Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 26th, 2007
Synopsis
Well, time may not have been too kind to George Lazenby since he assumed the tailored suits of James Bond for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, but considering how well Daniel Craig did in Casino Royale, and the basic storyline is the same for both films, why do people still want to bash Lazenby now? Is it because he wasn’t a carbon copy of his predecessor, Sean Connery? Who knows?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 26th, 2007
If any of you watch America’s Most Wanted or have followed the news over the past few years, chances are you know about Jesse James Hollywood, the notorious twenty-year-old drug dealer. Alpha Dog is based upon Hollywood, his crew, and their unlawful activities. Of course the names are changed due to the fact that there are trials pending, but the story is a chilling tale of how young men can push each other too far trying to adhere to a “tough guy” image.
Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch, The Gir... Next Door) isn’t your typical twenty-year-old; the owner of a nice home, numerous exotic vehicles, and the head of an expanding drug empire. He runs a tight crew with a few close friends shadowing his every movement - Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake, Black Snake Moan), Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy, The Faculty), and Tiko Martinez (professional middleweight boxer Fernando Vargas). When the group isn’t peddling drugs they spend their time partying, which is exactly what they are doing when Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster, Hostage) comes over to settle a debt with Johnny. After a disagreement, Johnny attacks Jake, but ends up submersed in his own pool after being thrown threw the patio window. Jake returns home to his girlfriend and is shortly thereafter visited by his brother Zach (Anton Yelchin, House of D). After a few beers and joints Jake drives his fifteen year old brother home to distressed parents.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2007
In The Nutty Professor comedian Eddie Murphy (yes, he USE to be funny) stars as professor Sherman Klump. Klump is a 400-pound man who quickly becomes infatuated with a new professor named Carly Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith). When he asks her out on a date, she accepts and they go to a local club named ‘The Scream’. Once there, the evening is progressing fine until comic Reggie jumps up on stage and quickly dissects poor old Sherman. Sherman, having recently performed a genetic experience on his hamster that saw i...s body weight drop 20%, decides to do the same to himself. Enter Buddy Love, Klump’s alter ego. The rest of the film follows Klump and Love as they fight to control one another and decide which will win the heart of Miss Purty.
Eddie Murphy is absolutely hilarious in this film. When you consider the type of crap that Murphy involves himself in, it has become such a sad note that Murphy has basically collapsed into this family actor instead of making hilarious films like this. Murphy obviously realized that dressing up as big, fat people works as he succeeded again (monetarily not physically) in this year’s Norbit. When you think that Murphy dressed up as his entire family is downright hilarious and makes the two dinner sequences particularly enjoyable. I remember reading a review quite sometime ago where the critic mentioned that he could barely understand what was being said during these sequences simply because the entire audience was laughing so much. While this most recent viewing wasn’t as loud-out-loud funny, I still couldn’t help but smile at the insane conversations the family has with each other.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2007
Ahead of the pack with eight nominations, Dreamgirls had a lot of buzz leading up to this year’s Academy Awards. In the midst of it all, there was talk of a surprise standout performance by American Idol alumnus Jennifer Hudson in her first film role, and even more surprisingly, Pluto Nash – I mean, Eddie Murphy was up for best supporting actor.
With that many nominations, Dreamgirls, in yet another surprise, was not up for the coveted best picture Oscar. And after the dust settled, the film had been honored with just two of the golden statues, for Jennifer Hudson as best supporting actress and best achievement in sound mixing. No best picture nod and so few wins seemed to say, ‘yeah, your movie had a lot of good parts, some even great, but they didn’t add up to something more.’
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2007
Every so often you find yourself blown away by the sheer power of a film. A film’s power can do a lot to one’s mind. Remember what Schindler’s List did to you? I certainly do. Charlie Kaufman’s latest effort is a fantastic masterpiece that will certainly leave an impact on your mind, soul, and body that few films can leave.
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star was Joel Barish and Clementine. The two seem like they’re happy until the two suddenly break it off. Joel has turned from a happy man full of lif... into a depress slug. Trying to get his life back together, Joel travels to his local library where he runs into Clementine. Something strange has occurred, as Clementine has no recollection of who Joel is. After researching into what’s she has been doing since they broke it off, Joel finds out that Clementine has involved herself in a new scientific research method that resulted in her mind, particularly the painful portion of her mind, getting wiped. This is when Joel realizes he must go see this doctor immediately in hopes of getting the same procedure done.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 23rd, 2007
The History Boys is a film version of the award-winning play of the same name. The link between film and play is especially strong here, as not only was it adapted and directed by the original writer and stage director, but each member of the stage cast also reprised his or her role for the film.
Set in the early 80’s, The History Boys is about a group of bright young men preparing for their futures and the teachers helping them along. The boys have just received top marks at their grammar sch...ol, and the next step is studying for university entrance exams, on the subject of history. With Oxford or Cambridge in their sights, the students enter the new term ready to study under three remarkable teachers, one of whom wants to fondle their genitals, and another who’s new and barely more than a boy himself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 23rd, 2007
I’ve just watched Smokin’ Aces for the first time. What. A. Mess.
Having read and heard comparisons with Tarantino films like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, I had anticipated a violent, highly entertaining romp. The violence part I get, no problem. Smokin’ Aces is certainly a bloody film, but come on, ”Tarantino”? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on April 23rd, 2007
Apologies to all last week for the postponement of last week’s column. As one who has a personal interest in the activities surrounding Virginia Tech, I had a lot more on my plate to digest. Anyway, onward and upward in the next generation news and opinion.
Several big things have happened over the course of the last couple of weeks, the first being Samsung’s announcement of their own hybrid player. Like the current LG player, it will play both formats, unlike the LG player, it will support HDi, which is go...d news for HD-DVD owners. The BD-UP5000 is scheduled to come out sometime in the fourth quarter, and let’s all hope it supports everything and the friggin’ kitchen sink. The BD-P1200 quietly started appearing on store shelves this week at a $799 MSRP, I guess so much for that player. On the HD side of things, the Chinese are saying that they’ll have 2 million $300 HD players in American store shelves. How (or which platform) they’ll be able to do that on remains to be seen, but I’d guess that Walmart will roll out both platforms in their stores for mass consumption rather than alientate one side or another. The story is far from substantiated, but it does raise some interesting questions. Last, but not least, the latest Panasonic firmware upgrade finally allows for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio formats, so for those of you who’ve got them, go download this already!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2007
Synopsis
Who would have thought that after an amazing performance in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain that Heath Ledger would return to his native Australia and do an independent film? Well for those who did and put long odds on it, you get the prize in the pool. I just wish that after things like Trainspotting, Half Nelson and similar films, this one would have a little more impact than it does.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2007
Synopsis
The first thing that surprised me when I did some minor research on The Addams Family was that as a show, it was barely on for a cup of coffee, lasting two seasons. Maybe because it was on around the same time as The Munsters shortened its shelf life. However three decades later, the film (and its sequel) helped propel it into fan appreciation.