Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 19th, 2013
All Best Picture winners are not created equal. Some of them achieve cinematic immortality, while others are viewed as outright travesties. Then there’s the group of Oscar winners who have arguably suffered a fate worse than the derision and mockery of movie fanatics: the forgotten Best Picture winners. Cavalcade — described in this Blu-ray’s commentary as “not a particularly well-remembered Academy Award winner” — certainly falls in that category.
“This is the story of a home and a family; history seen through the eyes of a wife and mother whose love tempers both fortune and disaster.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 19th, 2013
My best work is often done behind a computer or somewhere where my face is not on display. I am not the most handsome guy despite the fact I have been described by those of the female persuasion as otherwise. But I have talent, loads of it and I am always waiting for the next moment to show it off. Perhaps I can take a cue from our movie today, The Idolmaker and use my talent to make others around me stars. Maybe I should just go shave instead.
New York City, 1959. Check out the black leather jacket, red pants, Cuban heels and pantyhose style socks. This is one Vincent Vacarri (played by Ray Sharkey). He passes by Tommy (played by Paul Land) who is running a street con game for some extra money. Tommy catches up with him and tells him about his band which has a new lead singer named Jimmy Ryan. Vinnie complains that the singer does not have the look and that his blond hair is never going to work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 17th, 2013
For nine seasons and several TV-movies afterwards, Raymond Burr was Los Angeles based defense attorney Perry Mason. This character’s verbal gymnastics, and uncanny hounding for evidence makes his famous winning streaks seem not just plausible but rather entertaining to behold. His adventures have been well-reviewed by myself and my reviewing compadre Gino on this very site (https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=perry+mason).
The formula (for lack of a better term) of each episode maintains in this second half of the final season. The primary suspect is profiled, caught and examined in the first half of each story. When things do to trial, the true guilty party is found out, often on the witness stand, as Perry’s uncanny winning streak gets the best of those who try to hide the truth from him. Said winning streak might spoil one’s enjoyment of the show since the outcomes can be predicted during the opening titles screen, but the crimes (most often murders) are elaborate enough to maintain interest for the most part. At the same time, I feel it should be noted that the pacing of the show can often be slow. Think of it being a closer relation to Matlock than the sexier modern Legal dramas like The Practice. Not to say that it is better to have attorneys with chiseled jaws or short skirts versus methodical investigation and character development, but you had better prepare yourself for a lot of men in suits standing in one spot speaking their thoughts aloud.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 17th, 2013
It is very common for Nickelodeon to release these sorts of compilation sets. Previously I had covered their themes of Learning the ABCs as well as their Christmas release (as found here: https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=nickelodeon). This time we get 6 different Nick Jr. programs focusing on the "Wild West" (aka, country music, cowboys hats and horses).
Bubble Guppies: If I may start this review with a bit of rude frankness, I would sooner gargle thumb tacks than sit through a whole episode again. The story lacked any real imagination. It's the same worn out, condescending slow-talk that many children's shows adopt. The main characters have fins...that's seems the be the lone distinguishing factor. Other shows offer so much more than this one. Don't waste your little one's time with this.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 17th, 2013
Best known as the launch point for Michael J Fox's career (along with a major booster from the Back to the Future films), Family Ties was a decently delightful series that may now be mostly remembered via the many references placed into Family Guy (creator Seth MacFarlane has noted it as one of his all time favourites). It has been previously covered very well on this site, which can be found at this link: https://upcomingdiscs.com/?s=family+ties
In this, its final season, we see a number of major events occurring inside and outside the Keaton Family. There are many very serious scenerios occuring in this comedy, such as when Steven, the father of the family (played by Michael Gross, whom I best remember from his role in the Tremors series) has a heart attack in a three-part story arc called Heartstrings, or when the Keatons defend their new African-American neighbours after they become the target of racist actions committed by other people in their neighbourhood in a two-parter called All in the Neighbourhood.
The focus of the overlapping narrative is placed onto the exodus of Michael J Fox's character Alex as he receives a lucrative job offer in New York city, a story that runs right to the finale of the show itself. Throughout all seven seasons we saw the comedic conflict between the fiercely Republican Alex and his former hippy parents and the show completes the arc by having Alex follow his capitalist minded ambitions to Wall Street, but not before reaffirming his loving connection to his entire family.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on August 16th, 2013
"There's no room for punks in suits. Just real heroes who can really kick ass."
You've heard me say many times in these pages that expectations kill. It's a rule I've found to be pretty solid when it comes to sequels. Like all good rules, there are exceptions. When it comes to Kick-Ass 2 it's the lack of expectations that will kill your enjoyment of the film. If you don't understand going in what to expect, you will more than likely hate this movie. If you already have a good idea what is going on here, be prepared to have a rip-roarin' time of your life.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 16th, 2013
"You know, there's been a heap of legends and tall tales about Robin Hood. All different, too. Well, we folks of the animal kingdom have our own version. It's the story of what really happened in Sherwood Forest."
It didn't even start as a Robin Hood story at all. Walt Disney had many ideas and plans for fables and fairy tales that he hoped to bring to life with a feature animation film. It's no surprise that most of these ideas and plans simply never went beyond the dreaming stage. A few were caught up in production struggles, and remnants of those efforts can still be found in the treasure trove that is the Disney Archives. Some of these projects, however, were reinvented and became something very different from what was originally planned.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on August 16th, 2013
“We don’t stop innovating.”
In Jobs, the iconic entrepreneur/inventor says these words during one of his many — and I mean MANY — inspirational speeches. It’s meant to be a “capture the imagination” moment for both his assembled techie troops and for those of us in the audience. Unfortunately, these sorts of platitudes come early and way too often in this biopic. More importantly, the film never really bothers to back them up.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on August 14th, 2013
“Men around here’ll write you off after 40, so I know they’ll bet against us. All we have to do is bet on ourselves to win.”
The conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that meaty roles for women quickly dry up when actresses reach a certain age. So director Susan Seidelman (She-Devil, Desperately Seeking Susan) and the stars of The Hot Flashes — a well-meaning, by-the-numbers sports comedy — deserve credit for at least trying to take their cinematic destinies into their own hands.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 14th, 2013
When the show ended in 1966 it was still one of the most popular shows on television. Both Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore wanted to do something else. Both were made confident by the huge stardom the show provided them, but neither was ever able to reproduce the magic here. Of course, Mary Tyler Moore found great success with a different kind of show in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. That one would go on to become a classic in its own right. CBS didn't want the show to end and continued to run the reruns for another four years before offering them to syndication where they continue to be a hit. Now that final season of classic episodes is available on high-definition Blu-ray for the very first time.
When one thinks of The Dick Van Dyke Show it's hard not to think of its star Dick Van Dyke. After all, it's his name on the opening credits, and he does play the lead character in this groundbreaking television comedy. There's little question that the show became a wonderful vehicle for his many comedic talents. But the genius behind the show wasn't really Dick Van Dyke at all. It was Carl Reiner (yes, Meathead's father) who was the true brains behind the show.
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