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Love at First Bite

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 14th, 2005

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Synopsis

Expropriated from his castle by the Romanian government (the place is going to be turned into a training facility for Olympic athletes), Count Dracula (George Hamilton) and Renfield (Arte Johnson, mimicking Dwight Frye’s laugh from the 1931 Dracula) make their way to New York. Dracula has fallen for a fashion model (Susan Saint James), convinced that she is the reincarnation of a woman he has loved before. Though something of a fish out of water, Dracula does his best to adapt to his …
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Carol Burnett Show – Let’s Bump Up the Lights!

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 13th, 2005

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The Carol Burnett Show – Let’s Bump Up the Lights! is the DVD re-issue of an original CBC broadcast. The content is in the form of one of Carol’s famous Q & A sessions that started every show. Carol answers questions, she does her Tarzan yell. Burnett does there here too. But she asks other cast regulars (Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner) to join in. Clips from the show are interspersed to back up the answers to the questions.

The 42 minute disc is too short to make a…
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Errol Flynn — The Signature Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 11th, 2005

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Synopsis

Captain Blood (1935) is the picture that made Errol Flynn a star, and paired him for the first time of many with Olivia De Havilland. There had been pirate movies before (Douglas Fairbanks was the star in them), but this became the new high watermark of the genre. Flynn plays a doctor who is unjustly accused of treason and shipped off to a life of slavery in the colonies. He fights back, eventually becoming the pirate of the title, but always remaining an honourable man, of course. Th…
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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 10th, 2005

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Years before she was a resident on Wisteria Lane, and even before she was a notorious Bond girl, Teri Hatcher played Lois Lane on the New Adventures of Superman. Along with Dean Cain who played Clark Kent (aka Superman), these two actors brought the traditional story (unlike the recent Smallville) of superman once again to the small screen. Although Cain has not been able to reach the recent success that Hatcher has, the pair did share good chemistry on this show – creating an enjoyable television ex…
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D.E.B.S.

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

I didn’t know what quite to expect from watching D.E.B.S. for the first time. So, it looks like a group of college girls who double as CIA assassins, right? OK, I can buy that, I mean, I’m a fan of Alias, so I can dig it. You’ve got Amy (Sara Foster, The Big Bounce), D.E.B. Academy’s top notch student with her pick of anywhere she wants to go; her friend, the tough and ambitious Max (Meagan Good, The Cookout), along with the younger Janet (Jill Ritchie, Herbie Fully L…
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Spider Man: The Venom Saga

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 4th, 2005

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Synopsis

The thing that surprised me about this animated version of Spider-Man was not that it ran for over 60 episodes during afternoons in the early ‘90s, but that there was a decent level of voice talent on the show. Ed Asner (Elf) is the voice of J. Jonah Jameson, Roscoe Lee Browne (King) does Kingpin, and the voice of the Venom character is done by Hank Azaria (The Simpsons). And they put together a fairly decent storyline also.

The saga involves the story of Venom, a cha…
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Anna and the King of Siam

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 30th, 2005

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Synopsis

Strong-willed Englishwoman Irene Dunne (the Anna of the title) arrives at the court of King Rex Harrison to teach his wives and 67 children. The clash of cultures is immediate, with the very British Anna refusing to bend to the more outlandish demands of her new surroundings, and Harrison himself torn between modernity and tradition.

The 1946 film is something of a cultural relic itself, now, and is something of a postcolonialist’s nightmare, what with constant references to the “h…
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Even Stevens Movie, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 29th, 2005

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Synopsis

Out of the blue, the Stevens family (whacky dad, brainy sister, dorky brother, and so forth) finds out they’ve won a trip to a tropical paradise. Unbeknownst to them, they have in fact been selected to participate in an over-the-top reality TV show, and their holiday turns into a series of slapstick catastrophes.

Collapsing temples, rampaging squirrels, lots of yelling and double-takes. This is Disney slapstick at its most uninspired. Extremely undemanding younger viewers might get…
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Cadet Kelly

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 28th, 2005

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Synopsis

Hilary Duff plays a good-hearted by scatterbrained teenager. Her happy existence in NYC is disrupted (how many Disney teens has this happened to?) when her stepfather starts his new job as head of a military academy, and she is enrolled, willy-nilly. She has trouble fitting in, initially having as nemesis her Captain Christy Carlson Romano, but eventually both she and the institution adapt to each other.

It’s Legally Blonde meets Private Benjamin in this sorry exercis…
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Hitchhiker Volume 2, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 27th, 2005

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Synopsis

Back in the early 1980s, HBO ran this anthology series, wherein the denim-clad Page Fletcher does the Rod Serling thing, introducing and concluding each dark morality tale. Though the stories varied (in content as well as quality), certain factors remained the same: you could always count on at least one sex scene, plus some dollops of gore. This was, in sum, The Twilight Zone with extra violence and cable-friendly T&A. As far as horror goes, there is nothing very groundbreaking here,…
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Staying Together

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 27th, 2005

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Staying Together is one of those small town family stories. Growing up is hard, especially when you own a chicken restaurant. Dad, unfortunately, gives in to “big business”, and sells his restaurant to a chain franchise. This sale puts the family into turmoil and makes the family members reevaluate their relationships with each other. The brothers of the McDermott family are featured most prominently. The three brothers, in typical movie fashion, are distinctly different. Dermot Mulroney plays Kit, the ro…
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First Amendment Project, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2005

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The First Amendment Project is a collection of 3 short documentary films which deal with the theme of “freedom of speech”. The first film, and the best one, is “Fox vs. Franken”. Comedy writer, left wing activist, and Stuart Smalley himself (you know…“You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you”), Al Franken, is the target of a lawsuit filed by Fox News. The documentary follows the lawsuit, and it reveals two important things: Franken is still a funny guy and Fox is an idiotic …
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Andy Griffith Show – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2005

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Who doesn’t have a soft spot in their heart, if not their DVD collection, for The Andy Griffith Show? The denizens of Mayberry have been with many of us our entire lives. For most of America, The Andy Griffith Show has become the template for any small rural town. The characters stand as prerequisite citizens in any said town. The town drunk, the local barber, the motherly little old lady, and the corner mechanic all look like Otis, Floyd, Aunt Bee, and Goober to most of us now.
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Cathouse

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2005

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Synopsis

For awhile, the jokes made by people like Chris Rock were geared towards HBO being a naked channel, with 38 different versions of the Real Sex show that they would air on their 12 channels (my numbers may be off, but not by much, which is scary) were pretty dead on. But, as part of their documentary series America Undercover, an hour of time was spent discussing the happiest place on Earth, the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Nevada, where prostitution is legal and the party never ends.

Walker, Texas Ranger – The Final Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2005

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Ten years ago Chuck Norris took his movie tough guy routine to television. It is there that he has enjoyed far greater success than in his films. For nine years Norris brought us the ultimate Texas Ranger in a formula cops and robbers show. The show often became a parody of itself, but maintained a solid viewership throughout. Hell, Norris even sings the theme song. Truthfully, what started as a one man show had become a good working ensemble that probably kept the train going for so long.

Walker (Norris) is a tough guy Texas Ranger.
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Hard Eight

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2005

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Synopsis

Sydney is a poker-faced professional gambler with a soft heart for a hard luck story. He plays guardian angel to unlucky John and a hooker, Clementine, whom he grows to love like family. When John and Clementine’s honeymoon night leads to a disastrous hostage situation, Sydney takes care of it, as usual. But when slick casino pro Jimmy threatens to reveal a secret from Sydney’s past that could destroy his relationship with the newlyweds, Sydney decides to hedge his bets and not leave anything to ch…
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World Poker Tour – Season Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2005

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Poker viewing on television has been a phenomenon that has exploded over the last few years. This 8-disc set of The World Poker Tour – Season Two (14 episodes and one disc with bonus material) is a viewing pleasure for any poker fan who just enjoys watching it or is looking to improve their game.

Each episode includes poker instruction and player profiles for an inside look at the professional poker world. The host team of Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten are very knowledgeable and add excitement t…
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Razor’s Edge, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 16th, 2005

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Synopsis

Society belle Gene Tierney is in love with the dashing but penniless Tyrone Power, much to the displeasure of her snobbish uncle Clifton Webb (turning in another of his signature bitchy roles). Tierney wants Power to settle down and earn a good living in order to keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed, but Power needs to find some meaning in life, and he heads off to find enlightenment, first in Paris, later in India. Tierney doesn’t wait for him, and marries millionaire John Payn…
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West Point: The First 200 Years

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2005

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Synopsis

Why give a DVD about West Point to a guy to supports the Army? You’re probably going to get a lovefest DVD review about just how awesome the Army is anyway. Well, I’ll do my best to keep things in check. Besides, as an enlisted man, I hated officers (or just didn’t respond to too many of them), but I tried to keep an open mind.

As it stands, West Point: The First 200 Years, which was produced by PBS, is still a decent look at how the United States Military Academy has evolved to wh…
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Controversial Classics

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 13th, 2005

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Synopsis

The degree to which any of these films is or was “controversial” varies quite a bit, but the claim can certainly be made that all seven of these films dealt with pertinent social issues of their times. Some are still quite relevant today, and all are well worth watching.

I Am a Fugitive from as Chain Gang (1932) is the film that, of this group, had the most direct impact on the real world: not only did it give a huge boost to penal reform, but Robert E. Burns, on whose book …
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A Separate Peace (2004)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2005

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This Showtime version of John Knowles’ A Separate Peace will bring joy to high school teachers everywhere. Finally, there is a quality movie version to show in English class. Peace is usually mandatory reading in high school (I know I read it), and follows the story of Gene and Finny. Their prep school relationship is ambiguous, and character motivations are a little more complex in the novel (dare I say…a little more provocative?). But, at its core, the novel and this adaptation is a coming of ag…
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Buffalo Bill

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2005

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Synopsis

One of the unique parts of the Western film genre is the lore behind Buffalo Bill. And while the western has faded as a favored film genre through the years, it’s still the subject of various films, stage plays and other adaptations. This particular film tells the story of a white man living in the West who was sympathetic to and friends with the Native Americans, Bill Cody, who later became a scout for the Army and was the head of a sideshow in the later years of his life.

The film stars…
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Get a Clue

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2005

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Lindsay Lohan plays sassy Nancy Drew wanna be Lexy Gold. When one of her teachers goes missing (played by Ian Gomez), Lexy enlists her “hip” friends to help her crack the case. Another vehicle for Lohan. It’s a little boring, and the mystery plays out on the level of a Saved By the Bell episode. The point of the movie is to point out they sassiness of Lohan. She’s sooo hip. Like…totally.

Audio

The mix is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Not much originality in the mix. Some …
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Law & Order – The Third Year

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 7th, 2005

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“In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders …” If you haven’t seen Law and Order, this is the set to begin with. Season 3 is most notable as the first year for Jerry Orbach. His 11 years in the role of Briscoe gave this revolving door series the kind of stability it needed. The powers that be at Universal added confusion to the mix when it released season 14 following season 2.
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Princess and the Pirate, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

Without a doubt, Bob Hope was one of (if not) the best comedic actors of his era. During a time after Charlie Chaplin had peaked in silent films, Hope picked up the comedic torch, and during a time where actors consistently appeared in 3-5 films a year, and an early recognizable title was 1940’s Road to Singapore, the first of several Road To films with him and friends Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

The Princess and the Pirate, made in 1944, was made during this …
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