Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 16th, 2006
If you ask me, what sitcoms need are fewer contrivances and more realistic humor. That's what made Seinfeld so brilliant. As horrible as those people were, the sad truth is that all of us have a little bit of that twisted humor lurking within us. That's just the kind of thing that happens with The Worst Week of My Life. This amazingly funny BBC series lasts just seven episodes, but I guess that should be expected judging from the show's title. The names of the episodes themselves are “Sunday”, “Monday”, “Tuesday” and so on. By the end of the season, viewers have been treated to what is often-times the worst week of many people's lives. The week that should be the happiest of their lives. The week before their wedding.
The show reminds me a bit of Meet The Parents, and a little of Wedding Crashers, but in my opinion it is much funnier than either one of these. The show is shot with a single camera, so it actually has the feel of a mini-series more than that of a half-hour sitcom. The BBC has really come a long way in the last few years. They have hit a run of great shows with Coupling, The Office, MI-5 and now The Worst Week of My Life.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 11th, 2006
I think the fact that Invasion only ran for one season is more of a result of circumstance than anything else. The series starts with a very large hurricane hitting Florida, and the rest of the season dramatizes the aftermath of such a tragic event. Unfortunately, the series made its debut right after the real life hurricane Katrina wiped out much of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. With the 24-hour coverage of the real-life disaster plastered all over the airwaves, audiences just didn't feel much like unwinding with a dramatization of the very same experience.
It's a shame, too, because the hurricane aspect of the story was really just a catalyst to bring on the true story of the series. This was not a show about hurricanes, this was a show about extra-terrestrials. I am always a fan of sci-fi shows that masquerade as traditional dramas, and this one really pulls it off. One of the best things about shows like Alias and Lost is that they spawned other well thought out shows such as this one. It was not long ago that a show would start with a basic idea of characters and place, and the series would evolve over time. Now we are starting to see shows that have an entire couple of seasons planned out before the first episode is even shot (such as 24 and HBO's fantastic Carnivale). The result is a television program that plays more like a detailed mini-series. This is a winning proposition for both networks and fans, as the story builds slowly over time, a personal investment is made in the program.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 10th, 2006
Tell me if you've heard this one before... a high school girl is not allowed to join a certain club because it is boys only, so she dresses up like a (transvestite) boy to sneak into the club and prove that she has girl power!
Seriously, how many times can Hollywood make the exact same movie, before somebody sues somebody for copyright infringement? I understand the argument that each new generation of teens will pay big bucks to see the same crappy movie that has been made every couple of years for generations, but come on. Does nobody have any artistic integrity left?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2006
Synopsis
In 1908, an inbred hillbilly (played by, who else, Newhart’s William Sanderson) had decapitated a family member, and is brought to a spooky asylum. A maniacal intern realizes that the face-like deformity on the man’s back is actually intelligent, and his obsession with cracking the mystery unleashes all sorts of horrors.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2006
Synopsis
Geena Davis is the Vice-President who was chosen as running mate by the Republican President because she would balance out the ticket (she’s an Independent) and help him with the female voters. When he is felled by a stroke, the possibility that she might become President fills the powers that be with dread, and her resignation is demanded so that the hard-right Speaker of the House (Donald Sutherland) can step in instead. Davis refuses, and the series follows her struggles as the first woma... to be President of the US.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 26th, 2006
The truth may never come out as to why HBO cancelled Carnivale after the show's second season. They claim that it was a combination of decreased ratings and rising production costs equaling $2 million an episode. What doesn't make sense, however, is that the network also admits that they received as many as 50,000 emails in a single weekend following the cancellation announcement. The facts also show that they followed up this show that was “too expensive to be profitable” with Rome, a show that has been widely recognized as the most expensive television series ever produced.
Several months after the show was cancelled, HBO offered the show's producers the chance to shoot a 2-hour movie to finish up the story which was left hanging. They refused, as they claim that the entire story was planned out for six complete seasons, so a two-hour finale would not even come close to finishing up the story. The show runners then announced plans to finish up the story in comic book form, but nothing has been seen of this plan as of yet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 16th, 2006
I really enjoy stand-up DVDs, but they're pretty formulaic. The show starts, there is usually a short un-funny skit, and then the stand-up portion starts. The comic does his show, the credits roll, and that's it.
This is really something unique and innovative, however. This film is something of a musical comedy, skit, music video stand-up film. It's a lot to squeeze into a 72-minute film, but is is done surprisingly well. The transitions work out well, and it really shakes up the standard notions of what a co...edy DVD should be.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 5th, 2006
This is a rather hard review to write. How do you separate the subject matter from the film? What reviewer wants to find himself in the unenviable task of critiquing the likes of a future saint? Certainly the filmmakers must have felt the same burden to do the story justice. But did they succeed? The answer is a not so simple.
The choice of Olivia Hussey was a remarkably inspired one. She portrayed the unselfish passion and self sacrifice as if they were emanating from her very soul. From her first moments on screen it is not hard to believe, while perhaps imagined, that we are seeing just a hint of something divine. The supporting cast does a fine job but can’t help but be overshadowed by Hussey. The location cinematography is also handled nicely with a great realistic approach that creates just the right touch of reality to it all. If the film is flawed at all, it is in its length. At 2 hours, it is overlong to maintain such powerful imagery, yet the running time is far too short to do justice to such a life that has touched and inspired the world. The film doesn’t start at the beginning. We find Mother Teresa already a nun and about to begin her mission to help the poor. Nor is that story complete. Huge gaps in time lead us all too quickly to aged and dying saint apparent. You don’t need to be Catholic to appreciate the film. Few would dare to challenge the purity and good works of Mother Teresa’s life. World leaders have been brought to tears, and more importantly to action, because of her example. Many films have spared no expense in graphic f/x to try and show us a face that is truly evil. Few have attempted to bring us such a picture of goodness. This film shows us how simply it can be done. The film is worth a look on those grounds alone.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Paul Gross plays Geoffrey Tennant, a once celebrated actor who had a meltdown during a performance of Hamlet. Now he’s trying to mount The Tempest at the head of a broke company about to be evicted from its premises. Meanwhile, his former mentor, Oliver Welles, has just mounted a dispiriting version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the New Burbage Theatre, and very shortly thereafter dies. Tennant is brought in as the new artistic director, and his attempts to stage Ha...let are troubled by the ghost of Tennant, a lunatic director, scheming suits and difficult actors.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Anthony Michael Hall steps into Christopher Walken’s considerable shoes as Johnny Smith, a man who wakes up after years in a coma to discover that not only has life moved on without him, but he has psychic powers, and with them comes visions of politician Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery, taking on the role essayed by Martin Sheen in the Cronenberg film) bringing about some kind of apocalypse. Smith’s struggle against Stillson makes up the central arc of the series, and this season...opens with Smith trying to stop his friend Rebecca from attempting to assassinate Stillson, and act that will result in her death.
