Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2006
When did it become mainstream to root for the bad guys? Certainly our pop culture has been propagated with colorful villains since Shakespeare, goons we love to hate or even just love. Still, the rule always seemed to be that the white hats always win and the black hats get what’s coming. Maybe it all took hold with The Sopranos. We all became enamored by this lovable teddy bear of a guy in Tony. We don’t have to spoil it by pointing out he’s a killer, adulterer, and all-star criminal sociopath. The Shield places us ...quarely in that same situation. Vic Mackey has a lot in common with Tony Soprano. He’s guilty of the entire litany just made. Even worse, Vic carries a badge. So why do we love him so much?
The answer most certainly lies in the compelling writing both of these shows share. Perhaps we’re not so much in love with Tony or Vic, but the stories that are told around them. It just might be that superior drama rivets us to our sets. We root for the bad guy because, to be frank, when they go down the ride’s over. As with The Sopranos, we don’t want our moments with The Shield to end. Therefore Vic simply has to stay just one step ahead of his just desserts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 3rd, 2006
Note: the following synopsis contains brief spoilers. Only read this first section if you know have happens in season four.
Nominated for 25 Golden Globes and 110 Emmys, including 7 for Outstanding Drama Series, ER has long been one of the best prime-time shows on television. Premiering in September 1994 on NBC, the hour-long hospital drama vividly illustrates the intensity and fast-paced stress endemic to hospital emergency rooms across America. Brought into being by Michael Crichton - famous Hollywoo... insider, novelist, and brains behind such films as Jurassic Park, Twister, and Timeline – ER fulfills its creator's ultimate vision (it took over a decade of pitching the show before network executives bit) for a close-to-life glimpse of the technology and the humanity omnipresent in the ER. Since its inception, many cast members have passed through the halls of ER, many of them having gone on to become big stars in Hollywood.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 3rd, 2006
Synopsis
The Stiffler character from the Amercian Pie movies has, it turns out, a younger brother, who is also a loathsome creep. After sabotaging the high school band’s performance, his punishment is to attend band camp himself. He makes the best of a bad deal, planning to videotape raunchy goings on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 2nd, 2006
Synopsis
Julian Morris is the new guy at an exclusive high school. Exclusive, presumably, because all the students look five to ten years too old to be high school students. At any rate, he falls in with the hip crowd, led by ice queen Lindy Booth, and they decide to play a game with the rest of the student body by sending out a hoax e-mail leading all and sundry to believe that a serial killer is loose on campus. But then it begins to appear that there IS a killer, and that he isn’t too happy about ...he hoax.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006
One of the few positive side-effects of the popular era of reality TV that we live in today is that the desire for the real has also crossed over to film. This has provided an excellent opportunity for documentary filmmakers to get their product seen by a large audience that just a few short years ago would never have taken the time to watch a documentary film. In fact, documentaries have become so mainstream that Murderball is produced in association with MTV Films. While a wheelchair rugby documentary sounds...like something that is ideally suited for the typical middle-aged PBS viewer, this film is rife with themes that will strike a chord with viewers from many different backgrounds.
This is not a film about sports. This is certainly not a film about feeling sorry for those less fortunate. This is a film about drive, about living life to the fullest, and about speaking your mind no mater what the consequences. It is not pretty, it's not sexy... in fact, some parts of it will probably make viewers downright uncomfortable. That's the point of this film. To make viewers look past their limits and preconceived boundaries, and to see the world and their place in it as something more than it is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006
Synopsis
After an unsuccessful exorcism ends with the death of its subject (Jennifer Carpenter in the title role), priest Tom Wilkinson is charged with negligent homicide. The prosecutor is a devout Christian (Campbell Scott). Wilkinson’s lawyer is the agnostic Laura Linney. As the court battle progresses, we witness Carpenter’s story in flashback, with her possession beginning while she’s away from home in college. Linney, at first dismissive of Wilkinson’s claims, gradually finds her peace of mind ...rumbling as she begins to witness strange events.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006
Synopsis.
Working in the comedy salt mines, looking to break out into the superstardom they so richly deserved, Bob Odenkirk (The Larry Sanders Show) and David Cross (Men In Black) were hard at work doing writing for other shows, including Saturday Night Live, before finding one another. The two worked together, writing for the short-lived Ben Stiller show on Fox in the early 90’s, and a friendship bloomed, along with a working relationship. After doing some nightclub appearances, an ex...cutive offered them the chance to shoot a small group of shows for HBO. For lack of a better title, they called it Mr. Show, a sketch comedy series unlike any other. Maybe the words of Odenkirk may help, from bobanddavid.com:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Having zipped through The Emperor’s New Groove awhile back (yes, I have Disney DVDs), I was somewhat familiar with the story and the cast behind it. I was aware that the original film enjoyed some theatrical success, but I didn’t understand why the film necessitated a sequel. But here I am, trying to wrap my head around the logic for this sequel.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 31st, 2005
The first Deuce Bigelow film was something of a surprise hit. Rob Schneider's first outing as a leading man was never expected to be as, well... genuinely entertaining as it was. Sure, the movie was a little hokey, but that was to be expected. After all, we're talking about a film that tells the story of a pool boy that becomes a gigolo. What was not expected was that the film would actually have a heart. As would be expected, the film had its fair share of comedy, but the tender love story was unexpected and ...enuine. Could lightning really strike twice?
In a word, “no”. This is the film that audiences were expecting the first time around. It is childish, contrived, and decidedly low-brow, with none of the genuine affecting elements of the first film. This time around, as the title suggests, Deuce spends some time in Europe; Amsterdam to be exact. No longer a gigolo, Deuce is now helping out his old pimp TJ by trying to catch a serial killer of “man whores”. As bad as that plot sounds, trust me... it's worse. So many of the jokes just make no sense. For instance, at one point TJ finds some french fries just lying around, and decides to eat them. He then accidentally drops them into the toilet. Naturally, he then dips them out and eats them. Why would he do that? What's more.. who cares? Certainly not me.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 31st, 2005
Synopsis
Jennifer Connelly is going through a messy divorce with Dougray Scott. They are feuding over the custody of their daughter. Trying to piece her life together, Connelly rents an apartment in a down-at-the-heels building on Roosevelt Island in New York City. A leak develops in her ceiling that keeps getting worse. Her daughter develops an imaginary friend. The supernatural events gather force, apparently determined to drive her out of her mind.
