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).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 30th, 2006
Blue Collar TV is essentially a perfect balance between Hee Haw and The Man Show. As with all sketch comedy shows, some of the skits are very funny, and some of them never really go anywhere. The Blue Collar team of Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall have hedged their bets, however, by adding in some stand-up bits, and the occasional musical guest. This means that the average half-hour show might only have two or three skits in it, so the odds of those skits being funny are pretty good.
The show is actually quite entertaining. Much more than I was expecting. Of course, it will probably appeal to those living in the Southern Unites States much more than those in other regions, with recurring segments like “the Redneck Yard of the Week” and “White Trash Days of Our Lives”. Some of the segments are just too redneck, such as the NASCAR sponsored baby delivery segment, but for the most part, you are guaranteed one or two big laugh in every show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 29th, 2006
Before there was Desperate Housewives, there was Dallas. Back stabbing, cheating, lying, romantic jerks with a ton of money. This show is what happens when a Soap Opera is taken seriously. Instead of cheesy organ music and dramatic zooms, this is a true hour-long evening drama. It is also one of the most famous shows of all time.
Season five opens with a dramatic kick off; the conclusion of Season Four's finale that features a murder at the Southfork Ranch! Shock gives way to mystery as the investigation unfolds, and even the Sheriff's department get caught in the middle of the family's squabbles. From here, the drama continues, as J.R.'s marriage falters and a tragedy befalls the head of the Ewing family. For those of you that have not seen these episodes, I may have said to much already. I will just say that if you are a fan of this show, the twists and turns in Season Five certainly do not disappoint.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2006
Sybil is one of those movies that has turned into something of a running joke. It certainly didn't start out that way, though. Probably no other made-for-TV movie is as famous as this one, based on a true story about a woman that had an astonishing 13 distinctly different personalities. Looking back on the film now, there are some definite cheesy moments. However, the vast majority of the film is really quite compelling, especially when the viewer reminds themselves that this is a true story.
Sa...ly Field, who plays the nut-job in question, won an Emmy for best actress for her work in the film. She really is extraordinary here, essentially playing thirteen different roles at once, many of them intertwined and overlapping. It is a role that would have made the film nothing more than a glorified After School Special in the hands of a lesser actress. Instead, Field plays the character(s) deftly and flawlessly, making the movie's three-hour running time fly by. This is an amazing film even by today's standards, and I hope this new edition brings an all-new audience to the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2006
Keanu Reeves really really wants to break out of his pigeonholed role as the charismatic good guy in an action film, but sometimes he just can't help himself, and takes the easy paycheck (Chain Reaction may be a good indication of that). But in the action roles he's noted for, both as Neo in The Matrix trilogy and as John Constantine in Constantine, he's got the "protagonist with an internal conflict" down pat, that's for sure.
Written by Kevin Brodbin (who came up with the initial story) and directed by Francis Lawrence, who was previously well-reputed as a music video director (think Tarsem or David Fincher maybe), Reeves plays Constantine as a man with a conflict. While others may think that he has a gift in exorcising and deporting demons, he sees it as a burden, a duty he thinks he should get into heaven for. With the help of a grizzled priest (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Nobody's Fool) and an aspiring apprentice (Shia LaBeouf, IMDB), he plods along through the days and nights, doing his duty while battling an aggressive form of lung cancer which he doesn't make any better by chain-smoking.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 19th, 2006
Louis L’Amour has been synonymous with the modern Western novel for decades. His stylized depictions of the Old West are always populated with colorful characters. Foremost of these characters would have to be The Sackett Brothers. Two of L’Amour’s Sackett adventures contributed to this 1979 mini-series. “The Daybreakers” and “Sackett” combine to form this 3 hour presentation.
Fresh off the enormous success of such Western shows as Bonanza and Gunsmoke, his mini-series has all the earmarks of that traditional television western. But by 1979 the genre had pretty much run out of steam. The Sacketts feels a lot like a wonderful swan song to a bygone era both in American history and entertainment. A pre-Magnum Tom Selleck leads this dynamic cast as Orin Sackett. Sam Elliott and Jeff Osterhage play the remaining two brothers. Elliott’s portrayal is particularly inspired. Add to the mix Western veterans Glenn Ford and Ben Johnson and you have a mighty fine cast. Louis L’Amour introduces the piece.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 15th, 2006
The thing that makes the death of Bruce Lee an even larger tragedy is that he virtually set back the kung-fu/karate genre from gaining mainstream recognition by a couple of decades. Set back may not even be the proper word for it, as he would have become a larger than life action star whose dreams were bigger than most anyone had anticipated.
In the case of Enter the Dragon, the film was designed to be Lee's crossover attempt into American films, and it's one worthy of his abilities. Bruce (or in this case, Lee) lives at a temple and is invited to a private island for a martial arts tournament where a man named Han (Kien Shih, Once Upon a Time in China) runs the tournament and possibly some illegal operations. His henchman is Oharra (Chuck Norris protégé Robert Wall, Game of Death), who might have been responsible for the death of his sister. Some of the more colorful characters in the tournament are Roper (John Saxon, From Dusk Till Dawn) and Williams (Jim Kelly, Black Belt Jones), friends from America that are also looking to gain the top prize. Lee isn't there to win the tournament, but to try to expose Han's dealings.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 12th, 2006
I guess because of some anniversary related to the initial version on Disney, someone decided to do a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and not only lengthen it, but turn it into a miniseries. Built over a couple of parts, the piece, adapted by Brian Nelson (Hardy Candy) and directed by Rod Hardy (December Boys) stars some familiar names and faces, but is it really worth it?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 4th, 2006
The career transformation that Clint Eastwood has endured over the last several generations can be called nothing short of extraordinary. After all, we are talking about a guy who made a steady name for himself in action films of the late '60s and '70s, first appearing in the spaghetti western films of Sergio Leone, then moving onto the Dirty Harry films of director Don Siegel, before moving on again to more of a directing role. Some of his works were hits and others were plain misses.
Then you have the case of Unforgiven a script that, admittedly he hung onto for years as a bit of a security blanket. In case of career drought, break glass, so to speak. The film helped vault Eastwood into the upper echelon of American directors while simultaneously providing a fitting closure to an earlier level of his stardom. With the help of similar top-shelf acting talent in key supporting roles, Unforgiven also perhaps did something that few other films have failed to do, which was to give a reflective farewell to a treasured genre of film.
![Constantine [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/constantine-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
![Enter the Dragon [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/enter-the-dragon-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
![Unforgiven [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/unforgiven-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
