Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2007
The World Cup is unquestionably the greatest sporting event in the world. No other event, sporting or otherwise, pulls nations together like the World Cup does. Once every four years, the whole of the world (save for the majority of the United States) takes a month off to focus their eyes on the efforts of a group of young men to put a white ball into a white net. This film is the story of the 1996 edition of the famed tournament.
This film does a great job of capturing the story of the tournament, while not ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2007
It’s a shame that there aren’t many stand-up comedians around anymore. And the ones that are still around (Chris Rock, Dane Cook) usually only use the medium as a launching pad into a flawed movie or television career that never equals the laugh factor and energy that exists in their stand-up comedy shows.
So along comes Damon Wayans’ Last Stand.
Wayans, in my opinion, was always a talented comedian. His characters on In Living Color made the show a pop-culture hit that rivaled S...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2007
Romeo and Juliet is a classic tale that has been told and re-told over and over again. It is generally accepted that the definitive film version of Shakespeare's story of lovers' twisted fate is the 1968 version by Italian director Franco Zeffirelli. Rather than attempt to best this effort, more recent film adaptations have decided to modernize the story. Baz Luhrmann tackled it with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio using all the original dialog, but ultra modern wardrobe, sets and music. While some critics myself included) fell in love with this fast paced adaptation, others were appalled.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2007
Synopsis
Of all the recent multi-film director stories that have been told in recent years, not too many have been as, well, historical, as Clint Eastwood’s two part telling of the battle at the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. The battle over a key stretch of property in World War II cost thousands of lives, but never seemed to get a proper cinematic treatment as many of the European theater battles have. Regardless, in Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers, Eastwood has given the world ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2007
Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek are buddies in real life, so it makes sense for the two of them to show up in a film together. I was a little surprised to find this disc on my doorstep, however, having totally missed its existence during its theatrical release. It is a good reminder of how much a movie's success is driven by marketing. Clearly, this is one of those films that the studio wasn't happy with, so they cut their losses and quietly put the film into select theaters underneath the radar.
It's a shame, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2007
I�m sure I�m not the only person wondering why on Earth a studio like Universal, with so many classics in their vault, would release Half Baked so quickly onto HD DVD. One can presumably assume that the only reason they chose to release it at this particular time is to bank on the recent popularity of David Chappelle. The only unfortunate part here is that Chappelle�s performance, while sometimes funny, shows that his talent was best used elsewhere.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2007
This could be my shortest film review ever: watch Step Up for the dancing - the rest is a formulaic bunch of "whatever".
But since you're reading, here's a little more. Like Save The Last Dance, Step Up is a teen dance/romance movie. The story follows Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum), a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, and Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan), a privileged ballet student attending a prestigious school for the arts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 29th, 2007
Based on Augusten Burroughs� popular biographical memoir of the same name, Running With Scissors is a dark, comedic tale of surviving a bizarre and painful childhood.
The film covers Augusten�s life mostly from about age 12 to 16. Part of what makes this film intriguing is that it�s so outlandish that viewers can hardly anticipate events before they happen, so I will attempt to avoid spoiling it all in this review. With that in mind, here�s my very high-level plot summary: Augusten�s parents� relatio...
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on January 29th, 2007
In a week filled with minimal news, there was one major announcement that is sure to make HD DVD fans happy. Yes, Universal has finally announced some of their exclusive HD DVD title line-up. Although none of the big blockbuster titles we know Universal has sitting around on a shelf were announced, more than a few big name titles were announced that will be sure to put a smile on your face. With upwards of 100 titles to be released throughout 2007 we can expect great things from Universal this year.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2007
The relationship between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor appeared to blossom when they were both on the set of Cleopatra. The epic film was famous, not for the success of the film but more for the near bankruptcy of the studio and for the romance that blossomed between the two. Warner Brothers has recently been releasing groups of films surrounding various film icons, and this set of four titles focuses on the two acting giants.
