Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2009
Dexter Morgan (Hall) is a forensic lab rat for the Miami-Dade Police. He really knows blood splatter. He should, because he moonlights as a killer. It seems that poor old Dex just can’t help himself. His parents were criminals, and he witnessed his mother’s brutal slashing by a chainsaw gang when he was just a young boy. He was adopted by Harry Morgan (Remar), a police officer. Harry saw the killer instinct in Dexter and taught him how to channel the urges for the sake of good. Dexter adopted Harry’s Code, which means he only kills others that he’s able to prove were killers themselves. Working for the police with his officer sister, Debra (Carpenter), Dexter is constantly just on the verge of getting caught.He has to adapt and evolve to avoid capture. Dexter’s also trying to have a relationship, mostly because he knows it helps him blend in. Buffy and Angel’s Darla, Julie Benz, plays Rita. Dexter doesn’t really feel anything, but he’s trying to act the way he sees others act in the same environment.
“Most actors toil in obscurity, never stepping into the spotlight. But, if you hone your craft, work diligently you might just find yourself cast in the role of a lifetime.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2009
The Untouchables took on a perhaps too convincing appearance of reality. Remember that the audience was made up of folks who grew up getting their news from newsreels at the local theater. It was a stroke of genius to have real life news reporter Walter Winchell narrate the series. Everything from that narration to the gritty dark photography carried a documentary style feel to every minute of the action. You can only imagine why too many Americans thought it was too violent. The show wasn’t too violent. It looked and felt too realistic. Robert Stack literally becomes the persona of Elliot Ness. The show was also based on a book that was co-written by Ness himself but was highly fictionalized by the time it reached millions of homes each week. In truth, Ness’s team didn’t exist long after bringing down Capone for tax evasion. In the series the team becomes a strike force of sorts against an entire mug book of criminals real and imagined.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2009
It’s a disc loaded with pilots. No, you won’t find any daring men and their flying machines here. These pilots owe more to Philo T. Farnsworth than The Wright Brothers. Farnsworth transmitted the first televised image in 1927. In case you’re wondering, that image was a dollar bill. These pilots follow in those footsteps; that’s because these pilots are television shows. They’re the first episodes of some of the best action series to appear on CBS over the last few decades. Going back as far as the 1960’s, these shows represent a nice cross section of television action entertainment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 23rd, 2009
This is a new release of the film, and its main interest, for those who already have a copy, is the meatier set of extras (even though some on the other disc are now gone). As for the film itself, what I said before still goes, so once again, I quote myself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 21st, 2009
Shortly before World War II, British officer Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon), vacationing in Bavaria, puts his sterling hunting skills to use by framing Adolf Hitler in his gun sights. He pulls the trigger on an empty barrel, not really planning to perform an assassination. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he loads the gun, but is captured before anything history-changing occurs. The Gestapo leader Major Quive-Smith (George Sanders) wants him to confess to being an assassin working for the British government. Thondike refuses. He manages to escape, and Quive-Smith's forces (including the always sinister John Carradine) pursue Thorndike to England, where he falls in with innocent Cockney lass Jerry (Joan Bennett).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2009
In the first season of Showtime’s Californication, we were introduced to David Duchovny’s character, bitter yet upbeat writer Hank Moody. Hank, after moving to Los Angeles on the heels of his first novel - a critical darling entitled “God Hates Us All” - has recently lost his long-time love and, by extension, his daughter, to a straight-arrow bore who makes his girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) feel safe.
The first season told us the story of Hank’s attempts to win Karen back and his increasingly perilous relationship with a sixteen-year-old Lolita whose inclination for combining sex with a wicked right hook leads to one of television’s all-time great novel titles. Oh yeah, and it also featured lots and lots of raunchy sex between Hank and many gorgeous women. This was a major reason for the show’s notoriety, but what really makes the show work is Duchovny’s portrayal of Hank. He imbues him with a charming kind of good-natured nihilism and, even when he is being a grade-A jackass, we still like him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 20th, 2009
“Unlike the rest of us, sex, lies, and scandal never take a vacation. Instead they take the Long Island Expressway and head East to the Hamptons. Some would say summer is their busiest season. Think Park Avenue, but with tennis whites and Bain de Soleil. The players change, but the game remains the same.”
And for fans of the series Gossip Girl, the place may have changed at least for the season two premiere, but it’s still the show that’s become somewhat of a guilty pleasure to so many viewers. The show picks up during Summer Break in the Hamptons for our East Enders, but don’t worry. They’re back in their East End familiar surroundings before too long at all. As the opening narrative implies, the game does indeed remain the same.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 20th, 2009
“Take hope from the heart of a man, and you make him a beast or prey. And the beast eats away at you if you’re not careful. The beast will eat it all and you will have nothing and you are nothing.”
Patrick Swayze stars as Charles Barker, an FBI undercover specialist. He handles the deep cover missions, the kind that requires a total commitment to the mission. He’s the kind of agent that knows where the line is so that he knows where to cross it. He’s a grizzled veteran. His new partner is young Agent Ellis Dove, played by Australian actor Travis Fimmel. Ellis is a bit uncomfortable with Barker’s all in approach. Still, he’s a loyal student and will do what it takes to catch the bad guys. The two agents are handled by an agent named simply Conrad. Conrad is played by everyone’s favorite comedy relief from the new Mummy films, Kevin J. O’Connor. He was the cowardly rascal Beni in those first two films. Each episode brings us a special set of circumstances where the FBI feels Barker’s special brand of work ethic might work. Still, the feds are a bit worried about just how far he has gone over that line. They try to get Ellis to snitch on his new partner to no avail. Larry Gilliard, Jr. plays Ray, the persistent internal affairs agent who wants the goods on Barker.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2009
You know, I was watching this episode of the popular Showtime series Dexter the other night. There was this murder victim who had taken off work early to go and see a romantic comedy with his girlfriend. He ended up getting his head bashed in and dead. Is it saying something about my own bias that the first thing that came to my mind was that it was a lucky thing he got his skull caved in before he had to go to the romantic comedy? Romantic comedies. Chick flicks. Date movies. Whatever it is that you want to call them, ladies, they are the stuff of nightmares for your significant others. It might appear to be harmless enough fun for you girls out there, but for your guy? I guarantee he’s squirming in his seat the entire time. You do know that he doesn’t really have a bladder problem, don’t you? There’s a reason he has to go to the bathroom 20 times in those 2 hours. It’s even worse when we’re watching them at home. Here’s a helpful dating tip: Don’t ask him if he wants you to put it on pause on one of those 20 bathroom breaks. It might also be advisable to keep any sharp objects, firearms, or prescription drugs out of reach of your guy during date movie nights. There isn’t a guy out there who wouldn’t opt for a painful visit to the emergency room over another hour watching a romantic comedy. We’ll do it; after all a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do. Just don’t forget the poor sap deserves to be amply rewarded when the film’s over. Now if you’re a guy and you find yourself, like me, watching this one by yourself…. not that there’s anything wrong with that… I hope you have a good reason. Mine is to write this here review. Just another bullet I take for you, my gentle readers.
Andie Anderson (Hudson) writes the “How To…” column for Composure Magazine, the fastest growing women’s magazine in the country. You know the kind of articles I’m talking about here: “How to talk your way out of a ticket”, “How to lose weight in 5 Days And Still Eat All You Want”. It’s those female lifestyle burning questions. But, Andi wants to write about more serious issues like politics and religion. Her editor (Neuwirth) promises her a shot at writing about what she wants if she turns in a killer article. She decides to call it “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days”. It’s a kind of dating tips in reverse. She’ll get a guy into her and then begin to pull out all of those don’t do’s in a relationship: acting clingy, whining, feminizing his apartment, dragging him to a Celine Dion concert, and one she forgot: taking him to see How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. Enter Ben Berry (McConaughey). He’s an ad executive who wants to land a hot new diamond account. He’s got to convince his boss and a couple of female coworkers that he understands women enough to lead the campaign. He makes a bet that he could get a woman to fall completely in love with him in just, you guessed it, 10 days. His coworkers will pick out a woman at random, and that’s Ben’s target. You already know where this is going, don’t you? The two hook up and begin their cross purposes campaigns, each without the other knowing. The usual romantic comedy moments ensue, and the two genuinely fall in love with each other. It’s all leading to the big diamond gala 10 days later. Both bosses are in attendance, and the secrets get out with the expected results.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2009
I think it started with the writers’ strike and somehow got out of control on this series. None of these sets represent actual seasons, which is why the releases are called chapters. The first two chapters represent the times before and after the strike from the show’s first year. I kind of understand how that might work out. What I don’t quite get is why it is now continuing. This chapter includes the first episode of the second season and stops with the tenth, even though the season actually included 22 episodes, all of them aired before the release of the DVD’s. There doesn’t appear to be any reason to spread out these releases except to capture a couple of extra bucks from the fans. To be fair, there was a five month gap in the episodes where this chapter ends, but it is still considered by every episode guide I could find as all part of the second season. The question for fans has to be, when will they see the other 12 episodes on DVD?
The concept would appear to be slightly misplaced on ABC’s Family Network. The prerequisite underage drinking and promiscuous sexual lives don’t appear to be the best “family” entertainment. We don’t get even halfway through the pilot episode before we’re already charting those waters. To be sure, Greek is no Animal House, and the atmosphere is toned down considerably, but the issues remain, and this is not a show for the kiddies. The story is very much like a soap opera. Casey (Grammer) is a sorority sister for Zeta Beta Zeta, and after two years is a woman on the rise. She’s dating the rich and handsome Evan (McDorman) and is in line to be the next House president. Her life is about to change when her nerdy brother, Rusty (Zachar) arrives at college. In his hope to experience college life and shed some of his geek reputation, he decides to rush a fraternity and enter Casey’s perfect world. Casey’s other problem is Zeta Beta Zeta’s own new pledge in the form of Rebecca Logan (Vadsaria), the spoiled daughter of a US Senator and rival for Evan’s affections as well as the future House leadership. To further complicate matters, Rusty has pledged Omega Chi Delta, which is led by Casey’s former boyfriend, Cappie (Foster). Most of the episodes deal with the crossover of these various worlds, and there’s a ton of competition not only between the houses but the characters. The show is all about the parties and the rivalries. There’s an interesting enough group of supporting characters, all well cast, which make this series a little more interesting than it really should be.
![Dexter: The Complete Third Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dexter-the-complete-third-season--large.jpg)
![How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/how-to-lose-a-guy-in-10-days-blu-r-large.jpg)
