In “The Task,” half a dozen collegians are kidnapped (presumably) by clown-masked goons and taken to a field outside the abandoned Pennyville State Prison. Turns out, some months ago, they all auditioned for a reality TV show. This is that show, and all they have to do to garner $20,000 a piece is to spend […]
DVD reviews
Posted inArts & Culture
The Last Godfather
If this were a bid at crossover stardom à la Jackie Chan, he’s failed miserably. Heck, if this were intended to be a comedy, he’s failed miserably. The flimsy plot has Harvey Keitel — why, Harvey, why? — as a Mafia leader planning on retirement. While his many underlings want the job, he’s going to […]
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Supernatural: The Anime Series
The storyline remains the same: brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki, who reprises his role for the anime) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles, who voices only a few episodes) travel the country in their ’67 Chevy Impala, encountering monsters, spirits and other paranormal activity along the way. They ain’t ‘fraid of no ghosts. The actors and series […]
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Conan the Adventurer: Season One
For one thing, he’s no longer “the Barbarian,” but “the Adventurer.” For another, he asks for help. And kindly! He’s even … how to put this nicely? … kind of a wussy. But to catch any fervor there may be over this month’s big-screen, 3-D “Conan” remake, Shout! Factory has released the first 13 episodes on […]
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The Clinic
No sooner do we meet them then a car barrels up on them menacingly — something we’ve seen in dozens of films, from the classic “Duel” to the crap-tastic “Jeepers Creepers.” They stop for the night at a creepy motel — shades of “Vacancy” — and in the morning, one of the spouses has gone missing […]
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Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season
Now, as “Eastbound & Down“‘s second season opens, his mullet is in cornrows and he’s making scratch as a cockfighter. Still a legend in his own mind, Kenny (Danny McBride, “Your Highness”) relents and joins the local baseball team, the Charros; inexplicably lands a new gal pal in a sexy, single-mom songstress (Ana de la […]
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Bio-Dead
However, it takes literally 32 minutes for anything of significance to happen. Until then, it’s just a bunch of disembodied voices, belonging to faces you mostly don’t see, talking about the importance of gloves and masks like they’re stockers at Party Galaxy on the last week leading up to Halloween, as they amble about empty […]
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The Death of Andy Kaufman
In his effort to prove or disprove the rumor that the outré comedian faked his own death in 1984, director Christopher Maloney’s aim is true, but hampered by budgetary restraints. A great deal of Kaufman’s act hinged on pulling the wool over his audience’s eyes, so it’s no unreasonable for people to assume — as […]
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Turbulent Skies
While the disaster-movie craze of the 1970s and its rebirth in the late 1990s are long behind us, you wouldn’t know it with writer/director Fred Olen Ray’s take, which may as well as have been titled “Turbulence 4.” (Yes, two sequels to “Turbulence” actually got made.) Consider this: An airplane’s maiden flight controlled by new […]
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Cracks
While she’s attracting attention on Starz’s hit series “Camelot,” the public should also follow her to this low-key thriller. She plays Miss G, a teacher at an out-of-the-way British boarding school for girls in the 1930s. Amid an otherwise old-maid faculty, her youth and beauty make her popular among the students. On the surface, she’s […]