Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2008
Well, since HD DVD has pretty much collapsed now, it only makes sense that we here at Upcomingdiscs clear off what’s left on the mantle, get the cobwebs out, and do our level best to take a look at this lame duck format if you will. I mean, there are movies on them after all, and Knocked Up was arguably a favorite of many in 2007, to the tune of over $150 million and helping to entrench Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen, those who were behind Superbad, as significant contributors to the world of motion picture comedy.
Knocked Up was written and directed by Apatow, who presumably translated his own life experience into this adaptation. Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) plays Alison, a recently promoted network personality of the E! television network. To celebrate her promotion, her and her sister Debbie (Apatow’s better half, Leslie Mann of Big Daddy lore) go to a club, and Alison hooks up with Ben (Rogen), who seems to be her polar opposite. He’s unemployed, makes no money, and spends most of his time hanging out and smoking pot with his friends Jonah (Jonah Hill, Superbad), Jason (Jason Segel, How I Met Your Mother), Jay (Jay Baruchel, Million Dollar Baby) and Martin (Martin Starr, Stealing Harvard). So when Ben and Alison hook up, the result is predictable. I mean, look at the title!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 22nd, 2008
Traditionally, I love spoofs. I spent many of my younger days watching movies like Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights or Young Frankenstein. More recently, I have actually (for the most part) enjoyed every Scary Movie. So whenever I see a new spoof, I am at least somewhat interested in the movie and have aspirations to see it on disc. Epic Movie scares me a bit because it comes from the same people who did Date Movie. I found Date Movie to be okay at best, but I had a small hope that this would turn out better. Jello shots & Nyquil could not save me from this disaster.
The movie starts out with Lucy (played by Jayma Mays), Edward (played by Kal Penn), Susan (played by Faune Chambers) and Peter (played by Adam Campbell) who find golden tickets inside Willy chocolate bars. Their scenes emulate DaVinci Code, Nacho Libre, Snakes on a Plane, & X-Men. They get to the chocolate factory where they meet Willy (played by Crispin Glover) who shows them inside. He then explains how the four lucky winners are to become parts of his candy. So they start running.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2008
The neurotic Shannyn Sossamon goes to Paris to visit sister Alecia Moore (aka Pink). The outgoing Moore cajoles her mopey sister to attend a party in the city’s catacombs, where the bones of some six million people are stacked. It doesn’t take long before Sossamon becomes separated from her friends, and is pursued by a maniac through the maze of tunnels.
Other reviewers have commented on the film’s overuse of shaky camerawork, ADD editing and strobe lights. I won’t belabour the point here other than to note that they are absolutely right. That the film is not actually shot in Paris is painfully obvious thanks to the awful French accents of the Romanian extras. The leads are strong enough in their roles, but Sossamon’s character is such a bringdown that she’s hard to sympathize with. The ending manages to be simultaneously idiotic and clever. One senses a great deal of effort to transcend a limited budget, but this is ultimately another case of reach exceeding grasp.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 13th, 2008
Waitress is a film that could easily be passed-over as a tired, generic chick flick when perusing the DVD section of your favorite retailer. Those that take a chance on this underrated film, however, are in for a real treat. This is a film that has genuine heart, is honest and surprisingly funny.
Keri Russell stars as a down-on-her-luck waitress that makes pies in a small town diner. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she begins to want more than her lowlife husband is giving her. Unfortunately, she seems to find what she is looking for in her Doctor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 9th, 2008
Early on, it's easy to tell that Mr. Brooks doesn't take itself seriously.
At least I hope it didn't.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 31st, 2008
Director's cut can be a misleading term. The very definition of cut means to take away. A lot of Director's Cuts add in footage to the original release to make it longer. Then there are Director's Cuts which don't even involve the director. They involve a team which could possibly care less about whether the finished product resembles a movie or a saturday morning cartoon. Then there are Director's Cuts which involve a family member like a son. That my friends is another animal indeed.
Erik (played by Tim Robbins) never got the Viking handbook on pillaging, plundering and raping. After a bout of self realization and a talk with his grandfather (played by Mickey Rooney), he decides to take his crew aboard his ship in search of Valhalla. There he will ask the gods to end the age of Ragnorok and bring sunlight to his home once again. However, along the way he takes a Odyessey-esque journey as he encounters everything from a dragon with hay fever to the people of Hy-Brasil to a rival monarch named Halfdan the Black (played by John Cleese) that stand in his way. This begins a hilarious escapade on the Viking Life and might even involve an invisibility cloak or two.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 30th, 2008
JAG or Judge Advocates General might have gone silent on our television screens in 2005, but it really remains with us in its spin-off NCIS. Both shows explore the world of military justice. Both shows are also the masterworks of successful television producer David P. Bellisario, who also brought us Magnum PI and Quantum Leap. The idea behind JAG was likely inspired by the film A Few Good Men. Most of us remember the “You can’t handle the truth” rant that Jack Nicholson delivers from the stand, but fans of the film rather enjoyed the rare look behind the Judge Advocate General’s office in our military. Like that film, JAG spends its time pretty much split in three directions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 30th, 2008
Teens seem to have a lot of angst. They like to have angst regarding what they wear or who they make friends or simply because their hair has a split end. In the middle of their angst, they form groups who share angst. These groups are more pseudo-families where they share experiences and care for each as if they resembled a sibling or a close relative. Enter Normal Adolescent Behavior: Havoc 2 where a group of 6 teenagers form a bond where only the 6 of them exists in each other's hearts. But would this bond step over the line and create a situation that one or more could not bear to take?
Wendy (played by Amber Tamblyn)is part of a group of six friends who have grown up together. They go to school together, they hang out together, and they sleep together. Yes, with each other. Any relations with other people outside of the circle are strictly forbidden. They kinda want to keep their cooties all to themselves, touching I think. Wendy and her brother Nathan (played by Daryl Sabara) meet a boy named Sean (played by Ashton Holmes). Wendy falls for the boy and the two do their best to keep it from the group. The group's un-official leader, Billie (played by Kelli Garner) finds out about the relationship and is not interested in losing her best friend or a valued member. True love is precious but hard to keep in perspective when 5 other people grow up beside and demand your utmost attention.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 29th, 2008
What happened to Cuba Gooding Jr.? Since when did he have to take Eddie Murphy's sloppy seconds? The man has an Academy Award for crying out loud. OK, that was twelve years ago from Jerry McGuire, and Cuba has made Snow Dogs and Boat Trip since then, but I still kinda believe in him. After all, this is the guy who said "Show me the money" and made Tom Cruise say "I love black people!" Wasn't that great? Talent like that doesn't just fade away into bolivian like Mike Tyson would say.
Apparently Cuba didn't heed the advice that you should avoid working with kids and animals because they'll always steal the show from you. Or the advice that you should avoid crappy sequels to kids movies. Maybe he lost out to Scott Baio on Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 and decided never to miss an opportunity like that ever again. Maybe he needs to consider hiring a new agent. Maybe we never hear from Cuba again. Only time will tell if he can stand the test of time...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 27th, 2008
Despite being very thoroughly dead, Jigsaw is up to his old games again. This time, SWAT commander Rigg must race against time to rescue to kidnapped fellow officers. Jigsaw's messages send him all over town, to one gruesome event after another. Meanwhile, the FBI is also on the case, interrogating the killer's ex-wife, which means the audience finds out quite a bit more about Jigsaw's backstory.
The film gets right down to work with an extremely detailed autopsy of Jigsaw, so the target audience should feel well-served. The torture devices are as baroque as ever, and the deaths are elaborately gruesome. “Elaborate” and “baroque” are pretty good terms to describe the plot as well, only not necessarily in a good way. The main problem here is excessive flashbacking (rarely a good tactic in cinematic narrative) and equally excessive reliance on the audience remembering every detail of the previous entry. On the other hand, there are some very nifty transitions between scenes, and I confess to being rather more caught up in the story than I was expecting, this many episodes in. For the most part, this is actually an improvement over the third entry. Then there's the difficulty of the ending. The need to have each film end in a twist here results in a conclusion that's borderline incomprehensible rather than shocking.
