Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2012
For most of the last decade or more CBS has dominated the primetime drama market on network television. One of the reasons, of course, has been the prevalence of top-flight crime dramas like the NCIS and CSI franchises. From 2003 until 2009 the Thursday line-up on the eye network included the blockbuster pairing of the original CSI and Without A Trace. Both were products of filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer's television stable. While CSI focused on the science behind a criminal investigation, Without A Trace took the more traditional route of the human element to the FBI's Missing Persons Unit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2012
At first glance it would be very easy to say that Beyond doesn't really offer us anything terribly new in the crime drama genre. For the most part I would tend to agree with that criticism. I would counter with the argument that a very good film doesn't need to be very original to be good. Sometimes the value in a movie lies in the fact that it does what it does do extremely well. That's how I would describe the sleeper direct-to-video release Beyond.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 29th, 2012
Often in columns, writers are basically forced to do enough research on their own to qualify as experts. But that is not always enough. Sometimes, we are a lot better off if we just consult an expert from the get-go and ask them all of the pertinent questions we need answered. My wife happened to be that expert I needed for the latest season of True Blood, Season Four. Without her, Sookie Stackhouse might just be another girl from the Jersey Shore. Wait, which show am I reviewing again?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 29th, 2012
"This Martius is grown from man to dragon. He has wings. He's more than a creeping thing. There is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger."
There's a certain hierarchy when it comes to the amount of cinematic interpretations of William Shakespeare's plays. At the top tier, we have the endlessly adapted Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth the Scottish Play. A step below that, you've probably got your King Lear, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream and a few more. And about a dozen tiers below that, we finally come across Coriolanus.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 28th, 2012
Steven Spielberg’s very-long-in-gestation adaptation of Hergé’s Tintin finally came into being over Christmas. The story, very much in keeping with the globe-trotting adventures of the comic books (drawing heavily, in fact, upon The Secret of the Unicorn), has Tintin (voiced by Jaime Bell) become embroiled in a treasure quest after buying a model ship that has one third of the secret concealed in its mast. Captured by nefarious evil-doers who will stop at nothing to find the treasure, he encounters Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), and a legendary friendship is formed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 28th, 2012
"It's Memorial Day. What am I supposed to remember?"
Happy Memorial Day, everyone! When I saw that I would be reviewing a movie called Memorial Day, I was afraid Garry Marshall had made another one of his awful ensemble romantic comedies — ala Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve — that stars everyone in Hollywood...and Hector Elizondo. Thankfully, this film is simply an (overly) earnest dedication to the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces, as well as their families.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 25th, 2012
Growing up as an only child, I did my share of strange things. I staged wrestling matches with my wrestling figures, ran baseball games with myself (against myself) and also did my share of creating battles with my G.I. Joes. Feel free to call me a nerd or introvert at any time. As a result, every time I see a wrestling match or watch some baseball, I am reminded of those unique moments I shared as a child. Perhaps when I watch the new G.I. Joe Show: Renegades, I can relive some of those moments yet again.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on May 24th, 2012
“His name is Samson. He’s big with his cat, with mama and with his stick. Black Samson… he’s mean and clean and rules the scene.”
In the 70s and 80s, filthy little theaters littered New York’s 42nd Street, sandwiched between adult bookstores, porn theaters, and peepshows. These dens of celluloid sin hosted an endless loop of “B” movies affectionately known as grindhouse films. They ran exploitation films, drive-in double features, and European softcore of every subgenre, ranging from Blaxploitation to Sexploitation, from Euro-crime to Sci-Fi and Horror. Some theaters projected these movies 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2012
"It's funny how you wake up each day and never really know if it will be one that will change your life forever. But that's what this day was. The day I left the city to spend a week in the house where my mother grew up. A day I'll never forget."
The Secret World Of Arrietty comes from the collected works of English writer Mary Norton. The first book, The Borrowers, introduced us to the Clock family. They were a race of tiny humans known as Borrowers. They lived beneath the floorboards of normal-sized humans and lived off the things they could "borrow" from the human family.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 22nd, 2012
Hi, this is Casey Casem (play along, alright) and welcome to American Top 40. Michael “Mick” Hucknall was often made fun of due to his red locks in Lancashire, England as a young boy. Little did those children know that Mick would use that to propel himself into a music career at just eighteen years old with the Frantic Elevators during the 1970’s. That was the start of a very fruitful music career for Mr. Hucknall. This long distance dedication goes out to Eddie in Tuscaloosa, Mississippi celebrating his 84th birthday today and here is “Holding Back the Years” by the band known as Simply Red.
