Archived On The Mark - June, 2005
June 30, 2005 - Here is a DVD review of Universal Studios Home Entertainment's "Seed Of Chucky: Unrated And Full Extended Version: Widescreen."
June 29, 2005 - Here is my review of the second season premiere episode of "Battlestar Galactica," which will air on Friday, June 15, 2005, at 10pm (ET/PT) only on the SCI FI Channel.
June 28, 2005 - Here are TV reviews for the SCI FI Channel Season Premieres of "Stargate: SG-1" and "Stargate: Atlantis," which will air on Friday, July 15, 2005 at 8pm and 9pm (ET/PT) respectively. Tomorrow I will have my review of the second season premiere of "Battlestar Galactica" so stay tuned!
June 27, 2005 - Here is a review of the TCM Original Documentary Presentation of "Watch The Skies," which will premiere on Tuesday, July 5, 2005, at 8pm (ET) with an encore that same night at 10:30pm (ET).
Saturday I went out and saw George A. Romero’s “Land
Of The Dead,” which is his first new entry in the genre series he created in
twenty years. The film has a more polished look to it than Romero’s previous
entries in the series, but Romero’s style of mixing metaphor with horror and a
bit of sly dark humor is still strong. In fact his thumbprint as a filmmaker is
on every frame of this motion picture, which I hope will garner Mr. Romero not
only a more deserved respect for his contribution to the horror genre by
creating the contemporary “zombie film,” but after a heck of a lot of
producers and film distributors have profited from his work, I hope “Land Of
The Dead” gives Mr. Romero a larger piece of the action.
Like “Night Of The Living Dead” (1968), “Dawn Of
The Dead” (1979), and “Day Of The Dead” (1985), “Land Of The Dead”
will stick with viewers for a long time after they view it, but perhaps it is
because of my vocation as film and TV reviewer that has made me a bit less
sensitive to gore films, but I did not find myself disturbed by the violence in
the film at all. In fact I actually had empathy for a lot of the characters in
the film, including Eugene Clark, who plays a gas station attendant zombie
credited as “Big Daddy” and actually brings a bit
of pathos to the film, at times seeming more human than the living characters.
Dennis Hopper as “Kaufman” is perhaps the straightest villain I’ve ever
seen in a George Romero film with no empathetic qualities at all. At least in
the previous features there was at least a bit of understanding as to why the
character we are supposed to hate was behaving badly for lack of a better
expression. However in “Land Of The Dead” Romero makes a statement that this
guy more than anyone else has the “Dead Reckoning” coming to him, by giving
Hopper’s character no redeeming qualities whatsoever. However to both
Romero’s and Hopper’s credit, “Kaufman” is still a fun character to
watch on screen and arguably has some of the most memorable and humorous
dialogue in the film.
If “Land Of The Dead” is a hit there could be two more films completing a second trilogy that I suppose would bring things full circle since like other entries in the series, “Land Of The Dead” ends with the viewer wanting to know what will happen next. I enjoyed the film and I would say the only thing that creeped me out was watching the lethargic manner in which audience got up from their seats and left the theater. I almost felt like I was in a screening room filled with the living dead… Now that’s scary!!!
June 24, 2005 - Here is a DVD review of DreamWorks Home Entertainment's "Father Of The Pride: The Complete Series."
June 23, 2005 - Here is a UMD-Video for PSP review of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's "Boogeyman."
June 22, 2005 - Here are UMD Video Game for PSP reviews of Sony Online Entertainment's "Untold Legends - Brotherhood Of The Blade" and Sony Computer Entertainment's "Wipeout Pure."
June 20, 2005 - Here is a TV review of the USA Network presentation of the "2005 AFI Life Achievement Award - A Tribute To George Lucas," which will air tonight at 9pm (ET/PT).
June 19, 2005 - Happy Father's Day! Here is a DVD review of Paramount Home Entertainment's "Star Trek: Insurrection: Special Collector's Edition."
June 17, 2005 - Here is a DVD review of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's "Kinsey."
June 16, 2005 - Here is a DVD review of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment's "Stargate: Atlantis: Rising." From viewing the DVD I can say that in October, 2005 MGM has plans on releasing the eighth season of "Stargate: SG-1" here in North America and though no official date has yet to be announced at the time of this writing, there will also be a "Stargate: Atlantis: Season One" DVD set coming out this year too. In other SCI FI TV on DVD news, ADV Films has let me know that the first volume of the fifth and final season of "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda" is scheduled for release on September 20, 2005.
June 15, 2005 - Here is a TV review of the second season premiere of the SCI FI Channel Original Series "Ghost Hunters," which will air on Wednesday, July 27, 2005, at 9pm (ET/PT)/ 8pm (CT).
June 14, 2005 - Here is a TV review of the TNT & DreamWorks Television Original Miniseries Event "Into The West."
June 13, 2005 - Here is a review of the TNT Original Series Premiere Episode of "The Closer," which stars Kyra Sedgwick and will debut commercial free on Monday, June 13, 2005, at 9pm (ET/PT). I have also added a calendar of upcoming UMD-Video titles one can view by clicking here and elsewhere on the site.
June 10, 2005 - Here are UMD-Video for PSP reviews of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's "Charlie's Angels" and "Hollow Man."
June 8, 2005 - Here is a DVD review of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's "Call Me: The Rise & Fall Of Heidi Fleiss: Unrated & Uncut."
June 7, 2005 - Here is a DVD review of Unearthed Films' "Rock & Rule: Special Edition."
June 3, 2005 - Here is a DVD review of Universal Studios Home Entertainment's "White Noise: Widescreen." I have also moved my "On The Mark Updates for May, 2005" to the Archived On The Mark Updates Page. More to come soon!