Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 24th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
Most cartoons of the Saturday morning variety are written for kids and little else in mind, but every once in a while a show offers a little something extra. Pinky and the Brain is one such anomaly, providing plenty of great antics for kids, but even more for the grown-ups among us. It's full of parodies and Hollywood in-jokes that a 10-year-old could simply never appreciate. Strangely, as a 24-year-old, I felt very much within the target audience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 22nd, 2007
Every so often, a remake comes along that does the original proud. David Cronenberg’s The Fly is one. Philip Kaufman’s reworking of Don Siegel’s 1955 classic is another. For the three people out there who aren’t familiar with the plot, pods from outer space are replacing people with soulless duplicates. Donald Sutherland is the health inspector whose friend (Brooke Adams) is one of the early people to believe that someone close to her is no longer who he appears to be. Before long, Sutherland, Adams, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright are running for their lives.
The story of perfect paranoia is infinitely flexible, adapting itself perfectly to the tenor of the times (assuming, of course, the filmmakers are halfway competent). Kaufman’s film distinguishes itself from its predecessor by playing on our worst fears concerning big city anonymity and alienation, and by introducing the infamous pod scream, which leads to one of the most chilling final frames in film history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 22nd, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
I'll admit it: I'm confused. JAG was on television for an long time, 10 seasons in fact, which puts it in the company of a lot of truly remarkable shows. The current popularity of serialization probably accentuates the challenge, but it seems especially difficult for good dramas these days to make it into the double-digits.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 22nd, 2007
Although it arose from the talented minds behind The Muppet Show, this 1982 fantasy classic is no kids' film. While The Dark Crystal can be enjoyed by kids, it's a little too dark and a little too abstract for your average seven-year-old.
Set in "another world, in another time...in the age of wonder," The Dark Crystal represents a monumental creative undertaking, and the first live-action feature film to not have any humans appearing on screen. While this 25th Anniversary Edition release appears to be a quadruple-dip, it just might be worth your attention.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 20th, 2007
In August 1945, the world was transformed in the blink of an eye when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That act of destruction sparked the end of World War II, and the beginning of endless suffering for those who survived.
It was the first and only attack with nuclear weapons in our history, and the story of White Light/Black Rain is the reason it should never, ever happen again. Hundreds of thousands of people died as a result of the bombings, but when you meet the survivors, it seems that the worst victims were those who lived.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 18th, 2007
There was a time when break dancing was the hottest thing around. For this film, that time is 1986, when a talented young dancer goes too big in a dance contest, flips off the stage and winds up in a coma. He wakes up 20 years later, a grown man with the mind of a 12-year-old, an unhealthy passion for break dancing and a crush on the girlfriend he almost had two decades earlier.
With that premise, how can you go wrong? Plus, you know Kickin' It Old Skool is a righteous movie because it spells 'School' with a 'k.'
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 17th, 2007
Are We Done Yet? That's not just the title of this film, it's a form of the question you'll be asking repeatedly during the film's runtime, until you eventually reach a climax of desperation and cry out for all to hear, "For the love all that is good and pure in this world, when will it end?" Not soon enough, my friend. Not soon enough.
Should you find yourself watching this torturously stupid sequel to 2005's Are We There Yet?, all I can say is, you should have known better. While opinions about movies are subjective, this one's a special case that allows me to say with 100% confidence: if you liked Are We Done Yet? you deserve a big ol' smack upside the head.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 16th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
The Rat Patrol completely took me by surprise, mostly by virtue of the fact that I had no idea what I was in for. Before watching even one episode, I was already underestimating it in my head, imagining a program only slightly more serious than Hogan's Heroes and confusing the title with the stupendously unrelated Rat Pack.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 16th, 2007
Volume 4 of Warner’s Film Noir Classic Collection series raises the bar over its wonderful predecessors by doubling the number of movies on offer: ten this time around.
Very briefly:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 16th, 2007
Written by Evan Braun
I guess you could call this the epitome of good, clean, wholesome children's entertainment. It's hard for me to accurately say just how it rates compared to other similar programs, since I haven't seen anything like it for 15-20 years.
