Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 18th, 2009
The mutiny on the Bounty is one of those stories that carries with it the adventurous dreams and ambitions of a young child. It’s the smells and sounds of the high seas. The intrigue of a mutiny and the charismatic stature of an imposing captain, the image of sailor’s worst nightmares. Aye, Matey. There’s nothing like it. (We interrupt this review because apparently Gino has been reviewing the wrong film. Please accept our apologies for the misinformation – ed.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 17th, 2009
Pixar & Dreamworks have been monsters at the game of big budget film animation for quite sometime now. Many of us have enjoyed Shrek, Toy Story and countless others. Even their duds aren’t half bad. But there was bound to come a time when others need to share in the spotlight. In 2007, Filmax Animation, a Spanish company decided to release a film about a Donkey who has aspirations of being more than just another as... Sorry kids, I lost my place. It’s a film about a donkey who wants to be a horse, of course of course.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2009
Chris Rock has been one of those comedians that either hits a home run or strikes completely out. I’ve seen quite a bit of his stand-up and found I loved it or hated it. He’s not afraid to play the race card. Hell, Chris plays the whole dang deck at times, and Everybody Hates Chris is no different. The comedy is based, loosely I’m sure, on the young adolescent life of Chris Rock. It’s a black comedy that will bring back memories of those 1970’s shows we all watched as kids. Like Good Times and even Sanford And Son, the show is loaded with stereotypes. All of the white characters are bumbling fools who are often played as racists themselves.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2009
Jack Webb invented the modern television police procedural with the creation of Dragnet, first as a radio play and eventually as a successful television series. The series told the tale of a pair of L.A. detectives. There wasn’t any flair or action sequences. No car chases and no gun fights. When Jack Webb turned his attention to the patrol officer, he realized that some of that formula would have to change. But he wouldn’t tweak it very much. There was the occasional gunfire, but it was rare and was never the focus of any given story. Instead Webb concentrated on the actual procedures and duties of the everyday patrol officers,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2009
From the very beginning writer/director Matt Aselton wants to make a statement with his first film, Gigantic. The tiny title letters belying the largesse of the title itself right away appears to be telling you that the film will go against any expectations. It’s a brave independent piece of cinema that exhibits ton of promise and potential that is never fully woven together coherently enough to satisfy even the most art house of audiences.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 13th, 2009
Next month, my mom turns fifty-eight years young (I would say old, but I’m pretty sure she can still reach across county lines and wallop me one). She’s been around for quite a while and despite the typical things that age do to people, she’s still a kicking. This usually means gossiping to neighbors, clipping coupons and watching soap operas. My mom has watched a lot of soap operas including General Hospital, Young & The Restless and some night time ones too. The night time soap operas I speak of are of yesteryear like Dallas or Dynasty. That’s why when I saw “These Old Broads”, I knew in a minute who this release was aimed at.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2009
Unable to face life as a lawyer, having been pushed into law school by his father (Tom Hanks), Troy Gable (Colin Hanks, looking uncannily like his father) aspires to become a writer. In order to put food on the table, he becomes the road manager for Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a former big-name mentalist who now works half-empty theatres in towns Troy didn't even know existed. By turns charming and tyrannical, Buck keeps hoping for the big comeback and return to his Tonight Show glory days, and drags Troy along for a bumpy ride down the back roads of show business.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 13th, 2009
This is the story of two Vikings who are mistakingly left behind in Newfoundland in the year 1007. As these two find ways to survive, they encounter Irish monks and Aboriginal people, and these same encounters ultimately lead to rifts in their bond with each other. The beautiful landscapes become a backdrop for a sometimes violent look at the people who discovered North America centuries before Columbus or any other discoverer. Oh, and we also get bad translations of Old Norse, a lot of metal music and a scene of actual defecation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 13th, 2009
An American Affair is set in the early 1960’s. The John F. Kennedy administration is at the height of its popularity and yet there is still quite a bit of controversy swirling after the Cuban missile crisis. Adam Stafford (Cameron Bright) is a thirteen year old enduring the awkward years of his life when he catches a glimpse of his neighbor across the street. His neighbor is Catherine Caswell (Gretchen Mol) and she eventually hires Adam as her landscaper. Despite the enormous age-gap between Catherine and Adam, a friendship emerges. As the film continues, Caswell’s complicated history begins to return and the two of them become involved in the growing speculation about the JFK administration.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2009
“At the end of the Ice Age the machine came. It came from outside. It came from space. It came with one purpose, to change man into mutant.”
Mutant Chronicles was based on an old style role playing game. This was the kind where someone actually had to get out some paper and keep track of the game. Real old school. So now the property has been turned basically into a video game. Yeah, I know this is a movie review, but I just spend about an hour and a half feeling like I just watched somebody else play a video game, and not a very good one at that.
