Scarface
November 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
DVD Quick Take
Are you in the mood for a violent movie? Then “say hello to my little friend”! This movie features the allstar team of Brian De Palma as director, Oliver Stone as the writer and Al Pacino as the leading man who get together to remake this 1932 crime drama. And what we end up with is one of the most violent epics ever filmed, not to mention it’s claim to fame of using the “f-word” 246 times which was a record until Goodfellas broke it. Incidently, Pulp Fiction came along later and blew both of them away. After being exposed to the “f-word” so many times, you probably shouldn’t call your mom immediately after seeing this movie, or you might let one f’n slip.
Ok, so what do we get other than alot of f’n cursing and gratuitous violence? This is a drug-era gangster tale of epic proportions. The story revolves around Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, who is a Cuban refugee who rises to the top of Miami’s drug underword. If you think Michael Corleone was a bad dude, Montana makes him look like a chorboy. And as you would expect, Pacino pulls it off brilliantly.
Scarface belongs in every guy’s permanent collection, and the Platinum Edition DVD is the best version yet. It’s totally remastered, so it looks and sounds gorgeous. It also has a separate bonus disc with everything that could possibly be collected regarding the movie included.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Surface – The Complete Series
November 7, 2006 | Leave a Comment
I generally avoid network television like the plague. There are many reasons for that, but first and foremost is the quality of entertainment. Now granted, in my youth, I took great enjoyment watching such junk food for the brain as The A-Team and Dukes of Hazzard. But now we have high quality options on pay channels like HBO and edgy stuff even on basic cable channels like FX.
But for the first time in a long time, a series on network TV caught my eye in 2005. It was a SciFi series called “Surface”. It was about a new life form that is discovered at sea. The storylines were very well written and episode by episode we would learn more about the creatures, how they might have came to be and the characters on the show whose lives were being impacted by them first. Basically all of the components of a great show.
At the end of the 2005 season, they left us with the traditional cliff hanger. However, they later announced the series would not be back at all. Apparently the bean counters decided the ratings didn’t warrant the cost of production of the show. Cable counterparts, such as Six Feet Under and The Wire, which start off slowly, are allowed time to build an audience based on the quality of the writing. But no, if you’re NBC you just dump it. Maybe someone from the cast of Friends or Seinfeld needs another shot at a series.
So what we have here instead of Surface – Season One, is a DVD called Surface – The Complete Series. This was a great show. The DVD set is very complete and well done. But I can only give it 2 stars due to the fact it’ll end leaving you wanting more which is apparently never going to happen. Maybe I’ll tune into a network show again around the year 2015.
Popularity: 15% [?]


