Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 4th, 2005
Wes Anderson has been a breath of fresh air since he hit the Hollywood scene in 1996 with his first feature length film Bottle Rocket. Since then, Anderson has continued to stretch the imagination of film-goers with fabulous films such Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and now with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). Anderson’s films are not for every joe-schmo film fan; his work could even be described as an acquired taste. But from a creative and visual perspective,...Wes Anderson’s work stands by itself.
Anderson has a thing for using actors that he is comfortable with, so in The Life Aquatic, we see many return actors from his previous films – Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, & Anjelica Huston. Fresh to this film, and with a good chance of appearing in future Wes Anderson projects, include Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, & Jeff Goldblum. With a cast that reads as a whos-who of Hollywood, how could this film not be entertaining?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 2nd, 2005
Starting way back with The Simpsons, working up to King of the Hill, growing into Futurama & Family Guy, and now spawning American Dad, Fox sure does know the market of primetime animated TV; and the driving force behind the huge popularity of these shows comes down to DVD releases such as this. Not only have more fans come out of the woodwork since the incarnation of TV on DVD releases, these fans have also driven Fox to push forward with this genre of programming.
K...ng of the Hill was Fox’s second foray into the primetime animated marketplace. While it will never reach the levels of success that The Simpsons has, it will still live on for years as the best Redneck animated show on TV. You’ve just gotta love this show. The characters are hilarious with their off-beat behavior, and the storylines are all so bizarre that they are oddly captivating. Season three continues to tell the story of Hank Hill, his family, and his friends/neighbors. From lawn mower focus group to deer huntin’ dilemmas, Hank and those who surround him will keep you laughing all the way though the season.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2005
The third season of Starsky and Hutch offered some changes from the first two seasons. Two-parters were a little more prevalent, the tone was often more serious, and the light banter remained as did Huggy Bear’s schemes and dreams. Still, the actors were looking to stretch their thespian muscles in the third year.
The writers took more chances and the stories were far more intense. One of my favorite episodes begins the third season. The two-parter Murder On Voodoo Island featured prominent guest star Joan Collins. The body count on this one is likely one of the series’ largest, albeit without as much gunplay. In the 70’s this one was a bit spooky for the young crowd. Another intense two-parter was The Plague. Today the deadly disease plot is used by almost every series around long enough to run out of original ideas. In the 70’s this kind of epidemic scare was usually reserved to medical programs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005
When first reading the synopsis of Control I thought that it would be something similar to the Michael Keaton-Andy Garcia movie Desperate Measures, and how violent criminals can be reformed somehow. Lee Ray (Ray Liotta, Goodfellas), a convicted criminal sentenced to death, is offered the chance to start life anew with the help of counseling from Dr. Copeland (Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man), along with some behavior suppressing drugs.
And of course, Lee Ray resists at first, but soon g...ows to appreciate what the drugs can do for him. He eventually is released to the outside, where he finds a job and meets a girl he’s crazy about (Michelle Rodriguez, Girlfight). He finds remorse about a man he’d disabled and attempts to make peace with him, but the man’s brother (and other criminal elements), soon come back to haunt him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005
Very few sitcoms have the endurance to last nine seasons. Everybody Loves Raymond shares their long-running tenure with comedy heavyweight shows such as Friends, Frasier, & Cheers. Not even Seinfeld lasted nine seasons… it fell short, ending after eight. That says a lot for this show; I guess everyone does love Raymond.
All 26-episodes of the complete third season of Everybody Loves Raymond are included in this set. The episodes are all very entertaining; from “The Invitation” all the way to “How They Met”. If you haven’t had that chance to check out this show, now is your chance. So, what is this show about? I will let Warner Bros. give you a little synopsis… “Standup comedian Ray Romano stars as Ray Barone, a successful sportswriter who deals with his brother and parents, who happen to live across the street. Patricia Heaton ("The Goodbye Girl"), Peter Boyle ("While You Were Sleeping"), Doris Roberts ("Remington Steele"), and Brad Garrett ("Gleason") round out the stellar cast.”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005
E. B. E. was a first season X-Files episode. For the most part it was very much like any other episode in the early years of the hit series, except it wasn’t. The story introduced us to three of Mulder’s friends/contacts, The Lone Gunmen. Basically Frohike, Langly, and Byers were your typical 80’s dot com geeks who used their computer skills to seek out government conspiracies instead of striking it rich. They self-published a tabloid paper that revealed all to a small conspiracy obsessed following. The appearance was always intended as a one time deal. One of the show’s DP’s, Tom Braidwood, was tapped to fill the shoes of Frohike. Who could have imagined that these throwaway characters would become so popular that they would become a staple on the rising series. They were a perfect comedic touch to a series that often took itself too seriously. In their own words their ideas were even weirder than Mulder’s Finally in 2001 the boys got their own show. Unfortunately the series only lasted 13 episodes.
Note should be made of the pilot episode. If you are very sensitive to the events of 9/11 you should seriously consider not watching this episode. The plot involves a shadow element in the government attempting to crash a jetliner into the Twin Towers. The episode aired barely 6 months before the tragic reality. This sad coincidence has since delayed the release of this worthy show as studio execs debated the impact of the story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 1st, 2005
As I always say when I review HBO television sets… you gotta love HBO. Entourage cannot be placed in the same family as Six Feet Under or The Sopranos, but it still can hold its own against the offerings from other networks. Not only do you get a good show, but you also get the benefits of a cable broadcast… adult language and nudity. Who could ask for more from a TV show?
Produced by “Marky” Mark Wahlberg, this is the story of a guy from Jersey who make his way to Hollywood to make ...t big in the movie biz, and his entourage of friends that follow him to live off of his success. Vince is a hot new actor, who just released his first big film in which he costars with Jessica Alba. Vince’s best friend, Eric, manages his career, even though he has no other experience then common sense. Turtle is another friend of Vince who seems to be there to run monotonous errands and provide comic relief. Lastly, Drama is Vince’s half-brother, a fellow actor who is now a has-been trying to get his career back on track. All four of these fools live together in a rented mansion, looking for girls and a way to burn through Vince’s cash.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 1st, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 28th, 2005
Synopsis
Each disc uses a Mickey Mouse cartoon to teach children the basics about such topics as language, geography and numbers. “Mickey’s Seeing the World” uses the cartoon “Mickey’s Around the World in 80 Days” to these ends, while “Reading & Math Fun” uses the much older “Mickey and the Beanstalk” the cartoons are interrupted periodically to put them to educational use in the form of games. This is so far out of my field of expertise that I can’t pretend to evaluate how well this content works, t...ough it strikes me that the educational stuff is sparse and simplistic, and I note on Amazon some very disappointed comments from parents.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 28th, 2005
Sony once again hits us with not only a double dip, but a triple dip release of xXx. What started out as a Special Edition, evolved into a Superbit release, and has now ultimately become the Uncensored Unrated Director’s Cut of the film. What is different this time around you ask… well, you get 8 more minutes of action and skin.
Let me guess… you want more specifics don’t you? Well here is what has been added… The scene with the girl “dancing” in Xander’s room has been extended. The...single girl in Yorgi's bed turns into three naked girls. The gunfight at the end has been extended. And a scene has been added with a young girl talking to Xander on a plane. Each of these scenes can be viewed in the Deleted Scenes section on the Special Edition release.
