Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2009
Chris Rock has been one of those comedians that either hits a home run or strikes completely out. I’ve seen quite a bit of his stand-up and found I loved it or hated it. He’s not afraid to play the race card. Hell, Chris plays the whole dang deck at times, and Everybody Hates Chris is no different. The comedy is based, loosely I’m sure, on the young adolescent life of Chris Rock. It’s a black comedy that will bring back memories of those 1970’s shows we all watched as kids. Like Good Times and even Sanford And Son, the show is loaded with stereotypes. All of the white characters are bumbling fools who are often played as racists themselves. Chris’s school teacher, Mrs. Morello (Mazarella), is the most obvious example. She’s constantly trying to talk “hood” with the boys and making politically incorrect observations loaded with outrageous clichés. Of course, it’s all in fun, and if you’re willing to overlook the often sensitive language and plots, you’re in for some laughs along the way. I like that the show never really takes itself seriously and challenges the viewer to simply lighten up. Basically, this ain’t no Cosby Show.
Chris Rock narrates each episode from his current place in life. The interjections are often humorous commentary on the pains of growing up, particularly black. At times Chris is just annoying, and he tries too often to be over the top. Tyler James Williams plays the young Chris. He kind of looks like him enough, and I can see some of Rock’s mannerisms in the boy. Terry Crews is the standout actor, playing Chris Rock’s father, Julius. The big guy always seems to mean well but doesn’t always have his stuff together. He could have been a young Fred Sanford. Tichina Arnold is Mom and the domineering force in the life of our young comedian to be. She’s best known for her excellent turn as Pamela in Martin, another stand-up sit-com vehicle. Chris’s siblings are played by Tequan Richmond and Imani Hakim. Hakim is absolutely hilarious and seems so much older than her age as an actor. She manages the little sister act, while all the while you know there is so much going on there. She’s a constant burst of energy and often exhausting to watch. A very promising young actress. Finally, Vincent Martella plays Greg, the token white dude. He’s Chris’s best bud and is honestly the most stereotypical white kid I’ve seen on television. Together it’s a good ensemble, and the show can be quite clever at its best, simply funny at its worst.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2009
Jack Webb invented the modern television police procedural with the creation of Dragnet, first as a radio play and eventually as a successful television series. The series told the tale of a pair of L.A. detectives. There wasn’t any flair or action sequences. No car chases and no gun fights. When Jack Webb turned his attention to the patrol officer, he realized that some of that formula would have to change. But he wouldn’t tweak it very much. There was the occasional gunfire, but it was rare and was never the focus of any given story. Instead Webb concentrated on the actual procedures and duties of the everyday patrol officers, thus the invention of the procedural drama. It was no small step for television audiences and was likely very much responsible for the shape of the young medium and the shows that would follow up to this very day. Now the episodes might seem quite tame by today’s standards, and I don’t doubt that many of you might even get a chuckle at the no nonsense dialog that has become a Jack Webb trademark. Still, you won’t get a truer look behind the curtain than Adam 12. It was a show very much of its time.
Adam 12 debuted on NBC in 1968 and ran until May of 1975. The show never really changed at all for its 7 seasons. It starred Martin Milner as officer Pete Malloy and science fiction genre veteran Kent McCord as officer Jim Reed. They rolled in the black and white that bore the call letters Adam 12. They were headquarted at L.A.’s Rampart precinct, the same area as Jack Webb’s sister show about firefighters and paramedics, Emergency. The two shows shared a rather odd relationship. They did cross over and appeared to exist in the same universe; however, an episode of Emergency once featured a storyline where the paramedics where trying to watch a nail biter climax on Adam 12 only to be called away at the crucial moment. They spent the rest of the day trying to find out what happened. Yet they would meet the characters as real police officers in their own pilot. The firefighters would also appear on an episode of Adam 12. If that’s all rather a little confusing, blame the complicated world of Jack Webb.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2009
From the very beginning writer/director Matt Aselton wants to make a statement with his first film, Gigantic. The tiny title letters belying the largesse of the title itself right away appears to be telling you that the film will go against any expectations. It’s a brave independent piece of cinema that exhibits ton of promise and potential that is never fully woven together coherently enough to satisfy even the most art house of audiences. Taking his cues from such iconic directors as Woody Allen, Aselton doesn’t demonstrate the experience or maturity level to take what makes perfect sense in his own mind and translate it so that an outsider can completely understand what he’s trying to say. It’s unfortunate, really, because the film contains some rather clever ideas and certainly a top notch cast. There’s a future in this business for Matt Aselton, but that future isn’t now, and it’s not with Gigantic.
Brian (Dano) works at a high end mattress store called The Sandman. The first real incoherency can be found here in the store. They sell mattresses that are tens of thousands of dollars, but the store is a dirty brick walled loft. The merchandise is certainly not well displayed, and no one who works there seems terribly interested in selling the bedding. Brian is trying to raise money to adopt a Chinese baby. No explanation as to why the young single man wants to do this other than it’s something he’s always wanted to do. Nothing in his personality appears at all consistent with the desire, and his game plan is remarkably nonexistent. He doesn’t have the means or the emotional maturity to take on the task, yet he appears to be making great progress with the adoption procedure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 13th, 2009
Next month, my mom turns fifty-eight years young (I would say old, but I’m pretty sure she can still reach across county lines and wallop me one). She’s been around for quite a while and despite the typical things that age do to people, she’s still a kicking. This usually means gossiping to neighbors, clipping coupons and watching soap operas. My mom has watched a lot of soap operas including General Hospital, Young & The Restless and some night time ones too. The night time soap operas I speak of are of yesteryear like Dallas or Dynasty. That’s why when I saw “These Old Broads”, I knew in a minute who this release was aimed at.
In the early 1960’s, there was a musical made called “Boy Crazy”. It became a cult sensation up until this very day. It starred Kate Westbourne, Piper Grayson & Addie Holden (played by Shirley MacLaine, Debbie Reynolds, & Joan Collins respectively) who were known for their beauty, charm & musical talent. They were also known for their backstage antics which included cat fights and sleeping with directors.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2009
An insubordinate officer (Bo Svenson), an African-American who Has Been Pushed Too Far (Fred Williamson), a thief, a gambler, and a coward are among the prisoners loaded up onto an Allied convoy in 1944. When the trucks come under attack from the Germans, the prisoners escape, and decide to make their way to Switzerland. But their journey is a complicated one, with another firefight around every corner, culminating in a particularly violent case of mistaken identity, which results in their volunteering to tackle a suicidal train-jacking.
![Inglorious Bastards [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/inglorious-bastards-blu-ray-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2009
Unable to face life as a lawyer, having been pushed into law school by his father (Tom Hanks), Troy Gable (Colin Hanks, looking uncannily like his father) aspires to become a writer. In order to put food on the table, he becomes the road manager for Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a former big-name mentalist who now works half-empty theatres in towns Troy didn't even know existed. By turns charming and tyrannical, Buck keeps hoping for the big comeback and return to his Tonight Show glory days, and drags Troy along for a bumpy ride down the back roads of show business.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 13th, 2009
This is the story of two Vikings who are mistakingly left behind in Newfoundland in the year 1007. As these two find ways to survive, they encounter Irish monks and Aboriginal people, and these same encounters ultimately lead to rifts in their bond with each other. The beautiful landscapes become a backdrop for a sometimes violent look at the people who discovered North America centuries before Columbus or any other discoverer. Oh, and we also get bad translations of Old Norse, a lot of metal music and a scene of actual defecation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 13th, 2009
An American Affair is set in the early 1960’s. The John F. Kennedy administration is at the height of its popularity and yet there is still quite a bit of controversy swirling after the Cuban missile crisis. Adam Stafford (Cameron Bright) is a thirteen year old enduring the awkward years of his life when he catches a glimpse of his neighbor across the street. His neighbor is Catherine Caswell (Gretchen Mol) and she eventually hires Adam as her landscaper. Despite the enormous age-gap between Catherine and Adam, a friendship emerges. As the film continues, Caswell’s complicated history begins to return and the two of them become involved in the growing speculation about the JFK administration.
The film manages to deliver some emotion throughout. In a shocking display, Gretchen Mol’s performance is very strong. The vulnerability of her character is portrayed quite well and viewers can understand her. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Cameron Bright. His role is the most crucial in the film and in a most disappointing way becomes the least powerful. Most of his major scenes are forgettable and his performance is flat. The other characters throughout the film do not overly impress. However, everyone plays their character well enough to get by.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2009
“Four turtles. Four brothers genetically reborn in the sewers of New York. Named after the great Renaissance masters and trained as ninjas. They battled many creatures and foes before defeating their arch enemy, The Shredder. But, now a greater evil is poised to destroy their brotherhood. An evil born 3000 years ago.”
What started as a low budget comic has grown into quite a sensation. The Turtles are everywhere. There are cartoons, books, comics, movies, and thousands of toys. They’ve been translated into just about every language in the world. The 1980’s and 1990’s were alive with Turtle power. With yet another film now in the works, the Turtles are about to make a comeback. While the characters might not have started with the 80’s cartoon series, that’s where it made its greatest leap in popularity. The show ran for over a decade, a rare record for cartoon shows of the era. Then came the inevitable movies. Three of them in all during the live action phase. The Turtles were part actor and part animatronics Jim Henson creation ala the Disney/ABC Dinosaurs television series. The fourth was a recent (2007) CGI film. All four are collected here for the first time in high definition Blu-ray in a rather righteous collection. The case is a pizza box, and each of the four discs resemble different kinds of pizza. There’s also a bit of swag to be found in the spacious box. You get character cards featuring shots from the live action films, a signed black and white sketch, a comic book detailing events from the first film, and a “radical” beanie for your head. It may be a bit corny and somewhat impractical, but it beats those crazy eco cases that are getting way too popular in the industry.
![Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Film Collection (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Secret of the Ooze / Turtles in Time / TMNT) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-film-c-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2009
“At the end of the Ice Age the machine came. It came from outside. It came from space. It came with one purpose, to change man into mutant.”
Mutant Chronicles was based on an old style role playing game. This was the kind where someone actually had to get out some paper and keep track of the game. Real old school. So now the property has been turned basically into a video game. Yeah, I know this is a movie review, but I just spend about an hour and a half feeling like I just watched somebody else play a video game, and not a very good one at that. From the extras it’s apparent this is one of those flipping off the establishment films. I’m sure everybody involved got a ton of laughs about the absurdity and total lack of commerciality. They spend a lot of time patting themselves on the back, bragging about how they showed Hollywood, boy. That’s all well and good, but did anyone think about us poor saps who weren’t in on the joke, but had to watch the film anyway?
On The Web
Sponsors
