Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 15th, 2010
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello began their career completely by accident. Bud Abbott had tried his hand at doing the straight man bit with limited success. One night in 1931 he was working as a cashier for a vaudeville company when Lou Costello's partner came down with an illness. The performer needed a stand-in, and Bud Abbott filled in for the night. It was a temporary gig, to be sure. A temporary gig that happened to last 25 years. The two continued to work together on stage. While the team certainly reused a ton of the classic routines of the era, there was something unique and clever about the duo. The natural way in which they fell into each other's lines was a rare sight, indeed. They eventually stood out for their ingenious word play, culminating in one of the most famous comic routines in history, Who's On First.
The pair next took their act to the airwaves -- radio airwaves, that is. They became a staple in the medium and eventually the highest paid performers in that industry. Films weren't really much of an option at first. They were still mostly silent, and while comedy thrived in that era, Abbott and Costello's brand of humor just would not have worked. But when sound became more economical and standard, the boys were thrown into the pictures. In 1940 they would star in a film called One Night In The Tropics. They would continue to make films for the next 14 years at an incredible pace. They made several films a year and were soon financing Universal studios with their output and box office income. Perhaps their most famous films were the monsters movies where Universal teamed their new moneymaker with the one before. In Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. would both reprise their famous Dracula and Wolf Man characters to the delight of fans of both franchises. Boris Karloff considered himself too old to don the heavy boots of the titular monster, which was played by Glenn Strange, who had performed the role in both House films. So he was still a legitimate part of the horror film cycle. The boys would get their chance to face Karloff later, not once, but twice.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2010
The SyFy Channel has been making original films for quite a few years. Unfortunately, they've mostly been known for their quite bad computer-generated f/x and rather silly plots and stories. It says quite a lot to me that I'm such a huge horror/science fiction fan but have never found one of these original movies to be even remotely good. Instead, I've found myself wincing with each new ridiculous script and every unimaginable lame creature the series has presented. The Maneater Series has been as guilty as any of the themed series in their efforts.
It's the old West, 1898. Sam (Marsters) is about to be hanged for robbing a train where some folks got killed. We later find out their deaths were an accident. So Sam isn't a stone-cold killer, but is going to hang nonetheless. Just as the sheriff is about to spring the trap and drop Sam on into infinity, the town is attacked by a large creature that looks like a giant silver ball with exoskeleton appendages and a tail that shoots radioactive projectiles. Talk about your tail gunner. The creature kills a lot of the folks gathered to watch the hangin', and the mayhem ends up freeing Sam. Instead of running, Sam remains to help fight off the creature and save as many folks as he can, including the sheriff who was about to stretch his neck. Before long a group of survivors is fighting off what turns out to be hundreds of creatures being dropped from a spaceship. The group includes Rose (Van Heteren), a bounty hunter who still wants her two thousand dollar reward for bringing in Sam. There's Abigail (Sampson) who happens to be Sam's old flame. He didn't know this was where she lived these days. Finally, there's Dr. Jules Arning (Knapp) who has been extracting uranium ore, which is what has been attracting the creatures. Together they decide to use the doc's uranium stash to blow up the creatures and their huge ship.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2010
"I make a living in the movies, but for the past 20 years I've also been a cop. And, along with some of the finest deputies on the force, I serve the people of Jackson Parish, Louisiana. My name is Steven Seagal. That's right, Steven Seagal, deputy sheriff."
We've all seen Steven Seagal kick the bad guys butts in the movies. Since 1988's Above The Law, Seagal has gained a reputation for playing a tough guy. What most people didn't know is that for just about as long he has been a fully commissioned police officer working a beat in Southern Louisiana. Recruited by the legendary Sherriff Harry Lee, Seagal works as a reserve officer for the Sherriff's office there. He pretty much does what any cop in the field would do. He responds to calls, makes arrests, and serves in whatever capacity might be required. He also uses his own extensive martial arts training to teach workshops for his fellow officers and up-and-coming officers in training. Now, on the surface you might be tempted to look upon this work as some kind of publicity stunt or half baked celebrity honorary role. The fact that A&E is now doing a reality show on his exploits on the force would tend to solidify such feelings. However, the truth is that he's been doing it for 20 years, actually going out of his way to avoid bringing attention to the gig. Believe it or not, this stuff's for real.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2010
Think of it as The Odd Couple Private Investigation Agency. These guys might be brothers, but they have only one thing in common, and that’s their skills as private investigators. Otherwise they are as far apart as night and day. A.J.’s (Parker) the clean cut, nearly anal member of the sibling pair. He sees the detective game more in the mainstream world and tries to play things straight and by the book. Rick (McRaney), on the other hand, is a slob of a guy. He’s the kick back let life come to him sort of chap. He doesn’t pick up very much after himself. He lives a Bohemian lifestyle complete with houseboat and Sanford and Son beat up pick ‘em up truck. Neither of them are pulling in very much money and have to deal with Mom’s (Carver) disapproval of their chosen profession. The two treat everything like a competition and take sibling rivalry to new heights. They were also in heated competition with the detective agency on the same block, run by crotchety old Myron Fowler (Barth) and his daughter Janet (Wilson). Janet eventually becomes a district attorney and really gets under the brothers’ skin. Unfortunately she’s absent on all but a couple of the third season’s cases. The pair worked with rather off-the-wall detective Downtown Brown played by WKRP’s own Venus Flytrap, Tim Reid. He was one of those “end justifies the means” kind of a guy.
The cases were always just a little over their heads and often led them into various traps, gunfights, and car chases. The real charm of the show was watching the brothers working together. They would fight and argue about pretty much everything. Still, when the chips were down, they could always each depend on the other to have his back. They weren’t the brightest of detectives and fell into as many clues by dumb luck as through good investigation technique. It was most definitely a lighter show than most of the detective shows of the 80’s. Miami Vice this was not. The pair went against the mold in almost every aspect. They were not very good with the ladies. They didn’t drive hot fast cars. They were almost always out of money. And they carried themselves as immature frat boys most of the time. The appeal was their Joe Public image. It must have worked, because the show ran for nearly a decade.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on April 8th, 2010
Coach Al Collins sets out to not only assemble a high school basketball team, but to rebuild their gym lost in hurricane Katrina, salvage his home, help each player find hope in their lives as family and property is lost in the storm, and turn them into a championship winning squad. Had this story been fiction, it would seem outrageous, but Hurricane Season is based on an actual man and his real life journey from complete decimation thanks to Katrina, to Coach of champions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on April 7th, 2010
A young criminal (I assume he's a criminal of some sort) owes a major debt to a Columbian kingpin and he enlists his brother, K, for help. K bumps up a planned armoured car heist by a month in order to help, and the adventure starts there as we see a rag-tag gang pull of said heist and then plan their final moves in a rented warehouse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2010
Warner nearly singlehandedly invented the cartoon medium as we know it today with the advent of their various Bugs Bunny and associates cartoons. Ever since the early 1930’s these characters have become an indelible part of the American pop culture. Their images became an important part of the World War II effort and even helped to put a face on the issues of the Great Depression. They represent one of the richest histories in animation, second only to Walt Disney. There are some, I’m sure, that would argue they might even belong in front of Uncle Walt. When I was growing up in the 1970’s, I had no idea I was enjoying cartoons and characters that were already 40 years old. The truth is that my grandfather had been a fan of these same cartoons when he was a kid. Today the Warner cycle of Loony Tunes cartoons is over 70 years young. Things might have changed with the passing of Mel Blanc, who provided most of those familiar voices for much of that time, but Bugs and the gang are still out there and going strong.
Which brings us to Bugs Easter Funnies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2010
"Right there in that very house is where our story begins. The story of the first Easter Rabbit. And, you know we came within a hair's breadth, if you'll excuse the pun, of never having an Easter Rabbit at all."
Rankin & Bass brought us some of the most memorable holiday specials ever made. Most of us grew up watching these cartoons and stop motion shorts no matter what age we grew up in. You see, this stuff has been on television non-stop for 50 years. There are so many classics. There's Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, and so many others that we could fill the page with our own memories. For the most part, just putting the Rankin & Bass name to a special pretty much guaranteed an entertaining and enduring tale. Unfortunately, The First Easter Rabbit just isn't one of those.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 7th, 2010
A spaceship crashes. From it emerge a monstrous creature called the Moorwen, and a man, Kainan (Jim Caviezel in Buff Action Mode), who is determined to hunt it down. However, he is promptly captured by vikings and taken to their village, at which point he must convince them of the terrible danger they are in. As it turns out, they don't take much convincing, once the Moorwen attacks.
Analyzing the zeitgeist is always a tricky business. How, for instance, to explain the fact that over the last several years there have been numerous film versions of Beowulf, almost all of the revisionist variety: Eaters of the Dead, Beowulf and Grendel, and now Outlander, to name but three. The newest take has fun with its mix of vikings and SF, and the monster action is good fun. Is anything here groundbreaking? No. But the film keeps its focus on providing the viewer with an exciting ride.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2010
When you first look at the title for this entry in After Dark's 4th annual 8 Films To Die For, you probably have summed up images of a dank and foreboding cemetery where unspeakable horrors rise from their resting places to torment the, albeit temporarily, living. This is definitely a little bit of a case of false advertising and the misleading use of a title. These Graves are sisters, Megan (Grant) and Abby (Murray), to be exact. They're the kind of sisters that do everything together. You know the type. They almost speak in a secret language and appear to be soul mates. But Megan is a bit more outgoing and has gotten herself a job in New York, far away from the sisters' home in Arizona. Abby is a bit more introverted and is having a hard time dealing with the inevitable loss of her sister. So the two decide to have one more blast together. It's time for a road trip to visit the world's largest thermometer. Oh boy. Any horror fan worth his remote knows that the girls are likely not going to make it to see the big thermometer, and they'd be correct. They get sidetracked in a small town called Unity where they are encouraged to visit the abandoned gold mine called Skull City Mine.
Something very strange lives at the mine, and the town's folk have been feeding it tourists. The creature or entity is a dirt cloud that devours the hapless victim's soul. Unfortunately, the creature isn't capable of killing its prey, so the townsfolk have to pitch in and commit a little murder in order to satiate the beast. The Graves sisters are lambs being led to the slaughter. Of course, these two girls just wouldn't be enough slaughter fodder for the full running time of a respectable movie, so the filmmakers have populated the mine with other lovely co-eds to provide a bevy of interesting kills to amp up the movie's gore meter. Fortunately for the girls, the creature is willing to eat anybody, even its own followers if they should happen to find themselves dead. And the Graves sisters are all too happy to help some of them find their way to that cooperative condition.
