Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 20th, 2009
There’s another Holiday on the horizon, and I’ll bet you know what that means. It means that we’ll be in for more Chipmunk adventure tied to the season. For the last year or so Paramount has been hard at work filling your Chipmunks addiction with these holiday themed releases. Easter will be no different as we get The Mystery Of The Easter Chipmunk. It’s no Great Pumpkin, but you can be sure to sink those buck teeth into more revved up Chipmunk mischief and trouble.
The Chipmunks began life oddly enough as a singing group, of sorts. They were the brainchild of struggling songwriter Ross Bagdasarian and were named after the three chief executives at Liberty records. His own alter ego David Seville’s name came from his World War II Army station in Spain. The Chipmunks first appeared in a 1958 record called The Witch Doctor, but wouldn’t officially become The Chipmunks until later that year when The Chipmunks Christmas Song was released. It is for that Christmas music that I most remember the group. They first appeared as puppets on The Ed Sullivan Show. Alvin and the boys got their own television show in 1961. When Ross died in 1972, the Chipmunks would continue on under the guidance of his son. In 1983 The Chipmunks had yet another popular cartoon show and had appeared in countless specials and films. Today they are pretty much a hallmark at the holidays, and a Christmas song collection just wouldn’t be complete without them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 20th, 2009
In 2004 Morgan Spurlock released the controversial documentary Super Size Me. In the film he goes on a 30 day fast food only diet. His purpose was to alert the public of the danger to health the fast food industry has become. The film was more about the obesity problem in America and less about the evil McDonald’s Empire, but he makes several points which one might interpret as being pro-fast food regulation. Spurlock became somewhat of a cult figure among the health conscious crowd and was considered a hero, of sorts. It appears he suffered severe kidney and liver problems during the diet, but soldiered on.
Along comes Tom Naughton, who found some faults with that film. So, Tom decides to go on a 30 day fast food diet as well. The difference is that he will pay attention to his calorie, fat, and carb intake and attempt to eat somewhat sensibly during that month. Tom has somewhat better results that Spurlock did. He actually lost weight, reduced his fat count, and improved his cholesterol situation, making his physician a little unhappy at what he was proving. Is Tom Naughton saying that eating a full slate of fast food is good for you? No, that’s not his point. He’s really preaching personal responsibility. He makes that point by spending an entire day hanging around the outside of fast food restaurants, waiting for someone to drag him inside and force him to eat. Obviously, that doesn’t happen. He also films a segment where a McDonald’s employee asks the age old question, “Would you like fries with that”, to which Naughton replies, “No”. He shows the feigned surprise when the employee accepts his answer. The point, again, is that no one is forcing you to eat anything you don’t want to eat. He challenges Spurlock’s contention that these chains make it hard to get the nutritional information on the food. It turns out that most provide it right there. If not, every single chain provides it on their web site. No computer, you say. Naughton shows us just how easy it is to use one at the local library. Still too hard? He went to his small town’s smallest bookstore and found 5 books in short time that published the information.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 19th, 2009
“You’ve got Samuel L. Jackson. You’ve got Bernie Mac. Just turn on the camera and I guarantee you got something you can keep.”
During an August weekend in the past summer of 2008 the entertainment world lost two of it’s brightest stars in just two days. On August 9th comedian extraordinaire Bernie Mac died from complications of pneumonia. The Mac-Man, as his friends liked to call him, was little more than 50 years old. Just a few hours after Bernie Mac passed, on August 10th legendary soul man Isaac Hayes also died. Hayes was 10 days shy of his 66th birthday. This was certainly a tragic weekend for the entertainment community, but the unlikely coincidence is made somewhat bittersweet by the fact that both men appeared together in what would be one the final appearances by both performers. That movie was the comedy Soul Men. To make the coincidence carry further, that film would have as its main plot point the idea of getting to the funeral of a soul legend, recently passed away.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 19th, 2009
It all starts with antique dealer Uncle Lewis. He made a deal with the devil to help His Evilness to distribute cursed and evil objects through his store. Objects included Jack The Ripper’s scalpel. Finally Satan comes to collect Uncle Lewis and his tattered soul, leaving his niece Micki (Robey) to clean up the mess. She and cousin Ryan (Le May) have the unenviable task of tracking down these items and sealing them safely away so they can do no more harm. They were often assisted in their task by Jack (Wiggins) who knew something of the occult. The series ran from 1987 to 1990 and never made more than a ripple in the ratings. The show included Steve Monarque as Johnny Ventura in this second season.
We pretty much pick up where the previous season left off. Uncle Lewis might have been defeated and killed, but Lewis had enchanted a mirror before he died, allowing him to open a portal to Hell and escape. So it’s back to tracking down the artifacts and getting them all returned. Artifacts this season included a voodoo mask, antique radio, violin bow, make-up case, handkerchief, pocket watch, World Series ring, pendant, snow globe, and snow shoes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 19th, 2009
Remember when Eddie Murphy was funny? You know, before the fat suites and fart jokes. I guess many of you hadn’t even been born yet. Ronald Reagan was still president of these United States. CD’s were the latest thing. VHS was just catching on. The Rams were still in L.A., and it was the Cardinals that were playing in St. Louis. No one had ever heard about DVD, MP3, or Wi-fi. It was 1988 and Eddie Murphy was staring in Coming To America.
I’ve long considered this the last funny Eddie Murphy film. It just seems like he’d turned to gimmicks and quick physical humor. He got lazy, and you know what? So did I. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to get my seat into those theater seats to see him clown around anymore. So journey with me back to a magical time when Murphy was still hungry and he let his talent shine.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 19th, 2009
Leslie Nielsen was once a serious actor. He starred in one of the most important science fiction films ever made, Forbidden Planet. He was a staple on the 1950’s television dramas. His unique features and voice made him a busy character actor all the way until the 1980’s. That’s when the cornball kings Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker cast him as the “don’t call me Shirley” Dr. Rumack in Airplane. From that moment on Nielsen went from being a serious actor to becoming the face of an entire comedy genre of corny films. If there was a subject to spoof throughout the 80’s and 90’s, you could count on Leslie Nielsen having a prominent role. Two years after Airplane he had a television series, for all of 6 episodes. It was a cop show spoof called Police Squad. In the show he stared as Detective Frank Drebin, a modern day Inspector Clouseau. He would bumble his way through the show’s unique cases, always finding a way to stumble on the solution. The only case he couldn’t crack was how to get people to watch the show. The brand of humor that Nielsen is now famous for has a very narrow niche. You either get it or you don’t. You either like it or you don’t, and most of America decidedly didn’t.
So what do you do with a miserably failed television show that ran just 6 episodes? You make it into a series of major motion pictures, that’s what you do. Six years after the series was gone and forgotten, the Abrahams/Zucker team decided to take it to the medium they’ve had so much success in already. What didn’t work at all on television appeared to have new life at the box office. The film brought in an impressive $79 million, which was a phenomenal number for a comedy in 1988. It went on to become the 8th highest grossing film of 1988. With a production budget of only about $20 million, this was a cash cow Paramount couldn’t afford to milk. They did indeed go to the well twice more, with the bottom falling out on the third try. The audiences loved it, but they could only take so much.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 19th, 2009
The series might be called “I Love The 80’s” and the film Still Smokin’ was indeed released in 1983, but when I think of Cheech & Chong I am brought back to the 1970’s. It was then that the pair had their first success with an iconic brand of “stoner” comedy. Their LP’s sold millions across the country. You didn’t have to be a stoner to appreciate the jokes. I was about as straight as they come, but I really loved listening to Cheech & Chong. The material was about more than just getting high. It was timely, at least it was then. It mirrored the culture that we could see from our own windows and like all inspired comedy, it was relevant.
In 1978 the boys ventured into the movies with Up In Smoke. While the film wasn’t a box office blockbuster, it did a fair amount of business, and before long the boys were in the big time. Unfortunately by the time of the release of Still Smokin’ things were already on the decline. By 1983 the world had changed enough that the humor no longer reflected popular American culture. By now the movies really were strictly for the stoners.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 19th, 2009
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is a character that actually originated in 1962. She debuted in Archie Comics for the publication Archie’s Mad House issue #22. She was intended to be one of those one-shot characters, but the audience liked her so much that she found a home in Archie Comics for a while, even getting her own book starting in 1971. In 1996, a television show was launched. It would last seven seasons and one-hundred and sixty three episodes. This was a great run for a show that was only created to bring a little bit of magic into everybody’s lives.
Sabrina Spellman (played by Melissa Joan Hart) has enrolled into Adams College. She decides to leave behind her aunts, Hilda and Zelda (played by Caroline Rhea & Beth Broderick) and move into the dorms. Salem (voiced by Nick Bakay), her talking cat (he’s really a trapped warlock) also can’t come as she must try to adjust to college life alone.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2009
Made-for-TV crapper Depth Charge, a new action film starring Jason Gedrick and that B-movie slut brother of Julia Eric Roberts, hits DVD with a bare bones release you will welcome, if by chance, you happen to work for Upcoming Discs and want to get your next bad movie project over with as quickly as possible.All others may find it difficult mustering enthusiasm for what is essentially an ultra-low budget remake of Die Hard on a submarine.
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on February 18th, 2009
Gamestop Shafting Employees, Guild Wars delay & the Final Roster for Legends of Wrestlemania - Welcome to the column that is the Santino Marella of the gaming community known as Dare to Play the Game.
My first full week back with my Xbox 360 has been an exercise in finishing up some old games. I now have every achievement in Fable II Pub Games with the exception of the locksmith achievement which is gained by unlocking all games. This will take sometime as Keystone is an exercise in torture. I am also halfway through the fifth episode in Lego Star Wars CS. I should finish the normal game portion by Sunday. The sad part of the debacle is I will probably only have half of the achievement points at this point. I could make a rant about why some games only give you such a small amount for beating the actual game but we don’t have that kinda time.
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