Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 27th, 2006
So now we come to the fourth year of NYPD Blue. In the show’s ever-changing look this year was no exception. Most notable is the fact that a new camera operation crew toned down the jumpy camera moves a bit. Style was not sacrificed, but the series is now easier to watch. Smits and Franz are really starting to click now, and we begin to see the special relationship we know will evolve between their characters. This buildup is absolutely necessary for the coming payoff with Simone’s death in later years. Again, several characters came and went, most notably a couple of female detectives. I’ve heard the show described as testosterone heavy, but I can’t believe that could be said of year four.
Greg Metavoy gets a lot more to do starting this year, and I think you’ll find the results entertaining. This is the only character other than Sipowitz to survive the show’s entire run. He’s placed in some awkward moments in year 4. The Simone and Russell romance heats up, and while I tend to think these things cheapen a series, I found this one to be tolerable. It was also quite necessary for the eventual payoff mentioned earlier. As always, NYPD Blue is about Andy, and you won’t be disappointed. The character continues his wonderful growth in this season, mostly aided by the influence of Simone. There’s plenty for every Blue fan out there in this set.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 27th, 2006
Coach is one of those shows that never seemed to make a lot of noise. I can’t remember any year it was on that it burned up the ratings or scored many awards. Still, it was the little show that could. It ran for nine seasons, always holding on to a loyal core audience. I’m sure most of the success belongs to the underrated talents of Craig T. Nelson. I’ll admit that this guy just never showed up on my talent radar until his unexpected turn at drama during The District. It was then I learned to appreciate his self-effacing subtle abilities. Now I watch Coach with a somewhat renewed interest. Dick Van Dyke’s lesser known brother in comedy, Jerry is also a huge reason for the show’s stamina, if not outright success. The bumbling Luther was my favorite part of the show. The first season of Coach is a short one. I also appreciate the way it begins. It assumes you already know these guys and doesn’t feel the need to explain why everyone is here. The Coach is already in his position with his staff that we’ll soon get to know better. It’s a quirky show, and not at all one of my favorites, but certainly worth a second look on DVD.
Video
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
Let’s face it. Movies released in January usually aren’t very good. Yes, some of these movies are Oscar hopefuls that are released nation-wide, but only after being released in selected cities to quality for those Oscars. No, we’re talking about stinking piles of crap like Uwe Boll’s Bloodrayne here. Being that January is Hollywood’s cinematic dumping ground, it comes as no surprise that Tristan & Isolde was released during this very same month in 2006.
Delayed for nearly a year, Tristan & ...solde follows a slew of disappointing historical epics, so common sense would tell you that the studio heads looked at this film and dubbed it a risk, with no bankable stars attached. What the studio heads seemed to forget (or miss, because let’s face it -- they’re more concerned with target audiences and opening weekends than quality) Tristan & Isolde is not half bad. In fact, it’s rather good.
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
The world of High-Definition is upon us, whether or not the public is ready or aware of it. High-Definition is available in almost every media format now from Televisions to Video Game Consoles and now actual movies. But the true question that lies ahead for the public is, which format do we support? Which format will eventually become BetaMax 2.0? In this new weekly column exclusive to UpcomingDiscs, we’re going to take a further look into every High-Definition as if we were fans cheering from the sideline of a foot...all game.
In the middle of April of this year, Toshiba released the HD-A1 or HD-XA1 players for a retail of either $499.99 or $799.99. Companies like Universal Home Studios, and Warner Brothers swarmed retail outlets with new movies in this new format. Titles like The Last Samurai, Doom, The Fugitive, The Perfect Storm, The Rundown, and Million Dollar Baby can be found at many retailers across the country. Now let’s find out what HD-DVD exactly is all about.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
Let’s face it. Movies released in January usually aren’t very good. Yes, some of these movies are Oscar hopefuls that are released nation-wide, but only after being released in selected cities to quality for those Oscars. No, we’re talking about stinking piles of crap like Uwe Boll’s Bloodrayne here. Being that January is Hollywood’s cinematic dumping ground, it comes as no surprise that Tristan & Isolde was released during this very same month in 2006.
Delayed for nearly a year, Tristan & ...solde follows a slew of disappointing historical epics, so common sense would tell you that the studio heads looked at this film and dubbed it a risk, with no bankable stars attached. What the studio heads seemed to forget (or miss, because let’s face it -- they’re more concerned with target audiences and opening weekends than quality) Tristan & Isolde is not half bad. In fact, it’s rather good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
Jack Nicholson can make a convincing case for being one of the greatest actors of all time. He's had his share of memorable moments in movies, with quoted lines etched in our brains. It took a while for me to get "You can't handle the truth!" out of my head. He has also turned in outstanding performances in lesser known movies that have shown his range and dramatic ability. Alternate viewing recommendations to see Jack in action include Hoffa and The Pledge, among a variety of others....In About Schmidt, the follow-up effort by Alexander Payne (Election), Jack strips away the sunglasses, the eyebrow and the devilish grin, puts on 20 pounds, and gives us a performance that some have labeled as career defining.
Warren Schmidt (Nicholson) has recently retired from his job at Woodman of the World Insurance, in Omaha, Nebraska. While he has put his time and energy into the job, is it of no significance. Warren stops by the office shortly after retiring, to perhaps answer any questions his replacement may have, and he has none. His place in the world almost reflects this insignificance, as he is unable to complete a sentence around his wife Helen (June Squibb, Far From Heaven), and their marriage has emasculated him to the point where he finds himself sitting down in order to urinate. In order to pass the time in retirement, he decides to donate money to a "Save the Children"-type organization, and becomes the foster parent of a 6-year Tanzanian boy named Ndugu. He does have a daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis, Hearts in Atlantis) who is living in Denver, about to be married to Randall (Dermot Mulroney, Point of No Return), a waterbed salesman with a mullet, who also happens to be a fan of pyramid schemes. After Helen dies suddenly from a blood clot, Warren (with the help of a recently purchased Winnebago) heads out to Denver in an attempt to stop Jeannie from making a mistake that she may regret. Not only do we see Warren's adventures in getting to Denver, but he meets Randall's mother Roberta (Kathy Bates, Misery), where the events pick up at a hilarious pace.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2006
Once in awhile, a film comes along that really catches you by surprise. Little Manhattan is one of those films. At first glance, it appears to be an updated take on a coming of age film that warms the cockles of your heart and leaves you smiling, but it's actually a bit of a romantic comedy that is timeless and memorable.
Written by Jennifer Flackett and directed by Mark Levin, who are a married writing team whose most notable work was Wimbledon, the focus of Little Manhattan is Gabe (Josh Hutcherson, Kicking and Screaming), who also narrates the film. At first the film starts with Gabe, sitting on his bed with a broken arm, crying over someone named Rosemary (Charlie Ray, in her first acting role). From there, Gabe tells the story of how happy he was before he met Rosemary. He was a happy 10 year old boy, knowing that girls were gross and he was going to be a placekicker with the help of his father (played by Bradley Whitford, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants). Gabe has known Rosemary for awhile, since kindergarten, but they bump into each other again in a karate class. Gabe suddenly realizes that he has feelings for Rosemary, and wants to be around her as much as possible.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 26th, 2006
Opening
Since nobody really plays Playstation portable games (at least nobody that will admit it), Rockstar finally did the smart thing and ported the best selling PSP game ever to the Playstation 2 console. I am happy to report that Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is here, for the PS2 in all of its greatness with a budget price tag. As one would expect, it has all of the great replayability one would expect from a GTA game, however it has the graphics one would expect from a PSP port too. The ...reatest thing about this game has to be the idea that this is just GTA III part 2. Of course, it could be argued that this is the worst thing and a simple rehash of a past game. However, you would be overlooking quite the little gem.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2006
I watched Ryna while my wife watched Shopgirl on the TV. And aside from watching Ryna because I thought it was going to be a film about a DVD reviewer whose name is misspelled, there were a lot more differences between the two films. As far as I could tell, Shopirl appeared to be about a girl with Down�s Syndrome who falls in love with her Dad but reconsiders at the end (whoops, my wife tells me that I�ve got it wrong), Ryna is about a girl who tries to rise above being repressed because of her gender.
Ryna is the title character of a 16 year old girl (played by Doroteea Petre) who lives with her parents in a small Romanian town. Her father Biri (Valentin Popescu) has raised her as a boy with short hair, because he's disappointed that his only child was not born a male. Together they run an auto repair service that does price gouge foreign travelers from time to time. When a French anthropologist comes into town, he tells her about the world outside of her small town, and she wants to break out and enjoy life, despite her father's wishes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2006
For better or worse, Hugh Grant has carved out a niche in Hollywood as the nervous, awkward, charming, British romantic leading man. He's tried doing other things, paired with Gene Hackman as the protagonist in the thriller Extreme Measures. But attempts such as these are few and far between, and haven't seemed to work. For better or worse, he'll always be the stodgy British guy trying to bed an American chick over the objection of her parents, or some other convoluted romantic comedy plot. To his credit, he has been playing against that stereotype lately, to a lesser degree in Bridget Jones's Diary, but to a larger scale in About a Boy, recently nominated for a Golden Globe in Comedy.
Will (Grant) is the son of a man who recorded a famous, but fictional, Christmas song in the late 1950's, and literally does nothing all day, living off of the royalties of that song. He's a bachelor who likes to avoid any responsibility or relationships, and has an epiphany: relationships with single mothers. He believes that they'll jump on top of you, but they'll always compare you to the guy who gave her the kid/kids that she's trying to raise, and they'll end the relationship first, so Will avoids any unpleasantness in breaking up now. He becomes such a firm believer in this theory, he creates an imaginary son, going as far as buying a childseat to put in his silver Audi sportscar, and uses this to attend support group meetings of other single parents, looking to hook up, and finds success.
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