Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2011
Simon Baker is riding high these days. Last year his new series, The Mentalist, was the highest ranked new drama of the year. That accomplishment got the show paired with CSI in that enviable Thursday night time slot. I’m amazed when I hear folks tell me how the actor appeared to come out of nowhere. A few film roles and he’s Mr. Television. Well, count me in with the small group that isn’t so surprised and saw him coming as far away as 2001 with a sleeper CBS series called The Guardian.
Baker played Nick Fallin, a talented young lawyer who just got busted for cocaine. Nick won’t see the inside of prison, however. His father, Burton (Coleman) is the senior partner at one of Pittsburgh’s most influential corporate law firms. Instead of jail, Nick is given five years probation and ordered to serve 1500 hours of community service. His court ordered assignment is Legal Services Of Pittsburgh, formally Children’s Legal Services. He’s placed under the charge of Alvin Masterson (Rosenberg), an idealist who set up the law clinic originally to speak for children who have no one else to do so. He’s resentful of Nick’s pampered lifestyle and at first wants to make the gig hard enough on him that he might ask to be assigned elsewhere. Eventually they warm to each other as Nick becomes more vested in the job than he thought he would be. Much of the show’s conflict is derived from Nick juggling these two worlds. He still has a duty as a shark attorney for his father’s firm, yet must find time to help these indigents and children that have come to the clinic for help.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2011
“The man is Richard Kimble, and, not surprisingly, the man is tired. Tired of looking over his shoulder, the ready lie of the buses and freight trains. Richard Kimble is tired of running…”
The elusive “one-armed man” is one of the best-known television icons of all time. The plight of Dr. Richard Kimball has been the subject of numerous imitations and even a feature film staring Harrison Ford as Kimball and Tommy Lee Jones as his pursuer. Tim Daly left the ranks of comedy to fill the shoes of Kimball in a very short-lived revival series. While some of these efforts managed to capture the essence of The Fugitive, none can truly compare to the real thing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 3rd, 2011
My teenage years were set firmly in the 80’s and early 90’s. As a result, I watched my fair share of cheesy television shows and loved every minute of it. Shows like Sledge Hammer, Silk Stalkings, and Alf. But alas, some shows even escaped my cheese-dar until well into my adult years. One such show is Zorro, yes that Duncan Regehr vehicle where he wore a mask and carved Z into various objects while wooing the ladies. How could I ever miss that one?
Since, I’m dealing with a box set that covers a ton of episodes, I will do my best to break this down season by season with major changes between them. To be honest, from what I’ve seen, the show’s story is the same from start to finish. Even though some of the actors do change, it’s still Duncan Regehr running around in a mask with a sword. Too frank you say? Ha, ha (in best evil guy’s laughing voice)!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2011
This series from Comedy Central began as a low-budget film hosting show in a small television station in Minnesota. It was the brainchild of Joel Hodgson. It ended up running for 11 years and a feature film version.
Mystery Science Theatre is an acquired taste. For me, I’ve really got to be in that certain mood to watch it. That’s the beauty of these DVDs. You pop them in when you’re ready. The idea is pretty whacked. Depending on the season you’ve got, Joel or Mike is trapped in space on the “Satellite of Love”. Doomed to spend his life watching very bad films, our hero makes the best of a bad situation. He uses his resources to construct a couple of robot pals. There's Crow T. Robot (Beaulieu), Tom Servo (Murphy), and Gypsy (Mallon). Part of an experiment together, they watch the films from the front row, constantly ranting throughout. If you’re like me, you’ve invited a few friends over to watch a schlock festival. The movies weren’t as important as the banter you created while watching. That’s exactly what you see here. The silhouettes of our host and his robots dominate the lower portion of the screen, where they provide alternative dialog and sometimes witty commentary on the action. The two evil station owners/mad scientists send them a new bad film each week to observe their reactions to the bombs. The films are broken up by off-the-wall skits and fake commercials to alleviate the tedium. This DVD collection is better than some because it includes films from four different seasons to give you a good sample of the overall series.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2011
"Contestants are experienced marksmen operating on a closed course. Do not attempt this at home."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2011
"No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny. He cannot glimpse his part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, he must live and learn. And so it will be for the young warlock arriving at the gates of Camelot. A boy that will, in time, father a legend. His name ... Merlin."
Merlin. You know the name. It conjures up images of a white-haired old man with a long gray beard and a long pointed hat. His story is indeed legend. In the myths of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, he is destined to be the mentor to the King of Camelot. We've all heard the stories of the Sword in the Stone and the Age of Chivalry. Perhaps it is totally appropriate that this telling of Merlin come from British television. England is, after all, the origin of the fanciful legends.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 29th, 2011
Westerns are fun movies to typically review because they usually don't deviate much from a basic formula. There is usually a criminal and there is usually a good guy out there to shoot that varmint. Technically, that is all there is to it. Furthermore, the budget (unless big stars are involved) is small, making for some creative storytelling. Today, we get to review an Australian western: Red Hill. Let's see if it differs from the typical American one.
We overlook a lush Australian landscape (aren't they all this way?) and pause to look at some horses. Suddenly, there is a disturbance in the distance and the horses run. Dun dun dun. Scene shift. Shane Cooper (played by Ryan Kwanten) is up and getting ready for first day of work. His wife, Alice (yes...Alice Cooper, played by Claire van der Boom) who apparently got her Frankenstein fed is very pregnant. They talk about his first day and soon he goes off to work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 27th, 2011
A young man wants to stimulate the economy of his tiny community, mostly for the sake of his parents struggling motel, and inadvertently welcomes what would become the original Woodstock festival into his back yard (literally).
Based on the true origins of this music festival that changed the world, we do not see the happenings of the stars onstage like other Woodstock films might. From beginning to the end, we only witness the muddy setup of the campsites and the infamously congested highway leading to the stage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 25th, 2011
Not quite a concert film, not quite a drama. This film follows a young man named Bruno, who sleeps with his life long crush, the night before she moves from Toronto to Paris. On this final night, Broken Social Scene are playing a free show and Bruno uses a connection to get backstage passes as a last ditch effort to win over his crush. All the while, we are treated to a multi camera view of that very same concert, running the duration of the entire film.
Some concert films separate the songs with behind the scenes moments of the band leading up to that same show, but here we are separated from all that with the fictional romance plot. As things progresses, the music does what a soundtrack is supposed to do, and highlights the emotions of the scenes it accompanies, but since we are privy to the live performance of that same soundtrack, the passion of the musicians playing syncs up with whatever the actors are doing or feeling. There is a symbioses between the concert and the drama, making each better than they ever would have been simply on their own.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 23rd, 2011
If one were to look at my media collection, one would probably assume in advance that I have a lot of stand-up comedians. On the contrary, I have only a few stand-up discs because I tend to be critical of their replay value. I have the classics such as Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, George Carlin as well as a couple of more recent acts such as Joe Rogan and Lewis Black. However, my curiosity was peaked when I heard about Louis C.K. He has been called the George Carlin of today, a very tall order. Well here is hoping that he lives up to most recent special: Hilarious.
The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was home to a Louis C.K. performance in April of 2009. For about 79 minutes he entertained a packed house of people with jokes on a variety of topics including the single life, misused words and being a divorced dad with a couple of children. The show did so well that it was even made into movie theaters across the country as a limited engagement. Eventually it found its way into our homes for everybody to enjoy.
