Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on May 16th, 2007
Catering to the Casual, Free XBLA & Marvel UA goes Golden - Welcome to the column that always provides entertainment for the lowest common denominator known as Dare to Play the Game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 16th, 2007
Following the success of back-to-back hits Forest Gump and Apollo 13, Tom Hanks wanted to shake things up. His project of choice? Writing and directing his first feature film.
The result was That Thing You Do!, a light, enjoyable comedy about a 60’s pop band that makes it big on the strength of one hit song. Barely together a few weeks, The Oneders (pronounced “Wonders”) win a small-town talent contest, which lands them their first gig, playing at a local bar. Before they can adjust to ...heir first taste of success, they land a touring deal with Play-Tone, a record label. Just like that, they’re on a whirlwind tour that echoes the success of The Beatles. But can they handle the big-time, or will fame tear them apart?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 15th, 2007
The Pang brothers, twins Oxide and Danny, are most well-known for co-directing the hit horror film The Eye back in 2002, and its 2004 sequel, The Eye 2. The Messengers marks their first Hollywood studio effort, and despite it being panned by critics, the brothers have already moved on to more.
The story here is simple. A family buys a house in the middle of nowhere, hoping the move will turn around their fortunes and heal their bonds, which are strained after some big, emotionally traum...tic event. Too bad for them the house is haunted. I could have told them, if they’d only asked. One look at the place and it screams “enter if you dare.” Plus, I had the benefit of seeing the film’s intro, which depicts the horrible, violent deaths of a mother and two children at the hands of some mysterious, unseen force. In the same house.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 15th, 2007
Synopsis
Here we go: all 30 episodes of the first season, wherein we follow the adventures of Flipper, a dolphin owned by youngsters Bud and Sandy. All three are watched over by their father, Chief Ranger Ricks of Coal Key Park. The formula for each episode generally sees either someone who needs rescuing (from drowning, shark attack, that sort of thing) and Flipper must help out, or the boys and the dolphin wind up in trouble after poking their noses somewhere they shouldn’t. It’s all very familiar,...but damn if the show doesn’t still generate a certain degree of suspense with its cascade of predicaments. Also fun is the behind-the-scenes talent. Co-creator and director of many episodes is Ricou Browning, who played the Creature from the Black Lagoon in the underwater sequences of that film. He gets to recreate that role in the final episode of the season, as a monster movie is being shot at Coral Key, and Browning plays the monster (the costume appears to be repurposed version of the one used in The Monster from Piedras Blancas). There are moments in this episode which are deliberate, happier echoes of the original Creature. Curiously, the Creature was played in the land scenes by Ben Chapman, and that name shows up in the credits too as production supervisor, though in this case the name is a coincidence.
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on May 14th, 2007
This space here for rent for a small fee.
Not to harp on one particular subject, but it appears that any real substantiated news of the week focuses more on the hardware that the software. Onkyo is starting to roll out their new receivers, the ones that support HDMI 1.3. And late last week, Pioneer said that their Elite Models for this year will carry it as well, so to finally get a taste of things to come will be a welcome one. The other news turned out to be nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor, as ...niversal was reported on a German site as dropping to format neutal later this year, a rumor quickly shot down by the studio. This comes hot on the heels of the Chinese $300 HD-DVD players not being actual fact either. When it comes to all this nonsense, can’t we all just get along?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 14th, 2007
Released earlier this year to a successful box office run, Ghost Rider is yet another Marvel character making his way to the big screen. There’s something about these comic movies that have everyone all psyched these days, all of them performing admirably in the theatre and selling just as well upon DVD release. For me, there are only a couple of these Marvel films that I actually think were well done and in good contrast compared to their comic book counterparts. In fact I’m probably the only person on this c...ntinent to despise the Spiderman movies. So I wait in anticipation, is another Marvel franchise about to be ruined, or can director Mark Steven Johnson pull off a good one.
A Ghost Rider is a bounty hunter for Mephisto (Satan) (Peter Fonda), and for as long as time can tell, the devil has had a Ghost Rider. In the days of the Old West, a Ghost Rider was too retrieve the souls of an entire town, but the souls proving to be too powerful to be in the hands of Mephisto, the Ghost Rider outran the devil and hid the contracts. 150 Years later Mephisto is back and he wants the contracts. Fooling a young Johnny Blaze into trading his soul for his father being cured of cancer and then later having him killed anyways, he is doomed to one day face the curse of the Ghost Rider.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 14th, 2007
Synopsis
Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse! (tell me you just didn't say that) So what happens to a 31 year old adult who sits through a show alone that is geared towards children who might not even be in grade school yet? Besides binge drinking & wondering why he doesn't have a date this weekend? Apparently some good wholesome family entertainment. I was actually a little surprised how decent this was after twenty minutes into the program.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 14th, 2007
Synopsis
Stereo-typing is a nasty business and unfortunately happens a lot in Hollywood. Certain actors play certain types of characters, certain movies always have the same themes, certain Uwe Boll movies (all) get bad ratings, etc. One of those unfortunate stereo-types is african-american movie making. Quite often you see an urban setting, a rise from the ghetto, or something related to basketball or football. Dominant african-american stereo-typing at what everybody thin...s they do best. Sometimes however there are films that try to steer away from that by portraying them in a different light; one we aren't used to (but should be). It is the only hope that it is still a good film when all said and done.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 13th, 2007
Synopsis
It's fairly common to bring ideas from other cultures and bring them into American television shows. We have done it with gameshows (Lingo) and we have done it with movies (Ring). However, sometimes we simply wish to recreate shows in our image. Rarely, we just go ahead and use the same show and edit it to suit our tastes. Enter Most Extreme Elimination or MXC. This show (part of SpikeTV's late night lineup) is simply the Japanese show; Takeshi's Castle peace me...led together with new commentary and a different focus. (I'll explain more later in the extras).
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on May 11th, 2007
I’m going to run the horrible risk of coming across as the worst sort of “in my day” fuddy duddy this week. Oh well, he said, with a philosophical shrug of the shoulders.
So we’re a mere matter of weeks away from the release of Hostel: Part II, and no doubt another round of handwringing and analysis in the mainstream media about the popularity of the torture film (if the movie does well) or a celebration and analysis of its demise (if the flick bombs). Now, let’s be clear, I had a hoot at the first f...lm (laughing rather more than my companions were entirely comfortable with), and I’m cautiously looking forward to the second (Eli Roth is a talented filmmaker, but I’m not yet convinced he has sound judgment in all things, and his treatment of female characters in the new film will be something of an acid test).
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