Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2006
Little Miss Sunshine is a gem. With a quirky script, a great cast and interesting cinematography, there's plenty to appreciate as this ultimately uplifting film unfolds.
To make a great movie, they say you have to start with a great script. From there, your goal is just to not screw it up. Little Miss Sunshine's script laid just such a foundation for this film, as it's unique, funny and surprisingly heartwarming.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on December 17th, 2006
Opening
If you ever visit my house, you might be a bit underwhelmed from the outside appearance. It is a simple three bedroom place with a few trees and a handful of assorted plants. If I can concentrate on growing something I do fine, but since I'm not really used to the space, things can look out of sorts. So when I received Viva Pi�ata from the minds of Rare LTD, I was a little worried. Here I was given a new garden to cultivate and grow various plants, trees, & bushes in hopes of attracti...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2006
Well as far as girl groups go, I suppose one could do worse than the Cheetah Girls. Something that is a pretty clear production of the Disney network, the only recognizable thing about the group itself is the appearance of the big-boned Raven Symone, otherwise known as the youngest Cosby kid.
And it appears that several different plot devices occur through the film. You've got the Help! or other delirious fans of young groups. Then the girls travel to what appears to be Spain after maxing out their success in the US, so they decide to go without really going, using enough exterior shots to match up with the sound stage scenes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2006
Maybe you guys don't remember the Blake Edwards romantic comedies of the '70s and '80s like 10 or even Skin Deep, but I'd even go so far as to say that when it clicks, The Oh in Ohio is much in the same vein of those comedies. Anyone notice the disclaimer?
Anyway for those that missed it, Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey, Superman Returns) is a successful businesswoman in Cleveland who is married to Jack (Paul Rudd, Anchorman), a high school teacher in the area.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2006
If there's something that bothers me about the wave of digital films for children's entertainment nowadays, it's that anyone who has a Mac and good enough software feels compelled to make a movie, no matter how much it sucks. And Disney (or Dreamworks) or another studio will put enough marketing money behind it to make anyone want to watch it.
How can you tell how good or bad it will be? Well, if it's not a Pixar film, you can generally tell by the cast that is brought in to do voice work for it. In the case of The Wild, Samson the Lion (Kiefer Sutherland, 24) lives in the New York zoo with his son Ryan (hey, that's me! But really it's Greg Cipes, John Tucker Must Die).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2006
Synopsis
Not to fawn too heavily on one side in the next-generation format wars, but how cool is HD-DVD? Well, if for nothing else, the HD-A1 and HD-XA1 players from Toshiba are all region-free. And while Warner Brothers has been slipping over themselves and teasing American consumers with a release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, British customers have gotten full penetration, and can pick up the fourth Potter film now. So I went onto Amazon UK and picked up my own copy, and I�m going to presume that the disc will be the same when it comes out here, whenever that will be.
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on December 15th, 2006
Old fogey time. When I first encountered Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K, don’t you know), it was an authentically viral phenomenon. This would have been circa 1993. It was still on the Comedy Network, a station that very few of us in the Great White North had access to. But the closing credits ordered, “Keep Circulating Those Tapes,” and people did. Often, this meant viewing the episodes in multi-duped EP versions so muzzy the dialogue was barely audible, but enough was discernible to know that we were w...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2006
Michael Mann, for myself, has always been an entertaining director. His commercial successes like Last of the Mohicans, Heat and Collateral are some of my favorite guilty-pleasure films that I can always enjoy. When Mann decided to make a feature film on the classic TV series Miami Vice, I immediately piqued interest in the film. I figured with Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx acting and Michael Mann directing that Miami Vice would be a home run. In the end, Vice is more of a double that has a few faults which keep it from hitting a home run.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2006
Why is it that kids watch so much bad programming? When I was a child I watched a lot of Full House, even though I knew at the time that it was a poorly-crafted program. I really don't remember ever laughing during an episode, and I knew how cheesy the whole thing was, yet if I was at home changing channels, and the show came on, I would inexplicably stop and watch. At first, I think it was confusing for me that Dave Coulier was on the show, as up until that point I was used to seeing him as the host of Nickel...
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on December 13th, 2006
Plasma, Protecting Children from themselves & PS3 pipe dreams - Welcome to the column that never discloses whether or not it is rated M for Mature (just assume it) known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I'm your host that made the big jump this weekend. I went and bought a 42 inch Phillips plasma from Best Buy. I don't want to get too much into it since this is good story fodder but it got delivered on tuesday and is waitin...
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