Both shows carry a retro-cool feel and appear to be — how novel! — actually written, as opposed to the seemingly made-up-as-we-go-along dreck that has filled most of Adult Swim’s slate since its second year. That kind of improv nonsense may work for baked couch potatoes, but the rest of us prefer their humor a […]
video
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The Six Million Dollar Man: The Complete Collection
And speaking of technology, it took seemingly forever, but the ever-popular ’70s superhero series “The Six Million Dollar Man” has finally made its way to DVD in a massive, mind-blowing, 40-disc set (no, that’s not a typo — I wrote 40) from Time-Life, offering $6 million worth of fun for a relatively bargain-basement $239.95. It’s […]
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Butch and Sundance: The Early Days / Death Hunt
Nothing I can ascertain, outside of now sharing digital bits on Shout! Factory’s new “Action/Adventure Double Feature” release. I love such collections, if only for the X-for-the-price-of-one value. As one would guess, 1979’s “Butch and Sundance” is a prequel to the 1969 Paul Newman/Robert Redford classic, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” You may not […]
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Chain Letter
Turns out, I had nothing to fear but fear itself, because what a difference a budget makes! Although it’s nothing to write Mom about (she’s a wuss when it comes to things, no?), it’s enjoyable in that delightfully brain-dead way for which weekend movie-watching was invented. After one of the greatest opening sequences I’ve seen […]
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RED
Still, its cast of old pros — including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and a machine gun-toting Helen Mirren — is having such a fun time playing dress-up and waving weapons and cracking wise, only the most hardhearted movie watcher could resist. That isn’t to say the film, which is new to Blu-ray and […]
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Primal
After a caveman prologue, the film throws out a cool credit sequence that takes the viewer through 12,000 years of time in mere seconds. It sets you up for a unique DVD experience, yet the plot that unfolds is quite generic. Six coupling campers drive to a remote area of the outback for a hike. […]
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Top Shot: Season One
Like every other reality show these days, it uses “Survivor” as its template. Heck, even former “Survivor” runner-up/current good ol’ boy Colby Donaldson serves as host, presiding over all marksmanship matters. The premise rounds up 16 people already well-skilled in shooting — a cop, a Marine, a student, etc. — and goes through several challenges […]
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Saw 3D
For everyone else, this is one of the better entries, attempting to tie up all those dangling threads into a satisfying end. Since 2004’s “Saw,” the little indie that could, the core plot has stayed the same: A mad genius known as Jigsaw teaches life-and-death morality lessons via twisted traps. That’s true here, but with […]
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Piranha 3D
It’s a loose remake of Joe Dante’s “Piranha,” which was born in 1978 because producer Roger Corman wanted to cash in on the popularity of “Jaws.” It worked. Things come full circle in “Mirrors” director Alexandre Aja’s version, opening with a prologue that winks back at Steven Spielberg’s shark blockbuster by having Richard Dreyfuss essentially […]
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CFN Mailbag
I read your Chicken-Fried News article “To inform or inflame?” in the Jan. 5, 2011, Oklahoma Gazette. I have these comments to make. Muslim terrorism became personal for me in 2001 when a group of missionaries was kidnapped and held hostage in the Philippines and by extreme Muslim terrorists. Two of the men were beheaded, […]