Wings: Final Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2009
The curtain finally falls on Wings on DVD some 12 years after the show came in for its final approach on television in 1997. The end was a planned one so that the final episode was a fitting goodbye for the series and its collection of crazy characters. The final episode finds Joe and Helen off to Vienna to live while Helen studies cello. Brian is left alone to man the business. For us, we’ll get this one last chance to laugh it up with the clever and often hilarious television series.
Read More
My Friends Tigger, Pooh and a Musical Too
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2009
“Oh Bother”A.A. Milne was quite an eclectic writer. He wrote murder mysteries that even appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. From that fertile mind would also come a place known as the 100 Acre Wood. In that select place some of literature’s finest characters had the greatest adventures any boy could imagine. And adventures are certainly no fun on your own.
Read More
Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on April 15th, 2009
Gamestop reviewing Sales Policy, Capcom swears RE5 Versus code is not on Disc, and Third Party Wii Development Not Justified? – Welcome to the column that swears that the content for this week is 100% new (except for the 20 year old one-liners) and unopened (well until you click the link anyway) known as Dare to Play the Game.
Read More
Contest Winners!!!!!
Posted in Site News, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on April 15th, 2009
Hey Gang,
I thought I would give you a heads up on our most recent contest winners:
Planet Of The Apes Blu-ray: Jim Williamson
Primal Fear: Denyse
I’ve Loved You So Long: Lisa
Dylan Diaries: Matthew Lewis, David Pollastrini, and Roberta Allen
Barney Top 20 Countdown: Linda White, Carol Lawrence, Mary Casper, Nikki K. Evans, Rhonda Clemens, Jack Davis, Kristoffer Rathborn, Heather Burgess, Anthony Ybarra, and Kelly Ferrari.
Congratulations to one and all. Keep entering. We’ll have plenty more to give away.
If you see your name, but have not gotten a winner notice, check your Spam filter and write us back.
Be sure to check out our reviews and forum. Let us know what you think.
If it’s Up and Coming you’ll find it at Upcomingdiscs.com
Not Easily Broken (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2009
“I found out that if you wanna know the purpose of a thing, you can’t ask the thing to tell you. A car doesn’t know why it’s a car; only the manufacturer knows what it was meant to do. And I guess that’s the same way it is with God.”
Not Easily Broken was written by a minister, Bishop T.D. Jakes. So you should expect a very spiritual message when you watch this movie. If that’s not your cup of tea, as they say, this really isn’t going to be the film for you.
Read More
Nobel Son
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 14th, 2009
Alan Rickman, in a stunningly unexpected bit of casting, plays an arrogant, womanizing SOB of a chemistry professor who has just been awarded the Nobel Prize. While he and wife Mary Steenburgen jet off to Sweden, their son (Bryan Greenberg) is kidnapped. Before long, the parents receive are sent a severed thumb as proof of the kidnapper’s serious intent. But nothing is quite what it seems.
Read More
The Day the Earth Stood Still (3-Disc Special Edition) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2009
In 1951 Robert Wise made the Earth stand still. The United States, in fact the entire planet, was in the middle of a frightening cold war. If you believed the media at the time, we were standing just moments from nuclear annihilation. We were given images of a crazy man’s itching trigger-finger poised over a button. School kids were led in air raid drills that promised protection from this powerful menace by the wooden tops of your desks. The government and private sectors were engaged in witch hunts to smoke out “commie” sympathizers. The fear touched every aspect of our lives. Hollywood was no exception.
Read More
Come Hell or High Water
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on April 14th, 2009
Posted by Ken Spivey
Some movies are simply made better by enjoying them with a six pack of beer and several of your closest, silliest friends. Unfortunately, when I watched “Come Hell or High Water” I was alone drinking a Coke…so the desired experience was diminished. Yet, to better relay the plot of the film, I shall use the lens of myself after about six shots of “Wild Turkey.” This shall lend itself better to the film’s narrative style.
Read More
The Bloody Ape
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 13th, 2009
Try this plot on for size: Gordo, an ape owned by carnival sideshow barker the Great Lampini (Paul Richichi), gets loose and rampages about Long Island, raping and killing and stealing cars (!). Meanwhile, the moronic detective in charge of the murder case dismisses the idea that an ape is the culprit, and casts his racist eye on the unfortunate Duane Jones (Christopher Hoskins, whose character is named after Night of the Living Dead‘s lead).
Read More
Diary of A Tired Black Man
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 13th, 2009
With Robert Rodriguez releasing films where he directs, writes, scores, edits and produces some people humor themselves into believing that anyone can do the same. With Diary of a Tired Black Man, Tim Alexander attempts to accomplish a similar feat. Jimmy Jean-Louis headlines the small cast as James who recently divorced his wife Tonya (Paula Lema)of four years. Alexander directed an internet clip that dealt with this relationship and from that 3 minute clip he adapted it into a feature film. The story evolves into a complex investigation of relationships from the black male perspective.
Read More
Mask of the Ninja
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 13th, 2009
Bradford May, oh Bradford May. I have a good history of watching movies directed by Mr. May from a couple of Darkman sequels to the more recent Ring of Death. His style is pure popcorn and an attitude of leave your brain cells by the door. It is only fitting that I was interested in seeing another flick with his name on it. This one was called Mask of the Ninja. Right away, it sounded like a classic Bradford May movie. However, after watching it, I realized that Bradford had broken some laws in his production. He had broken the sacred five rules of portraying a ninja.
Read More
Blitzkrieg: Escape from Stalag 69
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 12th, 2009
The sleaze of the grindhouse era inspires a special kind of love. Warped, dubious, indefensible, yet real all the same. Part of that love is a nostalgia from those bad old days. But it takes an even more special brand of that special love to seek to recreate forgotten exploitation genres, and yet that is what we have here: the first Nazisploitation flick in close to thirty years.
Read More
Extremity with a Point
Posted in Brain Blasters by David Annandale on April 11th, 2009
The current wave of extreme French horror marches triumphantly on. The latest wave-making entry is the Franco-Canadian production Martyrs, and it is as nasty as it is a vital piece of filmmaking. Writer/director Pascal Laugier, whose previous film was the honorable but not entirely successful House of Voices, here reveals himself as a force to be reckoned with. Horror fans, the genre is healthy and out to get your.
Read More
Shuttle
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2009
We all knew it had to happen eventually. With the success of the “torture porn” films like the Hostel and Saw series, we had to expect that there would be some lightweight twists and turns on the thriving genre. Shuttle is one of those attempts. It gingerly treads on the now familiar ground of the aforementioned films, but each time it makes the obvious moves in that direction, it pulls back and stalls. Edward Anderson is the writer and director of this mess.
Read More
Donkey Punch [Unrated]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2009
Donkey Punch was partially funded by the British Lottery. That means you might have actually lost twice. Once if you bought a losing ticket, and again if you watched this movie made possible by your gambling itch. Mama always said nothing good comes out of gambling. Turns out she was right. If this is what the British Lottery Authority is doing with the money, you’re better off going to a bookie. At least Mario “The Shark” Cabliario will spend the money on something worthwhile, like women and booze.
Read More
Doubt (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2009
Doubt is a case of art imitating art imitating life. John Patrick Shanley based the character of Sister James on a real sister that he knew as a child. He grew up attending Catholic school, and Sister James was one of the nuns he knew during that experience. While the character was based on something real, the events were not. He took this familiar character and developed the fictional story of Doubt around her. This story became a play. W hen it came to adapting the successful play into a movie, John Patrick Shanley took on the job nearly singlehandedly.
Read More
The Hairdresser’s Husband
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 10th, 2009
A middle-aged man (Jean Rochefort) recounts his youthful sexual awakening to the charms of the local hairdresser. Developing a fixation on the erotics of a women cutting men’s hair, he resolves to marry a hairdresser, and decades later, he gets his wish. His wife is the lovely Anna Galiena, and once wed, they rarely leave her little shop (indeed, they also get married there).
Read More
Yes Man
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2009
Jim Carrey’s life and career are in a sort of mid-life crisis. He has avoided doing his usual goofball comedy films and opted for more serious roles. His appearance in Number 23 was a bit of a shock for most of us, but he pulled it off reasonably well. Even his more recent comedies have often been less about one crazy character and more about the story elements. It seems that he has decided it was time to return to the parts that made him a household name with Yes Man. But after watching Yes Man,,I have to wonder if maybe that genre has passed him by.
Read More
Celebrate Easter With The Chipmunks Contest
Posted in Contests, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009
Paramount Home Entertainment has graciously given us three copies of The Mystery Of The Easter Chipmunk on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this Alvin and friends Easter celebration, 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- just jot in a random thought, such as “entered!” or “hope I win!”
Contest is now Closed!
The winners are: Daniel M, betty, Heather C.
If you do not get an E-Mail from me, check your Spam filter and/or get back to me ASAP.
Congrats!
Read More
Enter To Win A Little Pony Tea Party
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009
Paramount Home Entertainment has graciously given us two copies of My Little Pony: The World’s Biggest Tea Party on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this DVD and Little Pony figure, 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- just jot in a random thought, such as “entered!” or “hope I win!”
Contest is now closed. The Winners: Joyce McGregor & Jennifer Burr. If you don’t get an E-Mail from me, check your Spam filter and/or write me ASAP!
Congrats!
Read More
Poison Ivy : The Secret Society
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on April 8th, 2009
This is the fourth film in the Poison Ivy series and its star power has descended from Drew Barrymore, to Alyssa Milano, to Jaime Presley, and has finally fallen on Degrassi: The Next Generation actress Miriam McDonald; which is sure to fulfill a handful of strange Canuck fantasies.
McDonald plays Daisy, the new girl on campus who is apparently a “tom-girl” because she wears jeans…and is from the country (I guess). It’s a fish-out-of-water story to start where she is scoffed at by the cool girls for showing up in a taxi, and gets a meet-cute moment with the richest boy on campus. She turns out to be the biggest prospect in the whole Political Science Department, despite being a freshman, which makes her a target of the “Ivys.”
Read More
Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on April 8th, 2009
Take-Two Shareholder Lawsuits, More Fable II DLC, & Nintendo weakening? – Welcome to the column that can predict to absolute certainty that the sun will set tonight (as long as they don’t have to prove it) known as Dare to Play the Game.
I would describe the last week as preparation for something better. I really didn’t play any games. Sure I did the usual World Series of Poker 2k8, Rock Band and even some Rocket Bowl but I didn’t really start anything.
Read More
Doubt
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009
John Patrick Shanley brings his thought provoking play to the big screen in 2008’s best picture, in my book, Doubt. The Academy likely shied away from the controversial content, likely because it doesn’t make it clear this priest must have done what he’s accused of doing. Many of the actors received deserved nominations, but the film was generally snubbed in the final verdict. While I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire, for Doubt to not even get the Best Picture nomination is a crime.
Read More
No Country for Old Men (3-Disc Collector’s Edition) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009
“Some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun. Most folks find that hard to believe. Jim Scarborough never carried one, that’s the younger Jim. Gaston Boykins wouldn’t wear one up in Comanche County. I always liked to hear about the old timers. Never missed a chance to do so. You can’t help but compare yourself against old timers. Can’t help but wonder how they would have operated in these times.”
I know I’m getting old myself when a film set in the 1980’s is now considered a period piece. And No Country For Old Men is about as much of a period piece as anything else.
Read More
Bedtime Stories (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2009
It’s official. I’ve just totally given up on Adam Sandler. Honestly, I haven’t laughed at anything he’s done since the music video for The Lonesome Kicker. How many times can the same absurdity and Romper Room antics work on a film audience? Even in a Walt Disney film that required Sandler to clean up his act a bit, the same sophomoric humor was showing through the threadbare shtick. You just knew there were times he wanted to let loose with some off color remark or obscene gesture. While I was pleased that he gave it the effort, it’s like asking a mute man to talk after you just tied up his hands.
Read More