DVD's and Blu-ray's are Our Passion

Archive for May, 2008

DVD Review: Numb

Admittedly, I was originally interested in watching Numb strictly because of the involvement of Friends star, Matthew Perry. I knew nothing about the films storyline or its writer/director, Harris Goldberg. Upon receiving the DVD, I decided to look up Harris Goldberg on IMDB.com. My heart sank when I realized he was responsible for writing The [...]

Music Review: Peggy Lee – Make It With You/Where Did They Go

By the time 1970 rolled around, Peggy Lee had been making records for nearly thirty years, been nominated for an Academy Award, and several Grammy Awards. She took home a Grammy in 1969, for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female for “Is That All There Is?” Having accomplished so much and with musical tastes changing so [...]

DVD Review: Drawn Together – Uncensored! Season Three

Comedy Central’s Drawn Together was originally conceived as a cartoon spoof of reality television series such as Big Brother and The Real World–eight distinctly different characters are flu8ng together and forced to put up with each other . Throughout many strange and outright bizarre adventures, the eight roommates push each other’s buttons and tear each [...]

DVD Review: The Bill Engvall Show – The Complete First Season

Bill Engvall is a stand-up comedian probably best known for his participation in the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (BCC).Engvall’s stand up routines mostly concerns his observations about comments he finds stupid and shtick about everyday life. Given the success of BCC, it is no surprise that TBS gave Engvall a shot at his own series. [...]

DVD Review: Gunsmoke: The Second Season – Volume 2

Gunsmoke is one of the most beloved shows in television history. The series ran on CBS from September 10, 1955 to March 31, 1975 for 635 episodes. Gunsmoke actually began as a radio show in 1952 and remained on the air until 1961. On radio, actor William Conrad (Cannon), played marshal Matt Dillon and was [...]

The 100 Greatest Live Rock Albums – 100 – 90

As a music fan and collector, I’ve always enjoyed live albums. There’s nothing quite like a musician or a band playing at it’s peak, with the audience responding to the music. There are literally thousands of live recordings out there that would fall under the rock genre. As a result, picking the 100 greatest among [...]

Music Review: Peggy Lee – All Aglow Again

The compilation All Aglow Again! was originally released on Capitol Records’ discount-priced Starline label in May of 1960. At the time, the goal was probably to get Lee’s 1958 mega-hit “Fever” on LP for the first time. Previously, the song had only been released as a single, so Capitol Records executives likely saw a way [...]

DVD Review: Twister (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Twister is now one of my favorite pointless movies of all time. The plot is non-existent and the characters have absolutely no substance, but it doesn’t matter. The picture and sound on Warner Brothers’ recently released two-disc special edition will rock your home theater. As any DVD collector knows, you have to have a few [...]

Music Review: Curt Smith – Halfway, Pleased

As a major Tears for Fears fan growing up, I was curious what the bands co-founder, Curt Smith’s first solo album in ten years would sound like. Smith freely admits that his new album Halfway, Pleased is semi-autobiographical and explores his relationships with his children, parents and friends. “It’s where I find myself at this [...]

DVD Review: Sinatra – The 2 Disc Collector’s Edition

Tina Sinatra recently said of her father, “Dad had no interest in writing a memoir: “What good would that do?” he’d say. “My life and music are the whole of me.” Of course, he was right. Film was the only way to go. His music transcends time and intensifies what the screenplay reveals in words.”Tina [...]

DVD Review: African American Lives 2

Genealogy is a fascinating thing. The more you learn, the more you realize we are all interconnected in ways that most of us never would have imagined. In 2006, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. a Harvard professor and writer served as co-producer and host for the PBS series, African American Lives. The series used genealogical [...]

Music Review: Paper Rival – Dialog

I knew nothing about Paper Rival until I was sent a copy of their self-titled EP last fall. The Nashville band–vocalist Jacob Rolleston, bassist Cody McCall, guitarist Brent Coleman, drummer Dillon Napier and guitarist Patrick Damphier–immediately impressed me with their lush pop melodies and alternative rock rhythms. The band has said from the start that [...]

DVD Review: Rawhide – The Third Season, Volume One

Rawhide premiered on January 9, 1959 on CBS and ran until January 4, 1966. The series was produced by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced several early episodes of Gunsmoke. Warren used his 1958 film Cattle Empire as the basis for the series. Charles had directed the movie, and screenwriter Endre Bohem would become a [...]

DVD Review: The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume Three – The Years of Change

I never watched The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles when it began airing on television back in 1992. Now, having watched the series, repackaged as a series of films for the DVD release, I regret I didn’t watch the show much earlier. Based on the early life of Indiana Jones as he was growing up and [...]

DVD Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Sometimes you come across the kind of movie that leaves you completely spent and emotionally drained but glad to have seen it–the film is the kind of movie you’d volunteer to go see over and over again, but you recommend it to all your friends. Schindler’s List did that to me back in 1993, and [...]

Ricky Nelson Would Have Been 68 Today

Ricky Nelson would have turned 68 today, had he not been killed in a plane crash on January 1, 1985. Here he is singing “It’s Late” on Ozzie and Harriet. The song peaked on the charts at #9 in 1959.

DVD Review: P.S. I Love You

Hilary Swank’s recent film career is sort of like a championship runner; they either win the gold medal or finish completely out of the top three. In 2000, at the age of 26, Swank won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry. Hilary [...]

Peggy Lee and Judy Garland Duet

With a slew of new Peggy Lee releases due out later this month, I’ve been listening to the upcoming Lee releases and drawn back to one of my other personal favorites, Judy Garland. Miss Garland often said how much she admired Peggy as a singer/songwriter and Peggy expressed her admiration for Judy in kind. In [...]

Music Review: Peggy Lee – The Lost ’40s & ’50s Capitol Masters

As a long time music collector in my thirties, I’ve always had an appreciation for what I like to call “pure vocalists”–singers who seem to be able to belt out any song and make it their own. This talented group tends to cross musical genres: standards, jazz, pop–their tremendous vocal range gives them a vast [...]

DVD Review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – Special Edition

I’m very little! You cheat very big! –Short Round After the colossal success of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Speilberg and George Lucas teamed up again in 1984, to create yet another Indiana Jones adventure. Maligned by fans and critics alike, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a much darker film than [...]