Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 19th, 2005
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a middle-aged divorcee with a blue-collar job and a rundown home in the New Jersey suburbs. When his ex-wife unexpectedly drops his estranged kids—ten year old Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and sixteen year old Robbie (Justin Chatwin)—off for the weekend, Ray is less than pleased. He’s always struggled with his parental duties, but now finds it increasingly difficult to communicate with his children. However, events beyond his control are about to force Ray to come to terms with his responsibili...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 19th, 2005
Dear Chris Farley, we har'ley knew ye.
What is it with SNL and untimely death? I am pretty surprised that I have never seen a "conspiracy theory" written out about this, like the Wheaties curse or the curse of the Sports Illustrated cover. Jim Belushi, Phil Hartman, Gilda Radner and even the lovable Chris Farley died way before their time.
Farley had an uncommon gift of successfully being portly, sweaty, clumsy and lovable all at the same time. The assortment of Saturday Night Live skits collected here drives this point home with ease.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2005
The next time you’re at the neighborhood Best Buy, find the packaging for The Grudge. Then, seek out an obscure new release of an old catalog favorite named The House Where Evil Dwells, and line up the boxes. You’ll be struck by how eerily similar the packaging is. Struck enough to turn them over and compare synopses. After doing so, you will notice not only is the packaging similar, but also the plotlines themselves.
Add to the mix the fact House is an early eighties horror film, and...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2005
In the poor area of Richmond, California, Ken Carter takes charge as a basketball coach, and fights his way to transform a team of rowdy boys into a team of accomplished men. Based on a true story.
There are way too many problems with COACH CARTER to call it great, but it certainly has its heart in the right place at the right time. The very first immediate problem is the script of the film. A lot of the dialogue feels like it has been overly simplified for its audience. Almost all of the actors play stock...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2005
Synopsis
Operation Market Garden is the most famous Allied defeat in the Second World War. An audacious plan scuppered by bad luck and worse decisions, it is recounted in this visually spectacular film. The goal is to seize a group of bridges across Holland, culminating in the brdge at Arnhem. Everything imaginable goes wrong. Richard Attenborough’s film stars just about every big name actor under the sun, and his re-enactment has so many extras and so much hardware that one feels he could have convi...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2005
Paramount Home Entertainment will release the most recent recent Nicolas Cage film The Weather Man on January 31st. Available in separate anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen versions, each will feature Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, five featurettes ("Extended Outlook: The Script," "Relative Humidity: The Characters," "Forecast: Becoming a Weatherman," "Trade Winds: The Collaboration" & "Atmospheric Pressure: The Style and Palette"), as well as the theatrical trailer.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on November 14th, 2005
Universal Home Entertainment will release the recent Al Pacino & Matthew McConaughey thriller Two for the Money on January 17th. This disc will be presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen tranfer, along with English & French Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks. Extras will include an audio commentary (by writer Dan Gilroy and director DJ Caruso), deleted scenes (with optional commentary tracks by Gilroy and Caruso), two featurettes ("Insider Interview: The Real Brandon" & "The Freeroll: The Making of Two fo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 14th, 2005
Synopsis
And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) was Monty Python’s first theatrical release, and consists of remounted, often more elaborately staged versions of many of their most beloved TV skits. You want your Dead Parrot, it’s here. So is the Lumberjack Song, How Not to Be Seen, and so on. As a one-stop intro to Python, it’s hard to beat.
Funny as the above film is, it is eclipsed in most people’s hearts by Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974), easily the most...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 14th, 2005
Virgin geek Virgil (Jay Michael Ferguson) sticks up for hot girl Kellie (Allison Lange) when a teacher rips into her for cheating on her history exam. Thankful for his bravery, Kellie invites Virgil over to her house to thank him.
If you haven’t guessed it by now, Sex and the Teenage Mind is a complete rehash of just about every teenage sex comedy ever made in the last 25 years. Even the red bikini featured on the DVD cover will have you screaming Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Ther...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 14th, 2005
Written by Clayton Self
The cult classic "Office Space" from creator Mike Judge (Bevis and Butthead) found a huge following on its initial release on DVD. The movie stars Ron Livingston as Peter Gibbons, a software analyst for the computer giant Initech. Fed up with his condescending boss (Gary Cole) and the frustrations of his job in general, he visits a hypno therapist who puts him in a state of well being and relaxation. The therapist dies of a heart attack before the procedure is complete, leaving Peter permanately care free. Peter ...
