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 […]