Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 2nd, 2011
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension -- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2011
"He is the unique high-seas hero. A man of unshakable courage, unwavering principles, and extraordinary skill. Joining the Royal Navy at the outset of the bloody Napoleonic Wars, Horatio Hornblower rises quickly from new recruit to seasoned sailor, and his exploits become the stuff of legends."
When Gene Roddenberry was preparing his "Wagon Train to the Stars" that would become Star Trek, he turned to the historic hero from the books of C.S. Forester. Horatio Hornblower would be the inspiration and genesis for Captain Kirk. Like Kirk, Hornblower became one of the youngest officers in the fleet and rose quickly to the point where he was commanding the flagship of the Royal Navy. His adventures have been the stuff of radio drama and feature films. Now A&E brings us two of their film series.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 20th, 2011
The grindhouses may be long gone, but their memory lingers on, thanks to releases like this one, which, being released in 1993, is from the twilight years of theatrical exploitation, and thus more accurately from the second, virtual life the grindhouse aesthetic found on home video. This is the life of Jeffrey Dahmer, narrated in retrospect by the serial killer (screenwriter Carl Crew). Dahmer recounts his obsessions and growing need to kill, and a fair bit of the film’s running time consists of Dahmer hooking up with young men and murdering them.
The film has, then, a very episodic structure, with very little clear narrative progression. Text on the screen fills us in as to dates and locations, and that is about it. The insights into the mind of a serial killer are of the most obvious kind. There is a bit of restraint present when it comes to the killings, in that there could have been a lot more gore, but they are certainly unpleasant, and I don’t necessarily mean that it a good way. No, they shouldn’t be fun, but the endless parade of murders becomes the film’s reason for being, and the lack of any connection between the audience and the victims is a problem. Given how recent the killings were when the film was made and released, it’s not too surprising that the victims’ families were a little upset. So this is an exploitation film in the purest sense, and interesting for that reason, and rather off-putting for the same reason.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 18th, 2011
Sometimes, I look through my collection of dvd and blu-rays. I tend to notice patterns fairly well. First, I like plenty of science fiction or thriller types. On the animation front, for the most part I tend to like anything oddball or superhero. Plain jane ordinary kid cartoons never seem to be my thing. The weirder the better. Today, I review Hey Arnold!, the first season. Perhaps I can give this Nick classic some bland cookie cutter love.
Hey Arnold! was a show that ran from 1996 to 2004 on the Nickelodeon network. It was a staple for that station for many years. It even churned out a movie at one point. It had a ton of characters but I will go over a few. There is the main character, Arnold who is in the fourth grade. His head is shaped like a football (something that many of the earlier cartoons beat to death) and he stays with his grandparents, Phil and Gertie. He also has a pet pig named Abner and they live in an old apartment building.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2011
This is normally where I would summarize the plot of the film. I could tell you that this is the story of three friends in a woodland cabin who must fight monsters spawned by the wife of one of them. But that would be misleading. What the story is really about is two, sometimes three, guys sitting around and drinking beer. Later they switch to whiskey. And then there’s this one dude who puts a cockroach in the other dude’s sandwich...
As I’m hoping you will have realized from the above, this is no ordinary movie. In his excellent They Came From Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema, Caelum Vatnsdal argues that Things holds the title of Worst Canadian Horror Film Ever Made, and it’s really, really hard to believe that there could possibly be another contender. Badfilm connoisseurs, this release is manna from Heaven. This is a film that would embarrass Ed Wood. Tommy Wiseau would weep with despair over the future of cinema. Doris Wishman would beg to take over the camera and sound duties, just so such a thing could never happen again. I could go on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 23rd, 2011
I have never been a huge fan of Tyler Perry's creations. Particularly, House of Payne is something I really don't care for. Mostly this is due to the fact that the original story that made the household dynamic of mixed family members what it is throughout the series came from a story about a woman who was a crack addict and arsoned her own house. After seeing this story, and the completely insensitive way it handled drug addiction struck me as so foul that I have yet to find forgiveness. So here I stand, weighing my possible bias' versus my standard issue journalistic neutrality as a reviewer, and hoping my opinion remains respectable.
This bundle of 24 episodes continues the series' usual path of melding corny humour with major issues such as theft, drugs, racial topics and so forth. As much as it tries to be poignant, the setup and execution of each story is too unnatural to be ever be taken seriously. As well, there are just far too many negative black stereotypes being used for my own comfort level. I'm not asking it to be like the Boondocks and try to explode stereotypes while displaying them, but there certainly could be a lot more efforts made to not fall into such ugly situations or characters (none of which I shall honour by repeating here...if you are a masochist, investigate the show yourself).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 21st, 2011
The fourth season of The Virginian was a milestone year for the groundbreaking western. Four of the show's regular characters would be appearing in their final episodes. Lee J. Cobb was never completely happy doing the show, and while he always acted professionally, his castmates all knew he wanted to leave. Cobb finally left halfway through this season even though he would remain on the opening credits for the entire year. This would also be the first and last year for Diane Roter as Jennifer Sommers, the Judge's niece. She was a replacement for Roberta Shore's Betsy, who left the previous year but would return for one episode in year four to offer the character closure. Roter was a kind of Annette Funicello lookalike and only really appeared strongly in a handful of episodes. Finally, this was the last season for Randy Boone as Randy Benton. It's your last chance to hear a riff from the young character's guitar.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 17th, 2011
Dog the Bounty Hunter: This Family Means Business is a six episode DVD special release. The series chronicles the Chapman family as they chase down fugitives in scenic Hawaii. The show has been on A&E for seven years now and has become a flagship series for the network. The show introduces a fugitive, investigates the fugitive, and catches the fugitive. The show has a strict formula that it adheres to and rarely differs from. This particular special release arrives to celebrate the show crossing the two hundred episode threshold.
I will say that I was never a huge fan of this series. However, I find Dog Chapman to be a compelling figure. His family is very interesting with their outfits and colorful language. Dog wears his hair long (mullet) and his clothing is usually always trailer park chic. However, much like his tan, his schtick never fades. Dog recently went through some legal trouble which I found problematic as he continues to preach to fugitives the importance of being law abiding. However, the success of the show is undeniable. There is no series that runs for seven seasons that does not have a rabid fan base.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 16th, 2011
Somewhere between Spike TV and the Discovery Channel lies the History Channel's take on nature programs. Underwater Universe is the collision of sensationalist and informative television. 5 episodes profiling the deadliest attributes of the Oceans, all told with melodramatic statements, fast editing but still plenty of experts offering scientific analyses to the “hows” and “whys” of what each episode is featuring.
Each episode is a compilation of CGI recreations, interviews with experts and those that have encountered deadly animals or elements, and stock footage of those same animals and elements at work. The subjects (and episode titles) are “Killer Shockwaves,” “Predators of the Deep,” “Fatal Pressure,” “Tides and Currents of Death.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 13th, 2011
Courtesy of the website of the same name (check it out at http://trailersfromhell.com/index.php) comes this collection of trailers of horror, SF and exploitation films. The collection is eclectic, following no particular theme (though there are several Hammer films present), and the era covered ranges from 1941 (The Invisible Ghost with Bela Lugosi) to 1998 (Trauma’s Terror Firmer). Present are the likes of The Devil-Ship Pirates, Gorgo, Donovan’s Brain, Deep Red, Flesh Gordon, and so on. Twenty altogether.
Normally, commentaries would be dealt with below, but this case is an exception. Not only does the disc default to playing the introductions and commentaries, but these are the primary attraction of the release. The commentators are a high-powered lot: Roger Corman, Guillermo del Toro (who discusses Deep Red in both English and Spanish), John Landis, Joe Dante, Lloyd Kaufman, Jack Hill, and more. There are a couple of weaker moments here – Mary Lambert’s musings on Mothra vs Godzilla are disappointingly inarticulate, and she talks about Godzilla as a nuclear metaphor as if this were news; John Landis has a rather supercilious approach to the excellent Gorgo – but these are more than offset by the strengths. Brian Trenchard-Smith, Del Toro and Dante essentially give entire film courses in two minutes – no mean feat. This is a great, informative collection.
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