Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

South Park Still Rules

Monday, August 30th, 2010

South Park has been airing on Comedy Central since 1997; but, did you know that it got its start in 1991 when Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the series’ creators, were still film students at the University of Colorado. Originally, the guys wanted to focus on Mr. Hankey – you know – the Christmas Poo; but, the fellas at Comedy Central thought that would be in poor taste.

The series as it exists today revolves around the lives of four young boys – Kyle, Kenny, Stan and Cartman. They’re now in 4th grade although they were in 3rd grade for many seasons. Each lives in South Park, Colorado where it almost always snows. Yup. Only one episode called “Summer Sucks” has featured snow. (more…)

The Wedding Date (Download, Review)

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Kat Ellis (Debra Messing) is asking for trouble when she hires a male escort, the best in New York, to take her to her step-sister’s wedding in London. Forced to face a mother who gives a speech about her eldest daughter’s failure to get married first at the engagement party and an ex-boyfriend she still loves, as well as pretend that the extremely handsome Nick (Dermot Mulroney) is her boyfriend, Kat feels that she is in for a miserable time. We hope that she’ll reconcile with her ex, Jeffrey, but does fate have other plans in store for career-girl, Kat?

There are funny scenes when Nick teases Kat about her old affection for the Australian pop group, Air Supply, and her ex-boyfriend tries to tell her something but is tongue-tied. Kat’s shock when she sees Nick naked and efforts to make her ex jealous also provide amusing moments. (more…)

Proud (Download, Review)

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Proud is the story of the USS Mason, the first U.S. all-African American battleship to go into battle during WWII. Facing prejudice from inside the Navy (all of the officers are white) and segregation at home, three men try to find dignity while serving their country. But when they’re sent on a mission almost certain to end in disaster, their mettle is tested like never before.

What should have been a slam-dunk (the story practically tells itself!) becomes almost laughable in the hands of an inexperienced director. Mary Pat Kelly adapts from her book Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason, and handles directorial duties. But even the presence of veteran actor Ossie Davis can’t save a script that is woefully underdeveloped. Scenes lead nowhere, and since most of the real action takes place off-screen, the audience is robbed of any sense of participation. That and copious voiceover narration tells us what we should be seeing onscreen. Skip it. (more…)

Babylon Five (Download, Review)

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

“The Babylon project was our last, best hope for peace.”
With these words, writer and TV producer J. Michael Straczynski swept science fiction fans off on a grand, five year adventure, encompassing a galaxy teeming with wondrous worlds and fascinating alien species.
But getting his epic masterpiece to the small screen wasn’t an easy ride for Straczynski. He began writing Babylon Five in 1987, but the pilot movie didn’t debut until 1993.
In the Gathering Part 1 and 2 we learned that Babylon 5 was the fifth space station to be built after Babylon 1, 2 and 3 had been Sabotaged and Babylon 4 simply disappeared. Babylon Five was under the command of Jeffery Sinclair, a survivor of the war between Earth and the Minbari, an ancient mystical race that now have an ambassador called Delenn on Babylon Five. (more…)

A Hero in the Shadows (Download, Review)

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Glory (1989) is an epic Civil War drama, which tells the story of the first black fighting regiment in U.S history. The 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry was lead by Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) who was forced to combat not only his Confederate enemies in typical warfare, but also the struggles against prejudice and racism in many forms, from many people. Although the idea of a black regiment was widely scoffed at, the troops proved their discipline and courage on July 18th, 1863, when the 54th fought in the deadly assault against a Confederate fort in Charleston, South Carolina.

Several characters in this film could potentially be identified as heroic. Robert Gould Shaw is an obvious choice in his portrayal of a shy, stubborn hero who struggles to mold his men into a competent fighting unit while overcoming racial prejudice. Denzel Washington’s portrayal of Trip is indeed award worthy and the character becomes an unlikely hero in the end. And Andrew Braugher is extremely convincing as Thomas Searles, an educated and affluent black man who is shocked at the harsh reality of the seemingly endless pain and indignities of his once enthusiastic quest to become a soldier.

A hero may be defined as someone who is moral, respectable, noble, and sacrifices himself for the greater good. While all of the aforementioned characters may fit into that mold, in my eyes, a hero is someone who is not perfect, but makes the most out of the cards he was dealt. A hero realizes his mistakes and misjudgments, and perhaps, even his shortcomings in character. (more…)

Prepare for the Glory of Frank Miller’s 300! (Download, Review)

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Director: Zack Snyder
Written by: Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro, David Wenham, Vincent Regan
Running Time: 117 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure/History

In 480 B.C. there was one lone civilization that stood for freedom, humanity and progress while deeply rooted in the traditions of the past.

That civilization was Sparta, part of the unified collection of states and provinces that formed Greece. Sparta was the first democratic civilization where all men were free under the law, and women were permitted to speak freely among men. (more…)

30 Rock, Episode titled, “Blind Date” (Download, Review)

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

I think it is a safe bet that Alec Baldwin will be standing at the podium this June collecting an Emmy for his portrayal of eccentric demagogue Jack Donaghy on the hilarious 30 Rock. He wrote his ticket last night with his pitch perfect portrayal of the egomaniac executive obsessed with figuring out how to penetrate the poker face of the over zealous NBC Page Kenneth. Baldwin nailed his impression of Hannibal Lector after luring the naive Kenneth into his web of free shrimp and poker. Tracy Morgan again hit all of the high notes as Tracy Jordan, the “straight up mentally ill” star of 30 Rock. My favorite line of his last night was when he announced that “5’s would be 2’s” in his version of poker. (more…)

It Happened One Night (Download, Review)

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Take a night to step away from the over-stimulated modern world and sit back to enjoy a true great classic. If you have never seen ‘It Happened One Night’ featuring Clark Gable and Claudette Cobert, you have really missed out on a great film. The film harkens back to the day when men were strong and women were coy. It is a balm for the stressed out soul and will be a delightful mini- mental vacation.

The film was released in 1934 and gives you a glimpse of how different the world was back then. Capturing the simple of tale of spoiled brat Ellie Andrews (Cobert) who was run away from her rich father in order to be with her worthless husband-in-name-only, King Wesley (Jameson Thomas). Her rich father has kidnapped her on board his yacht so he can have time to annul the whole affair and stubborn Ellie takes matters into her hands by diving overboard!
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Audiences Chuckle At The 40 Year Old Virgin! (Download, Review)

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

The 40 Year Old Virgin, there’s a whole lot to be said about this insightful movie. The movie depicts a 40-year-old Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) who is quite successful in many ways. He has a rather cushy job at the electronics store where he spends his days stamping invoices, he has a lot of good friends, a nice apartment, a collection of comic books, he rides his bicycle to work everyday, he’s an easy going kind of guy with no sense of adventure and he likes playing living on the safe side. There’s one tiny thing that separates Andy from the rest of his peers, unlike most of us approaching 40 years of age … Andy is still a virgin!

If you’re wondering just where did Steve Carell come from, well you may remember him from last year’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”, “The Office” and on television’s “The Daily Show”. Carell isn’t a “newbie” to comedy and he showcases his abilities in The 40 Year Old Virgin like a pro. (more…)

Aeon Flux (Download, Review)

Friday, July 30th, 2010

It’s 2011 and a virus has wiped out almost all of the earth’s population and pretty much all of the movie critics as well. Alright, so this one isn’t really all that bad if you’re a devotee of the animated series that ran on MTV in the 90’s. The remaining inhabitants are under the auspices of Dr. Goodchild (Marton Csokas) who has found a cure for the virus. They live in the utopian city of Bregna, the last city on earth where, as anyone who lives in any city at any time in this country, is a breeding ground for sin and corruption of all manner and type. And of course, rebelling against all this corruption and sin are the holier than anybody else Monicans and their warrior supreme, Aeon Flux. Once our intrepid heroine is ordered to kill Dr. Goodchiuld, she immerses herself into Bregna and discovers the awesome truth behind the city.
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