Constellation
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 20th, 2007
Synopsis
Interracial relationships in movies tend to be hit or miss. If treated fairly, it can make the movie an uplifting picture, one that will make people stand up and cheer for a satisfying ending. Misused, and it just becomes an ugly context for the movie to hide around. Constellation starts out with the love story between Carmel Boxer (played by Gabrielle Union), an african-american lady and her white boyfriend & solider Bear (young version played by …
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True Confessions
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 19th, 2007
Synopsis
In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Robert De Niro may have taken on some more famous roles (like The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull), but he wasn’t shy to experiment in roles with directors like Bernardo Bertolucci (1900), to name a few. And in his first film after playing Jake LaMotta, De Niro plays Des, a monsignor who runs into his brother Tom (Robert Duvall, The Apostle), a police homicide detective.
Written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne (Up Close and…
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3 Needles
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 19th, 2007
Synopsis
Way back in the ‘80s, I can recall doing a fifth grade science project on a fledgling disease called Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. I got a bunch of material from my Dad (who worked at the National Institute of Health) and went ahead and did it. To be honest, I really don’t remember if I did this report before or after the first recognizable name died from it (that being Rock Hudson), but in the quarter century since AIDS cases were first identified, over 25 million people have died and almos…
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What I Like About You – The Complete First Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 19th, 2007
Synopsis
I’d like to think of Amanda Bynes (She’s the Man) for being part of a smaller second wave of teen female performers. Nobody’s really sure of who she is, but she appears to stay out of trouble and certainly not emulate the Lohans and Spears of the world. She had an already established name among the Nickelodeon demographic, but soon moved to grown up television, joining television veteran Jennie Garth (Beverly Hills, 90210) in What I Like About You.
In the show, Bynes …
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Venus
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 18th, 2007
Synopsis
Peter O’Toole plays Maurice, an actor now reduced largely to playing corpses (or near corpses) and watching his days fade away in the company of his similarly elderly friends. Enter Jessie (Jodie Whittaker), the grand-niece of one of those cronies. Maurice is taken with her, and the story then takes a decidedly Pygmalion-esque turn as sullen young woman and ageing Lothario learn from each other.
And then there’s the question of sexuality, which divides audiences and critics (though…
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Blood & Chocolate
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 18th, 2007
Blood & Chocolate is based upon the novel of the same name by Annette Curtis Klause, which was written in 1997 and has since been in the talks of screenplay adaptation. Written by Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road, Scream 3, The Ring) and directed by little known German director Katja von Garnier, Blood & Chocolate looks too impress.
It was refreshing to see a werewolf movie with a much different formula then were used to. Instead of the typical blood soaked horror we are presented with a dark an…
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Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 18th, 2007
Synopsis
My life has been a strange journey. Recently I found myself divorced after a three year marriage. Needless to say I’m probably need a bit of soul searching. Perhaps I need to cleanse my spirit before setting back out into the world from which I came. Now I’ve never been a religiously deep person but I do take myself on as a spiritual one. So to see a surprise title in my queue with the words The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success would bring at least a little …
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Brain Blasters
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on May 18th, 2007
It has been a commonplace for quite some time now to take for granted that the B-movie, as we used to know it, has died. The types of stories we used to get in those films, from, for the sake of argument, the 30s to the late 70s, have been taken over by the blockbusters. So we get the same narratives, but with budgets in excess of 100 million dollars. So not only has the B-pic lost its turf, but it has also lost its natural habitat. The drive-in is almost extinct, and anyway, it is almost impossible for such films to…
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The Rockford Files – Season Four
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2007
James Garner could have been a Hollywood leading man. He had surfaced in a few films and apparently was on every director’s radar at one time or another. Hit or miss, he might have made quite an impact on the film industry. Instead, he will forever be known for the two defining television roles of his career. Maverick completely reinvented the television western. Up until that time the western was a place populated by clear good guys and bad guys. Men like Marshall Dillon and Ben Cartwright were known for their wholesome ways and do unto others attitude, perhaps mixed in with the occasional frontier justice.
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George Lopez – The Complete First and Second Seasons
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2007
We hear it all the time. Some kid had it rough as a child. Single parent home, gangs, poor schools and even poorer neighborhoods. What this usually describes is some three time loser who has just robbed or killed somebody and ends up in a high speed chase with police. Some folks take adversity and turn it into gold. George Lopez is the latter. He’ll be the first one to tell you that the sad stories his character tells of his youth are rooted in cold hard reality. Not only does he bare these painful memories for mil…
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That Thing You Do!
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 16th, 2007
Following the success of back-to-back hits Forest Gump and Apollo 13, Tom Hanks wanted to shake things up. His project of choice? Writing and directing his first feature film.
The result was That Thing You Do!, a light, enjoyable comedy about a 60’s pop band that makes it big on the strength of one hit song. Barely together a few weeks, The Oneders (pronounced “Wonders”) win a small-town talent contest, which lands them their first gig, playing at a local bar. Before they can adjust to …
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on May 16th, 2007
Catering to the Casual, Free XBLA & Marvel UA goes Golden – Welcome to the column that always provides entertainment for the lowest common denominator known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. As of May 14th, 2007 @ 10:00am, I am officially single. So to all of the women that have been waiting for that once in a lifetime opportunity, please step forward. I’m waiting *tap tap*. Story of my life eh? I did happen to see Spiderman…
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Messengers, The (2006)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 15th, 2007
The Pang brothers, twins Oxide and Danny, are most well-known for co-directing the hit horror film The Eye back in 2002, and its 2004 sequel, The Eye 2. The Messengers marks their first Hollywood studio effort, and despite it being panned by critics, the brothers have already moved on to more.
The story here is simple. A family buys a house in the middle of nowhere, hoping the move will turn around their fortunes and heal their bonds, which are strained after some big, emotionally traum…
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Flipper — Season One
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 15th, 2007
Synopsis
Here we go: all 30 episodes of the first season, wherein we follow the adventures of Flipper, a dolphin owned by youngsters Bud and Sandy. All three are watched over by their father, Chief Ranger Ricks of Coal Key Park. The formula for each episode generally sees either someone who needs rescuing (from drowning, shark attack, that sort of thing) and Flipper must help out, or the boys and the dolphin wind up in trouble after poking their noses somewhere they shouldn’t. It’s all very familiar,…
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Ghost Rider
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 14th, 2007
Released earlier this year to a successful box office run, Ghost Rider is yet another Marvel character making his way to the big screen. There’s something about these comic movies that have everyone all psyched these days, all of them performing admirably in the theatre and selling just as well upon DVD release. For me, there are only a couple of these Marvel films that I actually think were well done and in good contrast compared to their comic book counterparts. In fact I’m probably the only person on this c…
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Mickey’s Great Clubhouse Hunt
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 14th, 2007
Synopsis
Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse! (tell me you just didn’t say that) So what happens to a 31 year old adult who sits through a show alone that is geared towards children who might not even be in grade school yet? Besides binge drinking & wondering why he doesn’t have a date this weekend? Apparently some good wholesome family entertainment. I was actually a little surprised how decent this was after twenty minutes into the program.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a fairly…
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Motives 2 – Retribution
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 14th, 2007
Synopsis
Stereo-typing is a nasty business and unfortunately happens a lot in Hollywood. Certain actors play certain types of characters, certain movies always have the same themes, certain Uwe Boll movies (all) get bad ratings, etc. One of those unfortunate stereo-types is african-american movie making. Quite often you see an urban setting, a rise from the ghetto, or something related to basketball or football. Dominant african-american stereo-typing at what everybody thin…
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Highly Defined – The World of High Definition
Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on May 14th, 2007
This space here for rent for a small fee.
Not to harp on one particular subject, but it appears that any real substantiated news of the week focuses more on the hardware that the software. Onkyo is starting to roll out their new receivers, the ones that support HDMI 1.3. And late last week, Pioneer said that their Elite Models for this year will carry it as well, so to finally get a taste of things to come will be a welcome one. The other news turned out to be nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor, as …
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Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC) – Season Two
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 13th, 2007
Synopsis
It’s fairly common to bring ideas from other cultures and bring them into American television shows. We have done it with gameshows (Lingo) and we have done it with movies (Ring). However, sometimes we simply wish to recreate shows in our image. Rarely, we just go ahead and use the same show and edit it to suit our tastes. Enter Most Extreme Elimination or MXC. This show (part of SpikeTV’s late night lineup) is simply the Japanese show; Takeshi’s Castle peace me…
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Road Warrior, The (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 11th, 2007
Synopsis
I love the brothers named Warner. If it were up to me, I would settle down and marry them, and keep my marriage to my wife. Warner does more to proactively suit the needs of the DVD fan than any other studio out there. And by putting out a version of The Road Warrior with some extras to trump the crappy barebones release, I’m putting the offer of marriage out there now for the world (and the wife) to see.
For those unfamiliar with the story, The Road Warrior was the sequel …
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Brain Blasters
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on May 11th, 2007
I’m going to run the horrible risk of coming across as the worst sort of “in my day” fuddy duddy this week. Oh well, he said, with a philosophical shrug of the shoulders.
So we’re a mere matter of weeks away from the release of Hostel: Part II, and no doubt another round of handwringing and analysis in the mainstream media about the popularity of the torture film (if the movie does well) or a celebration and analysis of its demise (if the flick bombs). Now, let’s be clear, I had a hoot at the first f…
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Overlord
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 10th, 2007
Synopsis
Produced under the auspices of the Imperial War Museum, Stuart Cooper’s unusual film tells the story of a young private (Brian Stirner) undergoing basic training and experiencing premonitions of his death in the days and weeks leading up to the D-Day invasion. This narrative is intercut with extensive archival war footage.
In the “Mining the Archive” featurette, the remark is made that the film is an excellent showcase for the museum’s collection. This is very true, and is both the…
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Born to Fight — Two-Disc Ultimate Edition
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2007
Synopsis
After the apprehension of a rogue general results in the death of his mentor, officer Dan Chupong accompanies his sister and her team of athletes on a charity visit to a rural village. As luck would have it, the general’s forces attack this very village, threatening to slaughter all the villagers is the general is not released. What these villains fail to mention is that they have a nuclear missile which they plan to fire at Bangkok no matter what happens. Chupong leads the villagers and ath…
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on May 9th, 2007
I See Wii People, Double Dragon on Live, & Taito Legends 2 conspiracy – Welcome to the column that has died many times over and still kicking it known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. This week has been particularly rough on me. Why may you ask? Well some of you know, some of you don’t..and I’m usually a pretty open guy. So…*waits for dramatic effect*. I’m getting a divorce; actually it’s been going on for quite sometime….
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Failure to Launch (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 8th, 2007
I will admit that on occasion I have enjoyed a romantic comedy or two, and when I initially saw the trailer for Failure to Launch, I anticipated it to make the list. Aside from the film’s stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey, Failure to Launch has a rather well assembled list of co-stars, including Kathy Bates (Misery), Terry Bradshaw (Former NFL Quarterback), Justin Bartha (National Treasure), and Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers). Sounds good enough, how does it turn out?
Matthe…
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