The most surprising thing about the relatively new Cinemax show Banshee is that it has yet to get its proper due for being a truly great action series. Hopefully the release of the first season on DVD will help jumpstart the band wagon. Created by novelists Jonathan Tropper and David Schickler with help from uber producer Alan Ball (True Blood, Six Feet Under), the series is heavy on adrenaline and…
Strike Back is one of the hottest shows, and this DVD set (capturing “Strike Back: Vengeance” for those familiar with the British airing) does the show justice. The second season improves on the story that was laid out in the initial collection of episodes, providing some much-needed back story to Michael (Philip Winchester) while providing further drama. The show introduces a new boss for Michael in Rachel (Rhona Mitra…
It’s been almost 10 years since Friends went off the air and the actors (minus Jennifer Anniston) have all struggled to find permanent full-time employment. Lisa Kudrow has had a few false starts, but seems to have finally got a permanent gig on Showtime, which picked up her original Web series about an online therapist (title making sense now?). The series is based around Kudrow’s Fiona Wallice, a wealthy Philadelphia…
Eve of Destruction is an epic mini-series (which had an initial airing back in June, on the ReelzChannel) that details the construction of an energy plant that will solve the pressing issue of energy generation. When a set of ecological terrorist decide to throw a wrench in that research, what was a boon for humanity turns into a tremendous bane. Eve of Destruction is built off of the contributions…
While the Blu-Ray format is a relatively new one, I am personally surprised that 1986’s Platoon had not received a release up to this point. However, Fox (through the MGM imprint) has given fans a tremendous gift for the film’s twenty-fifth anniversary. First off, the 1080p transfer of Platoon from the original print will make the lush jungle backdrop pop that much more, and imbue viewers with a sense that…
The original 1968 film of The Producers is a classic title, showcasing Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, and Zero Mostel in a deliriously funny and off-the-wall look into the Broadway of the 1960s. When Max Bialystock (Mostel) and eir accountant (Wilder) learn that making an unsuccessful Broadway show is more financially lucrative than dealing with a long-haul release, Springtime For Hitler is born. The machinations of Bialystock and Bloom are…
This indie movie about U.S. politics may have relied on B-list celebrities, but most bring their A game in this surprisingly solid light drama. Rob Lowe is great as Paul Turner a Democratic fixer, the guy you call when your politician is about to get caught screwing around or… well let’s just go with screwing around, because that seems to be the go-to vice for male politicians in Knife Fight. …
Considering how fantastically creative many of the gig posters for indie shows are these days, it’s not surprising that there’s a whole group of collectors out there that specialize in rock posters. The documentary Just Like Being There does a great job of profiling the artists behind these sometime sanctioned (often not) posters and flyers that advertise the local shows. This doc checks in with gig poster artists…
Clip is a DVD that focuses on the seedy underbelly of eastern Europe, all while making the actions taken by Jasna (Isidora Simojonivic) commonplace to anyone that has had to deal with the troubles of being a teenager. Fans of Skins, Trainspotting, and Kids will be able to sink their teeth into Clip. Viewers will be shocked at the lengths that Jasna will go to run away from the…
Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spiderman) directs Oz the Great and Powerful, a film that stars James Franco and Mila Kunis. Franco is Oscar Diggs, while Kunis is Theodora (The Wicked Witch of the West in the original film). The film is rounded out with the inclusions of Rachel Weisz as Evanora and Zach Braff as Frank (the winged monkey who acts as guide for Diggs). A large heaping of…
Jack The Giant Slayer is a title that works beautifully on the Blu-Ray 3D medium. The larger than life tale about a young adult and a race of giants is helmed by Nicholas Hoult and Ewan McGregor, and does a great job in updating the Jack mythos for the current generation. The audio is equal to the video track, rendering the dialogue and atmospheric noise as close to reality as…
The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange Season 1 is contained on four discs. Each of the first season’s 30 episodes are captured here, with a faithful reproduction of the original audio and video. The show will take a few episodes to truly get, as The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange come off as a blend of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and Veggietales. The show contains humor that will work perfectly…
Custom Cases are important for those that have some serious cash placed into their gear. It is not only important to get insurance and take care of what you have purchased (instruments, computers, any sort of electronics), and there is a company that ensures that your gear will be left in the same condition as it was when it was originally bought.
The Economic Meltdown is a collection of five Frontline shows about the ongoing financial crisis on the world stage, which clock in at about 5 hours. Inside The Meltdown provides viewers with a set of actions that contributed to the crash of the economy, with a particular focus on the actions of United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke. Ten Trillion and…
With Season 5, there are no new introductions of mythical creatures (I think we covered them all with the werepanther); the episodes aren’t as dark as some of the previous seasons and the sexual tension is not boiling over this time, but it is still one of the most addicting season yet. Vampire frenemies Bill and Eric are captured and tortured by the Vampire Authority, the group that rules over…
On the heels of a number of re-dos in childrens’ television (My Little Pony, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Littlest Pet Shop was given new life by the Cahills (Tim and Julie, previously known as the creators of My Gym Partner’s A Monkey). This DVD captures a number of the later episodes of the first season, while providing space for a final release to collect the remainder of the season’s episodes.…
The Original UK edition of Mr Selfridge stars Jeremy Piven (Entourage) and is helmed by Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’ Diary, Bleak House). Mr Selfridge is a title that looks into the life of Harry Gordon Selridge, who was responsible for the success of Selfridge’s department store in the city of London. Piven is joined on Mr Selfridge by a slew of stellar actors, including Frances O’Connor as Harry’s wife,…
Flash Gordon was created in 1934, had a feature film (utilizing a killer Queen soundtrack) in 1980, and made its way onto the Sci-Fi network in 2007 and 2008. The show ran for 22 episodes, and placed Eric Johnson (Rookie Blue, Smallville) into the titular role. Rather than change the fundamental parts of Flash’s identity, those associated with the creation of the show have kept faithful to the source…
The Exhibitionists is a title that is incredibly meta in that it captures the exploits of a filmmaker, Walter Todd, (Richard Short, 666) as ey delves into increasingly blue subject matter. Capturing the dark side of everyone at a holiday party, Todd is able to titillate as well as education. The Exhibitionists captures the creative process as well as the relationship between the filmer and those being filmed, showcasing the…
Nobody Walks concerns the relationship that Martine (Olivia Thirlby) and a Los Angeles couple, Peter and Julie (Rosemary DeWitt and John Krasinski); Peter has offered to do audio work on Martine’s initial film as a favor to one of Julie’s collegiate friends. The addition of Martine to Peter and Julie’s family is enough of a catalyst to get the whole family in a tizzy. Ry Russo-Young (The Color Wheel, Hannah…