi shows that masquerade as traditional dramas, and this one really pulls it off. One of the best things about shows like Alias and Lost is that they spawned other well thought out shows such as this one. It was not long ago that a show would start with a basic idea of characters and place, and the series would evolve over time. Now we are starting to see shows that have an entire couple of seasons planned out before the first episode is even shot (such as 24 and HBO's fantastic Carnivale). The result is a television program that plays more like a detailed mini-series. This is a winning proposition for both networks and fans, as the story builds slowly over time, a personal investment is made in the program.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2006
Synopsis
In 1930, the animation department at Warner creates three characters: the Warner Brothers and their sister, Dot. The siblings run riot, however, and are finally caught and imprisoned in the Warner water tower. Flash-forward to today, when they escape to once more wreak havoc.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 30th, 2006
Synopsis
There are a lot of surprising things that I was not aware of about when it came to Tales From the Crypt. Not only is this the fourth season that I’m reviewing, but there were a couple more seasons on top of everything else. Now granted, the show’s executive producers have a bit of a good pedigree. There’s Richard Donner (16 Blocks), Walter Hill (Aliens), Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future), Joel Silver (The Matrix) and David Giler (Myra Breckenridge).
![Good Night, and Good Luck (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/good-night-and-good-luck-combo-hd-large.jpg)
