DVD

[Rasputin]

Idiocracy

If you add up the incomes of every lead character in a Mike Judge movie or TV show, they probably wouldn’t earn enough to buy a used double-wide. Beavis and Butthead make zero. Hank Hill, the propane salesman from Fox’s animated hit King of the Hill, makes in the mid-to-upper five figures, about the same as Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), hero of the tie and short-sleeved dress shirt set in cult favorite Office Space. But Judge’s taste in heroes is not to be...

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Running With Scissors - BD

One may draw parallels between Little Miss Sunshine and Running With Scissors. Both focus on dysfunctional families and impacts on the young. Both torture psychologically and humiliate some of the principal characters. Both are punctuated by humor, perhaps exclusively dark humor. And both have a high squirm factor. One could argue that the squirm factor is even higher with Running With Scissors because the film is based on Augusten Burroughs’ best-selling...

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The Tailor Of Panama - BD

I can't recall what prompted me to start reading espionage novels, but I do remember beginning with Ian Fleming's Bond series. As entertaining as these books are, I sought other interpretations of the genre and soon discovered John Le Carre. The glamour that permeated Fleming's works was replaced by a more believable grittiness. Le Carre's heroes were not very heroic in the physical sense. Intellect and the ability to work through a labyrinthine scheme was a more likely attribute for survival. Le...

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Cinderella III: A Twist In Time

What if the slipper didn’t fit? When Cinderella’s evil stepmother gets a hold of Fairy Godmother’s magic wand and turns back the hands of time, Cinderella must try to find Prince Charming and break through a new spell. Gus, Jac, and many other characters return for a new take on one of Disney’s most celebrated classic films.Years ago, when I first saw Disney’s 1950 Cinderella film I thought the two maniacal stepsisters were the funniest thing in the film. So I was...

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This Film Is Not Yet Rated

The current ratings system, introduced by former MPAA president Jack Valenti in 1968, has become such an accepted part of the fabric of movie-going that only when a major filmmaker gets slapped with an NC-17 is the practice called into question. But the entire ratings structure has always been a rickety vessel overseen by a shadowy cabal of anonymous parents operating with no set rules and no oversight, arbitrarily deciding what America should and shouldn't see based on ever-shifting criteria. In...

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An American Haunting - Unrated Edition

Based on the true story of The Bell Witch of Tennessee, An American Haunting is the story of a spirit in 1817 that brutally attacked the Bell family causing the death of one of its members. The story is deemed true, validated by the State of Tennessee, the only case in U.S. history where a spirit or supernatural entity caused a man’s death. Experience the most horrific of nights to find out what happened to a family in crisis.The resonance of humanity can touch us through a ghost story. A...

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Men Behaving Badly: The Complete Series

God, I love to watch people act like jackasses. I’m still in the minority about Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm – for some reason, those jackasses just don’t seem to have much fun acting like the idiots they are – but give me a TV show about bumbling nincompoops, and I’ll guarantee you I will watch at least a few episodes.I remember when Men Behaving Badly first came on the air; it was a moderate media event (especially for SNL devotees like myself). Rob Schneider...

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Open Season - BD

Have you noticed the increasing rate at which CGI animated features seem to be making their way to the screen? If so, you’ve probably also noticed that not every animated feature has the panache of The Incredibles or the satirical prowess of Shrek. With the world of modern CGI cartoons spotted with blunders like Disney’s The Wild, I warily set low expectations for Sony’s Open Season. The verdict? While the feature doesn’t hit Nemo-high marks, I would say it’s on par...

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Poseidon - HD

I have never been attracted to disaster flicks. I was not enflamed by The Towering Inferno. The Poseidon Adventure didn’t float my boat. Earthquake did not rock my world - I think the ride of the same name at Universal Studios Orlando is more entertaining. (Although I am pleased that there are enough suitable clichés to cover all three movies.) But since I’m an admirer of director Wolfgang Petersen’s work, including his two previous wet epics...

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The Scorpion King - HD

Dwayne Johnson (better known to his fans as The Rock) apparently made a bit of an impression during his brief appearance in The Mummy Returns. Universal Studios and writer- director Stephen Sommers must have felt that both Johnson and his character’s backstory were worthy of a feature film treatment. So for your viewing pleasure, we have The Scorpion King.The plot of this action-oriented flick is simple enough. Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson) is one of three surviving Akkadians...

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Penn & Teller – Bullshit: Season Four

This ain't your mama's muckracking. Penn & Teller's Bullshit is a bawdy, passionate, fervently inquisitive Showtime series that takes various concepts and/or organizations that have questionable merits and investigates the crap out of them until the bullshit that lies directly underneath (or in many cases, right on top of) their operations becomes glaringly and deliciously clear. What separates the bravado of Penn & Teller from the investigative journalistic integrity of others, like...

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Here Comes Mr. Jordan

There are lots of movies about the afterlife, but none of them approach the simplicity and brutal finality of my personal dream project about death: during the opening credits, a rich industrialist falls dead from a heart attack, after which the screen is black for 180 minutes. At that point, the audience, understanding that there is no afterlife, will kill themselves, unsettled by the disturbing knowledge that: a) death is final; and, b) the theater doesn’t give refunds. It’ll be...

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A Dead Calling

When a supernatural force causes Elizabeth, a young reporter, to investigate an old house, she finds herself to be the only hope for a family of long-dead ghosts stuck in limbo. But when the demented father of the family, who is still living, hears about her visits, he takes action to make sure that the truth is never told.This is one of those times when I took a chance on reviewing a no-hype, low-profile new film for the heck of it. I was hoping for a diamond in the rough. You never know unless...

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Chicago - BD

Chicago surprised the critics with its artistic and popular success despite contemporary audiences thought to be unwelcoming to films of the musical genre. The story, which is loosely based on actual events in Chicago during the depression, is engaging. Set design is flawless. Dance choreography is tight and takes brilliant advantage of new opportunities the film medium affords. With only a few debatable exceptions, casting is solid (especially Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah). The film...

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Flags of our Fathers

In Flags of Our Fathers, director Clint Eastwood turns his measured, stately eye to one of World War II’s most enduring mysteries: who raised the American flag atop Mount Surabachi on February 23, 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima. That their faces are never seen in the photo is, of course, part of its power. The picture represents America’s collective will, might, and teamwork and showing their faces would individualize a grander statement. Joe Rosenthal, who took the picture...