July 2008 Archives

The Wiggles are an international phenomenon. Formed in 1991 when three of the original members were studying early childhood education, the Wiggles connect with their preschool audience using light humor, simple songs with interesting lyrics, and lively dance steps. The supporting cast of characters includes a pirate named Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and Henry the Octopus. The Wiggles have their own television show, have sold more than 17 million DVDs, continue to perform to sold-out crowds in various countries and now have a presence in amusement parks in Australia and the United States.

Created by members of the cult comedy troupe "The State," Reno 911! is a parody of the long running Fox television series Cops. The series features members of the fictitious Reno sheriff's department, being videotaped on the job. Only the basic plot elements of the show are scripted, with the dialog improvised, enhancing the illusion of reality. The actors often perform their own stunts. A constantly-changing cast of weirdos, prostitutes, homeless persons, survivalists, etc. are portrayed by comedian friends of the primary cast. Debauchery, mediocrity, tomfoolery and loads of political incorrectness ensue, seriously blurring the line between law enforcement official and criminal.

I'm not a huge fan of horror movies because they usually give me nightmares if they're any good. David R Ellis' (Snakes on a Plane), Asylum (not to be confused with the Amicus Anthology film of the same name), is a straight to video release from MGM. Asylum is a fairly generic, and failed to induce any nightmares for me. The story is formulaic and strictly paint-by- the-numbers fare.

Asylum tells the story of a young woman named Madison (Sarah Roemer) who leaves home to attend college at the same school her brother committed suicide at, a few years before. Immediately, flags go up. Why would she want to attend the same school that her brother committed suicide at? I guess we can except that perhaps the academic opportunities at the college were just too good to pass up, but when Madison is warned by a caretaker that her recently renovated residence has ghosts, one might think she would consider leaving.

As a die-hard Batman fan it was 2005's Batman Begins that restored my faith in the movie franchise. After things had started out so promising with Tim Burton's edgy, exciting Batman back in 1989, each successive film seemed to get more ridiculous and channel the campy style of the 1966-68 television series.

Co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Batman Returns marked a fresh start for the Caped Crusader. Nolan essentially wiped the slate clean, and as the title suggests, went back to the beginnings of the Batman legend. The film goes back and explores the troubled and conflicted childhood of billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) that ultimately drove him to dress like a bat and become a vigilante seeking justice.

Brought to you by Spike TV, Manswers may be one of the most ridiculous variety shows put on the air. This male-directed variety series is set up like a news magazine show, designed to answer some of the most potentially offensive questions ever posed. Apparently, the series target audience is drunken frat boys looking for an educational alternative to the one offered at their respective Colleges and Universities.

Manswers - The Best of Season One collects the top twenty-five questions from season one and presents them in order of descending coolness, while a group of models in tiny outfits, experts with questionable credentials, and a narrator who just might be high on something combine their massive skills to offer insight.

Whenever I can, I like to see the unrated or director's cuts of films. Often these cuts are better, because they allow you to see what the director's initial vision for a project was, before the studio gets a hold of it and make all sorts of unfortunate cuts for marketing reasons or to preserve a certain running time. When home video first arrived on the mass market, the release of an unrated or director's cut of a film was somewhat of a rarity. Now, with the proliferation of DVD technology, the unrated cut has become as common as the DVD itself. The unrated cut has now turned into one of the biggest marketing ploys in the home entertainment business.

Director/screenwriter Kimberly Peirce can't be accused of taking on easy subjects on her films. Her 1999 film, Boys Don't Cry which chronicled the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a trans-gendered individual who preferred to identify as a male and was brutally murdered when it was discovered he was born a female, brought Peirce great acclaim. Nearly ten years later, Peirce returned to the big screen with Stop-Loss, the story of a soldier who has willingly completed his tour of duty in Iraq, only to find himself arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.

One has to wonder if Americans are in the mood for movies about a war that is still being fought and shown and written about in the news every day. Given the tepid reviews and nearly anemic box office receipts for previously released films with an Iraqi-war theme such as Paul Haggis's In The Valley Of Elah, and Brian DePalma's Redacted, the answer seems to be one of indifference, if not a flat out no. Understandably, Americans don't seem ready to see the Iraqi war played out on screen.

Teen Dance movies have been a staple of Hollywood films for a long time. Even before films were referred to as "teen movies," stars ranging from Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland to John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John to Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer have been out in films laden with the pop music and dance moves of the era, designed to appeal to the teenage demographic. If the film was able to break through and appeal to the teenager's parents, that was gravy.

As with all film genres, some teen dance films are better than others. Growing up, I logged plenty of hours at local movie theaters watching the dace movies of the moment--Breakin' and it's unfortunate sequel Electric Boogaloo, Footloose, and Dirty Dancing--and with the exception of Dirty Dancing all these films tend to suffer from underdeveloped characters, a cheesy story and a lot of ridiculous banter. However, the dancing is able to rise above it all, and be an exciting experience for the target audience.

William Conrad's deep, booming sound helped him to become one of the most recognized voices in radio from the late thirties to the early sixties. By Conrad's own estimation, he played over 7,000 roles on the radio. Perhaps most significantly, Conrad originated the role of Marshal Matt Dillon on the Western program Gunsmoke from 1952-61. He was considered for the role when the series was brought to television in 1955, but his increasing obesity led to the casting of James Arness instead. The slight reportedly bothered Conrad for years, but he continued to other memorable radio and television work.

Hunter S. Thompson lived life with his foot firmly planted on the gas pedal. Taking time to smell the roses was laughable, spending a day completely sober, non-existent. Hunter's comfort zone was on the edge; anything else seemed to feel strange to him. Alex Gibney attempts to chronicle the life of this American writer with his own special place in the literary lexicon, with the recently released, Gonzo - The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson.

Many moviegoers would already know who the film was about even if the film was not subtitled The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson, because the phrase was first used to describe Thompson's writing style; journalism written subjectively, that often includes the journalist as part of the story via a first person narrative.

Amblin' is the first completed film shot by Steven Spielberg on 35mm. The film is a short story set during the hippie era of the late '60s about a young couple who meet up in the desert, become friends, then lovers and make their way to a paradisaical beach.

Owen Wilson is a funny guy. He seems nice too. He strikes me as the kind of fellow that would be cool to have around for almost anything--parties, barbeque's and holidays. I enjoy watching his films, but I continue to be amazed that Hollywood executives keep offering him sub-par material. Wilson has had exceptions with films like 2005's Wedding Crashers, but unfortunately for him, Wilson's resume is top heavy with such forgettable fair as The Darjeeling Limited, You, Me and Dupree, Around the World in 80 Days and I Spy among others.

The thing about Owen Wilson's films is that they are rarely absolutely terrible, it's just that their not very good either. The film is usually worth a few good laughs, but the story itself is a bit disjointed and easily forgotten. When I saw that Judd Apatow, the guy that gave us The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Super Bad co-produced Drillbit Taylor and Seth Rogen who worked with Aptow on Knocked Up and Super Bad wrote the script for Drillbit, I thought maybe Owen Wilson finally had a film worthy of his talents. Sadly, that just wasn't meant to be.

I'm not quite sure why, but Californication is a series I had never watched before I received a copy of the first season, sometime on early June. I've never been a big fan of the series' star David Duchovny, who has always struck me as a bit snide and ego-centric and X-Files just never caught on with me. However, since so many people I know couldn't stop raving about the show, I decided I'd better take a look at it when it hit DVD.

I expected to hate Californication. Simply dismiss the whole thing as a piece of trash. Having watched countless hours of television I know that's never a good Idea, but nonetheless, that was my mindset. After watching about ten minutes of the first episode, I realized I couldn't have been anymore wrong. Californication is definitely an adult drama with adult themes, but the series and its star are a revelation.

Burbank, Calif., June 9, 2008 - When Walt Disney's beloved animated classic, Sleeping Beauty was presented 50 years ago for the first time in an all new Super Technirama 70 format, it mesmerized audiences and critics alike. Now in 2008, this classic fairytale is poised to do the same for a whole new generation to enjoy when it is reawakened in a special BD Live enabled 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray Disc™, releasing October 7, 2008. Additionally, this landmark film has been packaged to include a bonus DVD of the movie making this the ultimate, must-own Disc Set of the year!

Created by James Duff and the Shephard/Robin Company which also produces Nip/Tuck, The Closer centers on Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), who was brought from Atlanta to Los Angeles by Assistant Police Chief Will Pope (J.K. Simmons) to lead up a new special murder investigation task force; Priority Homicide. Pope selected Johnson because of her uncanny ability to 'close' a case by getting confessions others could only dream of.

Despite her tremendous skills, her subordinates resented her for being a female and not a product of the L.A.P.D. system. Brenda doesn't worry much about making everyone else feel comfortable. She has a tough personality and her main concern is solving the latest homicide. Her biggest skeptic is Commander Taylor (Robert Gossett) who developed the Priority Homicide Division under the assumption that he would one day head it up. It irritates him to no end that not only did they bring in an outsider, but she outranks him as well.

On July 15th, Touchstone Home Entertainment will release the hottest dance movie of the year on DVD! The film features one of the fiercest freestyle dance competitions ever seen on film. Pulsating with electrifying new songs from today's top artists, awesome high energy dance moves and exclusive never-before-seen bonus features that take you deeper behind-the-scenes to meet the dancers and choreographers as they showcase even more unique dance moves not shown in theaters. Drama, suspense and a dazzling soundtrack combine to bring audiences to a new level of excitement and energy in Step Up 2 the Streets!

The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on a series of books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black that chronicles the adventures of the Grace children; twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the eponymous Spiderwick Estate and discover a world of faeries that they never knew existed. The mansion itself plays a big role in the story. I suppose many will think of the Addams Family home when they see it, as I did. The house is peculiar and purposefully creepy. The place isn't haunted; it feels like someone lives there.

The Electronic Arts (EA) Dead Space team has watched a ton of Horror and Science Fiction films while developing and creating the scariest, most realistic survival/horror game to ever hit the streets, and now they want to pass their collection on to you!

Though I wasn't born yet when the original Batman series first captivated audiences when it premiered in January of 1966 on ABC, I watched the series in the eighties, whenever it showed up in syndication. Always a fan of superheroes, Batman and Superman has always topped my list of favorites. There is something about Batman, a simple human crime-fighter that is immensely appealing.

Modern Day Batman fans are probably debating who played the better movie Batman: Christian Bale, Val Kilmer, George Clooney or Michael Keaton. While my money is on Keaton, oddly, Adam West doesn't even enter into the discussion. Granted, the look and tenor of West's Batman was completely different from the portrayals of the aforementioned actors more than twenty years later, but he does deserve a place in history for being the first actor to bring Batman to the masses in the fledgling media age of the 1960's.

On July 15, 2008, MGM Home Entertainment will release the haunting horror flick Asylum on DVD! This is director David R.Ellis' follow up to Snakes on a Plane.

In all honesty, I approached 10,000 BC with a healthy dose of skepticism. I wanted the film to be good, but I had my doubts even before I turned on my DVD player. The film was directed by Roland Emmerich, the fellow who brought us the memorable Independence Day (1996), but then proceeded to helm one of the worst film adaptations in recent memory, Godzilla in 1998.

Emmerich is nothing if not consistent. The man always thinks big. Most of his previous films including Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot, and The Day After Tomorrow are huge spectacles with lots of CGI, impressive effects, big casts and little plot. Emmerich tends to work on such a grand scale, that he lets the overall size of the project overwhelm the plot of the film. With 10,000 BC, Emmerich has fallen into that trap again.