Category: TV DVDs (Page 16 of 54)

Land of the Lost – Season Two: “Mysterious Forces”

June 3, 2009 /

Before jumping into Season Two, allow me to discuss the “Land of the Lost” movie for a bit. As you might glean, I’m a pretty hardcore fan of this show. Yes, believe it or not, we do exist; “Land of the Lost” has a small, but fervent cult following. The last thing fans of this series ever wanted to see was a comedy send-up of the premise. No, most fans had minor dreams of someday seeing a big-budget, sci-fi movie created by people that took the concept as seriously as David Gerrold did back in the day. But, alas, that did not happen, and instead we’re getting a movie that’s likely closer in tone to some of the other Krofft properties, rather than the one it’s actually based on.

All that said, any amount of money that can be made by this movie must be positive for “Land of the Lost” as a brand name, and if the movie does well, you never know what the future might hold. Personally, I’d like to see the movie do so well that somebody decides to greenlight a new version of the series for Sci Fi, which would be the obvious network for it to end up on (indeed, Sci Fi has even been running “Land of the Lost” marathons as of late). I mean, really, how many steps away from “Primeval” – an enormous success for ITV in England, as well as here in the States on BBC America – is a serious version of this concept? So if you’re a fan of the series, don’t be so quick to skip the movie, simply because it isn’t what you envisioned. Grab some friends and a few beers and head out to the movie theatre this weekend, because the future of “Land of the Lost” probably rests in the obnoxious antics of Will Ferrell. (That is, admittedly, a sentence I never in my life thought I’d have to type.)

Now back to your regularly scheduled breakdown of Season Two of “Land of the Lost…”

David Gerrold left the series after the first season, and so a new story editor was hired in the form of Dick Morgan, who’d written such Season One offerings as “Album” and “Follow That Dinosaur.” Clearly Morgan had a lot of respect for what Gerrold had laid down, but it seems that he perhaps didn’t have a big vision of his own. (In all fairness, this is an unfair supposition on my part; as with any TV show there are many fingers in the pie, and who’s to say who’s to blame?) Part of the problem with Season Two is that it frequently tries to expand on ideas from the first season, often without success. This isn’t to say that the season isn’t any good; in fact, you’ve got to be a bit obsessive about the show in order to notice a big difference from the first season…but, then again, that’s why I’m here sharing my insights with anyone who cares to listen.

Continue reading »

External Entertainment, External TV, Movie Comedies, Reviews, Sci-Fi Movies, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

Blu Tuesday: He’s Just Not That Into You, Revolutionary Road and Weeds

June 2, 2009 /

After what seemed like an avalanche of Blu-rays during the month of May, HD consumers can finally rest their pocketbooks. The lull isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds – after all, studios continue to release catalog reissues every week – but those looking strictly for new titles have fewer options. For instance, last Tuesday brought us only one new release (the Renée Zellweger comedy, “New in Town”) – which is also why there was no new column – but this week offers up a slightly better selection to choose from.

“He’s Just Not That Into You” (Warner Bros.)

Though not quite an instant classic like Richard Curtis’ “Love Actually,” the Ken Kwapis-directed romantic comedy has a lot in common with the 2003 film. Both movies juggle several interweaving storylines (including some that end well and some that don’t), and both feature an all-star cast of actors. “He’s Just Not That Into You” isn’t as memorable, but it’s definitely better than expected thanks to a smart script and some standout performances by Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long. While the movie doesn’t appeal to the opposite sex in the same way as Curtis’ rom-com, it’s still an easier sell than most films like it due to the variety of male characters represented in the story. The Blu-ray release is far from extraordinary, but for fans of the genre, you could do a lot worse.

“Revolutionary Road” (Paramount)

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t love “Revolutionary Road” quite as much as the other critics, but it’s still a solid period drama with fine performances from the hugely underrated Leonardo DiCaprio and the slightly overrated Kate Winslet. While the story is just as depressing as most of the award films Hollywood is producing these days, there are small moments of happiness sprinkled throughout that helps make what can easily be conveyed as an anti-marriage tale a little easier to swallow. There’s obviously more to story than that, which is why anyone who might have strayed from seeing the film in theaters (and judging by its box office receipts, that’s a pretty big percentage) should definitely give it a go on Blu-ray. The book by Richard Yates has been called one of the greatest novels in the history of American Literature, and while that’s certainly not true of the movie adaptation, it’s still worth seeing once.

Continue reading »

External Movie DVDs, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, TV, TV Comedies, TV DVDs

Land of the Lost – Season One: “It’s Not Just for Kids Anymore”

June 1, 2009 /

If there’s one thing the upcoming “Land of the Lost” movie can be counted on to do, it’s generate some long overdue interest in the classic Sid and Marty Krofft series upon which it’s based. Viewers of the new film, starring Will Ferrell, will largely be made up of two groups: those who watched the show back in the seventies, and those who have no idea the movie is even based on a TV show. With a sweet new “Complete Series” box set currently in stores, there’s no better time than now to look back at the show that began scarring many a young psyche when it was unveiled in 1974.

The Kroffts unleashed all manner of trippy live action television fare on Saturday morning viewers back in the ‘70s, but the majority of their output was campy and comical. “Land of the Lost” really stood apart from most of their other productions with its far more serious themes and dramatic approach. The first season of “Land of the Lost” is oftentimes seriously thought-provoking science fiction, wrapped around a fair amount of fatherly advice, sibling friction, and heaping helpings of action & adventure and thrills & chills. Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) and his teenage children Will (Wesley Eure) and Holly (Kathy Coleman) are, as the famous theme song goes, on a routine expedition when they go over a waterfall and end up in a strange place populated by dinosaurs, monkey people, and a slew of lizard men that gave a generation of kids nightmares that lasted for years.

Continue reading »

External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

Designing Women: The Complete First Season

May 26, 2009 /

When you work for a web magazine which has trumpeted itself as “The Guys’ Portal to the Web,” you have to learn that, despite your best intentions of covering a diverse amount of TV-DVD releases, your bosses aren’t always going to be as enthusiastic about your review picks as you are. After having suffered through a slight chastising over my decision to praise “Blossom: Seasons 1 and 2” on Bullz-Eye, it seemed like a wise move to avoid an argument and just do my review of “Designing Women: The Complete Series” over on Premium Hollywood instead. This is, after all, practically the antithesis of what the average Bullz-Eye reader would be watching…and given how many times the episodes have been rerun on the Lifetime Network over the years, one wonders if even the show’s fans really need to own it on DVD. (That’s a joke, of course: “Designing Women” fans have been clamoring for the show to come to DVD for years, so you can only imagine their excitement.)

The back of the box boldly declares that the cast members of “Designing Women” – Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, and Jean Smart – “brought a new kind of Southern spirit to American television. Smart, ambitious, and outspoken, they embodied the ‘new’ Southern woman.” That’s as may be, but it doesn’t feel terribly groundbreaking…and if you check your ’80s sitcom timeline, it’s pretty obvious that CBS’s interest in picking up the show stemmed from a desire to entice some of the women who were watching NBC’s “The Golden Girls.” To be fair, however, creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason devised the show mostly because she wanted to see the four actresses, each of whom had worked with her in the past, teamed up in a show together.

“Designing Women: The Complete First Season” might as well cause estrogen to come billowing forth from your DVD player, so much is it geared toward the fairer sex. Not that that isn’t to be expected from a show with a title like that, but it really needs to be underlined, lest any guys find their girlfriends or wives asking them if they’d like to check out the set with them. God help you if you end up in such a position, but if you do, then you can at least request that you watch the following episodes, which have solid guest stars: “Design House” (Stephen Tobolowsky), “Grand Slam, Thank You, Ma’am” (Gregg Henry), “I Do, I Don’t” and “Reese’s Friend” (you can never go wrong when Hal Holbrook turns up), and the two-parter entitled “Old Spouses Never Die,” which features Michael Jeter and Scott Bakula. There’s also the occasional saving grace of Meshach Taylor, who pops up as ex-con Anthony Bouvier once in awhile, but he’s not a regular in this season, so he’s certainly not around every episode.

Lastly, if you are a fan of the show but you can’t imagine any need to actually own the set (seriously, every episode must’ve been aired on Lifetime at least a thousand times), you might be swayed into a purchase by “Designing Women: A Reunion,” a 36-minute retrospective of the show which took place at the Paley Center for Media in 2006. Taylor is conspicuous in his absence, but it’s nice to see Burke, Carter, Potts, and Smart together again, along with Bloodworth-Thomason, as they discuss the legacy of the show.

Click to buy “Designing Women: The Complete First Season”

Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Dramas, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy

May 19, 2009 /

It’s funny to think how vastly different Seth MacFarlane’s life would be right now had “Family Guy” not been revived from the dead. FOX would have never offered him a multi-million dollar development deal and a big chunk of their Sunday night primetime block, and he certainly wouldn’t have had the commercial backing from a company like Burger King to launch his own online series, “Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy.” Unfortunately, if there’s any indication that MacFarlane might be losing his comedic edge, this is it. While the collection of animated shorts is presented in the same vein as the cutaways from “Family Guy,” they mostly just feel like B-sides that never made the final cut. There are a few really good ones in the group (Wile E. Coyote finds Jesus after finally killing the Road Runner, Mario’s advances are squashed by the Princess, and Bob Dylan gets into a mumble fight with Tom Waits and Popeye backstage at his concert), but a majority of them are only giggle worthy. The shorts themselves are pretty harmless on their own, but when viewed in one sitting, they don’t work quite as well. Plus, the idea of having to pay for something that you can watch for free online is a pretty ridiculous concept, so unless you pray at the altar of MacFarlane, you’d be better off watching it the way it was meant to be seen.

Click to buy “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy”

External TV, New Media, Reviews, TV, TV Cartoons, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2023 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑