Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2009
The Untouchables took on a perhaps too convincing appearance of reality. Remember that the audience was made up of folks who grew up getting their news from newsreels at the local theater. It was a stroke of genius to have real life news reporter Walter Winchell narrate the series. Everything from that narration to the gritty dark photography carried a documentary style feel to every minute of the action. You can only imagine why too many Americans thought it was too violent. The show wasn’t too violent. It looked and felt too realistic. Robert Stack literally becomes the persona of Elliot Ness. The show was also based on a book that was co-written by Ness himself but was highly fictionalized by the time it reached millions of homes each week. In truth, Ness’s team didn’t exist long after bringing down Capone for tax evasion. In the series the team becomes a strike force of sorts against an entire mug book of criminals real and imagined.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2009
It’s a disc loaded with pilots. No, you won’t find any daring men and their flying machines here. These pilots owe more to Philo T. Farnsworth than The Wright Brothers. Farnsworth transmitted the first televised image in 1927. In case you’re wondering, that image was a dollar bill. These pilots follow in those footsteps; that’s because these pilots are television shows. They’re the first episodes of some of the best action series to appear on CBS over the last few decades. Going back as far as the 1960’s, these shows represent a nice cross section of television action entertainment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 23rd, 2009
This is a new release of the film, and its main interest, for those who already have a copy, is the meatier set of extras (even though some on the other disc are now gone). As for the film itself, what I said before still goes, so once again, I quote myself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 21st, 2009
Shortly before World War II, British officer Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon), vacationing in Bavaria, puts his sterling hunting skills to use by framing Adolf Hitler in his gun sights. He pulls the trigger on an empty barrel, not really planning to perform an assassination. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he loads the gun, but is captured before anything history-changing occurs. The Gestapo leader Major Quive-Smith (George Sanders) wants him to confess to being an assassin working for the British government. Thondike refuses. He manages to escape, and Quive-Smith's forces (including the always sinister John Carradine) pursue Thorndike to England, where he falls in with innocent Cockney lass Jerry (Joan Bennett).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2009
In the first season of Showtime’s Californication, we were introduced to David Duchovny’s character, bitter yet upbeat writer Hank Moody. Hank, after moving to Los Angeles on the heels of his first novel - a critical darling entitled “God Hates Us All” - has recently lost his long-time love and, by extension, his daughter, to a straight-arrow bore who makes his girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) feel safe.
The first season told us the story of Hank’s attempts to win Karen back and his increasingly perilous relationship with a sixteen-year-old Lolita whose inclination for combining sex with a wicked right hook leads to one of television’s all-time great novel titles. Oh yeah, and it also featured lots and lots of raunchy sex between Hank and many gorgeous women. This was a major reason for the show’s notoriety, but what really makes the show work is Duchovny’s portrayal of Hank. He imbues him with a charming kind of good-natured nihilism and, even when he is being a grade-A jackass, we still like him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 20th, 2009
“Unlike the rest of us, sex, lies, and scandal never take a vacation. Instead they take the Long Island Expressway and head East to the Hamptons. Some would say summer is their busiest season. Think Park Avenue, but with tennis whites and Bain de Soleil. The players change, but the game remains the same.”
And for fans of the series Gossip Girl, the place may have changed at least for the season two premiere, but it’s still the show that’s become somewhat of a guilty pleasure to so many viewers. The show picks up during Summer Break in the Hamptons for our East Enders, but don’t worry. They’re back in their East End familiar surroundings before too long at all. As the opening narrative implies, the game does indeed remain the same.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 20th, 2009
“Take hope from the heart of a man, and you make him a beast or prey. And the beast eats away at you if you’re not careful. The beast will eat it all and you will have nothing and you are nothing.”
Patrick Swayze stars as Charles Barker, an FBI undercover specialist. He handles the deep cover missions, the kind that requires a total commitment to the mission. He’s the kind of agent that knows where the line is so that he knows where to cross it. He’s a grizzled veteran. His new partner is young Agent Ellis Dove, played by Australian actor Travis Fimmel. Ellis is a bit uncomfortable with Barker’s all in approach. Still, he’s a loyal student and will do what it takes to catch the bad guys. The two agents are handled by an agent named simply Conrad. Conrad is played by everyone’s favorite comedy relief from the new Mummy films, Kevin J. O’Connor. He was the cowardly rascal Beni in those first two films. Each episode brings us a special set of circumstances where the FBI feels Barker’s special brand of work ethic might work. Still, the feds are a bit worried about just how far he has gone over that line. They try to get Ellis to snitch on his new partner to no avail. Larry Gilliard, Jr. plays Ray, the persistent internal affairs agent who wants the goods on Barker.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2009
I think it started with the writers’ strike and somehow got out of control on this series. None of these sets represent actual seasons, which is why the releases are called chapters. The first two chapters represent the times before and after the strike from the show’s first year. I kind of understand how that might work out. What I don’t quite get is why it is now continuing. This chapter includes the first episode of the second season and stops with the tenth, even though the season actually included 22 episodes, all of them aired before the release of the DVD’s. There doesn’t appear to be any reason to spread out these releases except to capture a couple of extra bucks from the fans. To be fair, there was a five month gap in the episodes where this chapter ends, but it is still considered by every episode guide I could find as all part of the second season. The question for fans has to be, when will they see the other 12 episodes on DVD?
The concept would appear to be slightly misplaced on ABC’s Family Network. The prerequisite underage drinking and promiscuous sexual lives don’t appear to be the best “family” entertainment. We don’t get even halfway through the pilot episode before we’re already charting those waters. To be sure, Greek is no Animal House, and the atmosphere is toned down considerably, but the issues remain, and this is not a show for the kiddies. The story is very much like a soap opera. Casey (Grammer) is a sorority sister for Zeta Beta Zeta, and after two years is a woman on the rise. She’s dating the rich and handsome Evan (McDorman) and is in line to be the next House president. Her life is about to change when her nerdy brother, Rusty (Zachar) arrives at college. In his hope to experience college life and shed some of his geek reputation, he decides to rush a fraternity and enter Casey’s perfect world. Casey’s other problem is Zeta Beta Zeta’s own new pledge in the form of Rebecca Logan (Vadsaria), the spoiled daughter of a US Senator and rival for Evan’s affections as well as the future House leadership. To further complicate matters, Rusty has pledged Omega Chi Delta, which is led by Casey’s former boyfriend, Cappie (Foster). Most of the episodes deal with the crossover of these various worlds, and there’s a ton of competition not only between the houses but the characters. The show is all about the parties and the rivalries. There’s an interesting enough group of supporting characters, all well cast, which make this series a little more interesting than it really should be.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2009
Mention Toho to anybody who has ever seen a movie and one thing universally comes to mind: Godzilla. Everybody’s favorite monster run amuck was the brainchild of Japan’s Toho Studios and has made them somewhat of an icon in the industry. It’s appropriate, then, for Toho to be featured in any series called Icons of Science Fiction. However, don’t look for the big lizard with radioactive breath in this 3 disc, 3 film collection from the legendary studio. Instead you’ll find two lesser known titles and one of Godzilla’s eventual playmates. These two films go back to the late 1950’s when Toho was still a fledging operation and Godzilla had not yet reached the cult status he was shortly to achieve.
The films in the collection are:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 18th, 2009
Eli Stone is a typical corporate lawyer. He admits to being totally self-involved and greedy, that is until he begins to see and hear things that aren’t really there… or are they? These visions appear to be connected with events unfolding in Stone’s life and seem to be leading him toward a mission of sorts. It could be helping a mother whose child was stricken by a harmful vaccine or helping a convict fight prison abuse. In the pilot, Stone discovers that he has a brain aneurism, which might account for the vivid visions he is experiencing. His mentor, Dr. Chen, has another idea. He believes that Stone is being recruited by God as a prophet to help with the world’s injustices. As viewers we’re never quite certain exactly what to believe. What we know is that, like most prophets, the situation isn’t exactly working out great for Stone’s life. He loses his hot fiancée and most of his coworkers see him as some kind of a kook. Of course, it wouldn’t make good television if these visions didn’t often come at the most inopportune moments. He could be in a meeting with an important firm client or involved in the more intimate activities when he’ll hear strange music or see fire breathing dragons. Because the visions are so realistic, Stone can’t help but react to them, even when he knows they’re not real. This leads to many of the show’s awkward moments, as that gag gets old very quickly. There’s entirely too much office romance here as well.
The show’s true bright spot is a very smart cast. Jonny Lee Miller is actually pretty good in the role. Considering he has to act against a lot of blue screen, he manages to come across quite believable. He doesn’t always do a great job of hiding his own English accent, but I can forgive him that much. Victor Garber is absolutely brilliant as Jordan Wethersby, the firm’s senior partner and his fiancée’s father. I seem to like this guy in every role he’s played, particularly in Alias. His almost deadpan seriousness is a great compliment to the over the top shenanigans that make up the greater part of the show. He’s the anchor that keeps the show “real”. Natasha Henstridge shows less of herself than she did when debuting in Species, but gets to show off her acting chops instead of her body. The body’s a little better, but she does a solid job here as “daddy’s little girl” and Stone’s on again off again romantic interest. James Saito is another huge stand out as Dr. Chen, Stone’s spiritual advisor and mentor. He can be funny and straight all at the same time. Hands down my favorite character here. Sam Jaeger is Matt Dowd, Stone’s office rival. Boston Legal’s Loretta Devine plays Stone’s secretary and provides the comic wisecracks much as she did in the previous show. In fact, isn’t this the same character, Loretta? Honestly this cast might have been better served in a straight courtroom drama with better staying power.
