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DVD

Kim Possible – The Secret Files

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2003

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Follow along with Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable and Rufus the naked mole rat as they foil the plans of some seriously wacko bad guys and still make it home for dinner. We have three episodes as well as the very first episode from this popular Disney kid’s series.

Video

The transfer of this 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen format video is pretty good, it is not plagued with edge enhancements or noise. The story is a traditional cell animated cartoon and the video quality varies somewhat, at times…
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Osbournes – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2003

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Ozzy’s back! Jack, Kelly, Sharon, and of course Ozzy, have returned for a second season where they share their insane lives with all of the world; the result is a hilarious look at a functioning dysfunctional family. The shock and uniqueness of this show is waning somewhat, but it is still extremely entertaining to watch.

Video

Considering the source material, this set looks just fine. The picture quality is pretty standard “TV on DVD” fair, and the color levels and blacks are maintained…
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Absolutely Fabulous – Absolutely Special

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2003

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Absolutely Fabulous is a British series that aired on the BBC starting in 1992. The show stars Jennifer Saunders as Edina, who is a fashion-world publicist whom with her best friend Patsy, played by Joanna Lumley, tries to re-live their younger days by consuming large amounts of alcohol and drugs. Gotta love those crazy Brits! This formula worked well enough for 4 seasons of the show, which are now available on DVD. Apparently Rosanne Barr tried to convince the networks in the US to make an American version but they…
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It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2003

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Often family Christmas movies, while ambitious, often miss the mark with a weak story or bad acting. I was worried that a Muppet Christmas movie would follow in these footsteps. Additionally, some of the previous Muppet movies fell short of the comedic styling that resonated within a generation of kids like myself whom grew up with the Muppet Show. Thankfully I was disappointed on both accounts.

It’s a Very Merry Muppet Movie holds it’s own against the best of the family Christmas movies and in my mind riv…
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Leap of Faith

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2003

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I had never heard of this movie before and when I first saw it I thought, well here’s a Steve Martin comedy that I’ve never heard of (probably because it is really bad…). However, Steve Martin plays this role straight and in doing so brings a lot of presence to the screen. Leap of faith tells the story of a con man named Reverend Jonas Nightengale who has made a career of separating the poor and uneducated from their money. He is in the midst of a tour when his tour bus breaks down in the backwater town of Rustwater,…
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Dawson’s Creek – The Series Finale

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

Cards on the table: I never watched the show, and so didn’t have the faintest idea what wasgoing on. Here’s the case summary: “It’s five years later and Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jen and Jackare reunited in Capeside for Dawson’s mom’s wedding. But the celebratory mood comes to anend when they receive some heartbreaking news. As the gang faces a future more uncertain thanbefore, Joey struggles to come to terms with her true feelings for Dawson, Pacey and her currentboyfrie…
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Full Bottom – Not Another Half-Arsed DVD Set

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 5th, 2003

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Rik Mayall (Drop Dead Fred) and Adrian Edmondson are the stars in this British comedy about two obnoxious loaners at the bottom of the food chain. Follow along with Richie Richard and Eddie Hitler on their quest for love and money as they try out pheromones, dating services and visit the carnival. This DVD collection contains all three seasons of the show for a total of 18 episodes.

Video

This disc contains a 1.33:1 fullscreen transfer of very good quality. The putrid green color of Richie and Eddie’s apartment comes through in all its grimy glory.
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Dark Angel – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

Having been recaptured by the government at the end of the previous season (not to mentionalmost killed), Max (Jessica Alba) breaks loose at the start of this season. Also freed are otherexperiments, mutants who are very visibly mutants (their DNA was crossed with that of animals,for instance), ultimately leading to some very X-Men style battles with human prejudice. JamesCameron himself comes in to direct the final episode.

Audio

An energeti…
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Kids Are Alright, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

The Kids Are Alright is an combination of footage of performances by The Who(covering the fifteen years of their career up to 1979) and interview excerpts. There are all sortsof historic moments here, one of which occurs right off the top, where we see the band’sappearance on the Smothers Brothers TV show, where an overdone explosion set PeteTownsend’s hair on fire (and perhaps was responsible for his hearing loss). If you’re not a fan ofthe group, this will p…
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Christmas with the Simpsons

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

There are five episodes here, going all the way back to arrival of Santa’s Little Helper (in“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”) and featuring such classics as the “Mr. Plow” episode.Admittedly, that one has more to do with snow than Christmas itself, but what the hell. Sure, thisis pure marketing (and don’t bother if you’re already buying the complete seasons in boxed sets),but there’s plenty of comic gold here too.

Audio

The sound is 2.0, a…
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Forbidden Dance, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

Ubiquitous B-movie bad guy Richard Lynch is clearing the Brazilian rain forest. Nativeprincess Laura Herring (or, as she is now known, Laura Elena Harring) arrives in LA hoping toconvince the chairman of the evil multinational to halt the destruction. She falls in love with thechairman’s son, and lot of dancing ensues. Utterly inane. Harring went on to much better thingsin Mulholland Dr.

Audio

The 2.0 sound is decent but unspectacular….
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Smallville – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

The pilot episode lets you know immediately that this is going to be a bit different from thebucolic Smallville stories we might be familiar with. The spaceship containing the child Kal-El(soon to be Clark Kent) doesn’t arrive on its own: it is accompanied by many fragments of theplanet Krypton, which smash destructively into Smallville, killing the parents of Lana Lang (andalmost putting paid to a young Lex Luthor). Flash forward to the present, and we follow ClarkKent thr…
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Office, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

Set in a dismal industrial park (appropriately named the Slough), the offices in questionbelong to Wernham Hogg, a paper company. Principle characters are insufferable boss DavidBrent, skeletal yes-man Gareth Keenan, cynical receptionist Dawn, and bored-out-of-his-skullsales rep Tim. The characters each get their turn speaking to the camera (especially thepsychotically pleased with himself Brent), and we see them interacting too. The tone is not unlikeLarry Sanders, and the…
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The Hospital

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2003

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Arthur Hiller’s films are often quirky and funny like The In-Laws, but just as often confusing. The Hospital left me with a feeling that most of the material was over my head. At times Woody Allen, and at others Alan Greenspan. The jacket promises a look behind the scenes of the modern hospital. What we mostly get is a character study performed exceptionally by George C. Scott, but little else. Important subplots like the hospital’s takeover of a ghetto building are never really fully developed.
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Hollywood Homicide

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 2nd, 2003

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Synopsis

Harrison Ford is the veteran cop whose runs a real estate business on the side (and businessisn’t good). Josh Hartnett is his young partner who is thinking of givine up police work in favourof acting. Their current case involves a massacre at a night club, where the members of an up-and-coming rap group were gunned down. They investigate while trying to keep their alternatecareers going. More trouble lurks in the form of Internal Affairs investigator Bruce Greenwood,who has…
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Deranged

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 1st, 2003

Synopsis

JoBeth Williams plays radio host Dr. Rose. Turfed from her radio show, she moves fromsmall-town Eureka to LA (taking with her a mannequin with whom she has involvedconversations). She lands a new job at a small college, and starts making a name for herself.Unfortunately, she has no real qualifications, and is (as Williams twitchy performance makesclear from the opening seconds on) completely off her nut. When a skeptical student starts raisingquestions about her, Dr. Rose w…
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Better Luck Tomorrow

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 1st, 2003

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MTV film’s Better Luck Tomorrow is a chilling look in the high schools of today. It starts out like an 80’s teen comedy but by the middle of the film quickly turns into a Guy Ritchie style movie with quick cuts and even faster action.

The movie follows the story of 4 Asian high school students in Orange County California who are preparing to enter college. They all excel in academics and during the first half of the movie try to “pad” their college applications by engaging in many extra curricular a…
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Gas Food Lodging

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 1st, 2003

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Three women in small town Texas deal with their complicated lives. Nora Evans (Brook Adams) struggles with being a single mother raising two daughters. Trudi Evans (Ione Skye) is a rebellious trouble maker and very promiscuous much to the dismay of her mother, after getting pregnant and the father disappearing she moves to Dallas to have the baby and give it up for adoption. Her sister Shade (Fairuza Balk) justs wants everyone to be happy and does whatever she can to find her mom a man, including tracking down her re…
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Holes

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2003

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Disney has done a very good job bringing the children’s novel Hoels to the big screen (or little screen for this DVD release). This film contains a good story with some solid moral values being taught to the young viewers. The story and acting are both quite good, creating a film that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.

Watchers / Watchers II

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 30th, 2003

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Synopsis

The premise to both movies is pretty much the same: super-intelligent Labrador retrieverescapes from government lab and is pursued by evil Sasquatch/ape monster that kills anyone thedog comes near (the two are telepathically linked, you see). In the first movie, the dog hooksup with Corey Haim. In the second, with Marc Singer. The results are odd, rather like OldYeller meets Predator: Disney animal scenes mixed with eye-gougings. None of thisis particularly go…
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Fright Night Part II

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 29th, 2003

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Synopsis

Convinced, after therapy, that his previous vampire-fighting adventure was the product of adelusion, William Ragsdale returns to normal life. Unfortunately, he and horror host PeterVincent (Roddy McDowall, reprising his Peter Cushing/Vincent Price role) are targeted byvampire Julie Carmen, who wants revenge for the death of her brother. The comedy isn’t funny,and the horror isn’t scary. The film is slick, but is just barely a passable time-waster.

Audio

Old Grey Whistle Test, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 28th, 2003

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British Television has always done a good job of showcasing music with variety programs. The Old Grey Whistle Test is probably the best of these and over its 16 year run featured some of the most influential bands in the history of rock and roll. We are treated to 28 live performances by huge bands like U2, REM, The Police, Bob Marley and Bruce Springsteen as well as riveting performances by the likes of The Dammed, Tom Waits and Iggy Pop. This is a great disc for any rock and roll fan especially if you grew up in th…
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Howling V: The Rebirth / Howling VI: The Freaks

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 28th, 2003

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Synopsis

In Howling V: The Rebirth (**), a group of strangers gather for the re-opening of aHungarian castle, which has been shut up for 500 years. One by one they are killed off by a(barely glimpsed) werewolf, and there is a secret that ties them all together. Nothing tooextraordinary here, and werewolf fans will be disappointed by the monster’s next-to-zero screentime. This is, in fact, a throwback to the kind of movie involving much prowling around a darkcastle that Italy …
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Dio – Evil or Divine

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 28th, 2003

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Ronnie James Dio was at one time the leader singer for Black Sabbath after the departure of Ozzy Osborne. He went on to form his own band and they are still together making albums and touring, this is a show from the Roseland Theater in December of 2002. From a musical standing this is an old school 90’s metal band that are just as much about show as they are about the music, having said that the band is very tight and sounds very good. Musically, well it is up to you to decide if you like it or not but, on a perform…
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Gristle, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 27th, 2003

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Synopsis

Our starting point are two black medical assistants, who are lured by their dreams intoproviding some black-market kidneys. (One of them dreams of making a movie about “a blackgirl dying of cancer.”) They are supposed to meet two white guys (Secret Service men buying thekidney for a racist senator) at a suburban motel. Unfortunately, another deal is also supposed togo down at the same spot, this one involving two Cuban gangsters who are supposed to buy aload of cocaine from…
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