The Jeff Dunham Show
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2010
I’ve seen a lot of shows come and go on Comedy Central over the years. The network really found gold when it began to air the crude animated adventures of Eric Cartman and his pals of South Park. It appears that ever since that day, the network has been searching high and low, mostly low, to catch that kind of lightening in a bottle again. Let’s face it. The South Park boys aren’t going to last forever. Comedy Central must certainly understand that someday they’ll need another solid anchor for their network. One of the most recent attempts has been the Jeff Dunham Show. From what I’ve seen of this release, Comedy Central had best keep on looking.
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Flashpoint: The Second Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 26th, 2010
In this line of work, you have a tendency to see a lot of copycat television shows. These shows emulate a popular type or specific series and are usually content with mediocre ratings. However, out of the fire of the various copycat shows, we sometimes get a diamond in the rough. This is a diamond that people will shrug off and proclaim as anything but worthwhile television viewing. But once they actually sit down and watch a few episodes, they’ll be hooked for good.
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on May 26th, 2010
The Fall of the PSP, No German Violent Games Ban & Nintendo doesn’t make games for kids? – Welcome to the column that was two hundred columns in the making known as Dare to Play the Game.
I’m back from vacation, thanks for noticing. Thank you even if you didn’t notice, now quick you have 199 columns to read before you can enjoy this one (I have to get my hits somehow)
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Invictus (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2010
“On Robben Island, in Pollsmoor Prison, all of my jailers were Afrikaners. For 27 years I studied them. I learned their language. Read their books, their poetry. I had to know my enemy before I could prevail against them. And we did prevail, did we not?”
Leave it to Clint Eastwood to make even rugby look interesting. Of course, Eastwood himself would correct me and observe that Invictus isn’t really about rugby. As the words of Nelson Mandela above suggest, this movie wasn’t really about rugby at all.
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The Disappeared
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2010
“Evil Is Among Us.”
You’ve got to love a horror film directed and written by a guy named Kevorkian. Johnny Kevorkian is a young director still finding his chops with only a handful of credits to his name thus far. The young talent does have vision, and doesn’t go for the obvious. While the film does tend to be a bit heavy on the British sensibilities, you can expect such a thing from an independent low-budget horror film from England. The Disappeared is absolutely derivative of at least 20 films I’ve seen recently
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High Anxiety (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2010
Mel Brooks has often been called the Master of Comedy. The moniker might be a bit too grandiose, but he was certainly the master of the parody. In recent years that has become more evident than ever. Too often I’ve been forced to sit through something called a comedy. Not only can I do so without ever actually laughing, but there are far too many titles of late that don’t even give me the chance to crack a smile. It’s not that I’ve seen so much that it’s hard to find anything original. I can still laugh like crazy when I watch a Sanford and Son episode I’ve seen at least 50 times or an Abbott & Costello routine
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Peanuts: 1970’s Collection, Vol. 2
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2010
I grew up on the Peanuts creations of Charles M. Schulz. Most of us have, in some way or another. His newspaper comic strip is one of the longest-running and most successful strips of all time. The work has been translated into every language currently spoken on the planet. The images of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and the rest of the Peanuts gang have appeared on just about any kind of product imaginable. Our pop culture contains too many references to the strip to mention briefly. For me, it was the television specials starting in the mid 1960s that brought the gang into my life
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Southern Gothic
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 24th, 2010
“Pray for dawn.”
Mark Young is a bit of a one-man band in the short list of films that he’s done in his decade-long career. Southern Gothic is no exception. Mark Young is credited as: producer, director, writer, editor, chief cook and bottle-washer on the film. I have to say that I’m more often scared when I see that sort of thing than anything that ends up coming at me from the screen. Too many cooks may, indeed, spoil the broth, but only one cook tends to mean someone’s going to end up eatin’ out tonight.
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Contest: Iron Man Armored Adventures Mini-Posters
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2010
Vivendi Entertainment & Marvel have graciously given us 5 copies of Iron Man Armored Adventures Mini-posters to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this cool poster, just follow these two steps…
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead –Tell us what upcoming superhero movie you are most looking forward to seeing.
- Only those comments that list a comic superhero will be eligible to win.
Contest is now closed Winners are: Brad, Melina, Karmen Forbes, Steven Lurker, DeadZed.
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
To see what the poster looks like, continue on:
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Contest: A& E Entertainment Presents: WWII The War In The Pacific
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2010
The good folks over at A&E Entertainment have given us a copy of their The War In The Pacific on DVD to giveaway. This is a 2-disc collection of fighting in the Pacific during World War II. To enter to win this explosive collection of documentaries just follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Tell us the worst War Movie you ever saw and why it was so bad.
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is: Dirk Smit.
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
Contest: D-Days In The Pacific From A&E Entertainment on DVD
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2010
The good folks over at A&E Entertainment have given us a copy of their D-Days In The Pacific on DVD to giveaway. This is a 2-disc collection of the more than 100 D-Days of fighting in the Pacific during World War II. To enter to win this explosive collection of documentaries just follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Tell us your favorite War Movie.
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is:
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
Contest: Enter To Win Iron Man Armored Adventures: The Complete First Season
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2010
Vivendi Entertainment & Marvel have graciously given us 5 copies of Iron Man Armored Adventures: The Complete Season One on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this 4 disc Super-charged release, just follow these two steps…
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead – Tell us who is your favorite comic hero of all time. Don’t feel obligated to say Iron Man. The winners will be selected randomly from all entries that list a superhero. You WILL NOT have a better chance of winning by saying Iron Man. We want you to be honest. Maybe even tell us what you like the most about your favorite hero!
- Only those comments that list a comic superhero will be eligible to win.
Contest is now closed Winners are: Richard Hall, Kurtis Findlay, Amy Tucker, Julie, Loridee.
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
The Edge (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 20th, 2010
“We’re all put to the test. But, it never comes in the form, or at the point, we would prefer, does it?”
When The Edge made its debut in September of 1997, you would have thought it had a lot going for it. The idea of putting Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins together in a winter wilderness sounds like a pretty good idea. Audiences didn’t seem to think so. The film was gone after just 5 weeks and less than $30 million box office receipts. It lost nearly half of its screens in just 2 weeks. So, what went wrong with this movie? The answer is nothing, and everything.
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The Spy Next Door (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2010
“It doesn’t look like they have chicken tenders here.”
How can you not like Jackie Chan? If there has been a more versatile action or martial arts star, I haven’t heard from him. The man made a name for himself in China’s film industry as a remarkable martial arts performer. For decades he’s been the closest thing the film industry has seen to Bruce Lee. But, unlike Lee, Chan wasn’t content with being the best in a single genre. When he finally came to Hollywood, he decided it was a good idea to work a bit more lightheartedness into his films,
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History of the World Part 1 (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2010
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“Even in the most primitive man, the need to create was part of his nature. This need, this talent, clearly separated early man from animals who would never know this gift. And here, in a cave somewhere in the North American Continent, about two million years ago, the first artist was born. And, of course, with the birth of the artist came the inevitable afterbirth … the critic.”
That’s me. Afterbirth here. Brooks always did love to poke fun at the critics. And why not? Unfortunately, this was not one of his better films and likely received a lot of poking from the brethren.
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Gamera: The Giant Monster
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2010
“In our findings on Gamera, we’ve ascertained that: Firstly, it is attracted to and consumes fire. Secondly, it also seems to possess an internal power plant, of sorts. This emits a signal frequency that can jam radio communications. In order to store up energy reserves, Gamera consumes inorganic resources. Not only does it consume petroleum as well as other mineral and fossil fuels, but Gamera may also seek out atomic bombs.”
Ask anyone about Japanese monster movies and Gamera usually won’t be the first name that comes into their minds.
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Tooth Fairy (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2010
“You, sir, are guilty of disseminating disbelief. Killing dreams. Committing first-degree murder of fantasy, which by Fairy Law, in order to pay your debt to humanity, you are hereby ordered to serve time as a Tooth Fairy. The normal sentence is one week, but because you have the nerve, the unmitigated gall, to actually call yourself a Tooth Fairy, thus making a mockery of everything we stand for, I’m sentencing you to two weeks Tooth Fairy duty.”
Dwayne (once The Rock) Johnson has made a bit of a new career move over the last few years.
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Robin Hood: Men in Tights (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2010
“The Legend Had It Coming.”
It seems that pretty much every decade has had its screen version of Robin Hood; sometimes it’s on television. Robin Hood is one of the most popular characters in film, and there have been plenty of versions, each with their own particular take on the multiple legends that have made up the character over the centuries. Currently Ridley Scott has just released his own epic version of the tale with perfectly-cast Russell Crowe in the title role.
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Edge of Darkness (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2010
For most of this last decade Mel Gibson might as well have vanished from the face of the planet. The once extremely popular actor had charmed the world. Women found his childish grin to be irresistibly sexy, and men bought into the “kick ass and crack a joke” style that made the Lethal Weapon films such a romp of fun. But lately, you expect him to be the subject of a “Where Are They Now” segment from a late show on television. It’s no secret why Gibson climbed so quickly out of the public eye. I’m sure everyone still remembers the drunk-driving arrest where Gibson compounded his already serious case of bad judgment with even worse judgment.
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Marked For Death (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2010
I’ve seen quite a bit from Steven Seagal of late. There was his reality series from his deputy job, and many of his numerous catalog titles are finding their way to Blu-ray. All in all, it’s a pretty good time to be a Steven Seagal fan. The latest of these earlier films to reach high definition is the 1990 entry Marked For Death. It pretty much follows the established Seagal formula here, combing martial arts with the vendetta theme, that he has come to personify for so long. It has a little of what the fans are looking for,
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Flicka 2
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2010
“In the West there lives an animal that runs wild and free. Its strength and courage symbolize our pioneering spirit. That magnificent animal is the wild mustang.”
In 1943 a very young Roddy McDowall played a young boy in the perennial classic My Friend Flicka. The film was about a rebellious boy who is given a colt to teach him responsibility. He eventually bonds with the horse and learns the necessary lessons. The film was followed by a 1956 television series that followed the adventures of Gus and Flicka and lasted but one year. In 2006, the story was revived in a remake filmed under the same name but shortened to Flicka before it was released.
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Iron Man Armored Adventures: The Complete First Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 13th, 2010
Many of you probably read my review for Iron Man 1994 Animated Adventures on DVD earlier this week. In that review, I told a story of two very different seasons of Iron Man. Well, Iron Man Armored Adventures is even more different because it deals with Tony Stark as a teenager. There is no telling whether this teenage Tony will be like a younger version of the suave and sophisticated playboy or play out like a mechanized version of Peter Parker from the most recent Spectacular Spider-Man show.
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Contest: Dirty Dancing Limited Keepsake Edition On DVD Giveaway
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2010
Our friends over at Lionsgate have given us a copy of Dirty Dancing Limited Keepsake Edition on DVD to give away.
If you’re a fan of this classic film, this is the edition to have. It is a 2-disc set that comes with over an hour of new bonus material. You get a newly re-mastered transfer of the film. Best of all is the full color hard-back commemorative book included in this beautiful edition. The release also contains a tribute to The Late Patrick Swayze. This is one nice release, to be sure.
To enter to win a copy of this Special Prize, just follow these simple steps…
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Tell us where you went on your first date.
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is: Dee Bernardo
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
Final Fight Double Impact (Xbox Live Arcade)
Posted in Game Reviews by Michael Durr on May 12th, 2010
Back in the day, I had a passion for side-scrolling beat em ups. Whether I was fighting with my bare knuckles, super powers or sword and sorcery, I liked them all. There were so many good ones: Double Dragon, X-Men Arcade, Knights of the Round and more. Apparently Capcom wants me to channel my gaming self from the early nineties and bring me two awesome games of the genre: Final Fight and Magic Sword, better known as Final Fight: Double Impact.
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Play the Game
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2010
“Step 1: Reconnaissance. First you need to identify your target.”
If you are a regular reader here, you likely know that I have a fondness for Andy Griffith. I recently watched and reviewed in these pages one of his earlier comedy films, and rather enjoyed the old simple rural comedy. That’s what makes this one so painful to write about. I think that Andy Griffith missed the boat when he was targeting the audience for his latest comedy, the sexually charged Play The Game. I’m going to just admit up front that this movie made me feel very uncomfortable.
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