Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2006
The most amazing thing about this one-joke movie is that it was based on a John Grisham novel: Skipping Christmas. Chris Columbus certainly does not display his biting wit and the skills he debuted with Gremlins 20 years ago. It’s hard to imagine this is the same guy who kicked off the Harry Potter series.
When their daughter joins the Peace Corps and leaves for South America during the Holidays, the Kranks decide to skip Christmas altogether and go on a cruise with the money they save. Why these altern...tive plans require a complete boycott of the season is never fully explained. No cards. No party. Not even a Seasons Greetings, it seems, is allowed to intrude on the Kranks’ plans. The neighborhood is up in arms over this “un-American” act. Their hostile activities leave one glad there weren’t any Jewish or Buddhist families in the neighborhood. Now, of course, you can’t really just skip Christmas, particularly if you’re in a family Christmas film. The daughter decides to come home with her fiancée and so suddenly Christmas is back… and in overdrive.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2006
I have always held a place in my mind and heart for the warmth of Mickey, even though I usually prefer the antics of Goofy or Donald Duck. Mickey just seems to have that innocent, charming look to him that one would not picture as someone who would get into mischief. This is probably why Disney slowly phased Mickey out of cartoon shorts and relied more on Donald Duck, Goofy and the rest. Funny Factory with Mickey Volume 1 contains 8 Mickey shorts totaling 61 minutes.
The 8 cartoons we are given range...anywhere from the early 1930’s to 1950. Each cartoon is around 7-8 minutes long and each feature Mickey in wacky situations. One pleasant surprise though is the quality of the episodes. One might expect them to be a bit poor considering the age, but Disney, as they always do with new and old releases, touched up the quality keeping the picture looking nice. Onto to the cartoons!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Knowing that Stormy Weather is the title of a song that helped vault Lena Horne (The Wiz) into celebrity fandom, I had very little other ideas about her. But the cool thing that I discovered while watching the film is that, for the age of this film, it’s better than anyone would possibly think.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 5th, 2006
Judd Apatow and Paul Feig may have been stung by the criticism and cancellation of their show Freaks and Geeks back in 2000, but that did not deter them from pressing forward with another project. Freaks and Geeks was about a group of kids growing up in high school in the 1980s, while Undeclared is about the first year of college for a group of kids.
Now there are a lot of similiarities between Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, but I’ll focus on some of the bigger things, b...cause, not really watching Freaks and Geeks back in the day, and doing a IMDB search, some of the cast seems to have carried over to it. Jason Segel played Nick in Freaks and Geeks, and frequently appears as the crazed boyfriend Eric in Undeclared. Seth Rogen played Ken in Freaks and Geeks, and appears as a roommate named Ron here. The series focuses on Steven Karp (Jay Baruchel, Million Dollar Baby), a freshman new to the University of North Eastern California, who meets Ron, Marshall (Timm Sharp, Fun with Dick and Jane), the eccentric Lizzie (Carla Gallo, The 40 Year Old Virgin) and her roommate Rachel (Monica Keena, Entourage), and the handsome Lloyd (Charlie Hunnam, Green Street Hooligans).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 3rd, 2006
“Let’s be careful out there…”
The men and woman of Hill Street Station, a fictitious police precinct in Chicago, have found it rather difficult at times to live by their sergeant’s admonition. Steven Bochco’s award winning police drama changed most of the rules for a one hour television drama. Some of Hill Street’s trademark style has become rather ordinary over 20 years later. Bochco protégés now dominate the scene. Dick Wolf (Law and Order), David Kelley (The Practice), David Milch (Deadwood), Scott Brazil ...The Shield) and Ken Olin (Alias) all came from the tutelage of Bochco.
Captain Furillo (Travanti) runs one of the toughest precincts in the inner city. The streets are inundated by gang violence. Furillo also often finds himself under fire by city politics, a bitter ex-wife, and even his own girl: ADA Davenport (Hamel). The squad includes veteran sergeant Esterhaus (Conrad), scrappy biter Belker (Weitz), Redneck cop Renko (Haid), playboy detective LaRue (Martin), Gung ho SWAT leader Hunter (Sikking), Detective Goldblume (Spano), Detective Washington (Blacque). A more diverse and entertaining cast has never been assembled anywhere.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 2nd, 2006
Synopsis
Blair Underwood plays Bob Richardson, who moves from Alabama to California with his brother and parents. The African-Amercian family has high hopes of finding a new land of opportunity, but racism and poverty are just as prevalent here. Richardson becomes a reporter, and he is on the scene for the Watts riots of 1965. Families and friends are torn apart in that violence, but his reporting is a landmark work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2006
This short-lived series was based on the popular DC Comics character, The Flash. Barry Allen (Shipp) was a crime lab technician, long before CSI made the job trendy. When lightning interacted with an unknown chemical compound as only comic cosmic events can, Allen receives a powerful jolt. The injury results in a dramatic change in his metabolism. Now supercharged, his body is capable of moving at supersonic speeds. Complete with a bright crimson costume appropriately modeled after the swift Greek god Mercury, The ...lash uses his powers to combat crime in Central City. Help is provided by Julio (Desert), his capable lab assistant. Julio is apparently smart enough to tackle complex chemical formulas, but remains oblivious to his partner’s abilities. His secret is shared by scientist Tina McGee (Pays) who works with Allen to try to figure out the changes his body has been put through.
Every superhero has a weakness. Superman had kryptonite and Batman had… well… Robin. The Flash, it seems, can be done in by a junk food deficiency. It turns out that speed burns up an awful lot of sugar which, of course, must be replaced. I think they missed out on some great tie-in opportunities here. “Hey kids! Want to grow up big and strong with blinding speed just like The Flash? Then don’t forget a super sized bowl of Capn’ Crunch with extra sugar for a superhero breakfast.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2006
I would be a fool if I downplayed Tracey Ullman’s talent. She is a woman with anomalous abilities that most performers couldn’t dream of acquiring. She is an accomplished singer, a chameleon-like comedienne, and a serious actress – all in one unbelievable package with a multitude of awards to verify her capabilities. She’s also quite attractive when the light hits her a certain way, but she has a knack for too often burying that beauty under clever disguises. All these features result in a performer, who can do just ...bout anything she’s asked to do. But with all that said, I couldn’t bring myself to like this show. With each vignette (every 30-minute episode carries about three-to-five), I know I should be bursting with laughter, but for some reason, the material doesn’t move me. I do, however, realize a talent like Ullman’s is bound to attract fans aplenty, and to those people, I say this: I can understand your love for shows like Tracey Takes On… – but I cannot share it.
Of course, fans will be pleased to know all of the old favorites are here: the Chinese donut shop owner, the Casanova cab driver, Linda Granger, Hope Finch, Fern Rosenthal, and a large selection of other amazingly performed Tracey Ullman creations. Also, guest stars Alfred Molina, Tobey Maguire, Hugh Laurie, Danny Woodburn, and George Segal, add a degree of welcome familiarity to Ullman’s unorthodox humor. For fans of the show, this set is a must buy. It features all ten episodes of season one, which cover topics ranging from Romance to Nostalgia to Death to Fame. Each episode has clever moments. However, for me, the laughs were consistently absent. But just like some viewers are unable to rally behind Seinfeld (I’m NOT one of them), I cannot force myself to get on board with Tracey Takes On…. However, I’m certain Mrs. Ullman’s overwhelming talents and huge fan base will help her overcome the blow.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Disney has released a DVD that appears to be part of a compilation, and provided some karaoke subtitles and marketing it as a sing-along entitled “You Can Fly”. With animated (but dated) introductions by Disney characters, the songs featured are from such films as Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins and Dumbo.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Danny Glover is a Sergeant in a cavalry regiment of African-American soldiers. He and his men are tasked with tracking down Apache leader Victorio, who has proven himself to be a brilliant and dangerous fighter. This mission would be difficult enough, but there is also the deep prejudice of the white commanding officers to deal with.
