The Movie:

Chaos, the 2005 straight to video film from writer/director Tony Giglio, casts Jason Statham and Wesley Snipes in a heist film cum mystery that, on paper at least, looked like a winner. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving.

When a bank robber calling himself Lorenz holds forty people hostage inside a building in downtown Seattle, it's time for suspended cop Quentin Connors to come out of hiding. For some reason, Lorenz will talk only to Connors and he refuses to deal with anyone else. Before you know it, the bank has blown up, Lorenz and his team have gone missing, and Connors is teaming up with a rookie cop named Shane Dekker (Ryan Philippe) to catch the bad guy and save the day. As the pair carry on their investigation, a game of cat and mouse plays out and they find themselves involved in a strange and very layered mystery involving a series of crimes based on th...Read the entire review

The Product:
Back in June of 2005, Capital Entertainment released proof positive that, when it came to the wonderfully guilty pleasures of the scandalous nighttime soap opera, nobody does it better than the British. Their hilarious hit Footballer's Wive$ was a purported behind the scenes glimpse at the lives, loves and longings of professional soccer players in the UK. But underneath all the glitz and glamour lies a good old fashioned pot boiler, with more sin, skin and secrets in a single show than in the entire run of an American drama. Over the summer, BBC America started showing the series on cable, and gave us glorious glimpses of a highly scandalous Season 2. Now Capital has granted our misguided wishes and presents all eight episodes of the second series on DVD. And wouldn't you know it - the show is nastier, meaner...and more addictive than the first time around.

The Plo...Read the entire review

The Show

"American Idol" judge Paula Abdul says it herself not long into the staggeringly comprehensive The Best & Worst of American Idol: Seasons 1-4 (Limited Collector's Edition) – it's more than a TV show, it's a phenomenon. She then proceeds to reel off a staggering list of statistics that more than validate her claim; Kelly Clarkson wouldn't be in heavy rotation on MTV were it not for "American Idol," Clay Aiken wouldn't be a late night punch-line if not for the show and millions of Americans wouldn't have a clue where Checotah, Oklahoma was were it not for native daughter Carrie Underwood winning the most recent season.

With blow-dried metrosexual Ryan Seacrest serving as a non-threatening ambassador (oh, wherefore art thou, Brian Dunkleman?), music business vets Randy Jackson, Abdul and Simon Cowell (he of the withering criticism) pass judgment upon untold tho...Read the entire review

The Show:

"Castle Duckula, home for many centuries to a dreadful dynasty of vicious vampire ducks. The Counts of DUCKULA! Legend has it that these fowl beings can be destroyed by a stake through the heart, or exposure to sunlight. This does not suffice, however, for they may be brought back to life by means of a secret rite that can be performed once a century, when the moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius. The latest reincarnation did not run according to plan."

To say that I was a fan of Count Duckula when it originally aired would be an understatement. I made time to watch it whenever it was on and used to know the theme song by heart (which undoubtedly drove my parents crazy). It had many similarities to Disney's Duck Tales, which was another personal ...Read the entire review

OK, confession time: I don't know jack about punk music, or at least I didn't until I sat down to watch Don Letts' Punk: Attitude (2005). Up until this point, my knowledge of punk included a handful of random classic albums and a viewing of Sid and Nancy on cable a few years back. I'm obviously not a serious fan of the genre: I wouldn't mind if it was playing, but I wasn't compelled to seek it out. Even so, I consider myself a fairly open-minded music fan: with the exception of most Top 40 garbage and country, I'll listen to just about anything. Luckily, the film was there to walk me through the early years of the genre: from Black Flag to X-Ray Spex, there aren't many stones left uncovered.

For starters, this isn't a typical by-the-books documentary. As emphasized by the title, P...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
Another selection of cooking shows from The Naked Chef

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Cooking shows
Likes: Jamie Oliver
Dislikes: Difficult accents
Hates: Incomplete collections

The Story So Far...
Jamie Oliver has had a number of series on TV, and a number of DVDs to go with them. A DVD of his show, "Happy Days Tour Live!" was made available in 2002, followed by the first disc of "Oliver's Twist" (DVDTalk review) from Sony. More recently, 2005 saw the release of "Jamie's Kitchen" on DVD. DVDTalk has reviews of that set by Francis Ri...Read the entire review

Sex, scandal, sin and seduction - nothing says nighttime soap opera better than the Big "S"'s of excess, those predominant aspects of potboiler melodrama. Of course, there are all kinds of combinations that can be added to the alliterative mix - subterfuge, sauce (as in liquor), secrets - even STDs. Everyone, from Peyton Place and Dallas, to Dynasty and Desperate Housewives have followed their formulas, and as long as the mix was ripe, randy, and filled with redolence, audiences accepted even the most disgracefully delicious acts. Equilibrium is the key. Too much malfeasance and you're bound for some backlash. Not enough contemptibility and things grow quickly dull and derivative.

That is why Footballers' Wive$, a UK drama making its Region 1 DVD debut with a new two disc First Series set, is so phenomenal. It does nothing but push buttons, bust taboos and flaunt i...Read the entire review

It's the biggest broken record in broadcasting. Name the format – sitcom or serious drama – and more people than not think the British do it better than just about anyone else. Look at sketch comedy for one. You can list your Kids in the Hall and SCTVs until the cows go condo, and you'll still get goons gleefully pimping Monty Python (and they'd be right, just to let you know). Mention the situational style of wit, and 9 times out of 9.1, you'll get someone stating Fawlty Towers, The Office or maybe Red Dwarf, as the bastions of beauteous buffoonery (Heaven help the person who mentions Are You Being Served?).

But it's the drama that draws the most decisive words. Comment about cop shows and the UK urinates all over the US. Cracker creams any number of legal eagles, while Prime Suspect gives the gloomy American law enforcement focus a...Read the entire review

The movie

World War I always seems to get lessattention than World War II, whether it's in documentaries or infilms set in the period. Yet it's equally important to modernhistory, and in fact arguably more so, as World War II was directlyset in motion by the conclusion of World War I. With that in mind, Iwas looking forward to World War 1 in Color, the six-partdocumentary series that focuses strictly on the "Great War."

It's a mixed bag, though. WorldWar 1 in Color gets some things right, but it's flawed in anumber of ways, some big and some small. Throughout the series, I wasinterested in the material, yet frustrated with the way that it waspresented.

We can start off by looking at thenew "twist" that gives the series its title: theblack-and-white footage that until now has...Read the entire review

The Movie

A light, bright and frequently insightful look at the world of Hollywood stuntwomen, Double Dare works as both a good-natured human interest story and a canny behind-the-scenes peek at Hollywood stunt performers. It may not be the full-on history lesson that the profession truly deserves, but Double Dare does shed some light on a collection of women whose talents and contributions have gone largely under-appreciated over the years.

Our subjects are two professional stuntwomen, one at the twilight of her career and the other a fresh-faced newcomer to the industry. Jeannie Epper is the old-school pro, a woman who once doubled for Wonder Woman, and has worked for directors such as Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Robert Zemeckis, and John McTiernan. With over 100 movies to her credit between the years of 1965 and 2005, Jeannie Epper is like the Michael Jordan of Hollywood...Read the entire review

The Movie:

The world of cooking is intense, to say the least. Culinary school is intensely competitive, suppliers have to be dealt with, customers are picky, sanitation standards always have to be kept in mind and finally, kitchens are a tough, hot place to work, there are long hours and the "society" already set-up in the kitchen is sometimes difficult to break into. For a fascinating account of life in a restaurant, I'd recommend checking out Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential".

Not long ago, Jamie Oliver ("The Naked Chef") had an idea for a challenge: recruit a small group of unemployed Londoners who had no previous experience in cooking to run Oliver's new restaurant. Given what I know about cooking and what knowledge I have of the industry (although sanitation laws may vary in London), the whole thing sounded impossible to me.

Those who found the US series "The Re...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
Unemployed youngsters learn to cook on Naked Chef's reality series

The Show
Jamie Oliver, known as The Naked Chef to fans of his many cooking series, is young, energetic and impulsive. The subjects of this series, 15 unemployed English people, are young, energetic and impulsive. Put them together, and you have "Jamie's Kitchen," which puts those 15 potential chefs under the tutelage of Oliver, as they try to start a not-for-profit training restaurant.

Though a reality show, the elimination aspect is handled almost entirely in the first episode, as the wannabe chefs are whittled down from thousands of applicants to 60 potential participants, then to 30 semifinalists and finally 15 trainees. The elimination process is pretty intense, and give...Read the entire review

"It's not just me that can do this, but the kids can do it as well." - David Beckham

INTRODUCTION:

While not the #1 footballer in the world in terms of skill and accomplishments, David Beckham is almost certainly the most recognized player in the world's most popular sport and arguably the most famous athlete on the planet. His many years with Manchester United, the world's richest sports franchise as of 2004, and his status as captain of the England National Team placed him into the International spotlight, but his high-profile marriage to Posh Spice (Veronica Adams), his rugged good looks, and his ever-changing sense of style and fashion have helped make him a media super-celebrity unlike any other. Beckham's star shines so bright that Spanish club Real Madrid purchased him from Man U for around $41 million not because...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
Hope I die before I get old...

The Film
When I first was dating my wife, her grandmother was placed in a nursing home, and being the good boyfriend I was, I went with her when she would go for a visit. It's very hard for me to do, because invariably, there will be lonely old people in the hallways, looking to grasp any chance at connection possible, even if it's a stranger walking by. It's not that I wouldn't talk to them (though I tend to avoid eye contact) but I hate to face the idea of aging. It's not a vanity thing. It's just a "I'm having a really good time at this age and I'd rather that not change" thing. Plus, I'm not too keen on the concept of death. Call me crazy. I'm still wary o...Read the entire review