Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 15th, 2009
“Harper’s Island is 37 miles off the coast of Seattle. 7 years ago, 6 people were murdered here, presumably by a man named John Wakefield. They were the first ever recorded murders in the history of the island. They will not be the last.”
Whap, Gurgle, Snap. No, that’s not the sound of the latest craze in breakfast cereals. It’s three episode titles to the limited run series, Harper’s Island. This is one of those one season high concept shows that crop up from time to time. With television spots that at first made it look like another in the reality TV wave, it didn’t get quite the buzz I’m sure was hoped for. We were promised a murder every week, and we got it. The episode titles represent sounds we might imagine each murder producing. Where the show just couldn’t make a killing was in the ratings. It was never intended for anything but one season, which was good, because it didn’t stand a chance of getting renewed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 14th, 2009
My senior year in high school was just the same as my junior year: stranger in a strange land. When looking back at the time that was spent, I spent more time with my nose in books and running from jocks. The reason why the jocks were upset at me more often than not? I was looking at their girls. In an attempt to find myself, I would pretend to be solving a Calculus problem (which eventually explained why I had to retake it in college) and instead fantasize about what it would be like to be with Miss Popular. I would eventually stop caring, the bruises would heal but I often thought what would have happened? Perhaps in a fantasy land, something like the film The Girl Next Door would have happened. Nah, probably not.
Matthew Kidman (played by Emile Hirsch) is everything a successful high school senior should be. He’s the class president, he’s been accepted to Georgetown, and he is eligible for a prestigious scholarship. But he wants to be like the popular guys and be able to hang out at the beach, skipping school and have a hot girl to be by his side. One day, he meets the girl of his dreams. Her name is Danielle (played by Elisha Cuthbert) and she is house sitting next door.
![The Girl Next Door (Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-girl-next-door-unrated-editio-large.jpg)
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2009
This Canadian made-for-TV movie from 2003 is about to be released on DVD. It stars a young Ellen Page (Juno, Hard Candy) which, I suspect, is the reason it is being released on DVD after all this time. The changes to the cover art support this theory. The original displayed much of the cast, with the titular cat featured in the foreground. The new and improved cover features a large picture of Ellen Page above the cat, with her name featured prominently above the title. I’m not sure if Miss Page has the kind of wide appeal to warrant basing a marketing campaign around, but sometimes you have to toss out every pitch you know and hope one of them gets over the plate.
The screenplay is based on a kids’ novel, and has popped up on various cable networks since its initial airing, most recently being shown as an Animal Planet original production. Over the years it has also changed titles, having originally been called Mrs. Ashboro’s Cat. The title Ghost Cat is certainly more evocative and will likely sell more copies, but is a tad misleading. I was really expecting a kind of whacky supernatural comedy, like one of those fluffy Disney Channel pictures featuring whatever set of clones happens to have been most recently harvested from their labs. Instead, what I got was a grounded, sincere family drama with some supernatural elements and many cute animals.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on September 13th, 2009
Originally titled, The Marconi Brothers,it has been retitled in what looks to be an attempt to leech off of the success of Wedding Crashers years after the fact (the DVD case even sports the tagline “The Original Crashers.” Whatever the title truly is, this film is about a pair of brothers who stumble from the mediocrity of being heirs to an independent, family-run carpet installing business to the mediocrity of video-taping weddings for a living. Such low ambitions in our protagonists breed boring results in this clunky comedy.
Posted in: Contests, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2009
Paramount has graciously given us four copies of Transformers on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of this F/X feast, just follow these two steps...
Contest is now closed: The winners were: Gary, Jennifer G., Connie Lewis, and Daniel M.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2009
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has graciously given us TEN copies of Barney: Jungle Friends on DVD to give away.
To enter to win a copy of these rainforest discoveries and fun animal adventures, just follow these two steps...
Contest is now closed. Winners are: Alexia, Chris L, Richard L, Maria Leach, Carol, Lana E, Anne Taylor, Dianne G, Steve, and Matthew Lewis.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2009
“For those of you just joining us: What you are looking at is the work of ZFT, a terrorist organization responsible for at least a half a dozen biological attacks over the last several months. Everything we know thus far can be found in your packets (or Blu-rays), including a copy of their manifesto which elucidates their ideology and their methods. Which boils down to the following: Attempting to provoke or prepare for a war. With who? That’s the question, isn’t it? What we do know is that these bizarre acts seem to be increasing in frequency and that their targets are unpredictable and therefore unprotectable. Those of you assembled in this room now have a clear-cut goal…”
That goal is to rush out and pick up the high definition, Blu-ray release of the first season of JJ Abrams latest television enigma, Fringe.
![Fringe: The Complete First Season (+ BD-Live) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/fringe-the-complete-first-season--large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 11th, 2009
“Happy 200th, everybody. Only 75 shows in the history of television have reached 200 episodes. Only 4 other shows currently on the air have produced 200 episodes, and of those only 2 feature live actors. And, it’s worth noting that both of those shows were in the top of the Nielsen ratings before CSI came along and knocked them off of that perch.”
And, after 9 years and over 200 episodes, CSI has enjoyed an almost unprecedented near decade as the number one show in the country. It’s a rare thing to go so long and keep the core of your team intact. Up until now CSI has added characters, but has not lost a major character. But things are about to change. If you’re a fan of the original idea, this is an important season set to own. It’s all going to change quite significantly in season 9. William Petersen leaves mid-season. Dourdan is also already gone. The actor found himself in a considerable legal jam and was forced from the show. His character gets killed off in the beginning of the 9th season. Finally Jorja Fox, who had been playing a several year game of I quit/no I don’t with the series, finally opted out at the end of season 8. Petersen will remain as an executive producer.
![CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Ninth Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/csi-crime-scene-investigation-th-large.jpg)
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on September 9th, 2009
Nigerian Government upset over the PS3, A New Bonk & Kicking your WoW Habit for 14k? - Welcome to the column that wants to know who to contact to get rid of this Peggle addicition known as Dare to Play the Game.
This last week has been a rollercoaster of sorts. I made the journey from Texas to Tennessee to help my folks move. They are in that retirement age bracket and plan to only work a couple of more years. So due to exhausting most of their options, they decided to move to where they bought their retirement land in hopes of finding jobs and building their retirement home. I wish I could say the trip went well. I had the job of driving the Buick with my mother right next to me. My dad had the job of the UHaul. I’m not sure who had it worse.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2009
If someone told you there was a movie out there starring David Carradine, Bruce Dern, and Rip Torn as three retired sea captains sharing a house together, what would your expectations be? I personally would expect a raucous production with colorful characters and a whole lot of the kind of scenery-chewing that those three guys are known for. However, set it at the turn of the century, fill it with unmemorable supporting actors, and change its title from Chatham (not a great title I admit) to the far more generic The Golden Boys, and it doesn’t take a perch in the crow’s nest to see that this schooner is close-hauled and tacking into the wind. See what I did there? I cleverly used nautical terminology to illustrate the disappointing quality of a movie about sailors. Now I feel like a big-time reviewer.
The DVD cover trumpets the quotation, “A cross between Grumpy Old Men and Three Men and a Baby”. This quote is attributed to Cindy Adams of the New York Post, and I’m not sure which film she watched, but it certainly was not this one. The three lead characters are not grumpy, there isn’t a baby to be seen anywhere, and the romantic rivalry for the affections of Mariel Hemingway amounts to nothing and, in fact, is pretty much nonexistent. I looked up the source of the quote and found that it didn’t even come from a review, but from a puff piece she wrote about Rip Torn. This gives you an idea of how desperate the publishers were to find a way to market this thing.
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