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(History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP) Those still suffering from Gibson's Passion ploy might want to check out the History Channel documentary The Execution of Jesus,
from their excellent [Mysteries of the Bible] series. Scholars and archeologists dissect the various accounts of the last days of Jesus while attempting to make historical sense of the Bible's account.
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(Universal, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP) Sometimes, you need a little corn. Case in point Love Actually. Its interweaving tales of love in bloom, love in the air, and love in crisis
are all button-pushing in the extreme, but when it's pulled off with this much joie de vivre, it's hard to be too cynical about it. The cast is also top-notch (including Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Colin
Firth, Emma Thompson, and Hugh Grant as the newly-elected English Prime Minister), but my favorite acting spin came from The Office's Martin Freeman, who plays a body double for nude scenes
in films. The anamorphic DVD contains an audio commentary (with Grant, Thomas Sangster, Bill Nighy, and director Richard Curtis), deleted scenes with introductions from Curtis, the music of the film
(with introductions from Curtis), and a Kelly Clarkson music video. |
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(Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP each) It's not Halloween, but a deluxe collection of Universal's classic monster films is always welcome, especially when they attempt to be as inclusive as the
Legacy Collection, which features 2-disc sets spotlighting Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man. The Dracula
set contains the original film (plus the Spanish version, which was shot concurrently), Dracula's Daughter, Son of Dracula, and House of Dracula. Bonus features
include an audio commentary on the original film, an introduction to the Spanish version, original trailers, The Road to Dracula documentary, and more. Frankenstein
has the original film, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, and House of Frankenstein. Bonus materials include
The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster documentary, She's Alive!
documentary on the monster's bride, audio commentary on the original film, theatrical trailers, and more. Last up is that hairy fellow, The Wolf Man
, whose set gets the original film, Werewolf of London, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and She-Wolf of London. While not as feature packed as the others,
this set still manages an audio commentary on the original film and the Monster By Moonlight
documentary. In addition, all three sets sport a Stephen Sommers featurette, in which he crassly tries to tie these classics in with his own Van Helsing. Ah, synergy. Still, the previous
DVDs of many of these flicks have gone out of print, so this is a wonderfully quick and easy way to get them all. . |
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(A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP) Before CSI was a glimmer in the eye of giddy CBS execs, NBC had Profiler. The show's focus is forensic psychologist
Dr. Samantha "Sam" Waters, who possesses the uncanny ability to interpret the often disparate clues left at a crime scene and "see" what happened. Her life is thrown into turmoil when
a serial killer murders her family. Brought out of self-imposed exile by the Bureau, she attempts to pick up where she left off solving crimes, with the help of a team of experts. More character driven
than CSI, Profiler was a taut drama that I'm more than happy has finally made it to DVD. The 6-disc Profiler: Season 3
features all 21 third season episodes, plus an audio commentary with Roma Maffia on the episode "Heads, You Lose" and cast biographies. |
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(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) Its been subsequently diluted, but the first season of Bernie Mac
was truly wonderful, featuring writing that was almost harsh in just how sharp it was. The initial tone of the show, starring Mac as the reluctant guardian of his imprisoned sister's kids, was a lot closer to Mac's stand-up routine and it's all the better for it. The 4-disc set contains all 22 first season episodes, plus commentary on the pilot (with Bernie Mac, Larry Wilmore, and Ken Kwapis) and the A&E
TV-ography of the show. |
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(Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.95 SRP) Okay, I'll admit it I have a crush on Mandy Moore. I find her unbelievably cute and appealing. Her films, however, are horrible. Horrible. Usually they're
pretentious and lacking in about a half-dozen much-needed rewrites. But there's always Mandy. In the company of her previous vehicles, Chasing Liberty favors by comparison. Moore stars as
the daughter of the President of the United States who, sick of being dogged by Secret Service Agents every time she tries to go out, decides to ditch them and have a night on the town with a (you
guessed it) cute photographer in tow. The guy (Matthew Goode) has no clue who she is, but it turns out she's not the only one with a secret (save your Crying Game
jokes for another time). Harmless and less grating than her previous efforts, it still has one siren call I call I can't escape Mandy. The anamorphic DVD contains an audio commentary with Moore and Goode, additional scenes, bloopers, a travel featurette with the stars, the entire concert performance from the film, and the theatrical trailer.
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(HBO, Rated R, DVD-$29.95 SRP) Elephant
is a beautifully constructed film whose story will linger long after its unspooled. Through character-centric vignettes, we are introduced to the various lives and perceptions of a group of high school kids, on a school day like any other. We see their tribulations and triumphs, all through the personal lens of each character. It's a day like any other, until it becomes a day unlike any other, filled with violent tragedy that affects each of these people we've come to know if a different yet similar way. It's certainly no popcorn flick, but every once in awhile you need something that makes you think. The anamorphic DVD contains a behind-the-scenes featurette and the theatrical trailer.
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(Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$24.95 SRP) I usually don't cotton to historical epics. They have an unfortunate tendency to be bloated, self-important exercises in pretension, and that's not something
I care to sit through for 6 hours (did I mention they're always long?). By no means perfect, The Last Samurai
was mostly an exception (it's a long one, though), in spite of its star, Tom Cruise. While Cruise is a cardboard actor in this (and every role he's ever had), the story and historical setting a Civil War hero who journeys to Japan in order to fight the Samurai but winds up fighting for them instead drew me in. It's worth seeing just for Ken Watanabe's powerful performance as the Samurai leader who sees his ancient traditions and society crumbling around him. The anamorphic DVD contains an audio commentary with director Ed Zwick, the History Channel documentary "History Vs. Hollywood:
The Last Samurai," Zwick's video journal, a featurette on Cruise, an interview with Zwick and Cruise, featurettes (on the design, costuming, weapons, and fight training), deleted scenes,
footage from the Japanese premieres, and the theatrical trailer. |
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(Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.92 SRP) As the wonderful Chaplin DVD sets began to hit and Columbia/Tristar continued their Three Stooges releases, I had to wonder where are the deluxe
uber-special Marx Brothers sets? While I still await Universal getting off their rears and releasing the Brothers' Paramount films (such as Duck Soup and Horsefeathers, Warner
Bros. has stepped up to the plate with the 7 film Marx Brothers Collection. This set covers the entirety of the MGM years, including the classics A Night at the Opera
(with its legendary stateroom scene) and A Day at the Races. Also included are the latter-period flicks A Night in Casablanca
(which prompted Groucho to write a scathing letter to Jack Warner after the mogul tried to claim the they had a copyright on the word "Casablanca"), Room Service, At the Circus
, Go West, and The Big Store. Where the set really shines is Warner's continuing effort to stack their releases with quality bonus material. This set is no exception, with
two brand-new documentaries, a commentary on A Night at the Opera with Leonard Maltin, a commentary on A Day at the Races
with Marx Brothers authority Glenn Mitchell, classic cartoons, rare audio outtakes, rarities, vintage short subjects, and more. This set certainly throws down the gauntlet will Universal be able to deliver as wonderful a set for their stable of Marx classics?
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(Miramax, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) I know a lot of people have burned out on the Osbourne clan, but I still think they're one of the most eminently watchable trainwrecks ever to grace the boob
tube. I watch the show and I can't believe just how selfish, rude, and ignorant they are and yet they're so incredibly charming. Odd paradox, that. They're also a family that, for all the squabbles and
language issues, truly cares about each other, even at their darkest moments. Maybe there's hope for us all. The Osbournes 2 ½
wraps up the 10 episodes from the tail end of the extended second season. Bonus features include additional footage, audio commentaries from Sharon & Jack, and the ability to play the episodes either censored or uncensored.
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(Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) With Samurai Jack, creator Genndy Tartakovsky proved that you can accomplish anything with animation even with the limited resources of a
television budget. And boy, did he accomplish something magical a powerful tale of a lost-in-time Samurai who tries to undo the destruction wreaked by his ancient enemy, the wizard Aku. With a spartan
design aesthetic and a limited animation style used to its advantage, Samurai Jack
is quite a feat of engineering. And now you can get the complete first season across two discs, including commentary tracks, a making-of featurette, an original animation test, and artwork. Snap it up, people!
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(HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$19.97 SRP) Why oh why does it take so long for Larry Gelbart-penned projects to come down the pike? More often than not, they're some of the best movies pay cable has to
offer (I still think Barbarians at the Gates is a classic portrait of 80's greed). His latest is And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, starring Antonio Banderas as the
real-life Mexican revolutionary who allowed Hollywood to film his revolution which proved to be a bit of a dangerous, and sometimes comical, affair. Think of it as the first reality show, tricks and
all. The eventual film, The Life of General Villa, also proved a powerful propaganda tool in the US when it was released in the early part of the century, turning public opinion towards the dashing
revolutionary on the screen. The anamorphic DVD contains an audio commentary with Gelbart and a behind-the-scenes featurette. |
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(Columbia/Tristar, Rated PG-13, DVD-$26.96 SRP) I've always been a fan of Errol Morris's documentaries and often felt his work was overlooked, but The Fog of War
- his devastatingly intimate portrait of former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara - deserved its Oscar. McNamara is a man often vilified for his role in the Vietnam War and this documentary will probably do little to change people's basic opinions of the man but what it does offer is a look at an intellectual, lucid, and incredibly rational 85 year-old man whose rationality may have been a major part of his downfall. I truly can't recommend this film enough. The anamorphic DVD contains 24 additional scenes, McNamara's 10 Lessons, and TV spots.
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(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.95 SRP) Back in my comic book youth, nothing got me more giddy than the idea of an inter-company crossover when, say, Spider-Man would meet Superman. There was just
an unbelievable coolness factor to that. That same feeling was evoked by the Jimmy Timmy Power Hour, which finds our heroes from The Fairly Oddparents and
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Timmy Turner & Jimmy Neutron swapping places. Even better, it manages to pull off a double-length episode without sacrificing the funny (a rarity). The DVD also contains 6 additional episodes from both series. Huzzah!
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(Dimension, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.95 SRP) The most obvious way of telling that David Zucker, Pat Profft, and Robert Weiss of Airplane!
fame have replaced the Wayans Brothers as the driving force behind Scary Movie 3
is the PG-13 rating and an almost ungodly amount of pure, unadulterated slapstick. The main movie spoofs this go round are The Ring and Signs
both primo targets but the humor has no real bite. In fact, the only thing that really kept me engaged was the return presence of Anna Faris as the hapless heroine, Cindy Campbell. Her comic timing is impeccable, and she's my kind of gorgeous. There. I said it. Overall, it's a mixed bag. Instead of
Kentucky Fried Movie, we get Naked Gun 33 1/3. Bonus features include an audio commentary, extensive deleted sequences, 2 behind-the-scene featurettes, and outtakes. |
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(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP) The final season of X-Files
was a complete and utter dud a warning sign to future sci-fi shows that there is such a thing as suffocating beneath your own unwieldy (and increasingly nonsensical) mythology. Did anyone really understand what the hell was going on at the end? By the last episode, I was beginning to believe the master plan of the aliens was to create a soft-serve ice cream franchise and the black oil was merely a delightful chocolate topping. And you kill of the Lone Gunmen? The only characters left with some levity in Chris Carter's oppressive little world? You bastards. Still, you can judge for yourself with
X-Files: The Complete Ninth Season, featuring all 18 episodes across 7 discs, presented in anamorphic widescreen. Bonus materials include the usual compliment of audio commentaries,
featurettes, visual effects spotlights, deleted scenes, and so on. |
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Jumping on the bandwagon of remastering previously released classic films for uber-deluxe
special editions, MGM puts a fine foot forward with a pair of iconic flicks The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Great Escape. Both films look better than ever, and are
loaded with bonus materials across 2-discs. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
gets 18 minutes of additional footage, deleted scenes, an audio commentary from Richard Schickel, a making-of documentary, a documentary on director Sergio Leone, "The Men Who Lost the War" Civil War documentary, a featurette on the audio reconstruction, a featurette on composer Ennio Morricone, a poster gallery, and the original theatrical trailer.
The Great Escape
contains an audio commentary (with director John Sturges plus cast & crew), a making-of documentary, "The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones" documentary, 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes, a photo gallery, and the original theatrical trailer.
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(Walt Disney, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP) Like The Rookie before it, Miracle
is a film that manages to capture the aw shucks, feel good spirit of the Disney live action films of yore (your Pollyannas and such) while still managing to come across as contemporary
even in a period piece like this Kurt Russell vehicle. In fact, since Russell stars as the coach who managed to put together the legendary 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team that bested the unstoppable Soviet
team, you could almost think of this as an adult Mighty Ducks. Sort of. Okay, ignore the comparison, because this is actually a surprisingly affecting flick worth checking out. I laughed. I
cried. I cheered. I managed to make it to the end which is no small feat when it comes to recent Disney fare. The 2-disc set features an audio commentary, a making-of documentary, a conversation
between Russell and the real Coach Herb Brooks, featurettes, and outtakes. |
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(Lion's Gate, Not Rated, DVD-$22.95 SRP) The animation is shaky, the voicework is nothing to shake a stick at, and the stories are borderline monkeys-at-typewriters, but there's an undeniable X
factor that makes Speed Racer unbelievably endearing. Don't ask me what it is. Just pick up Speed Racer: Volume 2, featuring 12 more episodes from the original run, and try to
figure it out for yourself. Even more mesmerizing is the DVD packaging that lights up and plays the show's theme at the press of a button, Be afraid. Be amazed. |
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(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$139.95 SRP) The second season of Star Trek: Voyager
was the first to feature a full compliment of 26 episodes the first season was an abbreviated affair. As such, this was the first opportunity to see exactly where the writers would be taking the crew of the stranded Starship, their main trek being to find a way home from the distant Delta Quadrant. Sadly, in the seven year run of the series, they never really did get anywhere which is a damn shame since, like the
Treks before it, it had a full compliment of more-than-capable actors (an element missing from Enterprise). Granted, unlike Enterprise, Voyager
could at least manage to tell competent stories most of the time, even if they weren't memorable. The second season did manage to get a few nice stories out of Q, who would quickly become a recurring element within
Voyager's universe. Kudos to Paramount for their quick and consistent releases of the series I never dreamt that the entirety of Next Gen and DS9
would be out, with Voyager and TOS
due to wrap by the end of the year. Bonus features in the set include behind the scenes featurettes, a spotlight on Tuvok, bonus interview segments, and a look at "A Day in the Life of Ethan Phillips."
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(Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$32.99 SRP each) I have many a quibble with the Disney company, but there's one area in which I have nothing but praise for them their [Walt Disney Treasures]
releases. I give most of the credit for these archive editions to Leonard Maltin, since I feel these historic collections would probably still be sitting in a vault if not for all of his hard work. In
the past, we've gotten chronological collections of the Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Silly Symphonies shorts (including the seldom seen black & whites), sets presenting archival material about the
studio, selections from the [Disneyland] program, and the complete Davy Crockett. Shockingly, they're completely uncut, uncensored, remastered, and often fully restored. A lot of these
cartoons have not seen the light of day due to dated ethnic content, but that's where Maltin's involvement really shines rather than using it as an excuse to either excise or butcher the cartoons in
question, Maltin instead places them within the proper historical context via introductions. The sets also contain bonus interviews, artwork, and rare material, encased within a limited edition
collectible tin. The newest releases are probably my favorite, if only for the inclusion of the wartime compendium [On the Front Lines] and the first volume of [The
Chronological Donald] (featuring the Duck's shorts from 1934-1941). The wartime collection in particular is packed with a bevy of rarities, including propaganda and educational films, [
Victory Through Airpower], and entertainment shorts that have long been the sole purview of bootleg tapes (like the Donald Duck skewering of Nazi Germany, "Der Fuehrer's Face"). The other two
sets available are the conclusion to [Mickey Mouse in Color], which takes us up to the present day with long-form featurettes (like [Mickey's Christmas Carol], [The
Prince & The Pauper], and [Runaway Brain]), and [Tomorrowland], which features many of Ward Kimball's innovative space-related shorts from the [Disneyland
] program. All in all, Disney is finally doing something right
Very, very right. Can [Song of the South] - properly placed in its historical context be far behind? |
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(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) The 6th season of Buffy
is where things really started to fall apart. In the past, they were able to utilize their coming-of-age metaphors in subtle ways, but during the penultimate season, we got the terribly unsubtle Willow the Drunken Drugged-Out Witch, depressive Buffy, and the brutally conflicted Spike. And no Giles for most of the year. There were some good spots, however, including the early Nerds of Doom outings (you know, before they went crazy) and the musical episode. However, the signs that the final season might not be up to the level of quality we'd come to expect from the Whedonverse were clearly written on the wall during season 6. All good things, as they say. The 6-disc
Buffy: Season 6
contains an audio commentary on "Bargaining" (with Marti Nixon & David Fury), commentary on "Once More With Feeling" (with Whedon), commentary on "Smashed" (with Drew Z. Greenberg), commentary on "Hells Bells" (with David Soloman & Rebecca Rand Kirshner), commentary on "Normal Again" (with Rick Rosenthal & Diego Gutierrez), commentary on "Grave" (with James Contner & David Fury), a behind-the-scenes featurette on the musical episode, music videos, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences panel discussion, 3 additional featurettes, outtakes, and a few easter eggs.
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(A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) The Carry On
films were the epitome of low-brow British humor you know, the same sense of humor that gave us Benny Hill. They were full of physical comedy and sexual innuendo, and the English public revered them.
Carry On Laughing was the 1975 TV series that tried to translate that success to the small screen, but it didn't quite manage to capture the same dim-witted joie de vivre. Those 13 episodes
are now available in one 2-disc set, and fans of camp will probably get a big kick out of it. |
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(Fox, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) As a follow-up to the surprise cult hit Super Troopers, the Broken Lizard team decided their next film would be a mixture of genres a blend of
comedy and slasher horror. "Didn't Scream already do that?" See, I anticipate your every move. Yes, Scream did parody the slasher genre, but what Club Dread
does is work comedy within the framework without it coming across as a parody. Instead, it's just a funny slasher flick. While it often manages to walk the line brilliantly, the overall feel of the flick is a bit schizophrenic, and the genre blend begins to fray. The premise is a simple one the staff of an isolated, extremely hedonistic island resort are being offed systematically by a machete-wielding killer. And there's lots of nudity. Oh, and a brilliant Jimmy Buffett take-off named Coconut Pete (played to perfection by Bill Paxton), who owns the resort and operates it as a living embodiment of his drugged-out, pleasure-seeking tunes ("Pina Coladaburg" is priceless). The bonus features on the DVD are limited to a pair of audio commentaries from the members of Broken Lizard, but both are worth a listen.
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(Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) Of the seven shorts featured on the second collection from the Full Frame
Documentary Film Festival, my favorite is probably "Nutria" by Ted Gesing, which showcases the eponymous massive ratlike creatures who are slowly taking over Louisiana (and quickly becoming a delicacy, if you can believe it). All of the shorts have something to offer, from aging beauty queens to the troubled memories of Vietnam vets, making this a set worth checking out (along with the first volume).
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(History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) With Memorial Day fast approaching, it's time for a slew of military-related films and documentaries to wend their way to DVD. The pickings are plenty, but
one that grabbed my eyes was another stellar History Channel set, The Last Days of World War II. This 2-disc set contains the documentaries The Last Days of World War II,
USS Eagle 56: Accident or Target? (an interesting look at an explosion of a US vessel off the New England coast in 1945), and The Last Secrets of the Axis
(Until seeing this, I never fully understood what led to the German-Japanese alliance). All in all, an engrossing trilogy. |
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(History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) I'm a space nut, so I watched the entirety of The Race to the Moon
in one sitting without batting an eye. This 2-disc set collects four programs originally presented independently on The History Channel Failure is Not an Option, Code Name: Project
Orion, Modern Marvels: Apollo 13, and Modern Marvels: The Space Shuttle. Particularly fascinating to me was the development process that went into the design and
execution of the space shuttle program, especially in light of recent tragedies. Bonus features include audio commentary on Failure is Not an Option
(with NASA Mission Control Flight Director Gene Kranz, writer/producer/co-director Rushmore DeNooyer, and editor/co-producer Tony Bacon) and a photo gallery. |
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(History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) There are a ton of big screen epics on the horizon, all presenting Hollywood's take on the story of the Trojan War. You can keep 'em. Personally, I got a lot
more enjoyment than Hollywood could ever give me out the History Channel's Troy: Unearthing the Legend
box set, which collects four of their documentaries on the subject. Included are "Rise and Fall of the Spartans," "Ancient Mysteries: The Odyssey of Troy," "Treasure!: The Ancient Gold of Troy," and "The Trojan City." Take that, Brad Pitt!
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(Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) There's something unsetting about watching The Weather Underground, a documentary focusing on the radical revolutionary group of the same name
who south to overthrow the US government during the 1970's. Reacting against what they perceived to be grievous social injustices the Vietnam War and racism, amongst them this group of young radicals
began bombing targets across the country, including the US Capitol, all the while staying one step ahead of the FBI. This film speaks with many members of the group, exploring the passions that drove
them to such violent measures, while also evoking an unfortunate, and disturbing, parallel to current events. |
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(Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP) Welcome to Mooseport is, on one level, a supreme disappointment. On another, it's a middling yet watchable comic diversion. So you get Ray Ramano to play a small-town schlub who
must suddenly contend with a competition for the girl he loves. He even decides to run against the guy for the office of mayor to try and win her back. And his competition? The former president of the
United States, played by the always loveable Gene Hackman. I don't know why this thing didn't succeed. It's got all the elements of a nice little comedy, but the elements just don't seem to come
together. The anamorphic DVD contains an audio commentary with director Donald Petrie, 6 deleted scenes with optional commentary, and an outtakes reel. |
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Tibby's Bowl Entertainment Magazine copyright 2004 by Kenneth Plume. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in part or
in whole without permission is prohibited. All articles, stories, and columns contained within are copyright their respective authors. |
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