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Virgin Spring, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2006

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Honestly, I wasn’t expecting too much from The Virgin Spring. I know that it’s Bergman, but it’s based on an ancient Swedish medieval ballad. If your source material is hundreds of years old and only two pages long, surely there can’t be much to see from the film, can there?

I could not have been more wrong. Though this may be just under an hour-and-a-half in length, the film is filled with subtext, imagery and several powerful messages. Spring tells the story of a fair maiden who is brutally …
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Sugar

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 30th, 2006

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Synopsis

Summarizing this puppy is a bit of a challenge. But here goes: a nameless young woman (Samara Golden) moves into a dingy apartment located in the middle of an urban hellscape. The place is a mess, with the previous owner’s possessions scattered everywhere. There are plenty of messages on this guy’s answering machine, too, some plenty aggressive (and these messages are the only dialogue in the film). Is the man still alive, and watching her from the ventilation duct? Has she killed him? How m…
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American Women

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2006

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American Women is a difficult film to write about because it evokes such little passion from its viewer. By no standards is it a good film, but pinpointing its frailties becomes quite the daunting task. Set in a small Irish village, the story centers on a group of sexist men, who want to import girls from America because the ones accessible to them do not meet up to the appropriate standards. The plot is farfetched, even as goofball comedies go, and none of the male characters are likeable. Also, with so many …
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Disney’s Timeless Tales Vol. 3

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2006

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Disney’s Timeless Tales is a collection of six classic cartoons, each running about ten minutes long. It’s a lightweight release with not much to speak of, but it will please the kids, and includes some annoyingly catchy little tunes that are hard to shake. The most famous inclusion here is that of “Casey at the Bat.” One nice add-on worth noting is the small insert which includes the short “Casey” tale in its entirety, so you can follow along as you watch. The classic tale of Casey, which deals with overconfi…
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Bob Dylan – No Direction Home

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 29th, 2006

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It’s great to see Scorsese return to his love and respect of music in documentary form. Of course, the first time he did a music documentary, the result was what many consider to be the best musical performance film of all time; The Last Waltz. He has always paid special attention to rock and roll music in his films, from using Cream in a gangster film (Goodfellas) to The Moody Blues in a film about old Las Vegas (Casino). Music has played an interesting and important role in all of Scorsese’s fi…
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Pinky

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2006

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Obviously, the idea of making a film about mixing races in 1949 was a topic that was quite taboo. Nobody can fault Pinky for being groundbreaking in its subject matter. However, this is the very definition of a timely film. Being viewed almost 60 years later, it comes across as silly, almost like a midnight viewing of Refer Madness. Just as the kids in Reefer are obviously not under the spell of some horrible mind-altering herb, so Jeanne Crain is about as convincingly “colored” as Bill Gates on …
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Alfred Hitchcock – The Masterpiece Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2006

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Last year, Warner Brothers put out a great ten-disc set of all of the Hitchcock films in their catalog. While not the ultimate Hitchcock collection, it was still an excellent representation of the Master’s work, including many films that have received a well-deserved second look as a result of their inclusion in the set. It was especially rewarding to be given the opportunity to see Montgomery Clift’s amazing portrayal of a Priest caught in the middle of a murder scandal in I Confess.

Not to be outdo…
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Legend of Zorro, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 27th, 2006

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When news of a sequel to 1998’s The Mask of Zorro was first announced, I was very excited as I really enjoyed The Mask of Zorro. The film had an interesting story and great acting from Banderas and Hopkins. But as I learned more and more about the sequel, I became extremely worried as neither of the two screenwriters (Ted Elliot or Terry Rossio) were returning. Also, we would be introduced to their cute little child (and EVERYONE knows how much adding little children to sequels can do for a film’s likea…
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Mission Hill – The Complete Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 27th, 2006

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Synopsis

Mission Hill was left with the unfortunate task of initially airing on a network that wasn’t capable enough to nature it (Arrested Development fans can empathize with that scenario). The good news for fans of the show was that after its short run of episodes on the WB network, the Cartoon Network picked up and aired the remaining finished episodes, and put them on their Adult Swim broadcasting format before they went away. The good part of the deal is that Warner Brothers were good en…
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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 25th, 2006

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Synopsis

The second season begins with the aftermath of the apparent demise of Lex Luthor (John Shea). His ex-wife picks up the slack in trying to eliminate Superman (Dean Cain) and Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher). Luthor himself comes back in Episode 13. Meanwhile, such classic comic book characters as Metallo make their appearance, and the odd triangle romance between Lois, Clark and Superman continues its tantalizing way.

This is a much more light-hearted approach to Superman than the rather mo…
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Miami Vice – Season Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2006

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No single television show defined the 1980’s as did Miami Vice. Did Vice influence the 80’s culture, or did the 80’s culture create Miami Vice? The line appears blurred. This much is unmistakable. Miami Vice dominated the pop culture of the time. The biggest names in music, from Joe Walsh to Phil Collins, have lent their music and (sometimes pitiful) acting skills. It was suddenly cool to walk around in pastel longboats. Don’t even get me started on the car. Were Ferraris ever not cool? Don Johnson was an overnight heartthrob to millions of teen girls across the nation.
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Stanley’s Dinosaur Round-Up

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006

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When I sat down with this title, I was all ready to breeze right through it, making comments about how this is a disc that will only appeal to kids, and that the quality was just enough to keep kids happy. Imagine my surprise when I really got into this little 70-minute film. This is actually a pretty entertaining cartoon, and I was surprised by its superior quality. Stanley is a little boy that gets easily lost in his imagination, and gets most of his ideas from his “Great Big Book of Everything”, which is something…
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Ferngully – The Last Rainforest (Family Fun Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2006

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Synopsis

At first glance, the Australian produced film Ferngully appears to be a film that helps to educate and moderately punish the crazy white man for all of the harm and damage that he’s done to Mother Earth, never mind all of the data that seems to refute the selfish thought that our generation would be ultimately responsible for harming the land.

Based on the stories of Diana Young, the animated film follows Krysta (Samantha Mathis, The Thing Called Love) and her friend Pips (< ...
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Two For The Money

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2006

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Al Pacino is one of those actors who always seems to find himself in those type of roles that bring out the absolute best in him. In his last four films (Insomina, People I Know, Angels in America, and The Merchant of Venice) Pacino has brought the needed tension and power to his performances. Add 2005’s Two For The Money to that ever-growing list of excellent performances.

Pacino plays Walter who runs a sports betting hotline. Matthew McConaughey plays Brandon, the Vega…
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Viva La Bam – Complete Seasons 4 & 5

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2006

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After the MTV show Jackass closed production, MTV scrambled to try to find a show that would secure the ratings that Jackass had been doing for so many years. What resulted from that scrambling? The moderately entertaining Viva La Bam which features a majority of the Jackass outcasts and ‘losers’. Since this is the review for the fourth and fifth seasons, one can imagine that Viva La Bam did succeed in finding that audience that would make MTV more money.

While the show original…
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Saturday Night Live – The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume Two (UMD)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 12th, 2006

I have said it before, and I will continue to say it as long as it is relevant… these Saturday Night Live releases are the perfect product for the PSP. They are short, funny and get right to the point with little depth or exposition required. It is easy to drop in and watch a skit here or there during your morning commute, waiting for a cup of coffee or while killing time before the big game. Of course, it is also easy to burn through a full hour by spinning the entire disc, as Ferrell is just so funny that it is s…
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SCTV Volume 4

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2006

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Synopsis

For fans of comedy, the influence that the original “Not Ready For Prime Time” players on Saturday Night Live was indelible, but did not deter from enjoyable sketch comedy after the group left in 1980. Sketch comedy was being done at an equally accomplished level with the Second City players, some of whom Lorne Michaels recruited for the initial cast of SNL. Those that remained provided some hysterical moments and quality comedy.

Shout! Has done a commendable job in bringing this c…
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Whoopi: Back to Broadway

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2006

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Synopsis

I’ve long held the somewhat chauvinistic belief that female stand up comedians are simply not funny. I’ve given people like Ellen DeGeneres, Paula Poundstone and Margaret Cho as much unbiased time as I can give, and I just don’t laugh at them. Their sense of humor is softer than any comparable male comedians, and is far more subtle. Does that make me a cro-magnon male with a large forehead? Probably.

To her credit, Whoopi Goldberg is the closest thing there is to an exception to the rule,…
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Transporter 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2006

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It seems that every action movie that is being released out of Hollywood nowadays always has to feature out of this world stunts that no real human could ever do. Now this is not necessarily bad if the action is done in correspondence to the film in a skillful manner. When the original Transporter was released onto DVD, it quickly gained a reputation through many action fans that caused the film’s sales to skyrocket. The sales skyrocketed so high that Twentieth Century Fox quickly greenlit the sequel to a film…
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Ronin

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 7th, 2006

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Synopsis

I think the only thing I remember about Ronin initially was that Robert DeNiro (Heat) was involved in some scandal involving a French “house of ill-repute” or something along those lines. But when Ronin was released, people quickly forgot about that mess, as what came from it was an action film that put a little more effort into the characters than other action films. But that’s not to say the action scenes were neglected; the car chase scenes that negotiate through winding French cou…
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Project Runway – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 7th, 2006

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Synopsis

Well with this particular incarnation of reality shows, beautiful people show us common folk how tough it is to look pretty. The wonders of being paid thousands of dollars to get up and dress in clothes that you won’t wear because they’re either ugly or too expensive. People like Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks trying to illustrate that fashion and glamour is tough, demanding work is simply silly. Now bear in mind, this point of view is from a bitter, bald and dumpy looking guy whose idea of fashion is m…
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Their Eyes Were Watching God

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 5th, 2006

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Synopsis

Can someone stop the multimedia empire that Oprah Winfrey imparts on the rest of the world? I mean really, you’ve got the TV show, you’ve got the books, and you’ve done the movies, what else is there to do? Oh, provide reading and watching lists of material you enjoy? Um, OK. But why?

Take the case of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Based on a novel by Zora Neale Hurston and directed by Law and Order veteran Darnell Martin, the film covers the story of a black woman in the tu…
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The Shield – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2006

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When did it become mainstream to root for the bad guys? Certainly our pop culture has been propagated with colorful villains since Shakespeare, goons we love to hate or even just love. Still, the rule always seemed to be that the white hats always win and the black hats get what’s coming. Maybe it all took hold with The Sopranos. We all became enamored by this lovable teddy bear of a guy in Tony. We don’t have to spoil it by pointing out he’s a killer, adulterer, and all-star criminal sociopath. The Shield places us …
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Mr. Show – The Complete First and Second Seasons

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006

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Synopsis.

Working in the comedy salt mines, looking to break out into the superstardom they so richly deserved, Bob Odenkirk (The Larry Sanders Show) and David Cross (Men In Black) were hard at work doing writing for other shows, including Saturday Night Live, before finding one another. The two worked together, writing for the short-lived Ben Stiller show on Fox in the early 90’s, and a friendship bloomed, along with a working relationship. After doing some nightclub appearances, an ex…
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Thunder and Lightning

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2005

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Synopsis

David Carradine headlines yet another Roger Corman-produced action comedy. Here he’s the good seller of moonshine, up against the bad seller of same, who also happens to be the fater of Carradine’s girlfriend (Kate Jackson). Daddy is in bed with the mob, and is cheerfully selling rotgut on the streets (some of which as been fermenting in a tank with a car battery – blechhh). A battle for supremacy ensues, complete with many boat and car chases and plenty of fisticuffs.

Well, it ain…
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