Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2007
Jack Webb's empire was running strong as Emergency entered its third year. What is interesting is that the series never racked up great numbers, but it had some strong staying power. Fans who did watch the show were loyal, and it along with Webb's police shows were affecting the pop culture. It's no secret that the contributions to society were high for Emergency. The modern paramedic system owes more than a little bit to the legacy of the series. The actors are still approached by folks who credit them with their decision to go into the life-saving business. More than a few cities around the country were inspired into creating such units because of the show. What's even better is that it could create such great social change and still be one hell of an entertaining series.
The premise is the same: 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. With each new episode we were treated to a standard formula that would include some kind of daring rescue. The hospital scenes usually played out more like a soap opera and, for me at least, tended to slow things down. We young boys wanted to see more high risk rescues. Season three was a very comfortable year for the show. The interplay was about as smooth as any show on the air. Gage's foils with the IRS and others provide a ton more meat this season than it had in the first 2. That makes for entertaining drama and comedy beyond the rescues.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2007
Back in 2003, The Dixie Chicks raised controversy when lead singer Natalie Maines announced - to a concert audience in London and in opposition to the Iraq war - that the Chicks were ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas. Her comment changed their career.
I'm not a country music fan, so I hadn't heard of the Dixie Chicks until they enraged a significant number of red-blooded Americans, who began boycotting the group and staging demonstrations involving various forms of destroying Dixie Chicks CDs. You'd think these hardcore Americans would be happy to see fellow citizens exercising their right to free speech, but the common sentiment from Bush-lovers was "free speech is fine, but don't do it in public, and don't embarrass the President."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2007
Back in 2003, The Dixie Chicks raised controversy when lead singer Natalie Maines announced - to a concert audience in London and in opposition to the Iraq war - that the Chicks were ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas. Her comment changed their career.
I'm not a country music fan, so I hadn't heard of the Dixie Chicks until they enraged a significant number of red-blooded Americans, who began boycotting the group and staging demonstrations involving various forms of destroying Dixie Chicks CDs. You'd think these hardcore Americans would be happy to see fellow citizens exercising their right to free speech, but the common sentiment from Bush-lovers was "free speech is fine, but don't do it in public, and don't embarrass the President."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 11th, 2007
WWII over, three soldiers return to their home town of Boone City. Dana Andrews is the bomber officer unfit for any other kind of work, who foolishly married a party girl just before the war. Fredric March is the banker who is having trouble adjusting to the fact that his children have become adults in his absence. Harold Russell is the sailor who lost both his hands, and can’t bring himself to believe that his girlfriend still truly wants him.
Though clocking in at 168 minutes, this 1946 effort never drags, and does justice to all three characters, but Andrews is ultimately the real focus of the film. Russell himself really was a double amputee, and his scenes could easily have fallen into freak show elements or excessive sentimentality. Both traps are avoided. The film is powerful and moving without ever being sappy, and certainly earned its clutch of Oscars.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 8th, 2007
Season 9 was about the most exciting year South Park had. Living in Florida, I was likely more tired of the Terry Schiavo situation than most, but watching Best Friends Forever was one of the best parodies the team has come up with. What was most impressive is that it was on the air while the actual event was still ongoing. One of the benefits of doing a show like South Park. When the boys aimed their guns at Scientology they ruffled more than a few feathers. It was rumored that Tom Cruise had led a fight to attempt to stop the hilarious Trapped In The Closet episode from airing. More important to South Park fans was the outburst of Isaac Hayes who decided it was going too far to make fun of a person's sacred beliefs. Where was his indignation over eight years of piling on Christians, Jews, and pretty much every other religion ever known? Suddenly developing a conscience, Hayes vocally departed the show and South Park Elementary lost its Chef. I guess no more Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. The Losing Edge has always been one of my favorites. Any kid forced into summer activities intended to make the parents feel better about leaving their kids alone will appreciate this one.Year 9 also found Parker and Stone finished with yet another box office bomb. This time it was Team America. The film's failure meant more full time spent on South Park. The bomb likely also sharpened their bitter wit a bit. There's no question they took no prisoners in season 9.
Video
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 8th, 2007
To watch a good movie you must have the right equipment. A nice sound processor connected to kicking speakers are an absolute must. Add a 200 Watt 17 inch powered sub and you've increased the experience ten fold. Wrap it all up with a sweet DLP HD monitor and you now have everything you need - except of course a good movie. Trust The Man is everything but. All you need here is a good supply of insulin and an IV drip to keep you from lapsing into a sugar coma. I'm not talking peanut butter cup melts in your mouth sweet. I'm talking pure concentrated syrup makes you want to hurl sweet.
"A Fart is just as good as a burp". This is the kind of wit and wisdom you can expect from Trust The Man. The film didn't do very well in its very short theatrical run, and I expect it to fail just as miserably on DVD. The film is an obvious Woody Allen ripoff. The entire concept is the uneven relationship between two related couples and their various romantic problems. The problem is the film never goes anywhere. All we really know is that Rebecca (Moore) is a washed up actress who apparently doesn't find her husband Tom (Duchovny) exciting any longer. Tom is basically looking for action and talks way too much about his bodily functions. As a long time X-Files fan I love Duchovny, but this is pitiful stuff. To further complicate this drivel, we find that Rebecca's brother Tobey (Crudup) is having commitment troubles with his 7 year girlfriend Elaine (Gyllenhaal) That's all, folks. We suffer through endless moments of pure dialogue that never goes anywhere. The ending is the most contrived nonsense I've seen in some time. Basically this movie goes nowhere, and very slowly. Like a nagging toothache, this film is quite painful. Fortunately, relief won't require a visit to your dentist. My discomfort faded wonderfully with the end credits.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 7th, 2007
49th Parallel is a film that I had heard mentioned in passing on occasion, but never really had any practical knowledge of until now. Having now seen the film for myself, I find it to be one of those rare productions that only Criterion seems to be able to find. This is something that I would have never dreamed existed. While the idea of war films told from the Axis point of view are almost commonplace today, such a thing was practically unheard of in 1941, with the United States on the brink of entering World...War II themselves.
This is just part of what is notable about this film however. The truth is, the film stands on its own merit in any time frame. This is an epic feat of filmmaking that would qualify as a big budget project even today. The film follows the crew of a German U-boat as they make their way into Canadian waters. When they sink a Canadian tanker ship, the crew becomes the target of a massive manhunt. In an effort to evade capture, the crew take to land and move from hideout to hideout, eventually making their way to the United States.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 2nd, 2007
In the continuing need for media mogul Russell Simmons to produce an HBO show and put the word "Def" in front of it, musician Mos Def approached Simmons with the opportunity to present a weekly show for urban spoken word artists to show off their wares. And surprisingly, not only has the show survived, but has thrived into a fourth season that has come out on DVD, with ten episodes in all, split over two discs.
The layout of the show is pretty straightforward, as Mos Def introduces the beginning and end of the shows and the acts in between. The latter is mostly done on a voiceover, however he does introduce the acts on stage from time to time. The show usually ends with a more recognizable name at the end, along with some words of wisdom by Simmons himself. And while most of the acts appear to be people who spend their time on anti-Israel message boards and in Starbucks whipping up vente lattes, the familiar names are fairly eclectic. Among the people you'll recognize are Ani Defranco, Kanye West, Ruby Dee and KRS One.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 21st, 2007
There were a lot of changes in store for the Bunkers in the sixth season. The Jeffersons, long a source of irritation for Archie and a ton of laughs for us, were moving on up to the East Side and that big de-lux apartment in the sky. Mike and Gloria finally move out of the house, but only as far as next door in the vacated Jefferson home. Most importantly, little baby Joey joins the family. For the 30 years since All In The Family, there is still speculation as to just how Carroll O' Connor was able to take such a bigoted, seemingly irredeemable character and make him loved by millions. We get perhaps the best insight into that mystery in year 6. In the now famous Joey's Baptism episode, we see just a glimpse of the Archie Bunker that O'Connor had been playing all along. Arguably the best episode of the series finds Archie worried about his grandson's soul when Mike and Gloria refuse to have the child baptized. Archie takes matters into his own hands, culminating in one of the most touching moments in television history. Archie Bunker is a complicated man, and nowhere has that been more evident. Season 6 is well worth your time. This was the peak of the show, and it would never again regain the ratings numbers enjoyed at this point.
Video
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 18th, 2007
Synopsis
Reality series are so rampant on tv these days. You have everything from people who has been celebrities living together to the journey of people who want to lose a ton of pounds. Some of these are good and some defy explanation. However, I found a good little nugget of reality when I was sent a copy of Dog the Bounty Hunter - Best of Season 3 on DVD. To be honest, I was expecting the worst and what I got was actually pretty interesting and might be on the A...E channel to watch in the future.
