Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 4th, 2005
Synopsis
You don’t really care about the plot, do you? Gordon MacRae is romancing famr girl Shirley Jones, but thuggish Rod Steiger also has designs on her. And so on. But it’s the songs that matter: “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “The Surrey with the Fringe On Top,” “I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No.” And one could go on for much longer. The list is of tunes that one is familiar with without even knowing it, so completely have they permeated the mass consciousness. Fred Zinnemann’s film is handsome...and energetic without placing it in the same league as Singin’ in the Rain, and one might suspect that there is a touch too much attention paid to the technical, spectacle side of things, something that is reflected in the extras, but more on that below.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 3rd, 2005
Synopsis
Jennifer (Cheryl Dent) has just been released from a mental institution where she was incarcerated after a psychotic episode during which she clawed out the eyes of her co-star during the shooting of a porn flick. After being waylaid in the desert by a couple of thugs, she is rescued by a group of flower children, who soon turn out to be more dangerous yet. They head to house with a bad reputation, and then the murderous hippies start being killed off one by one. By Jennifer, or by something...else?
Posted in: 2.35:1 Widescreen, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), DVD, Horror, Universal by Archive Authors on November 2nd, 2005
Synopsis
The orphanage school of Saint Ange in the French Alps is forced to close in the wake of the death of one of its students. The only people left behind are the cook, a disturbed young woman who has been there since she was a child, and the newly arrived Virginie Ledoyen, who has been hired to clean the place, but is on the run from her own past, trying to conceal an already quite advanced pregnancy. Ledoyen hasn’t been there long when she becomes aware of other presences in the school – “the s...ary children” – and she starts to investigate the school’s dark past.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on November 1st, 2005
Universal Home Entertainment will release the recent Sci-Fi film Serenity on December 20th. This disc will be presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with English & French Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks. Extras will include an audio commentary (by writer/director Joss Whedon), a director's introduction, deleted scenes, outtakes, and three featurette ("Future History: The Story of Earth That Was," "What's in a Firefly" & "Re-Lighting the Firefly").
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2005
The Girl in the Café is an interesting idea for a movie. It’s a blend of romantic comedy with a political agenda. The film doesn’t really work, but it’s nice to see something different. The romantic pair is played by Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald. Both are fine actors, and they have an awkward, engaging chemistry. Nighy plays a lonely civil servant and MacDonald plays a damn sexy woman. They “meet cute” in, you guessed it, a café, and they end up going to the G8 summit in Iceland (go figure). The scri...t is written by Richard Curtis (of Love Actually). Curtis seems to have a flair for the unconventional in his scripts. He doesn’t quite pull off the last act, but (for most of the ride) The Girl in the Café is worth a look.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2005
I love it when a DVD as advertised as a “hit series” on the back of the box, yet I have never even heard of it. Granted, I am not this product's target market, but you would still think that I would have at least come across the title of this show somewhere. I am familiar with all of the products advertised on this disc, so I know I am not completely out of the loop.
This show tells the adventures of Lopaka, a boy who has made friends with a dolphin with the original (?) name of “Flipper”. It seems that Flipp...r has somehow taught his earth-bound buddy how to live and breathe underwater. Now, I know this is a cartoon, and it is supposed to fanciful, but come on! I am all for teaching kids to think outside the box, but I don't know of anybody who can “learn” to breathe underwater. Yo have to have a strong command of reality to live outside the box.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2005
I love it when a DVD as advertised as a “hit series” on the back of the box, yet I have never even heard of it. Granted, I am not this product's target market, but you would still think that I would have at least come across the title of this show somewhere. I am familiar with all of the products advertised on this disc, so I know I am not completely out of the loop.
This show tells the adventures of Lopaka, a boy who has made friends with a dolphin with the original (?) name of “Flipper”. It seems that Flipp...r has somehow taught his earth-bound buddy how to live and breathe underwater. Now, I know this is a cartoon, and it is supposed to fanciful, but come on! I am all for teaching kids to think outside the box, but I don't know of anybody who can “learn” to breathe underwater. Yo have to have a strong command of reality to live outside the box.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2005
Synopsis
Wow, take a look at the vocal talent that lends a hand to this straight-to-video sequel! As Lilo, you’ve got that child actress next to be exploited by her parents in Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds). Lilo’s custodian is Nani (Tia Carrere, Wayne’s World). Stitch’s alien friends are voiced by David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H*) and Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall). Jason Scott Lee (Dragon) plays Nani’s love interest David.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2005
Synopsis
In between the other new stuff that’s come out (and the older stuff I’ve picked up), I wanted to try and whittle down the archives, so huzzah for small victories.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2005
Synopsis
Wow, take a look at the vocal talent that lends a hand to this straight-to-video sequel! As Lilo, you’ve got that child actress next to be exploited by her parents in Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds). Lilo’s custodian is Nani (Tia Carrere, Wayne’s World). Stitch’s alien friends are voiced by David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H*) and Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall). Jason Scott Lee (Dragon) plays Nani’s love interest David.
