Feast
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 15th, 2006
There’s a bunch of people stuck in a bar in the middle of nowhere. Monsters want to eat them. What will they do? That about sums up Feast, a film that’s part comedy, part horror, and all around over the top. This is the winning project from season three of Project Greenlight, a contest and documentary series founded by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck back in 2000. What does that mean? Feast is a low-budget film helmed by a rookie director, based on an amateur script.
Rookie and amateur are often words associated with low quality, but this gore-fest is actually pretty good.
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The Omen (2006)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 15th, 2006
This remake of the 1976 horror classic The Omen is a solid psychological thriller. I should admit that I have never seen the original, so I can’t make a comparison. For opinions from that perspective, I imagine an Internet search will find more than enough.
I can, however, weigh in on whether I think this move should have been made, a question always asked about Hollywood remakes. My answer? Yes, because it offers the film to a new audience, of which I’m a part. And now that I’ve seen and enjoyed this new version of The Omen, I’m also interested in checking out the original.
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Batman Begins (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 15th, 2006
After numerous horrible, horrible Batman films (Batman and Robin and Batman Returns are my least favorite), the Batman film’s have finally returned to a place where someone can be proud to have seen and proud to own to this film. Director Christopher Nolan (probably mostly known for Memento) was chosen to helm this latest Batman film while actor Christian Bale (American Psycho, The Machinist) was chosen to portay Mr. Bruce Wayne.
The film mostly follows how …
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Brain Blasters
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on October 13th, 2006
Consider this a follow-up to last week’s column. In my musings about the Big Bug movies, I mentioned that Tarantula had only just become available for the first time as part of a Best Buy-exclusive box set of Universal SF flicks. I’ve managed to lay my hands on this set (again, you can track it down through Amazon if you’re not having any luck with Best Buy itself – for Canadian readers, I should mention that my attempts to track the disc down through the Best Buy website proved fruitless), and for fans of 50’…
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I Am a Sex Addict
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 11th, 2006
Synopsis
About to be married for what he hopes will be the final time, Caveh Zahedi turns to us and reveals his long battle with sex addiction. His story is a difficult one for him to tell, not only for the (very, very funny) personal humiliation it entails, but because he keeps interrupting himself and jumping from one moment in his life to another, but also because he gets tangled up with explaining how the recreations were done in the movie we are now watching. Thus, having just said that he could…
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Reds
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 11th, 2006
Synopsis
For those who enjoy the films of Warren Beatty, perhaps his quintessential film, the epic Reds has finally arrived on DVD. The film, which earned 12 Oscar nominations in 1981, including a remarkable four for Beatty (as Director, which he won), Actor, Writer and Producer), the film was a clear labor of love for the left-leaning political activist. Beatty plays John Reed, an American political writer who becomes more and more enamored with the ideas and concepts behind a blossoming ideological…
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Supernatural – The Complete First Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 11th, 2006
Synopsis
I first thought that Supernatural was a pointless, stupid show that Jared Padalecki was starring in, because I kind of liked his character on the Gilmore Girls (I’m a married male, by the way), and doing this show that I didn’t know that much about smelled like an instant disaster.
However, when you open up the DVD package, anyone who has seen the shows sees that there are a lot of creative members of the team that come from other shows with supernatural-like themes. Some of…
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X3: X-Men – The Last Stand
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2006
The third entry into the X-Men franchise turned out quite a bit better than I expected. Early script turmoils were only overshadowed by cast problems. It seemed the bottom fell out when Bryan Singer decided to take on The Man of Steel instead of X3. Enter Brett Ratner, best known for the Rush Hour films. Give the man credit for overcoming a ton of problems to deliver a pretty good thrill ride film. Ratner adapted quickly to the f/x driven world of X-Men and managed to fashion a rather compelling tale. The idea of a…
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Forever Knight – The Trilogy, Part 3
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2006
The USA network took over the Forever Knight series for its third year. In a way, you could say they saved the show from cancellation, but they also killed it. In keeping with the nework’s M.O. of the time, it was believed the series wasn’t accessible enough. The obvious grab for the younger audience appeared in the likes of the Andy Garcia clone Ben Bass as the Vachon. Lovable partner Schanke was killed off along with the previous season’s captain. Nick was given a female partner in the likes of sci-fi veteran Li…
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on October 11th, 2006
A Complete Tracklist, Catwoman in my Webb, and X-Men fever – Welcome to the mutant with its only power is a sharp tongue known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that needs some TLC, ya know Tough Loving Coochi…oh I’m sorry, welcome back kids. Turn your head at the dirty old man who doesn’t get any. Be sure to send your 18-21 year old sisters to him directly @ 108 Pe…, okay really I need to stop. Anyhow, I assu…
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Waist Deep (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 10th, 2006
Waist Deep tells the story of a man named Otis Senior (Baby Boy’s Tyrese Gibson), an ex-con who is trying to straighten out his life after being releasing from jail. Otis, known by his previous street name of ‘O2’, is working as a security guard at a place he got from part of his ex-con program. One day O2 goes to pick up his son, Otis Junior, from school when his child and his car get ‘jacked’ in a carjacking. O2 chases down these men and, despite killing two of them, doesn’t get his car back. He then …
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Down in the Valley
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 10th, 2006
Synopsis
In the soulless wasteland of the San Fernando Valley, feeling-her-oats teen Evan Rachel Wood meets cowboy (or something) Edward Norton at a filling station. Despite the creepy age difference, friendship becomes romance, but Wood’s father (David Morse) is understandably less than keen about the relationship. He orders an end to it. Neither of the lovers is happy with that, and the situation is all the more explosive since Norton is far from being right in the head.
The performances …
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Blackwater Valley Exorcism
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2006
I don’t watch a lot of horror movies, but when I do I want them to be scary or amusing, or both. I found Blackwater Valley Exorcism to be none of the above.
The story centers around the demonic possession of a young woman, and the efforts a group of people make to save her. This group includes her family, her father’s farmhands, a sheriff, a veterinarian and a priest who’s never dealt with this sort of thing before. Luckily, one of those farmhands just happens to be a former priest who has conducted an exorcism.
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They All Laughed
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2006
Peter Bogdanovich’s The All Laughed is a classy, bittersweet film. It’s plot is pretty thin, but here’s the gist: a New York City private detective agency is hired to keep tabs on two women suspected of infidelity. Things get interesting when the gumshoes on the trail begin falling for their lovely targets.
The best part of this film is its cast. Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, John Ritter, Dorothy Stratten, Patti Hansen, Colleen Camp, Blaine Novak and George Morfogen all fit their parts so well, it’s not surprising to learn in the bonus material that Bogdanovich wrote the parts with exactly these actors in mind.
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Highly Defined – The World of High Definition
Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2006
So how about this, Blu-Ray plans to region-code their discs. While it’s probably a formality that the HD-DVD camp does this sometime, it makes buying the Fox releases in Europe and Japan all the sweeter for the time being. This is while Warner revises forecast for BD and HD-DVD spending, saying that people won’t spend as much for the remainder of the year, mainly because of equipment delays (Sony, I’m looking at you on that one…).
If you’re lucky enough to live where the Target employees aren’t the brightes…
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The King
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2006
A letter from the filmmakers included with this disc reads, ”I guess some people will find… The King pretty extreme.” I had barely heard of this indy film going in, so I had few presuppositions to influence my experience. But before hitting play I read the letter, and that statement stuck with me as I watched. I wanted to know whether I was one of those people.
It turned out that I was. Sort of. There are aspects to this story that are so dark and twisted that I often found myself squirming as the scenes unfolded.
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Cedric the Entertainer – Taking You Higher
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2006
Cedric the Entertainer – Taking You Higher is Cedric’s first solo HBO Comedy Special. He made his mark in the biz as a top-notch, critically acclaimed stand-up comedian, and has also appeared in a series of lackluster films like Be Cool and Big Momma’s House. I don’t think many would argue against the assertion that Cedric is at his best on stage, doing stand-up.
For proof, look to this hour-long HBO Special. Cedric the Entertainer lives up to his name in this show, which offers up about four parts stand-up, one part song and dance.
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Rest Stop: Dead Ahead
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2006
One of the nice side effects of the popularity of DVD is that the general public is seeing many films that they would not have seen before. The more people that have DVD players in their homes, the more budget titles hit store shelves. Therefore, people are more apt to pick up a title sight-unseen, and some pretty descent direct-to-video films that would never have made it into theaters have found new life in the home theater market.
Warner Brothers knows a good thing when they see it, so they have created a company that produces horror movies with the specific intention of releasing them in the direct-to-DVD market.
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Avenger
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2006
Sam Elliott is a fine actor, but he is almost always typecast as a cowboy. He is an excellent cowboy, tall and thin with a weathered face and a deep drawl. The thing is, he is a fine actor in more traditional roles as well. While I frequently enjoy his work as a cowboy, I have always felt that he may have turned in his finest performance as White House Chief of Staff Kermit Newman in The Contender.
He breaks out of his traditional role yet again with The Avenger, a TNT original film that stars Elliott as a mercenary hired to find a lost aid worker in Serbia, and discovers much more than he is looking for in the process.
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Wildboyz – Complete Seasons 3 & 4
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2006
If Jackass was on the Travel Channel, the result would be Wildboyz. I think this show can best be described as “perversely fascinating”. On the one hand, any sane person would never sit in a hot tub full of alligators, or step into the ring with a champion Thai boxer. On the other hand, it really is fascinating to see these morons visit the wilds of Africa, see rat-infested temples in India or face off against the Russian hockey team. While most travel programs would discuss the history of the locations…
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Private (Fallo!)
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2006
Tinto Brass, reigning high priest of the handsomely mounted skin flick, returns with this portmanteau feature. Six couples spice up their sex lives as the women have sex with other people and their menfolk watch/hear about it/join in too.This is the most explicit film from Brass to come out on the Cult Epics label, in that a fair bit of the sex here is not simulated. The tone is consistently cheerful, and there are some quite funny moments. The performers look more like real people than one might expect, and so, all in all, this ain’t deep, but it’s better than most efforts of its kind.
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Stargate SG-1 – Season 9 Boxed Set
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2006
I admit it. I thought our heroes at Stargate Command had finally had it for sure. Were the replicators back? How about the dreaded G’Ould? Perhaps another serious malfunction of the Gate caused by Carter’s meddling was about to tear a hole in the time/space continuum. What was I so sure might spell doom for Earth’s last line of defense? We’ve already escaped fiendish bombs and other devious devices. Plagues and epidemics? No problem. Just business as usual at the SGC. No. These things are just minor worries compar…
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Stick It
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2006
Synopsis
I thought I knew all about Stick It based on the cover of the disc: “From the Writer of Bring It On”. That’s it, game over. What I could expect was a film where the girls ruled the show, the adults, if they could be found, were pretty marginal, and there would be a lot of ass shots. But despite all the semi-glorified ass shots, Stick It isn’t necessarily a bad movie. In fact, I kinda liked it. Maybe it’s all the ass exposure, I don’t know. Whatever the reason, the 103 minutes …
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Brain Blasters
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on October 6th, 2006
Big Bug movies. How can one not love them? They have bugs. They’re big. What else do you need to know before you hand out the Oscars?
They heyday of the Big Bug flick was, of course, the 1950’s, the era of the great SF boom in the cinema. The first, and best, of these films was Them! (1954). The title is deliberately coy about what the threat is, playing very consciously on Cold War paranoia (after all, who is responsible for everything going on in the world if not the mysterious “them”). Some initia…
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This Island Earth
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2006
By the middle of the 1950’s Universal was playing out its long string of monster movies that started over 20 years earlier with Dracula and Frankenstein. In the next year their last iconic monster would take its last bow in The Creature Walks Among Us. This Island Earth was a bit of a crossover film. Like many of the alien invasion films of the 1950’s the film capitalized on the growing belief that we were not alone. Contrary to the DVD’s misleading box art, these aliens were here to find answers to their own survi…
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