Category: TV DVDs (Page 15 of 54)

Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine speak out on “Reaper” finale

June 15, 2009 /

I recently had a chance to do a joint phoner with Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine in connection with Season 2 of “Reaper” being released on DVD, though it will probably come as no surprise that a sizable chunk of the conversation ended up being about the likely demise of the series. Rest assured, I pointed out that the general tone of the comments from Premium Hollywood about the season finale…well, at least those of John Paulsen, anyway (though it’s clear others share his opinion, too)…were along the lines of, “Oh, my God, this is the biggest gyp I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of that, too,” laughed Labine. “All in all, maybe it could’ve been a better ending for the season, regardless of whether it was the wrap-up or not, but you have to understand that there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen by the end with, like, where you have to leave it. There were a lot of notes coming down from on high, and I think things just get a little bit scrambled at the end of a show that’s on the bubble, technically. I think we have to give the writers a little bit more credit, but, yeah, I think we were all…well, I guess we can speak freely. The show’s canceled. We weren’t super happy with the ending of the show, I feel. But that’s just me. I don’t know. What about you, Bret?”

“No, no, I wasn’t happy,” admitted Harrison. “But I was excited that I got to play Quarters.

“Oh, yeah,” agreed Labine. “We all were.”

The full interview will appear on Bullz-Eye on Wednesday, but to tease you until then, here are a few more choice quotes from the conversation:

“All in all, for a second season, I thought it went well. We introduced some cool characters. But I can officially go on record now as saying that I was not happy with the storyline with me trying to fuck my stepsister.” – Tyler Labine

“I think they were planning on leading (Alan Townsend, played by Sean Patrick Thomas) to be kind of part of the finale, from the little bit I heard them talking about it, but deals don’t work out all the time, and I don’t really want to get into too much detail, but…it just didn’t work out, for whatever reason.” – Bret Harrison

“If we’d been able to come back and tell the story in Season 3, Andi would’ve been a Reaper, there could’ve been a whole new rebellion with Michael Ian Black as Sam’s guardian angel now, basically, and a full-scale battle between Heaven and Hell might’ve actually started to go on. It would’ve taken a whole new turn.” – Tyler Labine

Admit it: you’re already chomping at the bit for the interview, aren’t you? Stay tuned, “Reaper” fans!

External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, Reaper, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

Russell Brand in New York City

June 10, 2009 /

There are hundreds of genuinely funny people that positively suck at stand-up comedy, which is why the DVD for “Russell Brand Live in New York” sat unopened on this writer’s desk for a couple weeks. Mind you, I found Brand quite funny in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” and he pretty much stole “Bedtime Stories” from Adam Sandler. But is he stand-up funny? As it turns out, yes, he is. His approach is extremely British, in both language and timing, but his routine, which originally aired on Comedy Central in March, is wisely focused on all things America, beginning with his disastrous stint as the host of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (the opening monologue from the VMAs is included in the bonus features). He even shares the death threats he received afterwards, one of which declares that his monologue proves that he’s a Muslim-loving terrorist (“Bit of a leap,” Brand replies). One of the funniest bits in his routine is relegated to the bonus features, where he has some fun with an overly excited admirer, but soon loses his patience when she won’t keep her mouth shut. A genuinely amusing routine overall, but a quick note to Comedy Central: lose the grainy hand-held camera shots. They’re annoying.

Click to buy “Russell Brand Live in New York”

External TV, Stand-Up Comics, TV Comedies, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

Baccano!: Volume Three

June 9, 2009 /

The third volume of “Baccano!” is decidedly less plot-heavy than the two that came before it, but what it lacks in exposition, it more than makes up for with a relentless supply of bloody, bloody violence. Though the series has certainly featured its share of bullets, knives and soul-sucking immortals in the past, Volume Three goes into overdrive as the Flying Pussyfoot literally transforms into death on wheels. The bloodbath isn’t just the work of the Rail Tracer, either, but he does figure heavily into the story this time around due in part to the fact that he’s finally properly introduced. As it turns out, the Rail Tracer isn’t much of a demon at all (at least, not in the traditional sense), but rather Claire Stanfield (now going by the name Vino), who’s adopted the persona of the Rail Tracer for his own amusement. Meanwhile, Ladd gets into a fight with Chane on top of the Flying Pussyfoot; Rachel (the mysterious woman seen on the outside of the train in Volume Two) is revealed to be working as a spy for the Daily Days; and Czeslaw is killed several times, only to be revived by the powers of the elixir. This might just be the craziest batch of episodes yet, but with tensions at an all-time high and plenty of questions still left unanswered, the fourth and final volume should easily trump that.

Click to buy “Baccano!: Volume Three”

External TV, TV, TV Cartoons, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

Land of the Lost – Season Three: Enik the Dick

June 5, 2009 /

The third and final season of “Land of the Lost” is often considered the ugly, misshapen, redheaded bastard stepchild of the series. Indeed, if the 13 episodes of which it consists were the only “Land of the Lost” ever created, the show would have been long since forgotten. But it’s worth mentioning that the initial impetus for doing this three part retrospective came from the desire to come to the defense of Season Three, and try to give a little bit of respect to the episodes that are routinely shunned even by the people who display their love of this show as a badge of honor.

Season Three again saw shifts in the production team, and even more noticeably, in front of the camera. As I understand it, Spencer Milligan couldn’t reach an amicable contract agreement and so he abruptly left the show. With his departure came new lyrics for the opening credits:

Will and Holly Marshall
As the earth beneath them trembled
Lost their father through the door of time
Uncle Jack went searching
And found those kids at last
Looking for a way to escape
From the Land of the Lost

Uncle Jack replaced Ranger Rick, and he was played by Ron Harper, best known to genre fans as astronaut Alan Virdon in the TV series incarnation of “Planet of the Apes.” He was a true uncle, rather than a father – instead of being preachy and bestowing wisdom, he was more often than not a man of action; a guy trying to get things done. I like Ron Harper, and if there’s a reason I’ve got some love for Season Three, much of it’s due to his presence. Would Spencer Milligan’s Rick have been as believable in many of these situations? Likely not. He’d accrued too much info during his time in the Land for these stories to work. In contrast, Uncle Jack was experiencing this madness through fresh eyes, and so he was more accepting.

Behind the scenes, Jon Kubichan and Sam Roeca took over as producer and story editor respectively, and between the two of them, they scripted the majority of the season. Their vision of the series was quite the departure from the two seasons that came before. Nearly everything – including the iconic elements such as the Sleestak, the Pakuni and the ubiquitous dinosaurs – got a major overhaul.

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External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

Box Office Preview of the “Lost” Weekend

June 5, 2009 /

So, there I was, thinking about what I was going to post tomorrow when it suddenly occurred to me: it’s not Wednesday, it’s Thursday, which means you’re reading this on Friday morning and, damnit, you need your box office preview.

This weekend sees the release of passel of comedies and comedy dramas, and the smart money at both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter agrees that “Up,” which is just about ready to receive the first Nobel Prize for animation and become the basis for a new religion, will likely defeat both of the newcomers. It gets more intriguing become it’s not impossible that the film starring a bonafide comedy superstar could come in at the #3 spot.

I speak, of course, of “Land of the Lost” starring Will Ferrell, which our own Will Harris gave a mere 1.5 stars to on the grounds of being unfunny and raunchily disconnected from it’s own youngster appeal. Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a sad 20% “Fresh” rating (even if Roger Ebert wrote another of his very, very many utterly winning defenses of films I would never spend my own money to see). I’m sure the elaborate comedy will do a certain amount of business based on Ferrell’s appeal and its special effects, but unless audiences like this one vastly more than critics, there may be long faces at Universal on Monday. At least it’s gotten the original TV series reissued, much to the delight of my fellow PH-er, Ross Ruediger.

Ed Helms and a feathered friendOn the other hand, the megastar-free “The Hangover,” which sort of sounds like a retread of the premise of “Very Bad Things,” is apparently a vastly more upbeat affair. My film review overseer, Jason Zingale, gave it a solid 3.5 stars and in general it is being received as a very good thing by RT critics, and may well do very good things for the careers of its up-and-coming cast. An upset at the #2 spot is not impossible.

Other than that, we have a new romantic comedy vehicle from Nia Vardolos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”), “My Life in Ruins.” Despite being written by the very talented comedy writer, Mike Reiss, this film keeps alive director Donald Petrie’s career long record of never making a single well reviewed featured, receiving a truly dismal 7% at RT. I wouldn’t expect another sleeper from this one. Bullz-Eye’s Dave Medsker gave it 2.5 stars, definitely more in sorrow than in anger.

That’s pretty much it, but in very limited release is a new film from Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”, “Road to Perdition”) and literary power couple Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, which we’ll talk about when it’s in more than four theaters. Also, speaking of director’s named “Sam,” please consider giving Mr. Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell” a chance this weekend. It’s that or the only horror films the studios will be greenlighting will be “The Grudge 15” or such upcoming torture-porn classics as “I Digest Your Eyeballs” and “The Scrotum Stretchers.” Keep horror sane, see the darn thing. (Also check out Will Harris’s interview with the very cool actor, Dileep Rao.)

Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV DVDs

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