Z39.50 Movie Reviews
Good as Gold
ONE OF THE BEST MONSTER COMPS!!
Veteran soul stylist Jerry Butler, who hosts the show, is himself a legitimate bridge between the street corner symphonies of the '50s and the more sophisticated urban pop and soul that succeeded them. Butler shepherds a lineup including current editions of the Platters, the Del-Vikings, Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, the Penguins, the Cadillacs, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, and other fondly remembered groups. A competent if not exactly inspired revue band accompanies all the acts, taped performing on a set decorated with oversized portraits of '50s icons like James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, with a few vintage hot rods parked alongside to hammer home the nostalgic thrust of the night.
More impassioned doo-wop fans and rock historians, however, will be a tougher sell. If the groups indeed carry the names associated with the hits, many feature reconstituted lineups with few of the members actually heard on the original singles, a practice that can be traced back to the '60s (as with the Platters). Alternatively, more authentic lineups, like The Marcels (heard performing their galloping version of "Blue Moon" for the first time in decades), reflect their advancing years in rough vocal edges or arrangements transposed to lower keys. Given the show's inspiration (Rhino's exemplary Doo Wop Box anthologies, which unearthed both big hits and forgotten gems and placed the music and performers in a rich historical context), it would have been intriguing to provide some documentary context. --Sam Sutherland
DOO WOP RECORDED HISTORY- A MUST HAVE ITEM
excellent performances.
Get it!
Veteran soul stylist Jerry Butler, who hosts the show, is himself a legitimate bridge between the street corner symphonies of the '50s and the more sophisticated urban pop and soul that succeeded them. Butler shepherds a lineup including current editions of the Platters, the Del-Vikings, Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, the Penguins, the Cadillacs, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, and other fondly remembered groups. A competent if not exactly inspired revue band accompanies all the acts, taped performing on a set decorated with oversized portraits of '50s icons like James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, with a few vintage hot rods parked alongside to hammer home the nostalgic thrust of the night.
More impassioned doo-wop fans and rock historians, however, will be a tougher sell. If the groups indeed carry the names associated with the hits, many feature reconstituted lineups with few of the members actually heard on the original singles, a practice that can be traced back to the '60s (as with the Platters). Alternatively, more authentic lineups, like The Marcels (heard performing their galloping version of "Blue Moon" for the first time in decades), reflect their advancing years in rough vocal edges or arrangements transposed to lower keys. Given the show's inspiration (Rhino's exemplary Doo Wop Box anthologies, which unearthed both big hits and forgotten gems and placed the music and performers in a rich historical context), it would have been intriguing to provide some documentary context. --Sam Sutherland
DOO WOP RECORDED HISTORY- A MUST HAVE ITEM
excellent performances.
Get it!
One classic and one solid show, with hints of trouble aheadBy Any Other Name-An average episode, this one sees the enterprise crew reduced to salt (Styrofoam?) crystals for future use by the colonization-bent Kelvans. As others have pointed out, this is an interesting episode in that it has two tones. The events of the first half are frightening (although not as eerily stylized as 3rd season shows), as Kirk seems powerless to prevent the Kelvans' cold blooded homicide and control of the Enterprise. The ominous sense that anything goes is augmented by the surprising turn of having a female crew member killed. The tone changes dramatically in the second half of the show though, as the remaining crew exploit the Kelvans' newfound emotions, with entertaining results. These scenes are not just entertaining, but also insightful; it reminds the viewer that much of our own (only semi-successful) acculturation is devoted to reigning in our emotions.
But one wonders whether the blend of the dark and the comic seen here was for the best; it still worked here to some extent, but the episode's schism is somewhat jarring, and we're not quite as able to go along with the blend as we were in say Friday's Child, or A Private Little War. Why? Because a growing lack of introspection was beginning to border on cynicism. Did this gradual moral drift taint the show? Certainly the shows were becoming more calloused, a process that would accelerate in season 3. Season 3 certainly had other problems, but I believe some of the roots of future problems can be found, ironically enough, even in some of the strong episodes from season 2.
But back to By Any Other Name. Other pluses include Kirk's willingness to forgive even a defeated and cruel foe. And don't forget the lovely Kelinda. (3 stars)
Flivvers, Fizzbin, and a centuries-long trip to AndromedaA PIECE OF THE ACTION PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The consequences of cultural contamination
Historical Milestone: Kirk 'introduces' a few skells to the fictional card game 'Fizzbin'
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: none
REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
This is one of the series' most cheesy and fun-filled hours. It's rather apparent that Shatner had the time of his life playing the part of a stereotypical 20s/30s movie mobster. The combination of his legendary acting and the colorful mobster lingo make for some of the most amusing bits of Star Trek hamminess out there! Not to be outdone, Nimoy does an admirable job of playing the straight man to Jimmers' mafioso shenanigans! Makes ya wanna get on the blower and tell alla' yer trekkie buds all about it! Or maybe drive on over to their house in your flivver, and let 'em in on the deal personally! That sound jake to ya, kid?
Notable guest star: the late Vic Tayback, best known on the sit-com 'Alice' as the crusty diner owner/cook Mel, keeps the fun flowin' as Jojo Krako, the chief rival of main heavy Bela Oxmyx. I could almost see one of his molls turning to him and uttering, "kiss mah grits"!
BY ANY OTHER NAME PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The advantages and pitfalls of being human; human frailties and learning to control and deal with them
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: One dead
REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
Ah, the ol' shrink-the-crew-down-into-weird-geometric-blocks episode... pure old-school Trek silliness! Throw in Mr. Scott gettin' hooched-up with one of the Enterprise crew's captors, and Jimmers seducing the alien babe-of-the-week (SURPRISE!) in order to regain control of his vessel from his captors, and you've got... well, nothin' you haven't seen before in previous old-school Trek eppies, really. Still, I find it entertaining in its own funny way, and by golly that's all that matters!
'Late
a piece of the actionThe USS Enterprise responds to a signal that was sent over a hundred years ago because it was sent by radio.
Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to a planet where the inhabitants are dressed from the 1920s fashions.
There are three crime gangs and they are constantly at war. In fact, no sooner do the trio beam down than they are in the middle of a hit, from one of the bosses, Krako.Kirk breaks the rule of non interference and appoints one as the boss and Krako as his lieutenant and tells that he doesn't want any trouble from the rest of them. He says there'll be a ship sent every year to collect their cut. McCoy is unhappy because he thinks he left his communicator on the Iotians planet. Kirk says,"Maybe in a few years the Iotians will have a piece of our action."
Denzel shouldn't have narrated
A Great Viewing
Yes... Yes... YES!!
It's a good effort
Alright....but Mudvayne got ALOT better live
Mudvayne.(L)ive (D)osage 50,in Peoria ILDig aswell because Chad manages to yell the verses 10 times
faster than he was able on the album.Also,the song severed which I did not like that much on the album was amazing live.You also get to see them without their makeup.Chad looks about a million times cooler than he does in the "world so cold" video.The guitarist looks 500 thousand times cooler than he does in the
"world so cold" video.The bassist looks 10 thousand times cooler
than he does in the world so cold video,but,Spag looks cooler
in the L.D 50 booklet than he does in this. Warning this DVD has
a huge amount of swearing.Also,you get the "Death Blooms" video.
I also would of liked the "DIG" video, but, oh well.Best performances:Dig,Prod,Nothing to gein,-1,Severed.
Arafat should shut up!!!He blames everyone for the woes of the Palestinians.
Did you see the 60 Minutes report on what a criminal he is? He is a thief!!!
The worst thing Israel has ever done is not getting rid of him years ago.
Decent documentary
the naked truth...I watched or read before are biased -99% of them favoring the jews.This DVD , in contrast , shows the naked truth of how the jews under the cover of British colonialism came to Palestine as illegal immigrants and took over...
I wish I had 6 billion copies to give to the whole world for free so that they see the naked truth...
Attack of the 50ft. WomanThis HBO made-for-cable remake of the 1957 cult classic of the same name is updated with an even more feminist slant and has a more thoughtful (and clever) script. The effects and acting are still every bit as cheesy though.
Daryl Hannah finally hits the big time in this HBO remakeThis remake does not have the same sort of tacky charm that makes the original so compelling. But there is still the great unanswered question from both of these films as to how the giant woman's underwear manages to keep up with her growth spurt. Daryl Hannah is a lot angrier than Allison Hayes was in the original, and it was the latter's decided sense of disinterest during the final rampage (along with the cloth bikini) that made it one of the enduring images of Fifties science fiction. Ultimately, this is more Guest's film as director, because the entire art direction and visual style of the film is as much a homage to the genre in the Fifties as the original storyline. The remake does not stand alone because there is too much that works off of the original to allow that to happen, so you have to have seen the 1958 version to fully appreciation this one. The main thing is that "Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman" does not take itself seriously, and that makes up for a lot of the film's shortcomings.
Better than the original.
Crap?
wot is this about
Sadly Dissapointing