Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 18th, 2007
The day and age were Hollywood remakes coming off as a somewhat passable effort are completely gone. Hollywood continues to feed us drivel that is devoid of anything remotely entertaining or anything that made the original entertaining in its own right. In 2006 Warner Brothers decided to remake the 1973 classic film Wicker Man. Instead of trying to adhere to the original, Warner threw everything that made Robin Hardy's original such a classic and have since replaced it with moments that were meant to scare us but instead come off as almost laughable.
In this remake actor Nicholas Cage stars as detective Edward Maius. We quickly learn that Edward's former fiancée Willow (Kate Beahan) left him a few years back without any reason why. Edward soon receives a letter from Willow stating that their daughter Rowan has gone missing. Traveling to the island of Summerisle, Edward soon learns that the island that Willow has moved to (oddly comprised entirely of woman) may have something to do with their missing child. Edward searches high and low trying to figure out who these women are, what they do and who exactly is the so-called Wicker Man.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 16th, 2007
Since its premiere in 1994, Inside the Actors Studio has been a fascinating talk show for film fans and aspiring actors, writers and directors alike. Each episode a famous guest � usually an actor � is interviewed one-on-one by host James Lipton, followed by questions from the student audience.
In early 2006, one such guest was Dave Chappelle (Chappelle�s Show). Chappelle�s appearance followed some controversial events in his life, mainly his surprising exit from his mega-hit Comedy Central sh...w during production for its third season, followed by a mysterious trip to Africa, which triggered media rumors of mental instability and drug addiction.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 16th, 2007
Before Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, there was another film full of warriors running through the wilderness, accompanied by a majestic score. That film was The Last of the Mohicans, director Michael Mann's remake of the 1936 film of the same name, which was a remake of the 1920 silent film. And all of these movies were based on the original novel by James Fennimore Cooper, a popular 18th Century American writer.
So there's a lot of history to this story, which is set during the French and Indian War in the mid-18th Century. Our hero is Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York), the white adopted son of a Mohican father, Chingachgook (Russel Means, Natural Born Killers). Together with Chingachgook's biological son, Uncas (Eric Schweig, Tom and Huck), they do their own thing in the wilderness, hunting and trapping and uninvolved in the ongoing war.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007
Maria Bello gives a wasted performance in the Tim McGraw vehicle Flicka, a by-the-numbers family film that is such a retread of other more competent efforts, one wonders, What is the point? Alison Lohman plays McGraw's teenage daughter and friend-to-Flicka, a role type that was much better utilized in classics, such as Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Summer of the Monkeys. Lohman is the precocious adolescent, who struggles through boarding school, and her relationship with gruf...-farmer daddy McGraw. McGraw is mis-cast in most everything he's in, being too hip, new-wave country sissified to qualify as a) a tough guy (in this film), and b) an ex-high school football star (see Friday Night Lights). In other words, his time would be better spent returning to Nashville for more of those inane little suck-tracks like "Don't Take the Girl." He's a poor actor with limited range, and his performance in Flicka confirms it.
An even more noteworthy problem the film suffers from is the same plot formula we've seen for over fifty years in novel and film. Teenager clashes with parent because they're just alike. Parent and teenager neither one realize, or admit to, the similarity. When they finally do, fences are mended, and the real healing begins, all so we can get that warm fuzzy the studio wants from us. End of story. Somewhere along the way, the dog or deer or buffalo or goat incurs some kind of tragedy, which may or may not result in death, depending on the sadism of the filmmakers. I won't tell you which way this ends up, but I will say Flicka follows the formula, and doesn't depart one inch from it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007
Don't let the goofy title fool you; The Doctor, the Tornado, and the Kentucky Kid is a serious documentary. This film takes an inside look at the fast-paced world of MotoGP motorcycle racing. Specifically, the subject is the lives of three top riders as they enter the week of the race at Laguna Seca, one of the most difficult tracks in the world. While this film may be a little too in-depth for those that don't at least casually follow the sport, fans of motorcycle racing will likely be thrilled with this, the...sequel to the popular film Faster.
Often times, sports films get tedious as the story drags on. Since this one focuses on just one race, however, viewers don't get bogged down in the grind of a full season. Plus, as with the sport itself, the riders are living on the edge of their mortality throughout, and the viewer really gets the sense that instantaneous death could occur at any time. This sense of tension perfectly mimics the film's subject matter, and it goes a long way to helping the at-home viewer stay engaged with the material. Director Mark Neale has done an excellent job of crafting a documentary that is exciting, yet still dramatic and informative.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007
Certain aspects of Working Girl have not aged well, but the film remains a quality production that showcases Melanie Griffith in her best role, with Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver as superb, lightly humorous supporting characters.
Tess McGill (Griffith) is a secretary struggling to rise in the New York business world. After a series of bad experiences with chauvinistic managers, she's transferred to a new secretary role, this time under a female boss (Weaver). At first relieved to be working for someone who understands the female struggle, Tess is hurt when she learns that her new boss is a backstabbing cutthroat who only listens to her to steal ideas. When her boss is hospitalized after a vacation accident, Tess takes action - by taking control of her boss' office, title and even her wardrobe. In her new guise, Tess gets right to work on brokering a deal with an investment banker, Jack Trainer (Ford), risking her career on one hail-Mary play.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007
Two lab mice, one world to conquer. When the ACME Labs shut down each night, Pinky and the Brain set out for world domination, armed only with Brain's genetically enhanced, um, brain, and Pinky's good-natured insanity.
We have here 22 episodes of this high quality animated series, picking up near the end of season two - where the vol. 1 release left off - and continuing in broadcast order to about the mid-point of season three.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2007
Some films can be intensely personal. Written and directed by one individual, the stories are fairly long in runtime and epic in terms of hopes and dreams, with characters that intertwine either coincidentally or a little bit more directly. They always seem to have a big name marquee star or two in them and always end on a message of hope or optimism.
Take the case of Babel. Written by Guillermo Arriaga and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who were the creative team behind the Amores Perros and 21 Grams films comes perhaps their grandest idea yet. The film follows four storylines. The most notable for a lot of people was the one involving Richard (Brad Pitt, 12 Monkeys) and Susan (Cate Blanchett, The Aviator), who are spending some time in Morocco when tragedy strikes. Back at home, their children are being tended to by a kind immigrant named Amelia (played by Adriana Barraza, La Primera Noche), who decides to bring the kids across the border to Tijuana to attend her son's wedding, but when her cousin Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal, The Science of Sleep) reacts poorly to a border officer's interrogation on their return to America, Amelia is forced to do something she doesn't want to do. Going back to Morocco, two young brothers who help with farming and goat herding, decide to play with a gun that their father gave them (which turned out to be a gift from a friend). And when the playing has some ramifications, the boys head down a road where there's no going back. The last one goes to Tokyo, where Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi, Tori) is a teenage deaf-mute girl who witnessed her mother's suicide as a child, and she looks to try and discover the joy of pleasure despite having to deal with her handicaps.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2007
In the great tradition of Hollywood rehashes, The Guardian applies a new coat of paint to a tried-and-true formula. In this case, we're talking about the story of Top Gun with Coast Guard rescue swimmers in place of Air Force fighter pilots. Oh, and maybe throw in a little Officer and a Gentleman for good measure.
Stop me if you've heard this one. They're the elite, the best of the best. Their training program is the most difficult in the world, and it will weed out anyone who can't cut it in their dangerous profession. One man is a legend in the profession, now the lead instructor at the school. The other is a cocky young recruit, with tons of raw talent but always "this close" to throwing it all away. The instructor recognizes the recruit's ability, but questions whether he can be trusted in a real life or death situation. Their relationship starts out antagonistic, but before the tale is finished, they'll find a common ground and shared respect, and the teacher will pass his torch on to the student.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 12th, 2007
It's really hard for me to review films such as this one. On the one hand, I firmly believe in film preservation, and the importance of not shying away from history, no matter how painful it may be. On the other hand, it's difficult for me to enjoy a film that so casually deals with the trade of humans. Band of Angels tells the story of the daughter of a plantation owner who is sent away to school. Her father is a good and kind man, for he has never beaten his slaves. When he falls deathly ill, she rushes back...to the plantation to be by his side. Upon his arrival, she finds her father dead, and slave traders waiting for her. As it turns out, her mother, which she has never met, was a “negro”, which means that she is to be sold at market with the rest of the slaves.
Starting to see why I was so uncomfortable now? The thing is, I can see the noble intentions behind this film, originally released in 1957. Clearly, this is a film that means to convince audience members that slavery and racism are wrong. However, it's hard for me to hear that message when the dreaded “n” word is being thrown around so much. To be fair, the second half of the film is much more friendly for modern audiences, but I just can't say that I felt right about watching this thing. It's a shame too, because both Clark Gable and a very young Sidney Poitier have major roles which they handle quite well.
![The Wicker Man (2006) (Rated and Unrated) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-wicker-man-2006-rated-and-un-large.jpg)
