Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 4th, 2005
Synopsis
Teenage rites of passage during the summer vacation at the beach. The protagonist is a quiet, decent sort, but his close friend is a domineering alpha male who bullies everyone around him into doing whatever he wants. He is clearly pulling his companions toward serious trouble. The story builds to one night when the boys use each other’s homes as alibies: they are supposed to be having a sleepover, but in fact are out looking for girls. Things go wrong.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 3rd, 2005
Synopsis
A silent pimp (the only words he speaks – a couple of brief sentences late in the film – are also the last words spoken in the film) sees a young college girl and instantly falls obsessively in love. When she humiliates him after rejecting his crude advances, he arranges events to drive her into debt and legal problems, and from there into prostitution. He watches her in the brothel every night through a two-way mirror, as she descends further and further into the degradation of this world.< ...p>
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on July 1st, 2005
Buena Vista Home Entertainment will release The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy on September 13th. This disc will be presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with THX-certified DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks. Extras will include two audio commentaries (the first with Executive Producer Robbie Stamp and Douglas Adams colleague Sean Solle; the second with Director Garth Jennings, Producer Nick Goldsmith and Actors Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy), a making of documentary, an extra ...ntry from the "Guidebook" seen in the film, deleted scenes (including fake deleted scenes), a "So Long & Thanks For All The Fish" sing along, and a Hangman word game.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on June 29th, 2005
Paramount Home Entertainment will release the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard (starring Adam Sandler & Chris Rock) on September 20th. This disc will be presented in an anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras will include an Audio Commentary (by Director Peter Segal), Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes, an "Errtime" Music Video by Nelly, a Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, and a collection of tTrailers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 27th, 2005
Gone in 60 Seconds is a guilty pleasure - its vacuous and superficial, full of typical Hollywood produced "guy-movie" cues. Cars, guns, explosions, anti-heros, and Angelina Jolie abound, as well as comically evil villains, comically thin plot devices, and comically honourable car thieves. All that being said, though, the movie is great for what it is - a typical Bruckheimer celebration of over-the-top action. Its fun to get lost in the action, and director Dominic Sena imparts a great sense of ...ace (which he failed to carry over into 2001's Swordfish), keeping the tension level-high, the action front & centre, and the cars at full throttle. There's also some real funny moments too - the "Brick House" rendition at the police impound lot makes me cackle like a hyena every time.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 27th, 2005
Staying Together is one of those small town family stories. Growing up is hard, especially when you own a chicken restaurant. Dad, unfortunately, gives in to "big business", and sells his restaurant to a chain franchise. This sale puts the family into turmoil and makes the family members reevaluate their relationships with each other. The brothers of the McDermott family are featured most prominently. The three brothers, in typical movie fashion, are distinctly different. Dermot Mulroney plays Kit, the ro...antic brother, Tim Quill plays Brian, the hot-tempered one, and Sean Astin (Sam from Lord of the Rings) plays Duncan, the goofball. The film is rounded out by some good character actresses like Stockard Channing and Melinda Dillon. Unfortunately, the script by Monte Merrick is riddled with cliches and gives us everything we expect. The film is directed by Oscar winning actress Lee Grant, but her tone is dead serious. She plays the material without a hint of irony. Staying Together is like Mystic Pizza without the charm.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 26th, 2005
Synopsis
If anything, the third part of the Godfather series of films is symbolic of when too many sequels are greenlighted, and consequently, the film is doomed to fail. More often than not, the reason why these films crash and burn are because of major studios acting like Adelphia executives and wanting more money, and in using the previous films’ successes as leverage, they lose sight of things like quality. It’s happened to other trilogies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2005
The First Amendment Project is a collection of 3 short documentary films which deal with the theme of “freedom of speech”. The first film, and the best one, is “Fox vs. Franken”. Comedy writer, left wing activist, and Stuart Smalley himself (you know…“You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you”), Al Franken, is the target of a lawsuit filed by Fox News. The documentary follows the lawsuit, and it reveals two important things: Franken is still a funny guy and Fox is an idiotic ...rganization. “Poetic License”, directed by Mario Van Peebles, is a short documentary about the Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka. Interviews include the pros and cons on the work of this controversial artist. “Some Assembly Required” follows the story of a group of protesters at the 2004 Republican National Convention. An interesting premise, but the documentary doesn’t really deliver on the dramatic potential.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 24th, 2005
What happens after a physics student works on the Manhattan Project? Well, at least for this person, he becomes the most influential recording engineer in music history. This man is Tom Dowd. In Mark Moorman's fascinating documentary, Tom Dowd and the Language of Music, we are taken through the development of modern music through one of its most famous guides. The film is a mixture of interviews with Tom Dowd, as he also takes us to various biographical and musical locales in New York cities, and testament... from the musical acts he worked with. The people Dowd worked with is a who's who of musical icons: Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Otis Redding, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, Aretha Franklin, and the list goes on. Quite a list, quite a film.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2005
Only could Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the (gulp) geniuses behind South Park, could come up such a wildly crazy (and funny) film such as Team America: World Police. What is so wild about this film you ask? Well, the actors are marionette puppets, every other word is an f-sharp, and almost every big Hollywood actor is portrayed negatively. And what is wrong with this? Absolutely nothing. This film will not be for everyone, but for the loyal fans of South Park, this film is pure bliss. Not o...ly do you get the vulgarity that Parker & Stone are known for, you get it stepped up 10 notches. Who would have thought that puppets could be so entertaining?
There are so many funny, off-the-wall elements/scenes that are brought to light in this film, but here my favorites…
