Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2010
Do you believe that a numbers wizard can predict the most random of human actions with mathematical equations so accurately as to know where and when such a person will be? If so, then I suggest you put down that letter you are writing to Santa, finish eating that egg a bunny left for you, go to your pillow and pull together all of the loot you got from the tooth fairy, and plunk it down on season three of Numb3rs. No, that’s not a typo; apparently they believe that letters aren’t good enough to stand on their own, so they inserted a 3 where the e should be. Aren’t they so clever? Not. In the fairy-tale world of Numb3rs, all you need is an almost obsessive knowledge of math and the crooks don’t stand a chance. It’s almost unfair, isn’t it? Those poor criminals go about their carefully plotted crimes, unaware that everything they do is controlled by math. They live their lives oblivious to the fact they are at the mercy of a diabolical equation which forces their every move. In fact, I suspect some clever attorney somewhere is already preparing the “math made me do it” defense at this very moment. Soon our justice system will be forced to account for this undeniable force on our very destinies. I would go on, but I can’t… must… fight… numbers…
Don Eppes (Morrow) is a decorated FBI officer in charge of a unit of the local field office of the FBI. His brother, Charlie (Krumholtz) is a math professor at CalSci. His brilliant mathematical mind is called upon to help the Feds track killers and rapists. No matter how complicated the trail gets, when the going gets rough these guys call on Charlie. Agent David Sinclair (Ballard), the smart tough guy, and Agent Colby Granger (Bruno) the young upcoming agent. Charlie has professor Larry Fleinhardt (MacNicol) to guide him through his struggles. Both of the geeks are socially inept, and we are “treated” to their constant struggles to relate to others, particularly women. Why can’t they write an equation to fix that? Navi Rawat is Amita, a student of Charlie’s who remains to take a job at CalSci, possibly to remain near Charlie. Judd Hirsch is the father to the Eppes brothers. A new agent is added to the mix in the 5th year in Nikki Betancourt, played by Sophina Brown. The show is produced by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott, who have had far better luck on the big screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 10th, 2010
Jody Balaban (Leelee Sobieski) is a newly minted film school grad who, heady with the success her student film has brought her (an award presented by Garry Marshall!), heads off to Hollywood to find fame and fortune. Instead, she finds doors shut to the newcomer, the closest she can get to a major studio job being a stint directing traffic. But then she is offered a job as an editor. The only problem is, the studio in question is a porn outfit. Her dismay is all the greater since she has been put off sex due to the enormous childhood traumas of having been spanked for asking what a blow job was, and not being able to kiss the boy she had a crush on while playing Spin the Bottle. She takes the job, though, her plan being to shoot her own dream film, a romantic comedy called “On the Virge” (ouch!) on the sly, using the company's resources at night. Romance, meanwhile, might bloom in her real life, as she finds herself working with porn-director-who-once-aspired-to-something-more-and-is-devastatingly-handsome Jeff Drake (Matt Davis).
Writer/director Julie Davis's film is, apparently, rather autobiographical, drawing on her own early experiences in the industry. One hopes that she has maintained a healthy artistic distance from her protagonist, because Jody is hard to like. Her naiveté approaches a diagnosable condition, and it is coupled with a prodigious sense of entitlement, artistic self-regard, and snobbery. Though we see her learn to see the porn stars she works with as people and friends, she is so off-putting that it is hard to care enough to be interested in her emotional education. As well, the film itself presents the porn stars as lovable idiots, and so its own point of view doesn't seem far removed from Jody's. Furthermore, the look of Finding Bliss is simply not that interesting, making it hard to believe that Jody and Jeff are themselves unsung cinematic geniuses. On the other hand, Kristen Johnston as the porn studio's upbeat executive is good fun, and brings some snap to every scene she's in. Overall, though, the piece is simply too smug for its own good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2010
"There is a place, a mystical nexus, where this unholy relic can be destroyed. I only hope we can get there before Vellich."
When you think of Edward Douglas, you really do not think about him as a film director or writer. He's made a name for himself mostly in the music business. No, you aren't going to see his videos on MTV, and it's not likely that you'll find his name on the charts. He's become somewhat the poster child for specialized Halloween music. So, I guess it isn't that large a leap to find him writing and helming his first film, obviously a horror film. In case you're not familiar with his music or band, Midnight Syndicate, Douglas won't let you forget them in his first film. Their music and name can be found splattered, if you'll excuse the pun, all over The Dead Matter.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2010
Living just a couple of hours from Gainesville, Florida, it really is easy to sit down and get yourself in the mood for some Tom Petty. Look, the boy is never going to win any beauty contests, and his voice sounds like he went to the Bob Dylan school of vocals. But there's no denying that for a few decades Tom Petty, often along with those Heartbreakers, wrote some of the most recognizable American anthem music south of Ashbury Park, New Jersey. But it wasn't always hit songs and world tours for the college town natives. Today they might have never made it in a music business that demands immediate success and gold records. It was the third album that gave this band its break-out hits and fame: Damn The Torpedoes.
While Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were already generating some momentum in England where they broke sooner than their native United States, Damn The Torpedoes was an unmistakable milestone for the group. The musicians included: Mike Campbell on guitars, Ron Blair on bass, Stan Lynch on drums, and, of course Tom Petty on guitars and vocals. It was produced by Jimmy Iovine, who is generally credited with helping the band develop their signature sound. Released in 1979, the album contained three hit singles, with Refuge and Don't Do Me Like That scoring huge hits in the United States.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2010
I recently reviewed Parasomnia on DVD. I was a bit disappointed that we hadn't been given a chance to see the full in high definition. The director, William Malone, arranged for us to get the film on Blu-ray, and I am thankful. I say this so that there will be full disclosure.
With all of that said, I have to tell you that I liked the film even more on my second viewing. A lot of it has to do with the high-definition image presentation which I will discuss in greater detail at the appropriate time. Some of it has to do with the number of nuances that this film contains. It is definitely the kind of movie where you make new discoveries on the second pass. Now keep in mind that I watch these films with a legal pad, taking notes as I go. I didn't do as much of that the second time around. Finally, even though there were not any plot surprises this time, I found the film just as interesting, perhaps more so, on the second pass. If that's not the mark of a pretty dang good film, I wish someone would tell me what is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2010
For ten years we watched Jack O'Neil, Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and the Jaff'a Tealc' enter the Stargate. Others would join the team over the years. Each week we would follow their adventures, first on Showtime and finally on the Sci-Fi (now Sy Fy) Channel. We watched with awe as they stepped through a portal that was in reality a wormhole transporting them instantly to another world, brought online by dialing the device like an old fashioned telephone. For another five years we traveled not only to another planet, but to the Pegasus Galaxy itself to the Atlantis Base, a bright floating city left behind by the ancients, the people who created the Stargate system millions of years before. On this show we met new friends, new bad guys, and had new adventures. The location might have changed. The faces might have, at first, been unfamiliar, but the missions and the entertainment value didn't let us down. For 15 seasons we enjoyed a spectacular tale to rival the myths of the Greeks and Romans themselves.
I'm told that all good things must come to an end. When Atlantis was finally cancelled, I was made almost immediately aware of the plans to continue the franchise. First reports started coming out that the show was going to be called Stargate Universe. Soon my inside contacts started giving me tidbits about the story. Details began to emerge about the Destiny, an ancient ship abandoned in another universe far away. The ship was on some kind of predetermined course and would sport an unsuspecting crew of humans that would be left stranded on the ship for an indeterminate amount of time. It was starting to sound a lot like Star Trek: Voyager to me. Of course, this is Stargate, so there has to be some gate travel, one would assume. The ship would come with a gate, and the vessel would come out of faster-than-light travel from time to time and dial up a local planet for exploration. The ship was ancient not only in its origin but in its duration in space. There were going to be a lot of system failures, as the equipment was long past its expiration date. The ship itself would know what resources it needed to continue to operate. Searching its vast planetary database, the ship would locate planets with the essential resources, allowing away teams to get such vital raw materials. Unfortunately, the ship didn't always give a good indication of what to find or where on the planet it might happen to be. Oh, and did I mention the countdown? The ship would decide how much time it would allot for each mission, instituting a countdown. When the clock reached zero, the ship goes back to FTL, and whoever's not back in time gets left behind.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2010
NOVA is one of the longest-running series of documentaries in television history. It has been a mainstay on public television since 1974 when the first episode took us behind the scenes of the filming of a nature biography. Since then the series has explored everything from space to mathematics. Episodes have focused on people, places, and things. Classroom curricula have been built around the series. In case you're keeping track, that's 37 years that the show has been on television. Technology has gone through incredible changes, as have the subjects of episodes, later updated in later episodes. You'd be hard- pressed to find anyone who has not seen at least one episode. The release of Mount St. Helens: Back From The Dead marks the most recent episode to air, finishing the 37th season.
Mount St. Helens, located in Washington state, is responsible for the most powerful volcanic eruption in the continental United States in the last 150 years. It was not a typical eruption. There was very little of the lava flow that most of us think about when we think of volcanoes. But it blasted a plume of ash and toxic gas miles into the air and destroyed an area of about 200 square miles in the blink of an eye. It was the first time a volcano erupted sideways. The eruption caused nearly 50 deaths and untold damage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2010
One of the most difficult types of films to pull off is the black comedy. By its very nature the film has to be somewhat morbid and exist in a world of the absurd. As much as I am often drawn to this kind of movie, I haven't found more than a handful that were able to pull it off. The black comedy usually involves someone's death, often by some bizarre means, and almost always in a world of moral ambiguity, where such things fail to affect the emotions or consciences of those involved. The death has to appear almost matter-of-fact. Probably the best example of a good black comedy is Michael Caine's A Shock To The System. Bad examples include the Weekend At Bernie's films. Now you can add The Job to one of the better examples of the genre.
Meet Bubba (Flueger). He's a typical down-on-his-luck kind of guy. He can't hold a job and has been in these dire straits for over a decade. He spends most of his time hanging out at the diner where his girlfriend Joy (Manning) works the counter. Usually all he can afford is a cup of coffee. He whiles away the time listening to Joy talk about her acting career. As a child she was in a popular show, but hasn't found a part since that time. It doesn't help that she possesses an exaggerated limp, dragging one of her legs as she walks. Apparently, it's a lifetime disability. When we see footage of her as a child on her series, the kid is dragging the same leg. Enter Jim (Perlman). He's dressed in an urban cowboy outfit and sits next to Bubba and asks what's good. Bubba recommends the trucker's special, which Jim quickly orders. But suddenly Jim doesn't feel so hungry and offers the food to the obviously very hungry Bubba. The two talk a spell, and eventually Bubba offers to let Jim park his car to sleep in at his spot next to his apartment. Feeling obliged for the favor, Jim offers him a sheet of paper given to him by a man he helped in Baltimore. The slip is for a job interview at someplace called Be Your Own Boss. Bubba figures “why not”, and goes to the office.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2010
Everybody is always looking to find a new angle or a fresh way of looking at the typical horror film. That is, when they're not trying to recycle/reboot/remake/reimagine something that's already been done, often more than once. Credit writer Glenn B Hopper III and director Neil H. Weiss for at least coming up with a new spin on some old ideas. The Hanged Man doesn't venture very far from its traditional horror roots, but it does offer you a little more thoughtful motivations and insights into its characters and situations. I have to admit that while I didn't exactly see the end coming, it wasn't a terrible surprise or shock either. These guys didn't exactly telegraph their punches. In fact you could say that they took the long way around to their conclusion ... maybe too long.
A group of depressed folks who have become chat room buddies meet on an isolated farm, once the homestead of one of them. They've come here to carry out a very simple plan. Life, for one reason or another, has gotten out of control for each of them. They've reached the conclusion, perhaps with the help of their leader Dwarfstar, that the only option left to them is to end it all. So they've gathered to kill themselves in this lonely place. Each of them arrives one at a time. They bring their real-life baggage with them, often in sharp contrast to the internet side of them, which is all they have, until now, known of each other. SoCo (Hatley) has a lot of aggression and is the most eager to get done with their business there. Miles (Jones) is a bit of a yuppie throwback in his pink Izod shirt and faux calmness. Flash (Gibson) is an urban cowboy full of booze and totin' a six-gun. He's as loud as his clothes. X-Factor (Hampton) is the quiet one. LT56 (Weissman) is a middle-aged loser who claims to be a rich stockbroker but arrives in a stolen Porsche. Finally, there is Spaceshot (Leigh) who grew up on this now abandoned farm. They are all waiting for Dwarfstar to arrive with his "magic potion" that will release them from their miserable lives.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 1st, 2010
Since I get to review a lot of sitcoms, I tend to see the gambit of shows designed for only purpose. That purpose is for me to laugh. But there is another word in sitcom which can restrict how funny the comedy will be to a given person. Situational. The situation I present here involves a female sports columnist and her male friends. One can only wonder if this formula created by Betsy Thomas will be what I'm looking for.
P.J. Franklin (played by Jordana Spiro is a sports-writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and she works and lives with a whole lot of males. She rooms with a radio DJ named Brendan Dorff (played by Reid Scott). They have two close friends named Mike Callahan and Kenny Moritorri (played by Jamie Kaler and Michael Bunin) who run a sports memorabilia store. Mike and Kenny are also single and spend their times trying to get the ladies.
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![Parasomnia [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/parasomnia-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Stargate Universe - SGU: Season 1.5 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/stargate-universe-sgu-season-15-large.jpg)
