Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 24th, 2010
Former pirate radio DJ Mike Raven plays Victor Clare (a case where the actor has a scarier name than the character he plays), reclusive artist who, one strongly suspects, has the unpleasant House-of-Wax-y propensity to pour molten metal on his models in order to bronze them. A group of characters with varying agendas gather at his Cornwall abode: his senile wife; his sexually ambivalent model; his weak, alcoholic son (Ronald Lacey, a long way from the menacing Nazi he would later play in Raiders of the Lost Ark) and impatient daughter-in-law; a neophyte art dealer and his girlfriend, Millie (Mary Maude). Victor becomes obsessed with Millie, determined make her his artistic muse. Meanwhile, the cast is being gruesomely bumped off one after the other.
Raven comes across very much as a poor man's Christopher Lee. He has the height (more or less), he has a deep voice, and he even looks not unlike Lee. But he has none of the master's screen presence, and isn't as frightening as he clearly should be. Most of the film is a rather dull plod, with characters wandering about, flirting or sniping at each other, and repeating conversations ad nauseum. The murders come along every so often to spice things up, but given Victor's obvious villainy, one might well wonder why the film is being so coy about the killings, and refusing to show us the killer.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 22nd, 2010
Wow, someone took Dolan’s Cadillac, one of my favourite Stephen King short stories, and made it into a movie! Awesome! Cool, not a bad cast either. Christian Slater and Wes Bentley. Good actors. A little bit of edge to them. This might be alright. What’s that? It’s a straight to DVD release? Well that’s not promising. Hmm? It was made in Saskatchewan? By a Canadian sit-com director? Okay, now you’re just messing with me…
As it turns out, it’s all true. King’s sun-scorched tale of madness and revenge has indeed been brought to the screen, even if that screen is the one hooked up to your DVD player.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2010
“Mentalist: Someone who uses mental acuity, hypnosis, and/or suggestion. A master manipulator of thoughts and behavior.”
I remember fondly Simon Baker’s last television series, The Guardian. It wasn’t exactly a great or groundbreaking show, but it chugged on somewhat quietly for five seasons. It didn’t seem like anyone was really noticing this quality show. So as much as I like this new series, I think what pleases me most is that The Guardian has made it to DVD. I’m not sure it would have happened if The Mentalist hadn’t broken out as the number one new series last year. And as much as I’d love to tell you more about that earlier series, I’m going to get that chance next month, so stay tuned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2010
Perry Mason did it for lawyers. Marcus Welby did it for doctors. From 1969 to 1976 and beyond, Robert Young was the face of the television doctor. The actor was so identified with his part that he dealt with fans and their medical questions his entire life following his portrayal of Marcus Welby. In those days there wasn't a medical doctor on the planet, real or fictional, who was more recognizable than Welby. The show pretty much wrote the book on the television medical drama. It doesn't matter if your a fan of House, ER, Grey's Anatomy, or any of a hundred other medical dramas that have come and gone since that time, each of those shows owes more than a little of its existence to Marcus Welby, MD.
In the 1950's Robert Young was that model parent in Father Knows Best. It's likely that audiences first fell in love with his wise and caring style. There was something about both the character and in the man himself that just caused America to trust him. It was no surprise that when the Marcus Welby creators were looking for a doctor that could, above all, exhibit those same qualities that Robert Young would get the call. And it didn't matter that Young considered himself retired from show business for the last 6 years. Marcus Welby was a role he just couldn't turn down. It was another gentle character with wisdom and common sense beyond his years. The Doc was a general practitioner in California. To him his patients were people. He would treat the individual as well as whatever ailment was proving to be the problem. He took the tough cases, often seeing some slight symptom that others would miss. That's because he paid attention to his patients, and they couldn't help but trust him with their lives. More times than not, that trust was rewarded with a full recovery. But, even when Welby couldn't beat a disease or injury, he always added something to the patient’s life. It might be helping them to come to terms with their own mortality. He might heal a family rift. Sometimes he just offered a kind word at just the right time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2010
Bo Burnham is one of those very young up-and-coming comedians that will either turn you completely off or make you very happy that you made his acquaintance. I think I'm one of those rare folks who finds himself in the middle after watching this hour-long performance.
There is no question at all that Burnham processes incredible talent. He is one of the most clever comedians I've seen in ages. He has an understanding of the English language that we haven't seen since the likes of George Carlin. There is a sophisticated intelligence at work here that is, unfortunately, easy to miss, if you don't pay particular attention. Burnham is manic in his delivery. He changes subjects and speeds with a suddenness that is liable to leave you with whiplash. Before you can really think about what he's said, he's already three subjects down the road flipping you the finger for not keeping up. And while I appreciate comics who push the limits of political correctness, there are moments that Burnham pushes the taboos much farther than he should. His 9/11 joke fell flat for the live audience. He uses Hitler and the holocaust a bit too much. It's almost as if he's hoping you'll tire of the routine. And then there's his age. Some of the more risqué sexual stuff just seems wrong from a guy who looks like he's a freshman in high school. He does a routine about Charlie Brown being molested. Way too far, dude.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 21st, 2010
This is the final seasons, so we are well into the series. Its groundbreaking nature (an unmarried professional woman as a central character) has obviously long since ceased to be a novelty, and the show is, by this point in its existence, what one might call a fixture. This is merely by way of observation, and not a criticism, because the writing remains as strong as ever, and the show has stood up well to the test of time. Not every joke is a winner, of course, and there are plenty of situations whose outcomes are visible a mile off. So name the sitcom for which this isn’t true. But it was the characters more than anything else that won audiences over, and the terrific chemistry of eccentricity and camaraderie is very much in evidence here. Humanity over ratings is typical of the show’s philosophy and spirit.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is classic TV comedy at its best. This show is legendary, and still ranks amongst the top comedy sitcoms of all time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 20th, 2010
The album, Holy Diver was released on May 25th, 1983. It was Dio’s best work featuring two singles that would hit the American top 40. It would actually take a full year for the album to hit Gold and almost 6 years to reach Platinum status. However, Dio remains popular today and is still listened to around the world. With that said, it is my pleasure to bring you the last recorded concert of one Ronnie James Dio as he plays the Astoria Theatre in London, England.
October 22nd, 2005. It is the final stop of an 11 date British Tour and Dio has hit the Astoria Theatre in London along Charing Cross Road. However, despite the band playing there a multitude of times, this one was a little different. Earlier in the year, Rock Candy Records had re-released the epic Holy Diver and the band had to figure out a way to best promote the re-release. They came up with the idea of playing the entire album, front to back in order.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2010
"Born with a steering wheel in his hand and lead in his foot, he is the Nightrider, cruising at the speed of fright! This is the Nightrider, and we ain't never coming back. I'm a fuel-injected suicide machine..."
Long before Mel Gibson's troubles involved real-life police officers and a bad case of "foot-in-mouth disease” that has made him his own worst enemy, Mel had more dramatic enemies to deal with. The unknown Australian actor was only 22 years old when he starred in the Outback production that would put both Mel Gibson and his native Australia on the filmmaking map. The movie was originally a very low-budget film. It was made in an attempt to show the world that America wasn't the only place you could make a non-stop action film. When American audiences got their first glimpse of the unique post-apocalyptic showcase, they still didn't get a real dose of Mel Gibson. All of the Australian actors, including Gibson, had been dubbed to lose the accents. If you saw Mad Max in the cinema in 1979 or 1980, you heard someone else's voice coming out of Mel's mouth. Too bad he didn't have that option a few years back when he was stopped for a DUI and proceeded to offer up a rendition of History of the World according to Mel, only it wasn't Mel Brooks. The anti-Jewish rant and belligerence has thrust the once-superstar into a decade where he hasn't had a real starring role.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2010
A&E has brought together a collection of television episodes from three British series that have featured prominently on the network over the years. The shows each feature one of the greatest detectives in literature. The long-running shows have used the original literary works as the basis for most of the episodes. But long before they were played on television, we knew who they were. The exploits of Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot have engaged the minds of mystery lovers for nearly a century now. For the first time, you have the wonderful opportunity to enjoy them at your own leisure, together in one massive collection called Great Detectives.
Here's what you'll find in this impressive set:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 19th, 2010
Two friends – Marie and Alexia– head out to the country home of the latter’s parents. In the middle of the night, a killer breaks in, slaughters the family, and makes Alexia his prisoner. Marie is locked in a battle to save her friend and not become a victim herself.
Of such simple storylines are horror classics made. Leave it to the French, who, after all, invented the horror movie, to pump such gloriously bloody life back into the cinema of atrocity. After an early bit of extreme nastiness in the opening minutes of the film, the movie gets down to serious terror and atrocity barely a quarter of an hour in, and from that point on never lets up. The murders are extremely gory and among the most brutal of recent memory. The suspense will leave viewers clawing their flesh until they bleed. The resolution won’t satisfy everyone, but on balance, it worked for me. We have recently been deluged with so many films that either remake or ape the hardcore masterpieces of the 1970s, but here, at last, is the true inheritor of the mantle of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House on the Left. It doesn’t try to recreate their vibe. It simply applies their lesson: assault the audience without pity. This is one brutalized audience member who is profoundly grateful. Forget Saw. It’s The Brady Bunch next to this.
![Dio: Holy Diver - Live [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dio-holy-diver-live-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![High Tension [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/high-tension-blu-ray-large.jpg)
