Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 21st, 2006
Sex and the City Essentials: Breakups is a little introduction type collection into the famed HBO series. Here we get three episodes about the various Breakups in the show. The first episode is entitled Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and is about Carrie deciding to chose her honesty first. This causes her to lose Aidan in the process. The second episode is entitled I Love a Charade and is about Samantha’s wrath for Richard. The final episode is entitled The Post-It Always Sticks Twice and is about ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 21st, 2006
Sex and the City: The Essentials – Mr. Big is a release, which serves no purpose that can’t otherwise be obtained from watching reruns on TBS. True, the series is edited for television, but a show should not have to resort solely to objectionable content to build a relationship with its audience. That’s not to say it can’t, but if you’re interested in trying out Sex and the City, I doubt it’s to see how many breasts, penises, and profane words you can see and hear, respectively, in a half-hour of televi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 21st, 2006
The Adventures of Superman – The Complete Second Season is the last of George Reeves’ Superman character. It’s also a loving tribute to a show that didn’t really deserve it. I respect television shows and movies from yesteryear – in many cases, I even prefer them – but it’s hard to justify the shallow plots and poor character development this show has to offer. I’m sure nostalgia buffs reading this are screaming “Blasphemy!” as we speak, but honestly… how can this show be justified on merits of good writing an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 21st, 2006
Jack Webb built an empire out of the police drama. Dragnet laid the foundation that 50 years of cop shows would stand upon. In 1972 Webb turned his attention to the relatively recent phenomenon of the paramedic. Based on a California law, the Wedsworth-Townsend Act, which created one of the first paramedic programs, Emergency brought the exploits of these young, daring rescue workers to our living rooms every week.
Roy DeSoto (Tighe) and John Gage (Mantooth) were pioneers in the paramedic field. They would be stationed out of L.A.’s real station 51.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2006
This disc is one of those classic cartoon sets that is marketed directly to children alone. Serious animation collectors will no doubt go for Disney's fantastic Walt Disney Treasures releases instead of a one off release such as this one. This disc is one of those products that is set up as a quick point of purchase sale for parents that need something to throw in the DVD player while in the mini-van, or to keep the kids entertained while the parents are busy doing laundry or making dinner.
The simple ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 17th, 2006
Synopsis
Untroubled by charisma, Jimmy Kimmel hosts this concertedly nasty roast of Pamela Anderson. The roasters include Tommy Lee, Adam Carolla, Sarah Silverman, Andy Dick, Bea Arthur, and Courtney Love. They all mangle each other as well as the guest of honour. So many jokes involve Anderson’s breasts and Lee’s penis that the they get rather boring (scratch that: EXTREMELY boring), but there are a few very funny bits. The highlight is Bea Arthur’s reading of Anderson’s novel Star. Arthur’s ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 10th, 2006
Synopsis
These are the adventures of the Legacy (whose front is the Luna Foundation), a secret society dedicated to protecting humanity from the forces of darkness. And wouldn’t you know it, those pesky forces are present around every corner in the form of somewhat ramshackle special effects. The leader of the group lost his father to demons as a child, and now carries on the good fight. Every episode sees the group up against another nasty ghost or other supernatural force. Points must be given for ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 9th, 2006
Synopsis
FBI trainee and psychic Caterina Scorsone is suddenly graduated because her abilities are needed on a missing person case, and so begins her partnership with borderline rogue FBI agent Vivica A. Fox. And there’s the premise set up: each episode, someone else is missing, and CSI meets the X-Files, but with none of the panache of either show. The dialogue is pseudo-hard boiled, and Fox is no more an federal agent than I am the Pope (I highly doubt those stiletto-heeled, snakeskin boots are eit...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 8th, 2006
One of the unfortunate responses to the emergence of a successful movie is the appearance of copycat films. When Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture, all these sword and sandal flicks went into production. Now we have epics such as Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and Alexander to show for it. Sometimes, the backlash is even worse when the hit film is a bit of a surprise hit. Such was the case with The Fast and the Furious. Now, I really enjoyed Furious, but I knew on the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Though they span a mere five years of his career, these are some of Cary Grant’s best films. They are also among the directors’ best films. Viewers wanting to see comedy from Hollywood’s Gold Age at its best and most sophisticated will be amply rewarded by spending a few evenings with this collection.
Holiday (1938) sees Grant engaged to the snobbish Doris Nolan. The real prize in her family is Katharine Hepburn (natch), who will ultimately break from her families more stult...