Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 23rd, 2010
The biggest troublemakers at Beaver High (get it?) are sent to a remedial school for the summer. There (wait for it), they make life miserable for the principal while (you're not gonna believe this) finding various ways to see the female students naked, not to mention getting it on with the (but of course!) sexy French teacher. It's hijinx and nudity, 80s style.
What we have here is a sequel to a cash-in on Porky's, which means there is hardcore porn out there that is more artistically ambitious. But having just made and argument (in my review of Joy) for the preservation of 80s travelogue erotica, I can hardly then turn my nose up at the teen sex comedy from the same period, now can I? Having said that, this is far from being the funniest or most interesting of that species. If you came of age in the 80s, you'll know every beat of this movie, and every tired punchline, by heart, even if you've never seen it. And if you didn't grow up then, you'll still see everything coming.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 23rd, 2010
Supermodel Joy (Claudia Udy) flits from man to man, never satisfied. There's the photographer who loves her, but he, it seems, is too much of a boy. Far more intriguing for her is the older man (Gerard Antoine Huart) she falls for, and keeps returning to, moth to a flame, despite his refusal to give up the other woman in his life. The root of Joy's problem seems to be twofold: she is haunted by the memory of having caught her parents in flagrante as a young child, and she is obsessed with her father, who left her when, again, she was very young.
So yeah, nothing creepy about the older man fixation at all, now is there? At any rate, this is glossy erotica cut very much from the same cloth as Emmanuelle, complete with pointless travelogue footage to show off all the location shots and half-baked philosophical musings about sex (or, more specifically, female sexuality). There is also a minor subplot involving Joy's nude shot as part of a campaign for the liberation of the aforementioned female sexuality, though this gesture towards feminism feels rather dubious, serving only as an excuse to get the heroine naked again. Well-produced though the film is, it lacks the narrative drive of something like The Alcove, meandering gently along to a rather abrupt conclusion. It is an interesting, semi-nostalgic reminder of the lost days of theatrical soft-core, but for sheer entertainment value, a dollop of Joe D'Amato-style sleaze will get you farther.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 22nd, 2010
Wolverine and the X-Men is the fourth time Marvel Studios have decided to animated the Uncanny X-Men into a show. Despite the successful runs of Evolution and the Animated Series, this show didn't quite fare so well. It only lasted the typical twenty six episodes that a lot of animated shows go through. However, Marvel has stayed true to the fans and released this sixth and final volume of the show chronicling the last three episodes.
Jean Grey has been kidnapped by unknown assailants. The X-Men look up and down for her captors but can not find them. However, with Wolverine's special sense of smell he realizes that Emma Frost, a fellow team member had something to do with it and locks her up despite until he knows more information. Cyclops protests but Wolverine is not having it. Wolverine proceeds to the room where they are keeping Charles Xavier who is in a deep coma.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 21st, 2010
Have you ever walked into a 2 hour movie with only half an hour left to go? It is not a picnic. The same can be said of a television show that is entering its fourth (and final) season and you haven't watched a single episode. That's the situation that presented myself with Ugly Betty. However, I have always found myself up to the challenge and we'll step into this adventure with our head held high.
In the final episode of season three, we see Molly (played by Sarah Lafluer) is dying. Betty (played by America Ferrera) and Marc (played by Michael Urie) are fighting over the position of associate features editor which is now vacant. The winner, Betty is decided on a coin flip conducted by Daniel (played by Eric Mabius) and Wilhelmina(played by Vanessa Williams). But as Betty settles into her new position, her boyfriend, Matt (played by Daniel Eric Gold) breaks up with her.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2010
"Tyger Tyger burning bright..."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2010
There have been a ton of specials to come out over the last few years dealing with some of the planet's extraordinary places and life. From The BBC to National Geographic, these specials have populated the science networks, and have even begun to shine in beautiful high definition. In just this last year I feel like I have been transported to some of the most spectacular sites on Earth and witnessed many of the most extraordinary creatures that inhabit this planet. Few of these places compare to the Great Barrier Reef that lies off the coast of Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef contains some of the most diverse collection of species on the entire planet, from the largest sharks currently roaming the seas to the tiniest micro-organisms which make up the coral, providing the superstructure of the reef itself. We've been there many times before, often in glorious high definition. That's what makes this Smithsonian special somewhat mundane, even if the subject is anything but. While the forty-some minutes do provide some great photography, it's nothing new. To make matters a bit more ordinary, it's all in rather unspectacular standard definition. The narration is one of the most bland that I can remember. Twenty years ago, this might have been quite a show. Today it is rather underwhelming.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 18th, 2010
In many ways Cougar Town appears to be Friends 20 or more years later. It's not just the fact that the former Friends star Courtney Cox heads the call sheet on the new situation comedy. There are a ton of other elements that appear to tie the shows together. Like the old NBC show, the core of this show is a tight group of friends. They have a lot of the same kinds of adventures and conversations as the old gang used to have. The big difference here is that the adventures and the talk come from an older, if not more mature, perspective. They still talk a little too much about sex, except now the characters are in their 40's, so the tone of that conversation has changed up a bit. Call it a 40's version of Friends meets Sex In The City.
I actually hadn't been familiar with the term Cougar until recently. I listen to Minnesota sports radio so that I can keep up with the Vikings even here in Tampa. One of the hosts a year or so ago got in trouble at a club event when he referred to the ladies in the audience as Cougars. He later did a show segment where he was trying to find out from listeners if the term was an insult or not. The audience was divided, so I still don't know if most women in this position consider the term derogatory or not. It basically refers to a woman at least in her 40's who dates men younger than herself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 16th, 2010
Reviewing schlock in my tenure here at Upcomingdiscs has reached a level of passion. When I was a much younger pup here, I abhorred the concept. Eventually, as I was fed some of the worst movies on record (and most of them weren’t even romantic comedies), I started to actually enjoy some of these and look forward to writing reviews. Then I got a most gracious gift in my review pile, my first Roger Corman flic. Like a new father, I gave out cigars, asked the doctor for the extra stitch, unwrapped Galaxy of Terror and went straight to work.
In a planet far far away called Morganthus, somebody runs through an unspecified desolate location. He sees dead people and is then attacked by some unknown creature. The space traveler is brutally murdered and we fade the black. The very next scene we move to another planet where two ancient people are playing some obscure game. One of these figures is simply known as the Master. They discuss the matter and the Master decides to send a ship to Morganthus.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2010
"This documentary is about a website that engaged in the commercialization of bondage and sado-masochistic imagery and performances. It in no way represents bondage and sado-masochism as practiced by many adults in their private lives."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2010
Do you believe that a numbers wizard can predict the most random of human actions with mathematical equations so accurately as to know where and when such a person will be? If so, then I suggest you put down that letter you are writing to Santa, finish eating that egg a bunny left for you, go to your pillow and pull together all of the loot you got from the tooth fairy, and plunk it down on season three of Numb3rs. No, that’s not a typo; apparently they believe that letters aren’t good enough to stand on their own, so they inserted a 3 where the e should be. Aren’t they so clever? Not. In the fairy-tale world of Numb3rs, all you need is an almost obsessive knowledge of math and the crooks don’t stand a chance. It’s almost unfair, isn’t it? Those poor criminals go about their carefully plotted crimes, unaware that everything they do is controlled by math. They live their lives oblivious to the fact they are at the mercy of a diabolical equation which forces their every move. In fact, I suspect some clever attorney somewhere is already preparing the “math made me do it” defense at this very moment. Soon our justice system will be forced to account for this undeniable force on our very destinies. I would go on, but I can’t… must… fight… numbers…
Don Eppes (Morrow) is a decorated FBI officer in charge of a unit of the local field office of the FBI. His brother, Charlie (Krumholtz) is a math professor at CalSci. His brilliant mathematical mind is called upon to help the Feds track killers and rapists. No matter how complicated the trail gets, when the going gets rough these guys call on Charlie. Agent David Sinclair (Ballard), the smart tough guy, and Agent Colby Granger (Bruno) the young upcoming agent. Charlie has professor Larry Fleinhardt (MacNicol) to guide him through his struggles. Both of the geeks are socially inept, and we are “treated” to their constant struggles to relate to others, particularly women. Why can’t they write an equation to fix that? Navi Rawat is Amita, a student of Charlie’s who remains to take a job at CalSci, possibly to remain near Charlie. Judd Hirsch is the father to the Eppes brothers. A new agent is added to the mix in the 5th year in Nikki Betancourt, played by Sophina Brown. The show is produced by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott, who have had far better luck on the big screen.
