Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2010
In the 2006 hit The Devil Wears Prada there was a single line that summed up Meryl Streep’s pitch-perfect portrayal of icy fashion editor Miranda Priestly: “That’s all.” The real-life inspiration behind the character, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, has such a commanding presence that even those few words are hardly necessary. Her disapproval is apparent with a single glare.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2010
Hellhounds is the tale of Kleitos and Princess Demetria—a “Greek” soldier and his bride to be. When Demetria is poisoned on their wedding day by a jealous friend, Kleitos enlists the help of a witch to travel to Hades and retrieve his bride’s soul. The soldier and his loyal friends—each with their own unidentifiable accents—make their voyage into the underworld only to face the wrath of Hades’ hounds when they arrive. They must escape with Demetria’s soul and reunite it with her physical body before Hades claims her as his bride. All the while, the four-legged beasts are hot on their trail for a taste of blood.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 27th, 2010
Several years ago, I went through my divorce. We were clearly not made for each other and spent many nights arguing over the simplest things. Despite our constant bickering, our divorce went reasonably smooth and we were able to agree on most things. Thankfully, we did not have kids to further complicate the proceedings. However, if we did have kids and had arranged dual custody, I wonder if it would have turned out like Gary Unmarried: Season One.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 26th, 2010
Every seven years, thirty assassins descend on an unsuspecting city and slaughter each other, all the while being observed by hijacked security cameras for the benefit of the high rollers who are betting on the outcome. The previous winner was Ving Rhames, and he thought he had walked away from the life after that tournament. But then his wife was murdered, and he learns that the killer is in the new contest (taking place this time in England). Also taking part is the fatalistic Kelly Hu, who winds up being the reluctant protector of drunken priest Robert Carlyle, who even more reluctantly has become a long-shot competitor in the tournament after accidentally swallowing a tracking device that paints him as a legitimate target.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 26th, 2010
For all intents and purposes, it appears just like any routine Fall day throughout the world. People are busying themselves about their normal concerns. Suddenly everyone on the planet blacks out for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Just think about that part for a moment. Every human being collapses at the same moment. Think about all of the things that people are doing at any given moment. Driving cars. Flying planes. Performing delicate surgical procedures, or just walking across the street. Pretty much any activity is going to become dangerous as the blackouts occur. 20 million people worldwide die in the event.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 25th, 2010
Oh how the rich can get into mischief. This DVD set is smack dab in the middle of Dynasty’s successful nine season run. The mud slinging, both literal and figurative, was at its height in this fourth season, and no $200 haircut or $1000 outfit was left unruffled by the various scandals and plots set into the web of these wealthy Denver residents. In fact, this season was the one and only time this series won a Golden Globe for best TV Drama.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2010
William Conrad was no stranger to audiences when Cannon joined the Quinn Martin stable of television dramas. In fact, most folks knew his voice before they got to know his trademark girth. Conrad was the original Matt Dillon when Gunsmoke was a radio drama. When the drama entered the visual medium of television, even Conrad admitted later that the audience, who thought of him as tall and handsome, would have been disappointed. His voice lent authority to any role he played, and on radio his size was never an issue. He was famous as the voice of the stern narrator in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons who often crossed the laws of the trade and interacted with the title characters.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2010
Just to look at it you would think that My 3 Sons was a Disney production. Its star Fred MacMurray had appeared in many Disney films of the 50’s and 60’s and is most likely recognizable from those appearances. Two of the three boys were also known for work with Disney. The eldest boy, Mike, was played by Tim Considine, who starred with MacMurray in Disney’s The Shaggy Dog. Middle son Robbie was played by a former Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer, Don Grady. The youngest son, Chip, was played by Stanley Livingston, the only non Disney alum in that group.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2010
Night Court appeared on the docket at NBC in 1984 and was to last 8 seasons. If you thought it looked and sounded a lot like Barney Miller, you won’t be surprised to learn that a number of key people, including creator Reinhold Weege, came from that classic cop comedy. Several key elements of Miller can be found in Night Court. The themes are almost identical, with both beginning with an easily identifiable bass run. The most important imported element from Miller was the constant parade of the kookiest and craziest criminals this side of the Cuckoo’s Nest.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2010
So what’s the Scooby Gang up to this time, you might ask. We meet Velma’s younger sister for the first time here. Young Madelyn has been off studying magic at the Whirlin Merlin Magic Academy. It seems a giant mythological griffin has been stalking the halls of the old school. So who ya gonna call? Scooby and the gang conduct the usual investigation, uncovering the usual suspects.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 23rd, 2010
They say that history is written by the winners. The winners are the ones who fought and the ones who conquered this great land of ours. In reality, history comes from all walks of life, it is unfortunate some are not able to write about it. But once in a while, you find people out there who are able to collect the ideas and tales and weave them into a book. That book will then sell many copies and influence a generation.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 23rd, 2010
Nia Vardalos casts herself across from her My Big Fat Greek Wedding love interest James Corbett, in an attempt to rekindle the magic that was the unlikely Big Fat phenomenon. As star, writer, and director, the weight of the film falls onto her shoulders and thankfully she has enough carry to drag a rather sparse plot from beginning to end with a some genuine laughs.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 22nd, 2010
Eddie Sutton (Russell Hornsby) is an idealistic police officer, dreaming of making a real difference. His family (nurse wife and three kids) is currently living in a too-small apartment. The chance to kill two birds with one stone comes up with a program that encourages officers to buy homes in depressed neighbourhoods, and so Eddie moves his family into a spacious former crack house in the titular LA district. Things, as one might expect, are not easy. Eddie discovers (to his unaccountable surprise) that his new neighbours are suspicious of the police. His son is bullied in school. The girls have their own problems fitting in. And crime keeps rearing its ugly head. But as the series progresses, Eddie and his family make of their new house, and its neighbourhood, a real home.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 21st, 2010
Greetings here from your favorite neighborhood reviewer and Spidey-expert: the infamous Kedrix. I certainly have a habit of appearing whenever there is a Marvel or DC superhero involved, especially if the source material happens to be animated. Needless to say, when the opportunity to review Spectacular Spider-Man both volumes 6 & 7 came available, I jumped to the task. Somehow, we missed Volume 5 (I have seen the first four), but I’m sure we can pick right back up and get to the spectacular action. (one paragraph in and we are already using bad puns, tsk tsk)
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Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 20th, 2010
Steven Seagal plays an LA cop who is forced into early retirement after being betrayed and shot by his partner. After an astounding recovery, which included blasting his partners brains all over the hospital walls (I’m assuming it was part of his rehabilitative therapy), he is hired by an old friend to be the head of security for his friend’s daughter. This family is linked to some bad dudes who are keen on uranium and kidnapping, so Seagal is forced to slowly shoot everyone near him while mumbling something about being a tough guy or whatever.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 17th, 2010
Director Robert Altman here adapts David Rabe’s play about a small group of recruits on the verge of being shipped off to Vietnam. The action takes place entirely in the barracks, and here we get to know African-American Roger (David Alan Grier), fitting in as best he can in a white man’s army; sensitive and gay Richie (Mitchell Lichtenstein); and possibly-closeted Billy (Matthew Modine). They talk about and dance around their various fears and anxieties, and then into the mix comes the explosive Carlyle (Michael Wright), whose life on the streets and experience with racism have turned him into someone who talks and acts long before he thinks…
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2010
“In the 1940’s and 1950’s the juiciest roles for actresses in Hollywood were often in B pictures that explored the dark side of life, staring roles as cool, calculating girls who could stick a knife in a man’s back and make him like it.”
And so Sony collects 8 of these films as part of what looks like is going to be an ongoing series. But what exactly is Film Noir? You hear the term used from time to time, but what does it mean?
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2010
“During the 1980’s over 70% of American adults believed in the existence of abusive Satanic cults. Another 30% rationalized the lack of evidence due to government cover-ups. The following is based on true unexplained events.”
Here we go again; at least that’s what I was thinking as House Of The Devil started to unfold with the above introduction. I remember well the “Satanic Panic” that goes back to the early 1970’s. It was a somewhat natural extension of the Manson Family murders. While that might not have been Satanic related, it sparked the imaginations of a fearful country, and before long there were urban legends of human sacrifice and ritualistic slayings all over the country.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2010
Anyone who has come here long enough to get to know my likes and dislikes probably knows what a Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse fan I am. The man and the character opened the road for so much of what we have today, from Pixar to Tom and Jerry. But, if you’re looking for the kind of cartoons you and I have grown to expect, this one is bound to disappoint you. It’s an episode of the current television series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It’s an animated Sesame Street, however, and not really a cartoon adventure.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 15th, 2010
When the UK minister for International Development (Tom Hollander) has the nerve (not to mention lack of political acumen) to opine that war in the Middle-East is “unforeseeable,” all hell breaks loose. The pro- and anti-war bureaucrats in Washington see him as useful to their cause, and descend, talons outstretched. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications (Peter Capaldi), a Scot who makes Don King look even-tempered and restrained, goes into apoplectic overdrive in his attempts to keep everything on-message.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 15th, 2010
What we have here is, essentially, a great, heaping collection of public domain material from the classic comedy duo. The menu is as follows:
17 episodes of their radio show: The Abbott & Costello Show (1942-1949);
14 episodes of the Colgate Comedy Hour TV show (1951-54) with our boys as hosts;
20 trailers from 1940-59;
2 features films: Africa Screams (1949) and Jack and the Beanstalk (1952);
a WWII PSA: “The Autobiography of a Jeep”;
a collection of film and TV bloopers.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 15th, 2010
This film chronicles the career of Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, an NHL player for the Montreal Canadians, from his childhood days in a Junior hockey league, to the season in 1955 where his suspension from playing for the remainder of that season led to violent riots in Montreal. This film is more than just an examination of Richard as a French-Canadian citizen and legendary hockey player (many still argue as the greatest ever to play) but also a look at his impact as an icon and living legend to the people of Quebec.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 13th, 2010
Years after his wife’s unsolved murder, Norman Reedus has retreated within himself, carrying on a morose existence in a low-end apartment, gloomily taking part in unofficial greyhound racing. His neighbour, Emmanuelle Béart, is in love with him. Since Reedus is obsessed with solving the murder to the exclusion of any other human interaction, Béart decides to present him a solution. Based on the tiny bits of information Reedus has on the suspect, Béart picks cabbie Harvey Keitel as matching the profile well enough to make for a good target. She begins a relationship with him in order to put him in the frame and give Reedus, though murder, the catharsis he needs.
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 13th, 2010
“My old man calls space travel a fool’s game. He says human beings are 60 percent water; they eat, sleep, defecate, can’t follow directions, and explode like piñata when exposed to the vacuum in space. Lately, I’ve been wondering if he is right.”
Houston, this is Canaveral. Initiating prelaunch checklist. Please respond go/no go:
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Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 11th, 2010
Most people who call themselves friends of mine know that I absolutely adore the combination of John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. Escape from New York is my favorite movie of all time and I even liked Escape from L.A. as well. Now that my credibility is probably ruined, I was delighted to receive Elvis, a mini-series produced in the seventies that brought together this amazing duo for the first time. Kurt Russell is the King of Rock n Roll and I can’t help to enjoy watching.
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