dvd reviews

  1. Matt Hough

    DVD Review King of Burlesque DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>King of Burlesque DVD Review</strong><p>After Warner’s <em class='bbc'>42<sup class='bbc'>nd</sup> Street</em> proved such a surprise hit in 1933, the musical floodgates opened once again at the various studios who had sworn off musicals for the previous three years. Now...
  2. Richard Gallagher

    DVD Review The Black Scorpion DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Black Scorpion DVD Review</strong><p><em class='bbc'> </em><em class='bbc'>The Black Scorpion</em> is a fairly routine 1950s giant insects film which is highlighted by stop-action animation supervised by the legendary Willis O'Brien (<em class='bbc'>King...
  3. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Lloyd's of London DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Lloyd&#39;s of London DVD Review</strong><p>One of the great pleasures of home video is the ability to pull up whenever one likes films that were star-making properties for certain actors. We can see, for example, Shirley Temple's first real splash in a feature film in <em...
  4. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Enlisted: The Complete First Season DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Enlisted: The Complete First Season DVD Review</strong><p>The Fox television network doesn’t have the greatest track record for giving its shows time to build an audience. For every <em class='bbc'>Bones, Fringe,</em> or <em class='bbc'>Brooklyn Nine-Nine, </em>there are...
  5. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Just Off Broadway DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Just Off Broadway DVD Review</strong><p>After 20<sup class='bbc'>th</sup> Century Fox dropped the <em class='bbc'>Mr. Moto</em> series of B-film mysteries, the studio searched for a low budget replacement and happened on Brett Halliday’s Michael Shayne, a wise-cracking...
  6. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Thin Ice DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Thin Ice DVD Review</strong><p>After ten world titles and three Olympic gold medals, figure skater Sonja Henie relinquished her amateur status, turned professional, and brought her ice show to America where it was seen by 20th Century Fox’s Darryl F. Zanuck who promptly...
  7. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Manila Calling DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Manila Calling DVD Review</strong><p>The 1942 war thriller <em class='bbc'>Manila Calling</em> was produced early enough during the war for America for there to have been some doubt about the effectiveness of the Pacific campaign up to that point. The film still shows Allied...
  8. Todd Erwin

    DVD Review Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Turkey Day Collection DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Turkey Day Collection DVD Review</strong><p>The <em class='bbc'>Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Marathon</em> was a fixture on Comedy Central in the 1990s, devoting an entire day to some of the best episodes of the series, often with...
  9. Matt Hough

    DVD Review The Young Mr. Pitt DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Young Mr. Pitt DVD Review</strong><p>Though its title suggests an abbreviated biography of its subject, Carol Reed’s <em class='bbc'>The Young Mr. Pitt</em> pretty much covers the entire career of England’s youngest-ever Prime Minister. The movie suggests that William...
  10. Kevin EK

    DVD Review Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season One DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season One DVD Review</strong><p><em class='bbc'>Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season One </em>walks its perps onto DVD with the first season of the Fox comedy featuring Andy Samberg. The 3-disc collection presents all 22 episodes in anamorphic picture and 5.1...
  11. Matt Hough

    DVD Review The Magnificent Dope DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Magnificent Dope DVD Review</strong><p>During his many years of stage and screen stardom, Henry Fonda was much better known for his dramatic performances than for his comedic ones. And yet, there are comedies in his filmography and some famous ones, too: <em...
  12. Todd Erwin

    DVD Review The Compleat Al DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Compleat Al DVD Review</strong><p>Long out of print, <em class='bbc'>The Compleat Al</em> first appeared on Showtime in 1985, later to be released on Beta, VHS, and Laserdisc by CBS/Fox. This mockumentary on “Weird Al” Yankovic very loosely follows his early career, tying...
  13. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Maryland DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Maryland DVD Review</strong><p>After the Oscar-winning success of <em class='bbc'>Kentucky</em>, it’s obvious 20<sup class='bbc'>th</sup> Century Fox would want to wring another horse racing drama out of its stable and thus Henry King’s <em class='bbc'>Maryland</em> was born...
  14. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Cry of the City DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Cry of the City DVD Review</strong><p>Robert Siodmak’s <em class='bbc'>Cry of the City</em> is a tough, hard film noir with cops and killers and assorted fringe dwellers all doing what comes naturally whether it be legal or illegal. It’s a grim film with little of cheer or...
  15. Matt Hough

    DVD Review The Lieutenant Wore Skirts DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Lieutenant Wore Skirts DVD Review</strong><p>After scoring a hit recreating his Tony-winning Broadway role in the movie version of <em class='bbc'>The Seven-Year Itch </em>(though its popularity was probably more ascribed to its top-billed star Marilyn Monroe), Tom Ewell...
  16. Richard Gallagher

    DVD Review Sgt. Bilko - The Phil Silvers Show: The Complete Series

    <strong class='bbc'>Sgt. Bilko - The Phil Silvers Show: The Complete Series</strong><p><em class='bbc'> </em><em class='bbc'>The Phil Silvers Show </em>(original title: <em class='bbc'>You'll Never Get Rich</em>) is one of the iconic television comedies of the 1950s. The winner of eight...
  17. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 3 DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 3 DVD Review</strong><p>Because the ratings continued to be so high for their series of Perry Mason TV-movies, NBC commissioned three films each to be made during the calendar years of 1990 and 1991. Thus Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, and...
  18. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Alex & the Gypsy DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Alex &amp; the Gypsy DVD Review</strong><p>Stars Jack Lemmon and Genevieve Bujold are at the mercy of poor writing and lackluster direction in John Korty’s <em class='bbc'>Alex &amp; the Gypsy</em>. Attempting something offbeat and quirky in the way of a romantic...
  19. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 4 DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 4 DVD Review</strong><p>Nearing the end of his career, Raymond Burr continued to crank out TV-movies featuring himself as his most famous character, astute criminal attorney Perry Mason. The fourth volume of six films covering the years...
  20. Matt Hough

    DVD Review The Mentalist: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Mentalist: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Review</strong><p>The producers of CBS' hit procedural <em class='bbc'>The Mentalist</em> finally brought an end to their long-extended storyline with serial killer Red John during the sixth season of the show (two seasons too late...
  21. Matt Hough

    DVD Review How I Met Your Mother: The Ninth and Legendary Final Season DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>How I Met Your Mother: The Ninth and Legendary Final Season DVD Review</strong><p>Some television programs because of ongoing popularity and consistency in producing ratings continue long past the point of their productive peak. <em class='bbc'>How I Met Your Mother</em> is...
  22. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Castle: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Castle: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Review</strong><p>ABC’s <em class='bbc'>Castle</em> is one of the breeziest and most ingratiating of all the network procedurals, and its sixth season has turned out to be one of its strongest yet. A terrific collection of baffling...
  23. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete First Season DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Marvel&#39;s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete First Season DVD Review</strong><p>When you're a television offshoot of perhaps the biggest movie franchise going at the moment, you know you're going to be in for a lot of scrutiny. <em class='bbc'>Marvel’s Agents of...
  24. Todd Erwin

    DVD Review The Goldbergs: The Complete First Season DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Goldbergs: The Complete First Season DVD Review</strong><p>One of the surprises of the 2013-2014 television season was <em class='bbc'>The Goldbergs</em>, a semi-autobiographical, and loving, look back at growing up in suburban Philadelphia the 1980s. If it weren’t for...
  25. Kevin EK

    DVD Review Chicago P.D. Season 1 DVD Review

    <p><strong class='bbc'>Chicago P.D. Season 1 DVD Review</strong></p><p><em>Chicago P.D.: Season 1</em> books its first season onto DVD with this set, which became available last week. This slick, shallow police drama has sprung from the matrix of <em>Chicago Fire</em>, embracing the same formula...
  26. Kevin EK

    DVD Review Chicago Fire Season 2 DVD Review

    <p><strong class='bbc'>Chicago Fire Season 2 DVD Review</strong></p><p><em>Chicago Fire: Season 2</em> cooks its second season onto DVD with this collection, which became available last week. The 5-disc collection presents all 22 episodes in anamorphic picture and 5.1 sound, along with a few...
  27. Kevin EK

    DVD Review The Mindy Project Season Two DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>The Mindy Project Season Two DVD Review</strong><p><em class='bbc'>The Mindy Project: Season 2 </em>prescribes comedy on DVD with the second season of the NBC comedy featuring Mindy Kaling. The 3-disc collection presents all 22 episodes in anamorphic picture and 5.1 sound...
  28. Kevin EK

    DVD Review Parks and Recreation Season 6 DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Parks and Recreation Season 6 DVD Review</strong><p><em class='bbc'>Parks and Recreation: Season 6</em> provides a to-do list on DVD of the most recent season of the NBC comedy. The 3-disc collection presents all 22 episodes in anamorphic picture and 5.1 sound, once again...
  29. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Bonanza: The Official Seventh Season, Volume 1 DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Bonanza: The Official Seventh Season, Volume 1 DVD Review</strong><p>The seventh season of NBC’s long-running western <em class='bbc'>Bonanza</em> found the series enjoying its second season in a row atop the Nielsen ratings. Despite the loss of co-star Pernell Roberts after...
  30. Matt Hough

    DVD Review Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 2 DVD Review

    <strong class='bbc'>Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 2 DVD Review</strong><p>After bringing back the beloved character of Perry Mason for a series of made-for-TV films in 1985, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale, Perry Mason and Della Street from the original CBS series, continued with the very...
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