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(12/02/04 3:19am)
Hands down the longest awaited TV series DVD boxset since "The Simpsons," fans of "Seinfeld" will finally be able to get their fix. If by some chance you spent over the last decade hidden in a cave without television access, "Seinfeld" was the widely popular and successful TV comedy which, along with "Friends," helped turn NBC into a programming powerhouse. The show told the story of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, along with his friends George, Elaine and Kramer, and their daily exploits.\nThe show's success was surprising considering the fact that co-creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David felt a show about nothing would fail in no time. After a mere four episodes, NBC demanded Larry David write up an additional 22 episodes and from there it was all golden. Who would've expected topics such as laughing at a Pez dispenser, waiting in a Chinese restaurant or countless random conversations at Monk's Diner would be so defining of '90s television comedy? \nWhile most DVD boxsets for TV shows tend to be lacking in the extras department, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David went out of their way to make sure the DVDs live up to the show's legacy. Spanning a massive eight discs, the set includes all 41 episodes from the first three seasons, including the pilot episode now remastered in high definition; commentary with the entire cast and creators; interviews; deleted scenes; bloopers; exclusive never-before-seen Jerry Seinfeld stand-up footage; promo trailers; an hour-long documentary on how the show was created; trivia games; footage from "The Tonight Show" and finally, a special featurette comparing Cosmo Kramer to the real Kenny Kramer who inspired the character. Oh, and if all that isn't enough, the boxset/gift set version also comes with exclusive playing cards, a limited-edition original script from Larry David and salt and pepper shakers from Monk's Diner. \nWith "Seinfeld" finally released on DVD, fans of the series will no longer have to worry about catching reruns on television hoping to see their favorite episode. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David knew fans wouldn't be satisfied with the release of just the first season which is why they released the first three seasons all at once. It's only a matter of time until later seasons hit the shelves and we can enjoy such classic episodes as the Frogger arcade machine, the bubble boy and everyone's favorite, "Soup Nazi"
(11/18/04 5:00am)
With an epic film like "Hero" being released in theaters this past year, it isn't surprising that a film like "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" remained relatively unknown to fans of martial arts/samurai cinema. Where "Hero" exceeds at being an epic, "Zatoichi" excels at being a more personal and traditional sword-fighting narrative.
(11/11/04 5:00am)
Still riding the success of its sophomore album Thirteenth Step, A Perfect Circle surprised many of its fans by announcing that its brand new album would be released Election Day. The surprise is actually due to the way singer Maynard James Keenan handles his singing duties, normally bouncing back and forth between A Perfect Circle and his much heavier band Tool when it comes to recording new albums. With its new album titled eMOTIVe, A Perfect Circle actually offers up only two new tracks while the other 10 are all political cover songs.\neMOTIVe, for being a cover album, is actually very unique in terms of sound, just like the back-catalogs from Keenan's A Perfect Circle and Tool. Each song sounds entirely different from the other and rarely reaches a heavy moment with exceptions to its cover of Black Flag's "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and the industrialized new track "Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums." The rest of the album is completely soft and relaxing, ranging from smooth jazz to trip-hop to dark synthesizers. \nThe album eerily opens with a cover of Crucifix's "Annihilation," done entirely with a music-box, undistorted guitars and whispered vocals. As soon as the whispers fade-out, you experience brooding piano followed by cello and drums signaling the first single off the album, a cover of John Lennon's popular tune "Imagine." Other covers come from artists such as Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello ("What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding"), DEVO ("Freedom of Choice") and Memphis Minnie ("When the Levee Breaks"), a song popularized by the legendary Led Zeppelin. \nThe stand-out track for this album is by far the cover of the Marvin Gaye classic "What's Going On." Done entirely with synthesizers and trip-hop beats, Keenan's vocals are echoed via vocal effects, and the end result is an amazingly chilled-out track which washes over your senses. Other highlights include the new original song entitled "Passive" and the entirely a capella cover of Joni Mitchell's "Fiddle and the Drum" which closes out the disc. \nWhile a lot of people consider a cover album to be a sign of a group running out of ideas, with A Perfect Circle's eMOTIVe this certainly isn't the case. It's generating new ideas and reworking them into new versions of well-known classics and underground punk anthems. eMOTIVe is definitely a must-have for any fan of A Perfect Circle and just about anyone looking for a great album that provides a calming relaxation in an audio format.
(11/11/04 3:41am)
Still riding the success of its sophomore album Thirteenth Step, A Perfect Circle surprised many of its fans by announcing that its brand new album would be released Election Day. The surprise is actually due to the way singer Maynard James Keenan handles his singing duties, normally bouncing back and forth between A Perfect Circle and his much heavier band Tool when it comes to recording new albums. With its new album titled eMOTIVe, A Perfect Circle actually offers up only two new tracks while the other 10 are all political cover songs.\neMOTIVe, for being a cover album, is actually very unique in terms of sound, just like the back-catalogs from Keenan's A Perfect Circle and Tool. Each song sounds entirely different from the other and rarely reaches a heavy moment with exceptions to its cover of Black Flag's "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and the industrialized new track "Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums." The rest of the album is completely soft and relaxing, ranging from smooth jazz to trip-hop to dark synthesizers. \nThe album eerily opens with a cover of Crucifix's "Annihilation," done entirely with a music-box, undistorted guitars and whispered vocals. As soon as the whispers fade-out, you experience brooding piano followed by cello and drums signaling the first single off the album, a cover of John Lennon's popular tune "Imagine." Other covers come from artists such as Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello ("What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding"), DEVO ("Freedom of Choice") and Memphis Minnie ("When the Levee Breaks"), a song popularized by the legendary Led Zeppelin. \nThe stand-out track for this album is by far the cover of the Marvin Gaye classic "What's Going On." Done entirely with synthesizers and trip-hop beats, Keenan's vocals are echoed via vocal effects, and the end result is an amazingly chilled-out track which washes over your senses. Other highlights include the new original song entitled "Passive" and the entirely a capella cover of Joni Mitchell's "Fiddle and the Drum" which closes out the disc. \nWhile a lot of people consider a cover album to be a sign of a group running out of ideas, with A Perfect Circle's eMOTIVe this certainly isn't the case. It's generating new ideas and reworking them into new versions of well-known classics and underground punk anthems. eMOTIVe is definitely a must-have for any fan of A Perfect Circle and just about anyone looking for a great album that provides a calming relaxation in an audio format.
(11/04/04 4:39pm)
With the horror genre of films being nowhere near the popularity that it enjoyed during the 1980s and new ideas running dry, Hollywood has taken to remaking popular horror cinema from foreign countries and old classics. Chances are that if you're just the occasional horror movie-goer then you had no idea that the recent release of "Dawn of the Dead" is actually a remake of the George Romero classic zombie-fest.\nThere was a large stir of controversy surrounding the remake, and it primarily came from the horror movie elite fans. Romero's original film, while keeping to the idea that zombies have begun to overrun the world, was also a scathing social commentary on the shopping mall culture that arose in the '70s. The remake, which marks the directorial debut of Zack Snyder, skips the social commentary and goes straight to the throat by relying heavily on gore and scare factor, borrowing the same elements which made last year's horror smash hit "28 Days Later" such a success.\nThe story outline behind both the original and remake of "Dawn of the Dead" remains intact. The world suddenly wakes up one day to find its neighbors running around the streets hunting down those who are still alive and feasting upon their flesh. The best way to avoid being attacked? Hole yourself up in the local shopping mall in hopes that the zombies never get you. From this point it's all about sacrifice and survival of the fittest. Just make sure you've got enough ammo to fend off the walking dead.\nThe DVD release of "Dawn of the Dead" boasts that it's an "Unrated Director's Cut" featuring over 10 minutes of new footage. This footage really adds nothing special to the film other than a little more dialogue, more blood and, of course, the required exploding zombie head found in every classic zombie movie. Special features include introduction and commentary from the director and producer, deleted scenes and five featurettes ranging from a full news broadcast detailing the zombie attacks to behind-the-scenes looks at costume and make-up effects.\nRegardless of what those die-hard fans might say, "Dawn of the Dead" ends up being a great scare ride with the same comedic value found in the original Romero film. There are plenty of jump-in-your-seat moments but also scenes to laugh at and take some of the edge off. While it isn't horror perfection, the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" has definitely helped the blood keep flowing in what is a slowly-dying genre of horror cinema.
(11/04/04 5:00am)
With the horror genre of films being nowhere near the popularity that it enjoyed during the 1980s and new ideas running dry, Hollywood has taken to remaking popular horror cinema from foreign countries and old classics. Chances are that if you're just the occasional horror movie-goer then you had no idea that the recent release of "Dawn of the Dead" is actually a remake of the George Romero classic zombie-fest.\nThere was a large stir of controversy surrounding the remake, and it primarily came from the horror movie elite fans. Romero's original film, while keeping to the idea that zombies have begun to overrun the world, was also a scathing social commentary on the shopping mall culture that arose in the '70s. The remake, which marks the directorial debut of Zack Snyder, skips the social commentary and goes straight to the throat by relying heavily on gore and scare factor, borrowing the same elements which made last year's horror smash hit "28 Days Later" such a success.\nThe story outline behind both the original and remake of "Dawn of the Dead" remains intact. The world suddenly wakes up one day to find its neighbors running around the streets hunting down those who are still alive and feasting upon their flesh. The best way to avoid being attacked? Hole yourself up in the local shopping mall in hopes that the zombies never get you. From this point it's all about sacrifice and survival of the fittest. Just make sure you've got enough ammo to fend off the walking dead.\nThe DVD release of "Dawn of the Dead" boasts that it's an "Unrated Director's Cut" featuring over 10 minutes of new footage. This footage really adds nothing special to the film other than a little more dialogue, more blood and, of course, the required exploding zombie head found in every classic zombie movie. Special features include introduction and commentary from the director and producer, deleted scenes and five featurettes ranging from a full news broadcast detailing the zombie attacks to behind-the-scenes looks at costume and make-up effects.\nRegardless of what those die-hard fans might say, "Dawn of the Dead" ends up being a great scare ride with the same comedic value found in the original Romero film. There are plenty of jump-in-your-seat moments but also scenes to laugh at and take some of the edge off. While it isn't horror perfection, the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" has definitely helped the blood keep flowing in what is a slowly-dying genre of horror cinema.
(09/30/04 6:22pm)
I think it's safe to say that nowadays in America Michael Moore is a household name. From the early years of investigating questionable corporate behaviors, to the standing up for the little man era that was "The Awful Truth," and even an Academy Award-winning film on our nation's gun control policies, it was only a matter of time until Michael Moore found a truly opportunistic moment to lash out at the current presidency. \nWith "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore took it into his hands to not only expose the inner-workings of our government during what can be considered the greatest tragedy of our generation, but also as a chance to lash out at President George W. Bush for his supposed inability to run our country. Moore's recent documentary is fully-loaded with montage after montage of countless moments where President Bush can be seen fumbling about speeches, making up brand-new words or staring off into the distance dumbfounded. This all boils down to one simple goal for Moore: get rich while convincing America to vote for anyone but President Bush.\n"Fahrenheit 9/11" received critical acclaim prior to being released theatrically when Quentin Tarantino and other film industry notables awarded it the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival this past spring after beating out 17 other nominated films. Shortly before July 4, Moore's documentary was finally released to the American public and within almost three months would go on to become the most financially-successful documentary film ever by grossing over $110 million. And this, my friends, is where Moore's eyes are replaced with shiny green dollar signs.\nSince early September, as "Fahrenheit 9/11"'s theatrical run came to a close, Michael Moore has went all out to prove this isn't just any ordinary documentary film. In order to guarantee a DVD release almost a month before the 2004 presidential election, Moore decided to snub the possible Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary. While it is almost certain that Moore could easily walk away next March grasping yet another Oscar statue, he has instead decided that rather than take Best Documentary, he'll go straight for the top by submitting his film not only for Best Director but, most importantly, Best Picture. That's right, Michael Moore is confident enough, or as I like to say arrogant enough, to think he's a possible contender with other Oscar hopefuls as Michael Mann's "Collateral" and Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator."\nIf arrogance wasn't enough, Michael Moore even went on to announce one day prior to the anniversary of Sept. 11 that he would be re-releasing "Fahrenheit 9/11" back into theaters with "deleted scenes" and other important tidbits of information left out of the original version. What was his reasoning for this move? Why, to simply promote the forthcoming DVD release of the film! It makes perfect sense to re-release a movie two weeks prior to its DVD release because, hey, you can capitalize on those seeing it in theaters and those buying it on DVD, all while making sure Americans don't re-elect President Bush a month from now. At $8 a ticket and $20 a DVD, Michael Moore surely won't be complaining anytime soon or, better yet, at all for that matter.\nThe sad part about all of this is a once very credible source for documentary filmmaking has now been corrupted by the green portrait of Benjamin Franklin. For a simple $6 million investment, Michael Moore has gone on to see sheer profit tenfold. Not only has Moore become rich, but his documentary has also contaminated the minds of voters across the country. No longer does the public need to watch party conventions or political debates to see where our future leaders stand on topics. Instead all they need to say is, "Hey, I watched that Michael Moore movie, and it proves our current president is a bad man." There are no questions about who stands for what issues and policies, but rather the simple idea that if you vote for anyone other than George W. Bush you'll be saving our country from the next World War. \nAll of this boils down to a few simple questions: Will Michael Moore continue to make documentaries questioning the American political system? Of course! Will "Fahrenheit 9/11" go on to win Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture? Hopefully not! Will Moore's film have any validity whatsoever 20 to 30 years from now? Nope!\nJust remember that Michael Moore thinks Bush's war on Iraq and terrorism is one solely for the profits of blood and oil. It'll be Moore's depiction of this same profitable war which lands him the profits of those still buying tickets and the DVD release of "Fahrenheit 9/11"
(09/30/04 4:00am)
I think it's safe to say that nowadays in America Michael Moore is a household name. From the early years of investigating questionable corporate behaviors, to the standing up for the little man era that was "The Awful Truth," and even an Academy Award-winning film on our nation's gun control policies, it was only a matter of time until Michael Moore found a truly opportunistic moment to lash out at the current presidency. \nWith "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore took it into his hands to not only expose the inner-workings of our government during what can be considered the greatest tragedy of our generation, but also as a chance to lash out at President George W. Bush for his supposed inability to run our country. Moore's recent documentary is fully-loaded with montage after montage of countless moments where President Bush can be seen fumbling about speeches, making up brand-new words or staring off into the distance dumbfounded. This all boils down to one simple goal for Moore: get rich while convincing America to vote for anyone but President Bush.\n"Fahrenheit 9/11" received critical acclaim prior to being released theatrically when Quentin Tarantino and other film industry notables awarded it the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival this past spring after beating out 17 other nominated films. Shortly before July 4, Moore's documentary was finally released to the American public and within almost three months would go on to become the most financially-successful documentary film ever by grossing over $110 million. And this, my friends, is where Moore's eyes are replaced with shiny green dollar signs.\nSince early September, as "Fahrenheit 9/11"'s theatrical run came to a close, Michael Moore has went all out to prove this isn't just any ordinary documentary film. In order to guarantee a DVD release almost a month before the 2004 presidential election, Moore decided to snub the possible Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary. While it is almost certain that Moore could easily walk away next March grasping yet another Oscar statue, he has instead decided that rather than take Best Documentary, he'll go straight for the top by submitting his film not only for Best Director but, most importantly, Best Picture. That's right, Michael Moore is confident enough, or as I like to say arrogant enough, to think he's a possible contender with other Oscar hopefuls as Michael Mann's "Collateral" and Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator."\nIf arrogance wasn't enough, Michael Moore even went on to announce one day prior to the anniversary of Sept. 11 that he would be re-releasing "Fahrenheit 9/11" back into theaters with "deleted scenes" and other important tidbits of information left out of the original version. What was his reasoning for this move? Why, to simply promote the forthcoming DVD release of the film! It makes perfect sense to re-release a movie two weeks prior to its DVD release because, hey, you can capitalize on those seeing it in theaters and those buying it on DVD, all while making sure Americans don't re-elect President Bush a month from now. At $8 a ticket and $20 a DVD, Michael Moore surely won't be complaining anytime soon or, better yet, at all for that matter.\nThe sad part about all of this is a once very credible source for documentary filmmaking has now been corrupted by the green portrait of Benjamin Franklin. For a simple $6 million investment, Michael Moore has gone on to see sheer profit tenfold. Not only has Moore become rich, but his documentary has also contaminated the minds of voters across the country. No longer does the public need to watch party conventions or political debates to see where our future leaders stand on topics. Instead all they need to say is, "Hey, I watched that Michael Moore movie, and it proves our current president is a bad man." There are no questions about who stands for what issues and policies, but rather the simple idea that if you vote for anyone other than George W. Bush you'll be saving our country from the next World War. \nAll of this boils down to a few simple questions: Will Michael Moore continue to make documentaries questioning the American political system? Of course! Will "Fahrenheit 9/11" go on to win Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture? Hopefully not! Will Moore's film have any validity whatsoever 20 to 30 years from now? Nope!\nJust remember that Michael Moore thinks Bush's war on Iraq and terrorism is one solely for the profits of blood and oil. It'll be Moore's depiction of this same profitable war which lands him the profits of those still buying tickets and the DVD release of "Fahrenheit 9/11"