Archive for the ‘TV’ Category

Warlock (1959) DVD Review: A Dynamic Western Presented in an Outdated, Eviscerating Format

Posted: 17 April, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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Warlock (1959) DVD Review: A Dynamic Western Presented in an Outdated, Eviscerating Format

OK, so let me bring you up-to-date here, kids: recently, Fox Cinema Archives released several classic motion pictures – originally presented in theaters in CinemaScope – in the dreaded, severely outdated process of pan-and-scan (something that was used for older 4:3 TVs, but which is flat-out ridiculous in this day and age, what with widescreen television sets and all). As Douglas Adams would say: “This made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.” Well, seeing as how everyone else has griped about this faux pas (or would that be a “Fox pas“?) – including Cinema Sentries writer Will McKinley -  I’m just going to bypass the introductory bitching and actually discuss the fine motion picture Fox has massacred by presenting on DVD in this outdated, eviscerating format in 2013. Read the rest of this entry »

DVD Review: Archer – The Complete Season Three

Posted: 16 April, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Archer – The Complete Season Three

Article first published as DVD Review: Archer – The Complete Season Three on Blogcritics.

If I said it once, I said it at least three times over: “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Originality sailed off into the wild blue yonder a long, long time ago. And there is no better example of a current FX animated series called Archer. Check this out, kids: in 1975, actor Brian Keith found himself miscast in a short-lived series called Archer. A good thirty-five years later, FX debuted their own series called Archer. And the comparisons between the two are downright frightening — since they both center on a guy named Archer. I know, right? This is major conspiracy theory fodder, people! (more…)

DVD Review: Eureka, Season 5 – The Final Season

Posted: 28 February, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Eureka, Season 5 – The Final Season

Article first published as DVD Review: Eureka, Season 5 – The Final Season on Blogcritics.

Many individuals out there believe the Road to Hell is paved with the good intentions of others. It that were true, one might have every right to argue about the belief that the equally-talked about Stairway to Heaven could very well be lined with bad television network decisions. All those really good and/or promising series that received a unwarranted, swift chop of the ever-dreaded “Exec Axe” are there, embedded within the steps leading up to eternal glory to entice you with the promise that they just might be alive and well up there. Ironically enough, sources indicate that Highway to Heaven is not among those titles, but I’ve been assured by the Amazing Criswell that Eureka is. (more…)

Blu-ray Review: Planes, Trains and Automobiles – “Those Aren’t Pillows” Edition

Posted: 26 February, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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Blu-ray Review: Planes, Trains and Automobiles – “Those Aren’t Pillows” Edition

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Planes, Trains and Automobiles – “Those Aren’t Pillows” Edition on Blogcritics.

By the time the year 1987 rolled around, the now-legendary (and late) filmmaker John Hughes was pretty much on top of the cinematic world, having previously brought us four classic features that he both wrote and directed in just two years: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — to say nothing of the features he served as writer and executive producer for. But when he put pen to paper on what was to become the holiday-themed Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Hughes decided to abandon the teeny-bopper formula he helped to mold and focus on the complex world of adults. (more…)

DVD Review: Warehouse 13 – Season Three

Posted: 26 February, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Warehouse 13 – Season Three

Article first published as DVD Review: Warehouse 13 – Season Three on Blogcritics.

Many a science fiction television series has the tendency to take itself as seriously as a heart-attack, only occasionally dabbing into the subgenre of “the funny.” As such, they tend to become what one might desire to call “soap operatic” — reaching at every ring the merry-go-round dispenses in their direction, all the while becoming more staid in nature than before. And then there are those shows that, from the get-go, take a light-hearted approach to things. One such series is SyFy’s Warehouse 13 — a not-too-terribly solemn series that was surely inspired by that epic closing shot from Raiders of the Lost Ark. (more…)

DVD Review: Alphas – Season One

Posted: 24 February, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Alphas – Season One

Article first published as DVD Review: Alphas – Season One on Blogcritics.

Much like there are confused teenage girls and bored, desperate housewives who periodically get into a heated argument over whether or not Robert Pattinson is a better actor over Taylor Lautner, there are those of us in this world who hold high opinions of certain (real) performers — and feel that they can liven up even the most dreadful of affairs with their presence alone. Who can forget how a latter-day Orson Welles was able to make Paul Masson wine almost sound tolerable? And then there are contemporary artists, such as one of my personal favorites, the great David Strathairn. Much like most straight men willingly admit they would have sex with George Clooney, I would gladly do the same with David. But I digress. (more…)

DVD Review: Alice – The Complete Second Season

Posted: 22 February, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Alice – The Complete Second Season

Article first published as DVD Review: Alice – The Complete Second Season on Blogcritics.

It always seems like it was just yesterday to me when I sat on my grandparent’s ugly green carpet night after night watching Alice on our already-archaic tube television set. When the Warner Archive Collection unleashed the first season of the barely recognizable spin-off of Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore last year, it enabled me — as well as millions of other viewers who fondly (or even uncaringly remembered the program) — to revisit our memories of the show, for better or for worse. A few short months later, Warner packaged together Alice: The Complete Second Season for us to enjoy. Or not, as the case may be for some. (more…)

Red Dwarf X Blu-ray Review: Series IX? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Series IX!

Posted: 18 January, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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Red Dwarf X Blu-ray Review: Series IX? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Series IX!

IMore than 24 years after it first hit the airwaves of a perplexed BBC and delighted jaded science-fiction comedy viewers near and far, Red Dwarf made a triumphant return to television in the final quarter of 2012 — only this time, under the compassionate guidance of Dave TV (no, not the fictitious David Lee Roth network from the mid ’80s). Previously, the Boys from the Dwarf had made a minor comeback with a three-part special in 2009, subtitled Back to Earth, which took place nine years after Series VIII — which concluded with a cliffhanger many hoped would be resolved — as well as well after what would have been Series X had the series kept running full-time. Read the rest of this entry »

Blu-ray Review: Bored to Death – The Complete Third Season

Posted: 17 January, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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Blu-ray Review: Bored to Death – The Complete Third Season

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Bored to Death – The Complete Third Season on Blogcritics.

Unless you possess an IQ equivalent to the shoe size of a sasquatch, it can be incredibly easy to find yourself losing interest with the shows we see on television. Especially with those abominable airwave creations network executives seem to think you will find some sort of thrill in viewing. It should go without saying that anyone who feels the urge to check out the weekly exploits of teenage mothers or life forms known as Kardashians has a significantly low regard for all things remotely intriguing in life to begin with. But what happens when even that is insufficient to keep you adrift in this lonely, lonely world satiated with adroitly weird characters? (more…)

Blu-ray Review: House of Dark Shadows / Night of Dark Shadows

Posted: 16 January, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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Blu-ray Review: House of Dark Shadows / Night of Dark Shadows

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: House of Dark Shadows / Night of Dark Shadows on Blogcritics.

Though they had been recorded throughout the annals of human history long before anyone ever came up with a standard, universal word to refer to them by, vampires had almost always walked hand in pale hand within the confines of the moon-drenched night with the element of romance. Many a tale of Gothic romance had been spawned over the years focusing on undead bloodsuckers and mortal maidens — most notably Bram Stoker’s immortal Dracula — but in 1966, a fellow working in that grand (and still relatively new) world of television by the handle of Dan Curtis revamped (ahem) that horrifying romantic constituent into airwave material. Thus, the long-running supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows was born. (more…)

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