Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 17th, 2012
All funny ideas are not created equal. A concept that may have audiences laughing their heads off for a few minutes could wind up being absolutely torturous when stretched to feature film length. Few people know this better than Will Ferrell, one of the most popular and successful Saturday Night Live alumni of all time. He's cracked people up on the small-screen and in multiple comedic blockbusters. Ferrell's latest, Casa de mi Padre, seems like a classic example of an idea that would be extremely funny as a skit or a fake trailer, but becomes annoying over a prolonged period of time. The actor is surely savvy enough to realize this, and I kinda love that he decided to do it anyway.
Casa de mi Padre — directed by Matt Piedmont and written by Andrew Steele, a pair of Ferrell's SNL cohorts — is told in the overly dramatic style of Mexican soap operas (or "telenovelas") and westerns of the 1970s (with their choppy editing). It has more in common with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino films than with Ferrell's own previous work...unless I missed any slo-mo bloodbaths in Elf. Did I mention the part where it's almost entirely in Spanish? The poker-faced movie plays it so straight with its inspiration that it's not entirely accurate to call it a spoof; it's more of an homage.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 17th, 2012
Catholic priests are used to hearing confessions, but for one particular pastor in Chicago, the usual confessions about using the Lord's name in vain or stealing a couple of paper clips from the office just weren't exciting enough. Father Dowling loved reading mystery books, and it appears to have sharpened his own powers of observation and deduction. As luck would have it, crimes and mysteries would simply fall into his lap. With the help of Sister Stephanie, better known as Sister Steve, he would step away from his pastoral duties to track down clues that were elusive to the Chicago Police Department. You might just say he was the answer to their prayers. All the while he would attempt to keep the financially-strapped Saint Michael's parish on solid footing.
Tom Bosley was the perfect choice to play the lead character here. America had already adopted him as the television father of an entire generation with his role as Richie Cunningham's father on the hit series Happy Days. He has a quiet and soothing demeanor that is quite suited to a man of the cloth. He had such a gentle way about him that he actually reminded me somewhat of my own childhood pastor and friend. The cast also included the granddaughter of famed 1950's television couple Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and the daughter of their teen idol singer son Ricky Nelson. Tracy Nelson adds the more manic pep counterpoint to Bosley's more easygoing nature. Sister Steve was once a street-wise juvenile delinquent until Father Dowling turned her life around and she became a nun. She was often found rushing headlong into dangerous situations and appeared to be able to score jobs at crucial businesses without any effort or interview. The Father and Sister persona also allowed them to gain the trust of those holding information they might need. Like Columbo, they made a career out of being underestimated.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 16th, 2012
When I was eight, nine years old I remember watching two things on a regular basis. First, was wrestling (think back to the old NWA days) and the second was He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He-Man is a very fond memory of my youth and I could always count on that show for a good adventure. I even had He-Man and Skeletor action figures and they would do battle for control of Castle Greyskull. However, I am still not exactly sure what Orko was. Perhaps we will find out in Mill Creek’s latest release: The Best of He-Man Season 1 and 2.
As mentioned, this is a best of set but since this site has not done a He-Man review to this point (which is a darn shame), I will do a quick synopsis.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 16th, 2012
The “Patch of Heaven” farm is about to be seized by the bank, unless $750.00 can be raised, and raised quickly. By lucky coincidence, that is precisely the reward being offered for the capture of cattle rustler Alameda Slim. Three plucky cows (voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly) decide to capture Slim and win the reward, thus saving their home.
The opening moments, with a series of Tex Avery-style catastrophes befalling an unfortunate rabbit, are very promising. Here and there are other patches of inspiration, such as when Slim reveals that his foolproof secret for stealing cattle is to hypnotize them by yodeling (leading into one of the stronger musical numbers). Unfortunately, in between are long stretches of flat storytelling and dull jokes. Roseanne Barr is as annoying a presence as a voice artist as she is an actor, and Cuba Gooding Jr.’s horse character is a pale imitation of Eddie Murphy’s work on Mulan and Shrek. There aren’t enough bones tossed to adults, and the two kids I was screening this with were bored out of the room in five minutes flat.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 16th, 2012
Just to forewarn you this is not a review for the mini-series that aired on the History channel with Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. Instead this is for the bad knockoff that seems to have been released just in time to catch any spillover interest from the Costner version. So how does this version of the battle between the two feuding families hold up? Well, not so good, and I’m being generous in saying that.
Taking into consideration this production had nowhere near the budget of the History Channel version, it does what it can to try to pull off this epic tale of love and revenge. But being ambitious is not enough to make up for everything a retelling of the Hatfield and McCoy story this film is lacking. Just because you have a limited budget doesn’t mean you can’t pull off a great western; A Fist Full of Dollars and the original Django come to mind as being great iconic westerns done on shoestring budgets for the time. And those movies are pretty ambitious when you look back at them, and being a little more current El Mariachi (though a modern western) was another micro-budget film filled with gunplay and a story heavy on revenge but effective on using the most out every dollar and location at hand. I just point this out since just because a film doesn’t have a large budget they shouldn’t be let off the hook for not stepping up to the plate and delivering the film they set out to make.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on July 15th, 2012
In ranking the popularity of sports in America, there's football and then there's everything else. The hierarchy for sports movies, however, is a little more competitive. I've got boxing edging out baseball for the top spot due to two Best Picture wins (Rocky, Million Dollar Baby) that should've been three (Raging Bull), and the fact that even a recent movie like The Fighter can bank almost $100 million at the domestic box office while snagging a couple of Oscars despite boxing's profile currently being in the toilet in this country. Boxing and baseball are probably followed by football, hockey and basketball, in some order. You'll have to go further down the list to find soccer, sailing and long-distance running, the three sports covered in this DVD triple feature.
The Miracle Match, known as The Game of Their Lives when it was released in 2005, tells the story of the 1950 U.S. national soccer squad that defeated a heavily-favored team from England — the country that invented the sport — during the World Cup in Brazil. Since soccer wasn't exactly a top priority at the time, the American team was put together 10 days before the World Cup and was comprised of recreational players. The film mostly focuses on a group from The Hill — an Italian immigrant community in St. Louis — led by goalie Frank Borghi (Gerard Butler).
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on July 14th, 2012
Looking over my video game collection, there is certainly a feel of games that are either set in the past or set in the future with the exception of sports games and a couple of driving titles. In particular, I do not look at a shooter and think that I want to play something that takes place now. I am a sucker for fantasy and sci/fi shooters primarily. But today, I have just the opposite, a very realistic present day third-person shooter in the name of Spec Ops: The Line. Let us see how it plays.
Spec Ops: The Line is set in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates. As you might guess, the game plays out like one huge desert. There are sweeping winds and an environment that looks trashed and forgotten by time. Even when the game takes to inside various buildings, there is still the sense of the dusty environment close outside. It is wonderful to look at but gives you the eerie sense that something horrible and deadly is right around the corner.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 13th, 2012
Taking place in the 41st century, an astronaut named Barbarella (played by Jane Fonda) has been ordered to search out a missing Earth scientist named Durand Durand. On this mission, she is forced to land on a Planet called Lythion where she must overcome various erotic obstacles in this psychedelic camp classic.
When it comes to campy productions like this, one does not sniff around for Oscar worthy performances...no...we come to see Jane Fonda stiptease in zero gravity. In fact, throughout this tale, Fonda's Barbarella uses her sexuality as her weapon of choice in the fight against robots, mad scientists, and other extra-terrestrial baddies whom wish nothing more than to see intergalactic angels slaughtered (I swear to you, that was not just me cobbling together random words...all of those things actually happen in this film).
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 13th, 2012
"I love a terrible turn of events."
Ever wonder how the continents formed and the land masses on planet earth got their present shapes? The short answer appears to be nuts. Literally, nuts. For a decade our children have been getting their geologic time lessons from the folks at Dreamworks animated feature shop. Yes, the same folks who brought us the Shrek series. Ice Age came out in 2002 and took the box office like a blizzard piling up a drift of cash that amounted to almost $180 million before it was over. Not bad for a $50 million dollar film. Add in another $200 million in foreign receipts, and a series of sequels was an absolute foregone conclusion. The film introduced us to some memorable characters. Manny (Romano) was a lovable woolly mammoth. Diego (Leary) was a kind and wise saber-toothed tiger. Sid (Leguizamo) was their tagalong friend with not much going on in the noggin. A side story involved a prehistoric squirrel named Scrat who loved his acorns. He had a Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner relationship with acorns and took a lot of punishment to get one. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown brought the Ice a change in their environment and love in the air for Manny. He meets Ellie (Latifah). Together they must find colder climes as their ice is melting fast. They find their Winter Wonderland, and Blue Sky Studios found another hit. This time the film brought in a crazy $200 million here and another $450 foreign. Before home video the film was close to $700 million in box office. Can you say number 3? Add some dinosaurs to the cast for Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs and another $250 million for a total take of nearly $900 million on the third film. If you’re doing the math, that’s over $2 billion on three films. Is it any surprise that ten years after the first film the gang returns for Ice Age: Continental Drift? Who says the government’s the only one out there printing money?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 12th, 2012
Two sales executives have a rambunctious party at a strip club that inadvertently results in their boss's death. Though they are not fired, they are demoted to the level of secretaries, while their former cohort, whom they used to pick on relentlessly, is elevated to be their new boss.
In their new work position, these two lads are humbled into losing their misogynistic ways and turn their pranks into acts of chivalry and gender equality in the workplace. There is also a romantic subplot for each of them, but neither is all that compelling.
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