Posted in: 2.35:1 Widescreen, Buena Vista, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 2.0 (French), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Spanish), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Drama, DVD by Archive Authors on October 28th, 2006
Synopsis
Don Haskins may not be as well-known as Jackie Robinson, Jim Brown, or other historical figures that have helped integrate sports with black players, but the impact that Haskins had on college basketball is arguably more significant than any coaching strategy could have possibly introduced, and it’s those events for which Haskins was at the helm that unfold in Glory Road, which some have unfairly labeled as producer Jerry’s Bruckheimer’s basketball equivalent to Remember the Titans.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 28th, 2006
OK, let's just get this out of the way at the start. Hellbent is a film from a cable network called Here!, which is America's foremost gay and lesbian television network. Consequently, this made-for-TV film is based solely around homosexual couples, as is all of the programming on the network. They make all manner of programming, including feature films, that deal primarily with homosexuality.
Now, here is my complaint. If you want to make programming that has homosexuals in it, I'm fine with that. But when the main focus of your programming business is promoting a certain belief or lifestyle, the stories will inevitably suffer. Every part of the film should serve the story. For those who think I am homophobic, I would say the same thing about movies that are made primarily to promote religion, victims rights, heterosexuality or any other number of beliefs. It has nothing to do with the beliefs or lifestyles themselves, it is the fact that promoting an outside belief moves the film from “interesting story” to “propaganda film”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 28th, 2006
With all that’s been going on with Tom Cruise as of late, I found myself doubting the integrity of this picture. I was fearful that the happenings of Cruise’s personal life would somehow bring down this movie; the previous two films did set the bar pretty high. So how did the third installment add up, did it fall short of expectations, or did it deliver beyond what I expected?
MI:III doesn’t hesitate a minute to bring us suspense, the picture begins with Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) having Et...an Hunt and a woman (whom appears to mean a lot to him) captive. He means business; she is going to die unless Ethan can come up with something called the rabbit’s foot. The scene closes, and we roll back to the previous week when nothing is amiss.
![Mission Impossible III (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/mission-impossible-iii-two-disc-co-large.jpg)
Posted in: 1.78:1 Widescreen, Box Set, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), DVD, Paramount, Television by Archive Authors on October 28th, 2006
”My name is Melinda Gordon. I just got married, just moved to a small town, just opened up an antique shop. I might be just like you…except from the time that I was a little girl I knew that I could talk to the dead. ‘Earthbound spirits’, my Grandmother called them. The ones who’ve not crossed over because they have unfinished business with the living, and they come to me for help. To tell you my story, I have to tell you theirs.”
So goes the opening for each episode of this first season of Ghost Whisperer, a series that blends drama, horror and comedy to carry its audience to an emotional place. I can imagine a lot of viewers crying at some point or another during almost every episode, which is a credit to the show’s makers, but they’re aided by the fact that their show deals so much with death, life, love and grief.
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on October 27th, 2006
It is time for a long-overdue tribute to Michael Ripper (1913-2000). Those in the know (You Know Who You Are) need no introduction to the British character actor, and we worship him for his innumerable roles in British horror films in the 60s, particularly those produced by Hammer Studios. Imagine, if you will, a dignified Marty Feldman with (usually) a beard, and you have a bit of an idea. Never the lead, but always a reassuring supporting character, ESPECIALLY if he played a barkeep. If Michael's in the tavern, all...will be well.
Where can Michael be found? All over the place, uncredited or not. Though a quick trip to the IMDB will give you the complete list of appearances, much of the joy of Ripper-spotting is running into his familiar face without warning. The earliest bar I've seen him tend is in Quatermass 2 (1957), the British equivalent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The British Government has been taken over by aliens, and their Horrible Industrial Plant is located near the town where Michael serves the ale. A fine exercise in paranoia, and a standout SF/horror film, as are, incidentally, the other two films in the series: The Quatermass Experiment (the first of the three), and Quatermass and the Pit.Michael sheds his beard to play a concerned seaman in the mind-torquing The Lost Continent (1968). On a ship loaded with chemicals that explode on contact with water, Michael is sensible enough to get the hell out of Dodge long before the ship drifts into the Sargasso Sea and encounters carnivorous seaweed, giant hermit crabs, other less immediately identifiable monstrosities, and a colony of Spanish Inquisitors.He is, unfortunately, not able to get out of Cairo in time to escape the wrath of The Mummy’s Shroud (1966), but he has the consolation of stealing the show as the incredibly nervous aid to a unscrupulous (and justifiably doomed) tycoon. Not the best mummy film, but not the worst either.The Plague of the Zombies (1966) finds Michael as the local constable, getting caught up (but fortunately not fatally) in a mystery involving a callous lord killing the locals and then reanimating them as cheap labour in his tin mine. No matter how bad the situation gets, if Michael's around, things will be under control.Made the same year as Plague, on the same sets, and also taking place in Cornwall, is the ultimate Michael Ripper movie: The Reptile. Oh sure, Jaqueline Pierce cursed to turn into a snake woman is pretty cool, but not only does Michael have a pretty substantial supporting role, he is back where he belongs: in the tavern. And there is a scene here, wait for it, of Michael making things right for the beleaguered leads by stirring them a couple of cups of cocoa. Those of you who do not feel warm and safe upon watching this scene are unworthy of my continued acquaintance.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 27th, 2006
The networks finally achieved what drug lords, mobsters and even zombies could not. Year four meant the end of Starsky and Hutch. Unfortunately the show was running out of gas quickly, so this was not near the quality of the previous years. It looks too much like David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser were pretty much ready to move on to other things. Neither of the men would make the impact again they made with Starsky and Hutch. Huggy Bear is not to be found near as often as he had been, so a ton of the humor was mis...ing from the season. Many of the storylines were recycled from previous episodes, like the one partner in the hospital while the other tracks down the bad guys routine. Still, even just going through the motions, the boys are worth watching one more time.
Video
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 26th, 2006
We’ve all been at that age where we begin to challenge the thought of how just one man could travel around the world in one night. This inevitable dilemma has been showcased nearly every year in a motion picture, so how does The Polar Express stack up against them?
Based on the 1985 short story written by Chris Van Allsburg, Robert Zemekis and Tom Hanks set out to make a memorable Christmas classic. Besides producing, Hanks voiced a numerous amount of the characters encountered throughout the film. Th... movie begins on Christmas Eve as the main character, referred to as “Hero Boy” is lying in his bed hoping to hear the sounds of Santa’s sleigh. Like every child at that age, doubt about the reality of Santa begins to set in. Soon falling asleep appearing to have lost hope, our hero boy is awoken to the sounds of and old time steam train. Upon investigation The Conductor (Hanks) reveals that the train is bound for the North Pole. Hesitant at first “Hero Boy” hops aboard and soon meets several other children, all hopeful of meeting Santa Clause himself. We find out that each of the children has been given a golden ticket by the Conductor with two letters punched into them. At this point we do not know the importance of these tickets, only that they are important.
![The Polar Express [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-polar-express-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 26th, 2006
Whichever generation you’re from I think we can all remember watching this movie as a child. I have great memories of this film, and when watching the newly released Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I found myself comparing it to these memories. Finally I’ve gotten the chance to sit down and watch it again for the first time in years, and on HD DVD what a treat, so how does it hold up after all these years?
The movie centers on a young boy named Charlie Bucket, living with his mother and bedridden...grandparents. Charlie like any child loves chocolate, so when it’s announced that the famous Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) is allowing five children to spend an entire day in his factory, he wants to win more than anyone else. There are five golden tickets placed randomly inside Wonka candy bars, they could be in any candy shop, in any town, anywhere in the world. As the days go on we find that an overweight chocolate obsessed boy in Germany named Augustus Gloop has found the first ticket. The second by a nagging spoiled brat in England named Veruca Salt. The third an overachieving competitive girl from The United States named Violet Beauregarde. The fourth is a lazy television obsessed boy named Mike Teavee, also from The United States. All hope is lost for Charlie when it is announced that the fifth ticket has been found… but that wouldn’t make for much of a movie, would it?
![Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory [HD-DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/willy-wonka-the-chocolate-factory-large.jpg)
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on October 25th, 2006
A Portrait of Ruin, Magic Swords & My Personal Force that is ripe with THUNDER - Welcome to the storm that packs less punch than Mike Tyson when he's not fighting women known as Dare to Play the Game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 25th, 2006
It’s been a decade since Brian De Palma’s Mission: Impossible hit theatres to box office success, established a new blockbuster franchise and added ‘action hero’ to Tom Cruise’s résumé. In 2000, John Woo’s highly stylized follow-up raised the franchise to new box office heights. This year, the long-awaited third installment arrived amidst controversy about Tom Cruise’s crazy off-screen antics.
M:i:III’s U.S. box office take suffered from the public backlash to its headliner’s whacky rants and questionable actions. Too bad about Tom Cruise being a kook, because J. J. Abrams’ top-notch action flick deserved better. I saw this one on the big screen, and I recall moments when I actually gripped the arm rests and held my breath. If that’s not the mark of a great summer blockbuster, I don’t know what is.
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