Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 7th, 2010
"Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend. But I always thought that I'd see you again."
After nearly 40 years since they had worked together, James Taylor and Carole King finally see each other again, at least on stage. The two worked together for about two years from 1970 to 1972. They shared each other's songs and played off and on sharing the same musicians as friends and backup band. The era was an important time for each of these artists. It was the time when they were working on what would become their breakout albums and stardom down the road. For Carole King it was her Tapestry album, and for James Taylor it was Sweet Baby James. Part of the memories they created together was a series of gigs at L.A.'s famed Troubadour Club in 1971. This release finds the duo once again back at the Troubadour Club, only 40 years later, 40 years older, and 40 years wealthier. It's a throwback to an earlier time both for these musicians and the fans that drove them to their inevitable stardom.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2010
For anyone who still engages in serious debates over who would win, Thor or the Hulk, here is a series that will send you into paroxysms of nerd joy. The premise here, in the spirit of violent apples and homicidal oranges, is to scientifically (more or less) explore who would win in one-on-one battles between an Apache and a gladiator, a viking and a samurai, a Spartan and a ninja, and so on. We even have the IRA versus the Taliban. Weapons, armor, and tactics are all examined, demonstrated, and fed into a computer. The data is then dramatized at each episode's climax.
It really is difficult to respond adequately to this specimen. This is one of those ideas that is utterly whacked, but has also been pretty obviously lurking in the male psyche since time immemorial. The presentation is pure cheese, all flashy graphics and clenched-teeth narration, and the actual battles have more than a whiff of Kirk versus the Gorn about them. If you want great fight choreography to go along with your strange pairings, you're probably better off sticking to playing Soul Caliber IV. All the same, the sheer oddity of the enterprise makes it hard to tear one's eyes away.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2010
“William Banks has saved 257 people from addiction to drugs, sex, and gambling. He’s not a cop. He’s not a superhero. He’s just a man with a calling. This is his story.”
What he is, is Benjamin Bratt, returning from the thespian dead as William Banks, better known to the show’s fans as The Cleaner. Bratt hasn’t been seen much since he left the gig at Law & Order. I almost didn’t recognize him here. But he’s returned in style. The Cleaner has all the characteristics of a police procedural series with a lot more excitement. His methods are often harsh. He’s your worst nightmare of an intervention. When Banks is called in, you haven’t hit rock bottom. Rock bottom has just hit you. The character is a recovering addict himself and does this as a way of making amends. Of course he doesn’t work alone. He’s assembled a kind of Impossible Mission Force-style team that helps with each case. Together they form a private company that a family member can call when they tire of a friend or family member’s addiction. The series was based on the real life story of Warren Boyd, who also acts as one of the show’s producers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 28th, 2010
One of the most basic pleasures in my soul is received from a great stand-up comedian. I grew up with the likes of Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Robin Williams. As a result, I listen to many stand-up specialists whenever I can, some are funny, some are not so funny and some I don't know if I'm listening to comedy or amateur hour at 1 in the morning. Today's special is David Cross, experienced to the stand-up scene in a brand new special. Let's see how it goes.
A little bit of history on David Cross, he's 46 and even though you might struggle to remember what he has been in, most likely you have seen his face before. He's been in the Ben Stiller Show, Arrested Development, and Mr. Show. More recently, he has been a part of the Alvin and the Chipmunk movies and even did voices for a few video games. In his personal life, he's a proclaimed atheist and is dating Amber Tamblyn who is well smoking hot and about twenty years younger.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2010
In June of 1982 I was fishing in a secluded mountaintop lake with my friend Willie Nelson. No, he wasn't the country singer. He was a State College, Pennsylvania DJ. He is a giant kind of fella who stands about 11 feet tall in his socks. It was a Sunday night, June 20th, the night before my birthday, and we decided to spend an all-nighter at the lake fishing. The place was in the middle of a wooded area, and there was nothing around for miles. Just before midnight and my birthday, we both saw something I'm sure we will never forget. I've since lost track of Willie. Last I heard he was living on a boat in L.A. So if you're out there, buddy, drop me a line. What we saw was a series of bright lights in the sky. They were flying extraordinarily close to the ground and moving quite slowly across the sky. What impressed both of us most of all was that they never made a sound. At first we suspected they were individual objects. I remember thinking they might be missiles of some kind. But as they flew overhead, the space between them blocked out the stars. It was a solid object. We went immediately back to the radio station and phoned the FAA, local airport, and whomever else we could think of. It was a hell of a thing. I still don't know what we saw that night, but it still appears vividly to me if I close my eyes. I wrote down the experience as a song for my Invented Memories album, which I will include at the end of the review should you be interested in hearing it.
We're not alone. I don't mean in an extraterrestrial sense. I mean as witnesses to an unidentified flying objects. There have been millions of such reports over the decades. Often these sightings are dismissed as coming from crackpots or just someone desperate for attention. The government has waged a long campaign to discount these sightings as either unreliable or something more explainable like weather balloons or flares. But there have been some very credible witnesses over the years, people you would be hard-pressed to lump into any of the categories I've named. We're talking trained observers with sterling reputations. Together many of us reject these government claims of what we might have witnessed. To those claims we join in unanimously: I Know What I Saw.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2010
I've seen a lot of shows come and go on Comedy Central over the years. The network really found gold when it began to air the crude animated adventures of Eric Cartman and his pals of South Park. It appears that ever since that day, the network has been searching high and low, mostly low, to catch that kind of lightening in a bottle again. Let's face it. The South Park boys aren't going to last forever. Comedy Central must certainly understand that someday they'll need another solid anchor for their network. One of the most recent attempts has been the Jeff Dunham Show. From what I've seen of this release, Comedy Central had best keep on looking. Of course, the ratings and the audience have already convinced them of that fact. The show is already gone after only 7 episodes. You can find them all on this single disc release.
From the description, it actually sounded like a pretty good idea. It's certainly an original one. The idea of having a ventriloquist act as the centerpiece for a comedy show really sounded like a great idea. I hadn't really heard of Jeff Dunham before this, so I had no idea what kind of show to expect. I only know I expected to laugh. After the first couple of episodes, I hadn't laughed yet. That's okay. I just have to warm up to the unique series. Give the guy time to settle into the format. Now I've watched all 7 episodes, and I'm still waiting.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 26th, 2010
In this line of work, you have a tendency to see a lot of copycat television shows. These shows emulate a popular type or specific series and are usually content with mediocre ratings. However, out of the fire of the various copycat shows, we sometimes get a diamond in the rough. This is a diamond that people will shrug off and proclaim as anything but worthwhile television viewing. But once they actually sit down and watch a few episodes, they’ll be hooked for good.
When we left season one of Flashpoint, the Strategic Response Unit wasn’t one hundred percent. Jules (played by Amy Jo Johnson) had been shot and her secret boyfriend, Sam Braddock (played by David Paetkau) realizes that Jules might break up with him. The reason for this is that she thinks the relationship is putting a strain on the team which she has put first.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2010
"Pray for dawn."
Mark Young is a bit of a one-man band in the short list of films that he's done in his decade-long career. Southern Gothic is no exception. Mark Young is credited as: producer, director, writer, editor, chief cook and bottle-washer on the film. I have to say that I'm more often scared when I see that sort of thing than anything that ends up coming at me from the screen. Too many cooks may, indeed, spoil the broth, but only one cook tends to mean someone's going to end up eatin' out tonight. This was the first of these multi-tasking films I've seen from Young, and I have to say none of it was as bad as all that. I even caught myself enjoying the movie after a short while. The trick here is not to look at Southern Gothic so much as a horror film. It's pretty evident that Young absolutely did not. This is camp. It's the kind of dish you might expect served by Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi. That's how you'll need to approach the movie. If you're looking for something a little more serious or straight-out horror, move along, because there's nothing to see here. If you're a fan of camp horror, you just might be able to scrape a little entertainment out of this one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2010
"In the West there lives an animal that runs wild and free. Its strength and courage symbolize our pioneering spirit. That magnificent animal is the wild mustang."
In 1943 a very young Roddy McDowall played a young boy in the perennial classic My Friend Flicka. The film was about a rebellious boy who is given a colt to teach him responsibility. He eventually bonds with the horse and learns the necessary lessons. The film was followed by a 1956 television series that followed the adventures of Gus and Flicka and lasted but one year. In 2006, the story was revived in a remake filmed under the same name but shortened to Flicka before it was released. While the character’s last name was retained, the film went the route of a young girl instead of a boy. It was probably a natural choice. My wife stands as a perfect example of how much every little girl appears to like horses. When I was that age I was more interested in the tough-as-nails cowboys who rode them. The film didn't manage to excite a very large audience and pulled in the small sum of $21 million. You might have expected the story to end there. It hasn't. 20th Century Fox has brought back the friendly spirited mustang in a direct to video release, Flicka 2.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2010
"Step 1: Reconnaissance. First you need to identify your target."
If you are a regular reader here, you likely know that I have a fondness for Andy Griffith. I recently watched and reviewed in these pages one of his earlier comedy films, and rather enjoyed the old simple rural comedy. That's what makes this one so painful to write about. I think that Andy Griffith missed the boat when he was targeting the audience for his latest comedy, the sexually charged Play The Game. I'm going to just admit up front that this movie made me feel very uncomfortable. I think that many of Griffith’s fans might have the same problem. There are just some actors, particularly ones in their 80's, that I don't want to hear talking about their sexual function, let alone watch having sex. Andy Griffith would be at the top of that list, and I suspect I'm not alone there. But, that's exactly what you're getting into if you decide to pop this one into your DVD player. This will not be like anything else you've ever seen this particular actor do before, and hopefully I never will again. This is strictly for the adults. I'd say the over 95 crowd.
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