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"SAVING GRACE: THE FINAL SEASON" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Two years ago, Grace Hanadarko was given a second chance at life. After running over a man while drunk driving, an angel named Earl intervenes and gives her another shot to give her life to God. However, being the feisty and rebellious person that she is, Grace doesn’t immediately accept. However, she learned to accept Earl into her life, and now she continues her job as a detective in the Oklahoma City Police Department with some divine intervention. However, as the acclaimed show reaches an end, Grace soon learns there are greater plans for her and her life.
WHAT I LIKED
Well, the costumes were nice.
I had never gotten into “Saving Grace” when it was on television. I had been sent a single disc from Season Two to review, but it’s so hard to formulate an opinion of an entire series by only three or four episodes. Fortunately, I had a chance to check out the entire third season of the show, which happens to also be its last.
While there’s still a lot of good shows on the major networks, basic cable has been churning out some excellent series. “Saving Grace” is one of those, maintaining a deft balance between the secular and the spiritual. Like its TNT cohort “The Closer,” “Saving Grace” presents some of the ugliest things that humanity has to offer. However, with its foot dipping into the realm of religion, “Saving Grace” offers some salvation for the characters.
“Saving Grace” is more than a police procedural, although the crime-of-the-week does lend itself to that. It’s also a journey of a character. And while the series has come to what many see as an untimely end, it did not overstay its welcome. As a long-form drama, “Saving Grace” has allowed Grace Hanadarko to grow as a characters and touch the lives of many.
As the third season wraps up to a climax of a series finale, things slow down a bit. The penultimate episode is a bit tedious, but it helps set up the ending of the whole show, and that’s as satisfying as a series can be.
In retrospect, I’m sad I didn’t watch this show from the beginning, and that’s a hell of a compliment coming from me.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
While the setting of Oklahoma City does give the series a unique look and feel, the show at times is a bit heavy-handed in reminding us of where things takes place. Plus, as rough as it is to watch shows like “The Closer” and the many police procedurals of major cities, I hope that the grim nature of the crimes committed in “Saving Grace” is not indicative of the show’s location.
I can’t say that I wasn’t annoyed at some of the characters - mainly Kendra the reporter and Grace’s nephew Clay as he struggles with adolescence - but these are forgivable sins for such a fine series.
DVD FEATURES
Unfortunately there are no special features on this set. Maybe Earl can flap his wings and make some appear
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who wants to see a different police procedural with its toe dipped in spirituality.
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"TWO ON A GUILLOTINE" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD June 22 WarnerArchive.com Studio: Warner Archive Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Warner Archive has released another forgotten classic on DVD. This time, it’s the 1965 thriller “Two on a Guillotine.” The story follows a young woman named Cassie (Connie Stevens) who stands to inherit a fortune from her dead magician father, whose guillotine act accidentally claimed the life of her mother twenty years before. In order to get her inheritance, Cassie must live in her father’s spooky mansion for a week.
WHAT I LIKED
While I’m not a fan of the movies from the 1960s, this one really intrigued me. First, for a thriller released only a few years after “Psycho,” “Two on a Guillotine” is pretty edgy for its day. After all, it’s nice to watch some heads roll in the film, even though the violence is really tame by today’s standards.
In many ways, this film reminded me of the cheesy Vincent Price classic “House on Haunted Hill,” which featured a similar stay-in-a-spooky-house storyline. This movie opens with a bang, presenting the guillotine and the unfortunate deaths early on. Mid-way through, it becomes a character study between Cassie and a reporter, played by Dean Jones. I’m okay with that because the shifting tone in the film works for what it was.
There’s more going on in this film that you might expect, even as it leads to the climax. The performances are good, and it’s not so big that it seems unfathomable. It’s a bit predictable, but the ending is definitely worth the wait. I can see where this may have made some audiences jump back in the mid-60s.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
My complaints of this film stem more from the filmmaking techniques of the 1960s. There’s some overly melodramatic scenes and music, and the pacing is pretty slow compared to movies today. Still, it’s a slow burn that comes off more level-headed than anything that you’d see today. It is an example of “They don’t make ‘em like they used to,” for both good and bad reasons.
DVD FEATURES
Like other films in the Warner Archive collection, this does not come with any special features. But at least the chapter list is broken down a little more logically than just a new point every ten minutes.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of 1960s ghost stories.
