Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Synopsis
There was a period in Francis Ford Coppola’s (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) life where he went through a bit of a phase, where he was making films based on relatively obscure material. And he went through another smaller phase in the early ‘80s where he was making films from source material of author S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders). And Rumble Fish was one of those.
Based on Hinton’s novel, the film details the life in a small town, with a tough neighborhood kid n...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Synopsis
Despite the upside of pro wrestling-being on worldwide TV and having people from ages 6 to 60 buy a shirt with your face on it, and cheer (or boo) you in the ring until they become hoarse, there is still a downside. A wrestler can be on the road for 250 days out of the year. The pay is comfortable, but there is the risk of injury, or worse, addictions to drugs to overcome the pain you can suffer from while on the road. And unlike John Q. Businessman, a lot of the wrestlers out there either don’t ha...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Four Brothers starts off as a solid drama about a group of orphans (Marky Mark, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund) who were raised by a sympathetic woman (Fionnula Flanigan) in downtown Detroit. When she is murdered, the brothers reunite and stay in their mother’s old house. They sit at the dinner table and stare at her now empty seat. They horse around with one another in her living room. And in some cases they even wear her old clothes. In scenes like these, the actors do a good job of makin...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 24th, 2005
Season Four of The West Wing was the series' final season with the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin. This left quite a bit of trepidation among the show's faithful followers. What would happen with the series left in the hands of new writers, and without Rob Lowe's portrayal of Sam Seaborn? After all, Sorkin's original plans for the show were for it to focus on Sam, and now everything seems to be falling apart.
With one notable exception, I am proud to announce that the show is still rolling along at a s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
So after a somewhat shaky 4 episode run for Season 1 and a 6 episode showing of Season 2, the powers that be at HBO, apparently in between editing sessions of "Real Taxicab Divas," or whatever, answered Bob and David’s pleas for an increased budget for Season 3. But they also wanted a 10 episode season, something that brought them to new heights of stardom, neuroses and some real good comedy. Saturday Night Live had started to see their stars leave for TV shows, movies, or they were just tir...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
It did take a little bit of intestinal fortitude to sit down and be willing watch Herbie: Fully Loaded, but I did it dammit, because I care about YOU. Fully Loaded is not a remake, but an extension of The Love Bug films with Buddy Hackett and others. In this new edition, Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan, Mean Girls) is the daughter of racing legend Ray (Michael Keaton, Batman) and brother of Ray Jr. (Breckin Meyer, Road Trip). She is going to work for ESPN now ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
Angie Dickinson is a single mother of two teenage girls (whom the film very explicitly characterizes as “ripe” – boy howdy, they don’t make movies like this anymore). Money is tight during the Depression, and after a fiasco of an interrupted wedding, mother and brood hit the road to seek their fortune, and before you know it, they’re robbing banks.
A low budget, tongue-in-cheek variation on Bonnie and Clyde (minus Clyde), this is a nicely produced bit of period sleaze. The d...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the Jon Favreau directed family adventure Zathura on February 7th. This disc will be presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with English Dolby Digital 5.1 & French 2.0 audio tracks. Extras will include an Audio Commentary (by Jon Favreau and Peter Billingsley), three Featurettes ("Making-Of," "Cast of Zathura" & "Miniatures and the World of Zathura"), a "Visual Effects" Documentary, & more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2005
Synopsis
In the year 2000, the United States (and much of the rest of the world, it seems) is under the dictatorial rule of Mr. President, and the masses are kept passive with the Transcontinental road race, where the competitors must not only race from the remains of New York to the remains of LA in record time, but kill as many pedestrians as possible. Chief rivals are fan favourite Frankenstein (David Carradine) and the villainous Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone).
You know yo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 21st, 2005
Where does Dukes of Hazzard fall on the spectrum of TV show adaptations? Somewhere in the middle, which came as a surprise. I expected a stupid flick with no entertainment value, but I got a stupid flick with more than a few glimmers of amusement. The film’s plot borders on irrelevant, but I’ll recap it anyway. The flick focuses on the adventures of cousins Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke (Johnny Knoxville) Duke. They deliver moonshine for their Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), and Bo also succeeds as a local ra...
