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.
Jack Malone (LaPaglia) was the tough-as-nails head of the unit. He had a degree in psychology and acted very much like a profiler at times. It was his job to direct the investigation unit. The team consisted of Vivian Johnson (Jean-Baptiste). She was a veteran officer and Jack's right hand. Danny Taylor (Muciano) had changed his last name to escape his family roots which included a habitual criminal brother and an abusive father. The unit was his way of starting a new life. Martin Fitzgerald (Close) was the son of a powerful senator and was always fighting to prove himself on his own merits. Samantha Spade (Montgomery) was the young attractive young woman on the team who had already had an affair with the married Jack but also had romantic ties to Martin. Unfortunately, she didn't do much to break the vulnerable female role.
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 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.
Cobra Industries is here to help the world by providing products that every man, woman and child can enjoy. They provide helpful pharmaceuticals to the world, they even bake a tasty apple pie. Cobra is so involved in the everyday activities that it is hard for anybody to imagine their lives without them. This explains why they are the perfect corporation to house a lot of secrets and have a very heavily armed security force. The more you know (rainbow flies across the screen).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2012
By 1978 the television detective model had been nearly complete and possibly already a cliché. Dan Tanna might have well been the complete model as far as the formula goes. It was almost as if you could go down a checklist and, like Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster, check off the necessary elements. The scripts could then almost write themselves, and you let the show fly on autopilot for three seasons or so until someone decides to look behind the curtain.
So let’s go down that checklist, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 16th, 2012
As one progresses as a reviewer, we come into contact with a wide variety of television shows. Some shows we even come to appreciate season after season. So, after I reviewed season 1 and 2 of Flashpoint, I was a little disappointed that I missed season 3. Later on, I would catch up obviously, but I was more than delighted to take on Season 4 when it came to my door. Thankfully, I was able to pick right up and continue to watch one of my very favorite shows of the last 5 years.
Since this site did not review Season 3, it is only fair that I recap the last few episodes before we break into the most recent string of episodes. The Other Lane saw Ed Lane’s brother Roy get caught up on the wrong side of the law. Jumping at Shadows saw a family under witness protection be exposed by corrupt police officers. Meanwhile, team leader Greg (played by Enrico Colantoni) gets to see his son Dean. Finally, Acceptable Risk puts the team under a microscope for spending too long on a killing spree.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 15th, 2012
"...So when I walked into the hair cutting place, I was taking a leap. But I wasn't doing it for a guy — I was doing it for me."
Season 2 of Felicity features Keri Russell getting one of the most infamous haircuts in TV history. When people think of super-producer J.J. Abrams and his television projects, images from Alias, Fringe and a little show called Lost probably spring to mind. On the other hand, a significantly smaller portion of weirdos the TV-watching population may think of the relationship dramedies Abrams has produced, such as What About Brian, Six Degrees and Felicity, by far the best of this latter group. (Then again, Felicity — co-created by Abrams and Matt Reeves — resorted to time travel towards the end of its run, so it probably has more in common with the producer's genre shows than you think.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2012
This series from Comedy Central began as a low-budget film hosting show in a small television station in Minnesota. It was the brainchild of Joel Hodgson. It ended up running for 11 years and a feature film version. Mystery Science Theatre is an acquired taste. For me, I’ve really got to be in that certain mood to watch it. That’s the beauty of these DVDs. You pop them in when you’re ready. The idea is pretty whacked. Depending on the season you’ve got, Joel or Mike is trapped in space on the “Satellite of Love”. Doomed to spend his life watching very bad films, our hero makes the best of a bad situation. He uses his resources to construct a couple of robot pals. There's Crow T. Robot (Beaulieu), Tom Servo (Murphy), and Gypsy (Mallon). Part of an experiment together, they watch the films from the front row, constantly ranting throughout. If you’re like me, you’ve invited a few friends over to watch a schlock festival. The movies weren’t as important as the banter you created while watching. That’s exactly what you see here. The silhouettes of our host and his robots dominate the lower portion of the screen, where they provide alternative dialog and sometimes witty commentary on the action. The two evil station owners/mad scientists send them a new bad film each week to observe their reactions to the bombs. The films are broken up by off-the-wall skits and fake commercials to alleviate the tedium. The collection includes two Mike and two Joel episodes.
If there is a theme to the set it is that three of the four films are from Robert L. Lippert.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 9th, 2012
The 2012 baseball season has started and this might be what we call a rough year. My team, the Phillies are 14-16 and 5 games out of first. What is worse is that going up and down the roster, I do not see too many familiar faces. Sure, there are injuries and sure there are over 130 games left, but I do not see it improving any time soon. But today is not about the Phillies, today is about a team that has been around for 50 years and is full of history. I present to you, the Houston Astros.
October 19th, 2005. The Houston Astros are one batter away from doing something for the first time, entering the World Series. But opposite them is the St. Louis Cardinals, and they are in Busch Stadium. However, fate would be with the Stros on this date as they get the final out and go on to the World Series. Then they got swept by the Chicago White Sox in four games. Whoops, but let us not dwell on that and concentrate on the good memories of Astros baseball.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 7th, 2012
When people think of super-producer J.J. Abrams and his television projects, images from Alias, Fringe and a little show called Lost probably spring to mind. On the other hand, a significantly smaller portion of weirdos the TV-watching population may think of the relationship dramedies Abrams has produced, such as What About Brian, Six Degrees and Felicity, by far the best of this latter group. (Then again, Felicity — co-created by Abrams and Matt Reeves — resorted to time travel towards the end of its run, so it probably has more in common with the producer's genre shows than you think.)
Anyway, we're here to talk about season 1. Felicity Porter (Keri Russell, in her star-making performance) is a smart, responsible California teen who suddenly decides to follow high school crush Ben Covington (Scott Speedman) to college at the fictional University of New York, despite the fact that Ben barely seemed to be aware of her existence prior to a brief exchange at their graduation. Season 1 follows Felicity throughout her freshman year as she tries to establish her independence.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 3rd, 2012
In terms of major conflicts involving the United States, the Korean War has sort of gotten the short end of the cinematic stick with American audiences. Most people can easily rattle off their favorite movies dealing with World War II, the Vietnam War or the U.S. Civil War, but when it comes to the Korean War the options are comparatively more limited. Off the top of my head, there's M*A*S*H, the original Manchurian Candidate, and Don Draper suffering one of the most famous cases of identity theft. (I realize Mad Men is a TV show, so forgive me for reaching.)
The Front Line — a fine, Korean-produced drama — attempts to present the final days (and hours) of the war on both an epic and personal level, and mostly succeeds.
