Home Video

30 Rock – Season 2

/ / Home Video
  • Title: 30 Rock – The Complete Second Season
  • tv.com: link

“I like when a woman has ambition; it’s like seeing a dog wearing clothes.”

When 30 Rock originally aired I wasn’t impressed.  To me the first season which was slightly less fun than staring at color bars, was painfully unfunny.  So it was with more than a little trepidation when I sat down to watch the second season on DVD.  Imagine my surprise when it turned out that while I wasn’t watching the show it began to find the funny.

The show takes place in NBC Universal headquarters inside the GE Building at 30 Rockerfeller Plaza (thus the title).  Tina Fey stars as the head writer for a comedy series which stars Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowsi.

The main focus of 30 Rock is the behind the scenes antics of those who work in the building from the other writers on the show (Scott Adsit, Frank Friedlander, Keith Powell), to the loyal page (Jack McBrayer) and the studio suit (Alec Baldwin).

…

30 Rock – Season 2Read More »

30 Rock – Season 2 Read More »

The Great Films – Rear Window

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Rear Window
  • IMDb: link

“Are you interested in solving this case or in making me look foolish?”
“Well, if possible, both.”

With the recent release of Disturbia I thought this would be a good time to introduce a new feature and take a look back at the film which it pays homage to.  Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is considered one of the director’s finest films by both critics (it earned a 100% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes and ranked #42 on AFI’s 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time) and fans (at the time of this review it ranks #16 on IMDB’s Top 250 Films of All Time).

Alfred Hitchcock, ah, there was a man who knew how to tell a tale.  The joy in Rear Window is the simplicity.  One man looking into the windows of his neighbors discovers a little about them, and a little about himself, and uncovers what he believes is evidence of cold-blooded murder.  It’s a film of slow revelations, of constant building tension, of troubled relationships, and of learning the truth about yourself as well as your neighbors.  If you enjoy suspense then you could search long and hard trying to find a flick better than this one.

Stuck at home with a broken leg, photojournalist L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) begins to examine the world around him finding numerous worlds in the apartments across the courtyard.  Over the past six weeks these strangers have become his form of entertainment and his only way to experience the outside world.

…

The Great Films – Rear WindowRead More »

The Great Films – Rear Window Read More »

L.A. Confidential

/ / Home Video
  • Title: L.A. Confidential
  • IMDB: link

“Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush.”

The year was 1997 and the film was L.A. Confidential. Based on the James Ellroy novel of the same name the film tells the story of corruption and murder in 1950’s Los Angeles.

The film follows the investigations of three distinctly different cops.  The first is the ambitious career-mined Det. Lt. Edmund Exley (Guy Pearce) who makes a name for himself on honesty and a willingness to throw those who don’t agree to the wolves.

The second is Officer Bud White (Russell Crowe) a blunt instrument with a strong desire to help women in trouble and more brains than most people, even himself, give him credit.

And the third, Det. Sgt. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), is a fame obsessed cop drunk on the Hollywood scene, his small role as a consultant for the cop show Badge of Honor (think Dragnet), and his ties to sleazoid magazine editor (Danny DeVito).

…

L.A. ConfidentialRead More »

L.A. Confidential Read More »

Beauty and the Beast

/ / Home Video

How many shows can you name which center around lawyers, doctors, cowboys, explorers, families and space travelers?  Now how many prime time fairy tales do you remember from television?  Here’s one…

  • Title: Beauty and the Beast – The Complete First Season
  • tv.com: link

“We’re below the city, below the subways.  There is a whole world of tunnels and chambers that most people don’t even know exists.  There are no maps to where we are.  It’s a forgotten place.  But it’s warm and it’s safe, and we have all the room we need.  So we live here and we try to live as well as we can, and we try to take care of each other.”

After being attacked society girl Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton) is nursed back to health in the bowels of New York City by Vincent (Ron Perlman).  Here begins a fairy tale love story between a beautiful Assistant District Attorney and her protector, a beast with the soul of a poet.

This first season introduces us to the world of “down below” and the characters who will become staples of the series.  It also sets up Catherine’s world above with her boss Joe (Jay Acovone) and her on-again, off-again, suitor Elliot Burch (Edward Albert).  “Son of Orpheus” reveals Father’s (Roy Dotrice) past and his reasons for retreating from the world above and creating the underground society.  “An Impossible Silence” and “China Moon” are set in the distinct worlds of a deaf girl (Terrylene) and Chinatown.  “The Alchemist” introduces the recurring villain of Paracelsus (Tony Jay), and Vincent’s childhood friend returns in “Promises of Someday”.  The nature of the lovers relationship is put to the test in “A Happy Life”

…

Beauty and the BeastRead More »

Beauty and the Beast Read More »

Leatherheads on DVD

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Leatherheads
  • IMDB: link

“You’re only as young as the women you feel.”

In 1925 college football was king and professional football was struggling to get by.  Here we join Dodge Connelly (Geroge Clooney) and his desperate last attempt to save the league by wooing college star and war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) into professional football.

Those familiar with the screwball comedy know what to expect as we’re given fast-talking dialgoue, phsycial hyjinks, and a love story between a footballer and a reporter (Renée Zellweger).  For more on the film itself read the original review.

If you missed Leatherheads in the theater it’s worthy of at least a rental.  The extras alone, though nice (at least on the regular DVD edition), don’t scream must have however.  The special features are nothing special and the commentary gives little added insight to the making of the film.  Fans of Clooney, screwball comedy, and 1920’s era style films will still want to take a long look at this good, though not great, DVD edition.

Leatherheads on DVD Read More »