Blogcritics Author: El Bicho

Blu-ray Review: Wanted (2008)

El Bicho — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 01:03:10 EST

I wanted my wasted time back after sitting through this mess.
Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted is simply stunning. And it has to be, because if the viewers aren’t stunned by the frenetically paced action and loud soundtrack, they will see how utterly stupid the story is. Loosely based on the Top Cow comic book series written by Mark Millar and drawn by J. G. Jones, which had a terrific story that the...

Movie Review: Adam Resurrected

El Bicho — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 23:07:33 EST

Jeff Goldblum's performance makes up for the film's flaws.
Based on Yoram Kaniuk’s 1968 novel, Paul Schrader’s Adam Resurrected is a powerful story about human survival presented through a tour-de-force performance by Jeff Goldblum that is quite possibly the best of his career. The film is very captivating, but its conclusion is unsatisfying because it happens so quickly and is difficult for...

DVD Review: Cannon - Season One Volume Two

El Bicho — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 04:39:15 EST

Best left to be watched in syndication.
The entire first season of Cannon, another production from legendary television producer Quinn Martin, is now available on DVD with the release of Volume Two, which presents the remaining 13 hour-long episodes. These episodes aired from December 1971 through March 1972 and featured former Los Angeles police officer Frank Cannon as a private...

Movie Review: The Dungeon Masters

El Bicho — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:21:35 EST

I enjoyed what I saw, but it was no different from learning about the lives of any three strangers.
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival and making its way across the country, Kevin McAlester’s The Dungeon Masters is a documentary that falls into the genre that explores the nerdish or geeky subculture. Here, the viewer is introduced to three current players of the game Dungeons & Dragons, Scott Corum, Richard Meeks,...

Blu-ray Review: Into The Wild

El Bicho — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:36:17 EST

There are lessons to be learned for anyone who goes "Into The Wild."
Adapted from Jon Krakauer’s best-selling 1996 book of the same name, Sean Penn writes and directs the story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who died at the age of 24 in 1992 under undetermined circumstances after living alone in the Alaskan wilderness for approximately 112 days. Penn cut out Krakauer and tales of similar wilderness...

Blu-ray Review: The X-Files - I Want To Believe (Ultimate X-Phile Edition)

El Bicho — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:45:52 EST

It may work for hardcore X-philes, but I found "I Want To Believe" unsatisfying.
The X-Files ran for nine seasons on FOX from 1993 to 2002, and mainly detailed the exploits of FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigated cases involving matters paranormal, extraterrestrial, or other topics familiar to listeners of the nationally syndicated, overnight radio program Coast to Coast...

DVD Review: Perry Mason - Season 3 Volume 2

El Bicho — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:17:19 EST

Perry and his team defend 14 clients on Season 3 Volume 2
Defense attorney Perry Mason is an iconic figure of detective fiction. Created by author and lawyer Erle Stanley Gardner, Mason first appeared in the 1933 novel The Case of the Velvet Claws and went on to appear in numerous novels and short stories. The character was the “King of All Media” before Howard Stern coined the term,...

Music DVD Review: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama: The Rockpalast Collection

El Bicho — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:36:04 EST

Skynyrd fans should enjoy the two hours, especially the bonus footage.
Taken from the long-running German television series Rockpalast, which continues to air at the time this article was written, this DVD contains two different incarnations of the classic Southern rockers. The main concert features Lynyrd Skynyrd headlining the Loreley Festival on June 23, 1996. At this point in time, the remaining original members...

DVD Review: Christmas on Mars

El Bicho — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:52:59 EST

Hopefully it comes with a gift receipt.
Subtitled A Fantastical Film Freakout Featuring The Flaming Lips, Wayne Coyne’s directorial debut was seven years in the making although it’s not clear why he thought it was ready to be released as the film has a lot of problems.Christmas on Mars opens moving the viewer through space and ventures to a manned station on Mars where a...

Blu-ray Review: LOST - The Complete Fourth Season

El Bicho — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:41:18 EST

Was it a mistake to get off the island?
If you haven’t watched LOST before, turn around immediately and go back. The series is a serialized drama that absolutely needs to be watched from the beginning to get the full impact of its storytelling. LOST - Season Four continues the adventures of the survivors of Oceanic 815 in one of the most imaginative television series of the...