Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 15th, 2013
Cruel blood sport or culturally-significant art form? That’s been the centuries-long debate surrounding the practice of bullfighting. Personally, almost everything I know about bullfighting comes from Ernest Hemingway stories and Looney Tunes. So Blood and Sand — a grand, cynical bullfighting drama/Technicolor spectacle from 1941 making its Blu-ray debut — was an eye-opening experience in more ways than one.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jonathan Foster on July 15th, 2013
“I paid more than my dues for the right to call it like I see it.”
While most people can say they know who a celebrity is, very few get to know the person behind the fame. (Or infamy.) Unless you’ve walked in that famous person’s shoes, it’s difficult to understand where they’re coming from. It is only when we hear their story in their own words that we can get a glimpse into their world. In Letters from Jackie, MLB Films provides that glimpse into Jackie Robinson’s life via his correspondence.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 12th, 2013
"We always thought that alien life would come from the stars, but it came from deep beneath the Pacific."
The only thing we seem to love more than giant monster movies are movies about giant dudes going a few rounds with said giant monsters. It was huge television fare in the 1960's and 1970's. We had Ultraman, Space Giants, and Johnny Socko. All of them were Japanese imports that gave us daily or weekly monsters doing the old "Tokyo Stomp", and just when things appeared at their darkest, the giant hero would arrive
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 11th, 2013
It's time to say goodnight and goodbye to that lovable country lawyer Ben Matlock. Andy Griffith managed to bring a new style and even comfort to the lawyer show when he first walked into a television courtroom as Matlock. That was March of 1986. After 182 cases and a handful of television daughters, the show came to a close in May of 1995. We lost Andy a year ago almost to the day of when the final season of Matlock hits the shelves. It might not be the show he will forever be remembered for. But it does hold its own in the life of a special entertainer. Now you can complete that collection.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 11th, 2013
Without my girlfriend’s six-year-old daughter to help me out, I had the opportunity to tackle this 10-episode compilation DVD of the hit Cartoon Network series. I can’t blame Makayla for her lack of interest in the show; after all, with the title character being a sixteen year old boy who fights robots and aliens, well, I don’t believe she fits the target audience. On the other hand, as I started watching I began to see that anyone who enjoys aliens and robots is sure to enjoy the show at least to some degree.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on July 11th, 2013
Cartoons are for kids. Most of the time. Then there is Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. Adult Swim plays during the late night hours and is under much looser federal regulation. Much, much looser, I would say. In fact, it may be possible that the definition of the term loose has been stomped and squashed into a giant red stain on the sidewalk. I have not spent a lot of time watching Adult Swim, but I was not ready for the content of Superjail: Season 3. I think it would be hard to imagine something more offensive and shocking, but I'm sure it exists.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 10th, 2013
Oregon may have been the 33rd state to join our union — and Portland may be its most populous city — but Portlandia is a (dog-dressing, raw milk-drinking, Seattle-hating) state of mind. And after three seasons of lovingly mocking upper middle class indulgence along with the denizens of the Pacific Northwest, Portlandia — created by stars Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and director Jonathan Krisel — feels more like a fully-realized destination than ever.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 10th, 2013
“There are only two reasons why a boat would go rogue. One is to defect, and the other is to start a war, and I don’t think we’re defecting. ”
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him a friend.” That’s one way; however, Phantom proposes a different tactic: the best way to get rid of an enemy is to get someone else to do it. Which do you agree with more? Ed Harris and David Duchovny square off as two pieces on the opposite sides of the chess board locked in a submarine together with control of a nuclear warhead being the checkmate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2013
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 is the true brains behind the show.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 8th, 2013
“The 1860s was a decade in which one of the most terrible civil wars in history was to begin and end. But far from the bloody fields of Gettysburg and Shiloh, changes — which were to alter forever the face of the American West — had already begun.”
And that pioneering spirit continued to capture the American public’s imagination 100 years later. The Western was the big boy on the block during the 1950s and ‘60s on both television — peaking in 1959, which saw 26 such shows air in prime time — and in the movies. How the West Was Won — starring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck, among others — is one of the more enduring titles from that era.
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