Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2008
“Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed. Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shootin’ at some food and up from the ground comes a bubblin’ crude. Oil that is… Black Gold…
Who doesn’t remember the Clampetts, those lovable Beverly Hillbillies? The show has been revived in a film, rap songs, and a Weird Al parody of Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing. Terms like cement pond have lingered in our pop culture. The song was a genuine Billboard hit at the time and is still instantly recognizable some 40 plus years after the show aired.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 6th, 2008
Brothers and Sisters, we are gathered here today to extol the virtues of our moral champion, Eric Cartman. I’ve come here to praise Eric, not to bury him. It wasn’t much more than 12 years ago to this very day that we first met Eric. Certainly the presentation was a bit crude, and often the teachings were less focused and incoherent. Still, it didn’t take long before we could see an underlying message in the construction paper animation. Before too long the faithful grew, and the wisdom of Eric Cartman could no longer be stopped. Stan, Kyle, even Kenny. They tried to distract us from what we knew was the important message of each episode. Somehow the light managed to shine through. We weren’t watching
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2008
I like Mike Myers. I think he’s really talented, and I’ve enjoyed him in films like Wayne’s World, So I Married an Axe Murderer and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. That’s why I didn’t want to see The Love Guru. Seeing the trailers for this latest Myers project, I had the distinct feeling it was going to be a black mark on his filmography.
What an understatement — 20 minutes into The Love Guru, I wanted to punch Mike Myers in the face.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2008
A group of exotic dancers head off to a resort in the hills, ostensibly to shoot a film, but instead fall into evil clutches. The torture begins for them and that point, but it began for the audience prior to the opening credits. While the monologue that begins the film hints that there might have been an idea buried somewhere in here concerning the abusive objectification of women through history, the film decides to incarnate that idea rather than critique it, and do so very clumsily at that. The makeup effects are beyond risible, and the cinematography consists primarily of headache-inducing shaky close-ups. Another nail in the coffin of the torture porn subgenre.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2008
The CSI phenomenon has been going strong for many years now, and CBS has ridden that wave to become the top network these past couple of years. It all started with the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigator. This
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2008
Just to look at it you would think that My 3 Sons was a Disney production. Its star Fred MacMurray had appeared in many Disney films of the 50’s and 60’s and is most likely recognizable from those appearances. Two of the three boys were also known for work with Disney. The eldest boy, Mike, was played by Tim Considine, who starred with MacMurray in Disney’s The Shaggy Dog. Middle son Robbie was played by a former Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer, Don Grady. The youngest son, Chip, was played by Stanley Livingston, the only non Disney alum in that group. Another reason for the confusion is the decidedly Disney-like material the series covered. Steve Douglas (MacMurray) was a widowed single parent who was trying to balance his job with that of raising his three sons. Most of the stories involved the warm and fuzzy heartwarming stuff that Disney had pretty much cornered the market on in the films. Whatever troubles arose, no problem was so bad that a heart to heart talk couldn’t fix it. The style would prosper and continue in the form of 70’s shows like The Brady Bunch. The four guys were also joined by Steve’s father-in-law, Bud, played by I Love Lucy favorite William Frawley. That was no surprise since the show was actually produced, not by Disney, but the Desilu studios.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2008
The holiday season is coming fast. It should come as no surprise with all of the Chipmunk DVDs being released that a Holiday Collection was going to be included. Of all of the sets, this is the best. There 12 episodes in all, and each is among the best of the classic show. You get three discs, one for each of the upcoming special days: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There’s plenty of Chipmunk antics and some great song selections included in each disc.
Posted in: Brain Blasters by David Annandale on October 3rd, 2008
The latest issue of Rue Morgue has hit the stands, and its cover story is a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Naturally, there is plenty celebrating the man behind the world’s first horror/SF magazine, Forrest J. Ackerman. Permit me, then, to take advantage of the occasion to do a little celebrating myself.
That Ackerman is the most important fan in the history of fantastic film is one of those facts so obvious as to hardly bear repeating; to do so is tantamount to announcing that the sun is warm. So rather than belabor the point, let me simply give a bit of historical perspective. Consider this passage:
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on October 1st, 2008
Tough Games, GTA IV saving Windows , and Rock Band 4 Ever - Welcome to the column that took Cotton Eye Joe out back and shot him…dead known as Dare to Play the Game.
I’ve been a little busy this week. That might be a good thing, I think. Debris is still being picked up around my home. It’s going a bit slowly since I don’t have access to a truck and for the most part people in my subdivision rather keep to themselves. Shocking I know in this day and age, people are selfish even when offered money. Anyhow, no matter. I will have the sucker cleaned up and looking alright by the time I leave to go to Ohio on the 17th of this month. The column for the 22nd should still run as long as I have some access to a computer at that point. We will have to see.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2008
“Who? Or What is the newest, most breath-taking, most sensational super-hero of all?”
That was the question asked on the cover of Marvel’s Tales Of Suspense issue number 39. Pictured with that buildup was a character quite different from the Iron Man that we would come to know and love over the next 40 plus years. He was all silver and appeared to be wearing combat boots. He was not very slender, and you could almost hear the clunking as he moved. By the next issue he was gold colored. By Issue number 48 of that same series, the new and improved Iron Man look would appear for the first time. He was sporting the red and gold colors that would be relatively unchanged for decades. Certainly the suit evolved over the years, but Iron Man’s basic design was born. It was December, 1963. In issue 53 the book would begin to incorporate the name of Iron Man into its front page header. Finally in May of 1968 Tales Of Suspense gave way to The Invincible
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