Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 4th, 2013
Although he’s only mentioned briefly in the Bible, the man known as Barabbas was a key figure during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospels, Pontius Pilate gave the crowd in Jerusalem the choice of either sparing Jesus’ life or saving the rebel/thief Barabbas during Passover. (No “Spoiler Alert” necessary; I’m sure you can guess which one they picked.) Since very little is known about Barabbas, his life story has basically been transformed into the first documented case of “survivor’s guilt.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2013
All good things must come to an end, and so it was at Walt Disney Studios. The Golden Age of feature film animation had started with Snow White And The Seven Dwarves in 1937. By the end of the 1970's it was all but gone. As the studio entered the 1980's the things had gone from bad to worse. Walt was gone, and so it seemed was the magic. Most of The 9 Old Men had either retired or passed away. The studio leadership was considering closing the animated studio and moving on to live-action films only.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 3rd, 2013
For a variety of reasons, fewer people seem to be retiring when they turn 65. That’s long been the case for legendary musicians like Bryan Ferry, who was at that milestone age when he filmed this concert in Lyon, France during the summer of 2011. Ferry has always combined his own "old soul" sensibility with a forward-thinking approach to creating music. So this show, with Ferry now an actual senior citizen, turned out to be an ideal time to check in on the former Roxy Music frontman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2013
We all remember Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy from Married With Children. It's an iconic role that he'll never be able to shake no matter what he does for the rest of his life. After that series ended its 11-year run, he even attempted to get out of comedy and take more dramatic roles. I'm sure there was a deliberate intent to try to distance himself from Al. It's not that he likely didn't love playing the role. He just wanted to avoid getting forever typecast in the mold. Those efforts weren't all that successful. But now he's back where he belongs again in a pretty solid sit-com
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2013
"I met him fifteen years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding; and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil."
In 1968 Marvin Gaye / Tammi Terrell hit the American pop charts with the song Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing. They didn't know it at the time, of course, but they were talking about John Carpenter's original 1978 Halloween.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2013
"Toilet time is the last bastion of American freedom."
In this case it's toilet humor. I often have trouble believing that South Park has been around for as long as it has. It’s not just the passing of 16 years, but the sheer brilliance in the face of an increasingly politically correct society. It’s like watching old episodes of All In The Family. Who believes that Archie Bunker would have any chance of survival in the 21st century? It’s no wonder that Norman Lear has become involved in the series. It’s the last remaining vestige of a once great freedom to be ridiculous and offend
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 26th, 2013
"My name is Oliver Queen. For five years I was stranded on an island with only one goal: survive. Now, I will fulfill my father's dying wish to use the list of names he left me and bring down those who are poisoning my city. To do this I must become someone else. I must become something else."
That someone...that something else is the DC Comics character Green Arrow. Not to be confused by the same-colored Hornet or Lantern
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on September 23rd, 2013
“To begin with, all the incidents and characters in this story might be fictitious, and any resemblance to you or me might be purely coincidental.”
Right off the bat, the unseen, all-knowing narrator of A Letter to Three Wives lets her audience know the characters in the film aren’t the only ones who are about to have their heads profoundly messed with. That sort of smart playfulness is one of the many reasons you should check out this terrific romantic dramedy from legendary writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz now that it’s on Blu-ray for the first time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 20th, 2013
"Welcome Back."
"We've started seasons like this many times before. The Winchester Brothers have been separated by apocalyptic events, and someone has to escape from Hell, or in this case Purgatory, to get back to the comforts of Earth. It's just business as usual. Another day at the office for the Winchester boys.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 19th, 2013
"After a half century of space exploration we're now being faced with what's long been a staple of science fiction: an orbiting junkyard of space debris."
There's an old saying that what goes up must come down. For most of human history that has been a pretty steadfast axiom. Of course any kid who has ever had a kite or a football stuck in a tree knows there are exceptions to every rule. But in the 1950's we began to place objects in orbit about the Earth. In recent decades the practice has almost become a frenzy. We have all of those cell phones, television networks and GPS devices that require more and more satellite support.
