Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 24th, 2007
Right off the start Wild Hogs looks to be appealing simply because of the cast which includes John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, and Ray Liotta. However when you get numerous big names together, some of whom aren’t known for comedy, their meshing on screen becomes quite an issue. Regardless, I don’t anticipate this to become a problem with Wild Hogs.
Wild Hogs tells the story of four middle aged recreational bikers who are all going through a personal crisis. Doug (Tim Allen, Galaxy Quest) is a dentist stuck in a rut, he wants to relive his glory days but has too much responsibility and a kid who doesn’t respect him. Bobby (Martin Lawrence, Bad Boys) aspires to be a writer but is stuck in a job as a plumber, his wife wears the pants and he hardly does or says what he wants anymore. Dudley (William H. Macy, The Cooler) seems to suffer from an inferiority complex as he can’t seem to muster up the courage to talk to women, his life lacks excitement. Finally there’s Woody (John Travolta, Hairspray) he seems to have it all, a big house and a supermodel wife, that is until she leaves him and he looses all his money. Desperate to get a taste of life, on Woody’s suggestion the group embarks on a cross country motorcycle trip with no cell phones and no plan, just the west coast in mind. Of course along the way they run into their share of misadventures including a homosexual highway cop, a gang of bikers, and Dudley’s inability to balance on his motorcycle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 22nd, 2007
Although it arose from the talented minds behind The Muppet Show, this 1982 fantasy classic is no kids' film. While The Dark Crystal can be enjoyed by kids, it's a little too dark and a little too abstract for your average seven-year-old.
Set in "another world, in another time...in the age of wonder," The Dark Crystal represents a monumental creative undertaking, and the first live-action feature film to not have any humans appearing on screen. While this 25th Anniversary Edition release appears to be a quadruple-dip, it just might be worth your attention.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 18th, 2007
There was a time when break dancing was the hottest thing around. For this film, that time is 1986, when a talented young dancer goes too big in a dance contest, flips off the stage and winds up in a coma. He wakes up 20 years later, a grown man with the mind of a 12-year-old, an unhealthy passion for break dancing and a crush on the girlfriend he almost had two decades earlier.
With that premise, how can you go wrong? Plus, you know Kickin' It Old Skool is a righteous movie because it spells 'School' with a 'k.'
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 15th, 2007
The heroes in a half shell are back, and looking better than ever. TMNT doesn't represent a revolutionary rebirth of the franchise, but it does breathe new life into once-loved characters who've been fading in our memory. Whatever your take on this film, kids, one thing's for certain: these ain't your daddy's turtles.
It has been more than 10 years since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stunk up the big screen in their third film, which had them time-traveling back to ancient Japan for some schlocky, death-of-a-franchise action. With that disaster in mind, I say thank goodness for TMNT coming along to obliviate their ancient Japan adventure from our memory.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2007
Wild Hogs is a pretty simple film for the most part. You have four guys who, for their own reasons, are finding their daily lives have gotten away from them. Their mid-life crises lead them to venture together on a cross country motorbike journey filled with enough peril to make them forget their ordinary lives and live the adventure of their dreams. The film has the standard sight gags that pretty much carry the first half of the film. Macy's character has a rather amusing computer glitch in a Wi-Fi cafe. A lot of these jokes, often dealing with a gay cop who thinks the four are a pretty hot and tempting, get carried too far and get stale rather quickly. I could certainly do without the naked butt shots myself. The film actually starts to get interesting once the Hogs begin to interact with a real bike gang led by Ray Liotta. The ending reaches quite a bit to deliver the standard feel-good climax that usually requires a pretty hefty shot of insulin to bring the sweetness down to a tolerable level.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 3rd, 2007
One hundred years after Abraham Van Helsing and allies fail to annihilate Dracula, the vampire arrives in a small American town looking for an amulet that, if destroyed at the prescribed moment, will usher in a reign of darkness. Recruited to aid in this project are versions of the Wolfman, the Frankenstein Monster, the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Opposing Dracula is the titular Monster Squad, a group of monster-crazy boys and one very little (and very adorable) sister, who befriends the Monster.
I first caught this film during its original theatrical run, and enjoyed it then. Twenty years later, it looks even better. This is the kind of movie that Stephen Summers (The Mummy, Van Helsing) evidently thinks he is making, even though he is utterly unable to do so. Director Fred Dekker’s acknowledged model is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and as in that film, the monsters are treated with respect, remaining figure of fear, not of fun. There is much humour in the film, but the stakes are real. There is a sense that the battles could have a real cost to them (and when the monsters attack, people do actually die). There are also enormously poignant, heartfelt moments (when was the last time you teared up at a Summers film?). The special effects have aged somewhat, but have accrued all the more charm for that. Dekker’s love of the classic Universal films imbues every frame, right down to replicating the out-of-place armadillos and phony-looking bats from the original Dracula. This is, from top to bottom, the dream of every classic monster fan made flesh.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 31st, 2007
Throw reason out with the trash, and sit down to a feel-good movie that tries just a little too hard to be quirky. That’s your best approach to The Astronaut Farmer, which pits Billy Bob Thornton against all odds to reach outer space by way of his farm-built rocket.
Everyone likes an inspirational story now and then, so I’m sure this film will find an appreciative audience. For me, there are better choices – say, October Sky, for example. Here, instead of a boy who loves rockets, we have Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob, Sling Blade), a former astronaut who never made it to space. Now he’s trying to get there by himself, having built a rocket from spare parts, a project which has brought him this close to foreclosure on his house, his farm and his family. Though they’re supportive, even Farmer’s wife and kids have to reach beyond the stars to find the guts and lack of reason to commit to helping their father reach his goal – or bust.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 30th, 2007
Director David Fincher (Se7en) has returned to serial killer territory in a very different way. Zodiac is an effective period piece that enwraps the viewer in a real-life mystery that remains unsolved because it happened before the age of computers and minute C.S.I. technology.
In 1969, a serial killer who eventually became known as the Zodiac struck for what is believed to be the first time. While the Zodiac continued to kill and take credit for murders for more than two decades, the killer eluded police, reporters and hobbyist investigators who tried to nail him down.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 30th, 2007
I have to admit that I have never heard of this film prior to receiving it for review, so I went into this one completely blind without any expectations. My only guess was that this would be some sort of fantasy/horror film, and it turns out I was right. Perfect Creature is a different sort of take on a vampire film which makes it rather unique, but how’s it going to end up?
Set in a fictitious New Zealand referred to as Nuovo Zelandia, Perfect Creature takes place in an alternate world not unlike our own. There is, of course, one major difference, which is the acceptance of vampires as the next level of evolution in human beings, referred to as The Brotherhood. Members of The Brotherhood and humans have a pact in which they live amongst each other in harmony, humans donating blood at the churches to quench the thirst of the vampires. That is, at least, until the renegade vampire Edgar begins attacking and killing human beings. Lilly, the local hard-knock cop, who has lost her entire family to a sweeping influenza epidemic, teams up with Edgar’s brother Silus who wants to protect the rights of The Brotherhood and stop Edgar’s madness. Eventually, the two succeed and even share a few almost romantic moments, but before long Edgar escapes the confines of The Brotherhood once again, and he carries with him a dark secret powerful enough to change the society forever.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 30th, 2007
Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) are best of buddies who share a flat with another roomie. Shaun works hard at a local electronics store, while Ed doesn’t really accomplish much besides playing games. Shaun has recently become despondent after breaking it off with his girlfriend Lizzie and fails to notice that London is slowing being taken over by zombies. When Shaun realizes what’s occurring, he and Ed must work together to fight these creatures off as well as now travel to save Shaun’s mum and his ex/girlfriend from these zombies.
Along the way, a few laughs are found, but the film’s main theme of trying to include romance with a comedy, just didn’t overall click for me (especially when compared to their follow-up film Hot Fuzz).
![Wild Hogs [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/wild-hogs-blu-ray-large.jpg)
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