Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on April 21st, 2010
7-Eleven does Used Video Games, Call of Duty to broaden audience & Ubisoft says no to manuals? - Welcome to the column that tried printing up a manual to help you read more efficiently but then decided that would be counter-productive known as Dare to Play the Game.
I’m still unable to really start a game lately. But interestingly enough I did go back to one game in particular over the weekend and that was Marvel vs Capcom 2 on Xbox Live Arcade. I did actually beat the game, but had to use a boatload of continues to do it. This means that I still don’t have any actual achievements in the game *sigh* (the arcade achievements require no continues). I love fighting games, I really do but I suck at them unless they have Mortal Kombat in the name. (Then I’m only good against the computer)
Posted in: Podcasts by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010
Deadly Impact is a rather sweet new drama just released by MGM on April 20th. They'll be a full review next week or so. In the meantime, I had the chance to talk to a couple of folks involved in the film. The first was Robert Kurtzman, who directed the movie.
You may know Kurtzman for his extensive special effects work over the years. He's worked with Freddy and Jason. His own film, Rage became somewhat of a surprise hit recently.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010
Flight Of The Intruder is one of those films that appears and disappears off of the film world radar about as quickly as a stealth bomber. It has had its share of accolades but often passes swiftly into that entertainment night of obscurity. While it is at its core a Vietnam War film, the movie never really appears to be about the war at all. It attempts to capture some of the sartorial wit of Catch 22 while still trying to pass itself off as a serious enough movie. Make no mistake. This film leaves no war cliché unused, particularly in the stilted, sometimes gung-ho dialog of its characters.
Jake "Cool Hand" (Johnson) is a bomber pilot during the Vietnam War. He's stationed on an aircraft carrier. He's growing a bit bored with the missions he's being ordered to fly. Instead of taking out the important military installations he's assigned to, the locations end up being just empty jungle, or worse. Some of them are simply civilian farms and villages. His morale is already pretty rock-bottom when one of these useless missions catches his plane some serious fire and kills his navigator. Now Jake wants to do something worthwhile, not to mention get a little payback on the enemy. Commander Camparelli (Glover) is growing concerned with the emotional state of his pilot. He tries to keep him reined in as best he can. Enter Jake's new navigator Lieutenant Commander Cole (Dafoe). This guy loves combat. He's just volunteered for his third tour of duty. Like Jake, he wants to make some kind of a real difference. Jake convinces him that they should fly an unauthorized mission straight to downtown Hanoi where it is believed there is a stockpile of SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles) that are responsible for bringing down a lot of American planes. They know it's likely a suicide mission and that even if they should survive, a court martial is about the best they can hope for from the service.
![Flight of the Intruder [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/flight-of-the-intruder-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010
You've seen me talk with a certain element of affection for the remarkable work that the Walt Disney Studios have done in the way of feature animation. Who can really argue with me when I state categorically that the studio invented that particular medium? The long line of classics could certainly fill a lot of space in this review, but these are things you already know. Left out of the list of classics, and deservedly so, is this 1980's Disney feature. the studio's take on Sherlock Holmes, The Great Mouse Detective.
Now, the first thing that pops into your mind when you connect Walt Disney with a mouse is that studio icon image himself, Mickey. That image is so ingrained in my skull that I at first thought I remembered Mickey being in this film. Obviously I was mistaken and am thinking of some similar role the royal rodent likely performed in another title. The mouse in question here is more your standard-looking mouse without the trademark three circle head and ears. The characters are no less endearing here. Still, this was a transition time for the studio, and they were not putting out their best work in the 80's.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010
Teddy Roosevelt has been somewhat of a dominant figure in my life these last few weeks. By coincidence, I have just finished reading an excellent collection of the man's letters in a volume entitled The Scarlet Letters Of Theodore Roosevelt. These kinds of books are wonderful opportunities to get to know an historical figure through his own words, often directed at close friends and family with whom he felt comfortable enough to refrain from censoring his words quite so much. Then there's the two Night At The Museum films which I recently watched and reviewed for these pages. I live in Tampa and was recently near the area in which Teddy trained and assembled his famous Rough Riders for their historic contribution to the Spanish American War. Finally, I had just finished watching a more detailed biography on one of those documentary stations. So, wouldn't you know it that I would find at my doorstep courtesy of my local UPS carrier, a copy of The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt. I'm quite the history buff. I taught years of AP Government and American History. My specialty has always been the presidents. I was really looking forward to watching this one.
This is a documentary unlike any other I've ever seen. The piece is narrated by George C. Scott. The narration script is mostly very surface kinds of things. The program rarely goes into any kind of detail about the man. There's a lot of fluff and bravado descriptions of the subject, but I can't imagine you really getting to know the man himself from anything you encounter here. If you have knowledge about Teddy Roosevelt at all, you already know all this stuff. What the documentary lacks in detailed information it attempts to make up for in dramatizations. Actors portray Roosevelt and his family in reenactments of some of the narration. We're talking mostly family events. While the filmmakers never try to deceive the audience or suggest that this footage is the real deal, the program did catch more than its fair share of heat for the stylistic choice. But in the end, these reenactments appear as trivial as most of the program itself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 19th, 2010
One of the first books I read about the restaurant business was a title called Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. He describes the people who work at restaurants to be a band of misfits, those who are probably only there because of an irrational dedication to cooking. That would certainly describe the people who work at the Slammin Salmon, the latest comedy from Broken Lizard group.
Rich Ferente (played by Kevin Heffernan) is a down on his luck waiter. After a bout with some very disrespectful customers, he comes to the back with a tuna patty forcefully stuck in his mouth. He gets yelled at by the floor manager Carl (played by Nat Faxon) which causes Rich to quit on the spot. However Rich has to tell the Champ that he has quit and you know what happened to the last guy who did that? Ultimately Rich chickens out and runs away. Fast forward a year.
![The Slammin' Salmon [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-slammin-salmon-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2010
Remakes are a fact of life. It might seem now more than ever that we are plagued with this reality, but it's been true for a very long time. It's not so new, as you might expect. Even the lauded Cecil B. Demille The Ten Commandments was a remake of his own silent 1923 film. They've existed almost as long as the movies themselves and will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. So, the question should be: Why should a particular film be remade? Often technology catches up with the content in a film. The ability to create on the screen something that was simply impossible originally is a legitimate reason to tackle an older film. Sometimes the movie is so powerful that it bears retelling for a new generation.
But then there are the reasons why a film should not be remade. There are some classics that simply should be off limits forever. Would anyone even dare attempt to remake The Godfather? There are those films that are just not worth being remade. How many versions of Piranha do we really need? Then there are the films that are remade in title only, like the 1999 version of The Thomas Crown Affair.
![The Thomas Crown Affair [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-thomas-crown-affair-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 16th, 2010
The Falcon Crest series ran 227 episodes from December of 1981 to May of 1990. The show’s creator, Earl Hamner actually worked on the Waltons and wanted to make a show about a family in the wine industry. However, when CBS got a hold of the series they wanted to make it more like rival show, Dallas. Translation: we want more smut and backstabbing. The show, Falcon Crest was born. I think John Boy would have been shot in the first season had he lived in Tuscany Valley. Good night indeed.
Emma Channing (played by Margaret Ladd) and her boyfriend, Turner Bates (played by Robert F. Lyons) are fooling around in the Falcon Crest winery. Apparently, Emma has never been with a man before, so there is much laughter and screaming. Her Uncle Jason (played by Harry Townes) overhears the racket and comes to investigate what is going on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 15th, 2010
Nearly 10 years before Ben Stiller spent his first Night At The Museum with that eclectic cast of characters, The Relic brought us a much different kind of night at a museum. What comes to life here is anything but playful. There's nothing amusing about this nightmare in a museum. Peter Hyams might be more famous for several other action science fiction films, but none of his works before or since The Relic could claim to be quite so atmospheric. Together with the truly genius invention of creature creator extraordinaire Stan Winston, this is a movie that never quite took its earned spot in the tradition of effective horror or monster movies ... until now. For the first time in high definition thanks to this new Blu-ray release, I feel like I've seen The Relic for the first time. And, you know what? It's a pretty good film.
A cargo ship is found afloat in the middle of Lake Michigan shortly after a scientist has stowed aboard to prevent the delivery of a series of crates. The crates were the result of a Brazilian anthropology expedition for the Museum Of Natural History in Chicago. Now the ship appears deserted until Detective Vincent D'Agosta (Sizemore) boards her to investigate the disappearance of the crew and the bloody signs of a massacre throughout the ship. He makes a gruesome discovery. The crew was all mutilated by someone or something. D'Agosta believes this can only be the work of merciless drug cartel folks. That is, until a decapitation at the museum appears to have parallels to the attacks on the ship. His drug-smuggling theory will be put to the test in his search for the killer, apparently still trapped somewhere in the museum. The investigation is brought to a premature conclusion as city officials pressure him to allow a black tie fundraiser to go on that night. Anyone who's anyone will be there. He reluctantly agrees to green-light the affair, while he and his team attempt to find the killer and keep the patrons safe throughout the night.
![The Relic [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-relic-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 15th, 2010
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello began their career completely by accident. Bud Abbott had tried his hand at doing the straight man bit with limited success. One night in 1931 he was working as a cashier for a vaudeville company when Lou Costello's partner came down with an illness. The performer needed a stand-in, and Bud Abbott filled in for the night. It was a temporary gig, to be sure. A temporary gig that happened to last 25 years. The two continued to work together on stage. While the team certainly reused a ton of the classic routines of the era, there was something unique and clever about the duo. The natural way in which they fell into each other's lines was a rare sight, indeed. They eventually stood out for their ingenious word play, culminating in one of the most famous comic routines in history, Who's On First.
The pair next took their act to the airwaves -- radio airwaves, that is. They became a staple in the medium and eventually the highest paid performers in that industry. Films weren't really much of an option at first. They were still mostly silent, and while comedy thrived in that era, Abbott and Costello's brand of humor just would not have worked. But when sound became more economical and standard, the boys were thrown into the pictures. In 1940 they would star in a film called One Night In The Tropics. They would continue to make films for the next 14 years at an incredible pace. They made several films a year and were soon financing Universal studios with their output and box office income. Perhaps their most famous films were the monsters movies where Universal teamed their new moneymaker with the one before. In Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. would both reprise their famous Dracula and Wolf Man characters to the delight of fans of both franchises. Boris Karloff considered himself too old to don the heavy boots of the titular monster, which was played by Glenn Strange, who had performed the role in both House films. So he was still a legitimate part of the horror film cycle. The boys would get their chance to face Karloff later, not once, but twice.
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