Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 26th, 2010
"Hello. I want to play a game."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 26th, 2010
I'm a huge fan of Roger Corman. Who isn't, right? But these films are not the typical Corman offerings. Some of them have no apparent connection to the man himself. The ones that do are mostly as producer and not director. Some of the films might be notable for being an early film for this actor or that. But I would hardly classify any of these films as classics of any genre or good representations of the mastery of the B film that was Roger Corman's signature. Most of the films feature merely montages of riding, fighting, drinking, drugging, or sex. Good times for some, maybe, but hardly worth the time it takes to watch even the shortest of these bombs. I feel like Corman's name is used primarily as a catch here and that the man had nothing to do with this release.
Here are the films you'll get in this collection:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 25th, 2010
Small Wonder ran in the mid eighties on various little networks across the nation. It ran for four seasons and a total of ninety six episodes (4 from the magic number). True to Shout Factory’s form and modus operandi, they have released a boxset of the first season. I remember seeing a few episodes when I was a kid but this might be one of the times when my memories aren’t as good as I think they are.
Ted Lawson (played by Dick Christie) is a robotics engineer. He has an idea for a domestic servant but his boss just doesn’t seem to buy into it. So he brings his project home and works on it. In the meantime, he seemingly ignores his wife, Joan (played by Marla Pennington-Rowan) & his young son, Jamie (played by Jerry Supiran).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 24th, 2010
Nestled nicely between the appearance of two blockbuster, live-action films, Iron Man was been made into another half-hour animated show. In the past we have seen the origin and tales of the Stan Lee created Tony Stark and his amazing technology be altered in a 90s cartoon show, the Jon Favreau film(s), and a recent animated film, but the developers of these latest “adventures” take the furthest and riskiest leap from the original source material by making Stark a teenager, along with most all of his friends, and some enemies as best friends Rhodey, Pepper and arch enemy the Mandarin (!!!) are converted to high school chums.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on January 23rd, 2010
Many of the original talents behind the popular Mel Brooks' spoof Spaceballs have not returned for this sort-of sequel, but its spirit of relentless parody and often corny schtick lives on. While it may not hold a candle to the original source material, this animated series has a few shining moments that will hopefully keep the diehard fans from being too offended.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2010
Weeds started out as something very different from the 13 half hour episodes you will find in the 5th season release. In the beginning Weeds was an offbeat look at a suburban housewife who turns to selling pot to make ends meet. It was a very whimsical change of pace from what was commonly being offered on the networks in that half hour situation comedy dominated world most of us have grown tired of. The characters were certainly outside of the general mold, and their eccentric nature made the show entertaining, if not for the masses, for a tight cult following.
But a lot has changed here, and this series has become a bad parody of itself. Nancy Botwin (Parker) is no longer that suburban housewife. Her husband is now dead, and she's taken her pot selling operation to an international level. By the end of season four, Nancy was involved with big-time drug kingpins and was operating out of Mexico. The fifth season picks right up where those chaotic events left off. Nancy is about to be killed by Esteban (Bichir) when she drops the bomb that she is carrying his child. So for most of the season she lives day to day, under guard from Esteban's thugs waiting for him to decide if and when she finds her way to a landfill. Meanwhile her sons have gotten into the family business as well. Shane (Gould) is selling pot to his high school English teacher. Silas (Parrish) has gone into the medical marijuana business with cousin Doug (Nealon). They, in turn, are paying extortion to the local chubby cop. At the same time Celia (Perkins) has been kidnapped by her daughter and her new boyfriend who is running a rebel camp out in the wilderness. They are hoping for a ransom, but the situation ends up taking a page out of O Henry's Ransom Of Red Chief, and no one is willing to pay a dime to get her back. Andy (Kirk) comes into some money but blows it on video games and the General Lee car from The Dukes Of Hazzard. Still, he tries to take responsibility and is there for Nancy, even if she does tend to just use him. If all of this sounds like a bit of a jumble, it all leads to an off-again on-again romance with Esteban who is running for public office. And it's not his murders, drug trafficking, or police corruption that is holding him back. It's his relationship with a gringo woman. Go figure. I can't.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 21st, 2010
"In the early 1930's Adolph Hitler and his inner circle became obsessed with the occult, believing that the black arts were the key to their plan for world domination. Nazi agents traveled the globe in search of ancient Nordic relics known as rune stones. They believed if they harnessed the power of these stones, nothing could stop the march of the master race. The symbols inscribed in these stones were said to describe the path to immortality. Almost a century later, the nightmare has awakened."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 21st, 2010
It is the last month-and-a-bit of Delta Company's tour of duty in Iraq. The IED disposal squad has just lost its leader, and he is replaced by Staff Sergeant James (Jeremy Renner), a brilliant bomb defuser who is also something of a loose cannon, prone to taking foolish risks. What follows is Kathryn Bigelow's best movie to date, as finger-gnawing scenes of bomb disposal and combat alternate with portraits of men's psyches being taken apart by war, both because of what happens to them, and because of what they must do.
The best Iraq war film to date is also, interestingly, fairly apolitical. It takes no real stand on the whys and wherefores of the conflict, and despite the fact that the incidents are very much specific to the situation in Iraq, the theme of the film – the toll war takes on the men who fight it – would be just as true in a WWI setting. James is an intriguing character, one that it is difficult to wholly like or dislike. He is astoundingly good at what he does, yet he puts the lives of his squad mates in jeopardy. He believes in doing the right thing, and yet, in a speech he makes to his infant son (a scene that is the most heartbreaking of the film), he shows how he has been transformed into a specialized machine, unfit for any society other than that of war. This is a powerful film, then, as thoughtful as it is intense. That intensity, however, does come at a certain cost. We are made to feel the paranoia experienced by the soldiers in the visceral way imaginable, but what this does mean is a dehumanization of the Other. The Iraqis, with very few exceptions, come across as unknowable, mysterious, sinister presences, and while this is very likely true to the experience of the point-of-view characters, it does mean that this is another war film that (inevitably, perhaps?) grants us access to the humanity (in its positive AND negative facets) of only one side of the conflict.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 20th, 2010
As a kid, I was subjected to all sorts of soap operas whether it be during the day or during the night. During the day, it was a steady stream of Young & The Restless or General Hospital. At night, it was two shows as well. The first was Dynasty, which could better be described as a Joan Collins vs Linda Evans wrestling match. Then there was Dallas: J.R. & Bobby at the forefront of oil, cattle, deceit, and general debauchery. How sweet it is.
The twelfth season of Dallas starts with the eleventh season cliffhanger. J.R. Ewing (played by Larry Hagman and Nicholas Pierce (played by Jack Scalia) get into a fight in J.R.’s penthouse. Nicholas Pierce happens to be Sue Ellen’s (played by Linda Gray) new boyfriend. Except that she is still married to J.R. Anyhow, in the struggle Nicholas goes over the balcony rail and falls to his death. Sue Ellen then picks up a gun and shoots J.R. several times before phoning the police to call in a double murder.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 20th, 2010
I made a huge mistake when I sat down to watch this release so that I could write this review. It sometimes happens that one in this business must watch a series from somewhere other than the beginning. In most cases, particularly with older more traditional shows, that isn't very much of a problem at all. Once you get the premise down and learn who the important players are, you can sit back and watch without much concern at all about what you might have missed. Today, however, that is becoming a more and more difficult proposition. In an effort to increase viewer loyalty, and develop more intricate and engaging plots and show mythology, shows are getting that much harder to follow if you miss even one episode. If you've missed a season or more, your odds of understanding get that much worse. If you missed the genesis of the show, those odds slip to near zero. I made a huge mistake when I sat down to watch this release so that I could write this review. Like so many heroes in these action thrillers that have become all the rage, I decided to go up against odds that were, you guessed it, nearly zero. If you are considering watching Damages from the second season, even with the provided season one recap, you're making a huge mistake, too.
The season begins with the immediate aftereffects of the first season's big case and all of the baggage that went with it. While it's true that the case is over, most of the vital things that happen here constantly reference the events of that season. Patty (Close) is using her cut of the billion dollar settlement to start a not-for-profit foundation to feed New York City's homeless. But that foundation is just another way to flex her power. She'll willingly frame a prominent candidate for governor by setting up his daughter for a cocaine bust, just to have him and his money come crawling her way. Most of the episodes give you a short look at the ending, which appears to have a potentially fatal showdown between Patty and Ellen. The rest of the season would be nearly impossible to recount without giving stuff away. Suffice it to say that it's a never-ending series of betrayals, fortune reversals, strange bedfellows, and twisted relationships. Everybody appears to be using everybody else for their own agenda. There are no good guys. Finally, the show travels a lot in time. Each episode builds through short glimpses that take place earlier or later. It messes up your orientation, making it even harder to just drop in for a visit without having seen what occurred previously.
