Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2006
Synopsis
I was never that much of a Nintendo kid growing up. I went from the Sega Genesis to the Playstation, then the PS2, before recently landing on the Xbox. I was never that accustomed to the world of Double Dragon, however I’d like to think that I was the bomb at Contra. And the only video game movie I can recall seeing when I was growing up was a film called Joysticks, which was a crude version of Animal House and Hardbodies, with Pac Man, Galaga and the like.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2006
Synopsis
While Some Kind of Wonderful may not feature the same kind of young spirit that Pretty in Pink may have had or the kind of older type of intelligence that Say Anything might have had, it’s still a cute, charming little romantic comedy with some recognizable faces penned by ‘80s icon John Hughes, responsible for such teen films as The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, to name a paltry few.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2006
Synopsis
James Marsden plays Tommy, who broke away from his mob-connected family to join the marines. Something goes wrong during the Gulf War, and he lands in the brig. He’s given a second chance by the authorities if he heads back to his old neighbourhood undercover. As he heads back to hook up with his slow brother and violent cousin (Giovanni Ribisi), we also get flashbacks to their youth in these families.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2006
Synopsis
James Marsden plays Tommy, who broke away from his mob-connected family to join the marines. Something goes wrong during the Gulf War, and he lands in the brig. He’s given a second chance by the authorities if he heads back to his old neighbourhood undercover. As he heads back to hook up with his slow brother and violent cousin (Giovanni Ribisi), we also get flashbacks to their youth in these families.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2006
Seabiscuit tells the true tale of three men and one legendary racehorse. The story takes place right after the Great Depression has hit leaving many feeling the after effects. John Pollard (Tobey Maguire) is a young man who wants nothing more than to race his horse. Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) is his ‘horse whisper’ in that he seems to be able to communicate with his horses. Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) is your standard businessman at this time, completely broke. Looking for a way to get out of his hole, he dec...des to band together with these other two men after a horse named Seabiscuit gives them the idea of a lifetime. Take this relatively unknown horse to the to the extreme top. Seems rather unlikely right? If you’ve ever read the history books, you’ll know the outcome of the story and hence the film at hand.
What makes a film like this high enjoyable (more so then I expected) is not only the characters but also the story which tugs at the heart strings. This was a time when everyone was, well, depressed and didn’t know what to do. A story about three unknown men and a horse is not only moving and inspirational, but also a sign of what anyone can really do if they have faith in themselves and those around them. Consider the film is definition of the ‘American Dream’, as the film’s main message tells us that events like this can occur.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Andy Garcia plays Rick... er... I mean Fico, who runs a lavish nightclub in Batista-era Havana. The revolution is brewing, and two of his brothers are drawn to the cause. Fico is apolitical, putting family above all, but the revolution will transform his life whether he wants it or not, and then there’s the problem of falling in love with his brother’s wife.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Mix two parts hip-hop artists, two parts Oscar-winning actors, one part TV actor, and one part bad actor, and what do you get? The stars of Edison Force, that’s what. Now just because I specify one as a bad actor doesn’t let the others off the hook. Of course, Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman are going to be tolerable. They’re phenomenal at their craft. Even the TV actor (Dylan McDermott) does a worthy job of bringing menace to his role as primary leg-breaker. But when it comes to poor performances, Cary ...lwes, L.L. Cool J, and Justin Timberlake have the market cornered. It’s unfortunate the film hangs its hopes and dreams on the abilities of the latter two.
Every L.L. Cool J character comes across as a bulked-up sissy, because the actor tries way too hard to walk the line between sensitivity and men-wearing-dresses. Normally, he falls over to the wrong side of that line. Edison Force is no exception. As for Timberlake, he sounds like a lisping chipmunk every time he opens his mouth. When these two guys are forced to carry an action film, get ready for metro-sexuality at its finest. While some girls will find these men extremely pleasing to the eye, the target audience will probably laugh this one out of their players.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy tells the famous story based on the poem ‘The Iliad’ by poet Homer. The film recounts the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Trojan War has quickly begun after young and beautiful Helen (Diane Kruger) is seduced by Paris (Orlando Bloom) while he is on a peace mission to Sparta. Obviously Helen’s husband, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) is annoyed by this as is Paris’ older, wiser brother Hector (Eric Bana). Paris eventually wins Helen’s heart and sneaks her away from her husba...d back to Troy. Here Helen is declared to be a queen.
Menelaus is naturally furious about this and demands that Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, take ships and men (1,000 ships and about 50,000 men) to bring her back. Here is where the fun begins as the Trojans refuse to give up their new queen. As history tells us the Greeks would lay siege to Troy for nearly ten years. Where poet Homer’s ‘The Iliad’ picks up is around the tenth and final year of the struggle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Synopsis
Hurricane Eve descends upon the Florida coast, wreaking particular havoc on the rural town of Homestead. The central characters are a park ranger, his two children, a reporter who is the ranger’s second wife, his conspiracy-nut brother (channelling Jack Black), his ex-wife and her second husband (the always suspicious-looking William Fichtner). As if the devastation weren’t enough, there are all those weird lights, and... hey... some people are acting kinda strange, like they’re might not be...human at all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Synopsis
Larry David plays Larry David, so thorough a narcissistic curmudgeon that he would be completely and utterly loathsome were it not for his unerring propensity to bring disaster down upon his head. Once again, we see him grump from episode to episode, never failing to make the worst possible decision at the worst possible moment in every social situation. A case in point: he dings another character’s car, gives the guy money to get the car fixed. Instead, the money goes to the man’s daughter,...and Larry deduces that it financed breast enhancement. Cue a scene on the beach guaranteed to have you hiding in shame behind the couch.
![Seabiscuit [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/seabiscuit-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
![Troy [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/troy-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
