Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2005
The Godfather Part II is, quite simply, one of the best films of all time. Personally, I would actually place it above it's predecessor, the original Godfather film, though both won Academy Awards for Best Picture. Part II, however, gave us not only Al Pacino in a genre-defining role, but also the young days of the original Godfather, played brilliantly by Robert De Niro, who impressively treads the line between believability and farce that is so fine with an actor like Marlin Brando.
In fact, i... is not only Al Pacino's acting that defines the gangster genre, but just about everything about this film, from the cinematography to the dialog. After the original film was released, every classic period piece for the next 35 years had to have that same golden look. The acting, the romantic storylines, and the cinematography re all first-rate. This is a classic film that deserves to be on every film fan's top 5 list and DVD shelf.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2005
This Showtime version of John Knowles' A Separate Peace will bring joy to high school teachers everywhere. Finally, there is a quality movie version to show in English class. Peace is usually mandatory reading in high school (I know I read it), and follows the story of Gene and Finny. Their prep school relationship is ambiguous, and character motivations are a little more complex in the novel (dare I say...a little more provocative?). But, at its core, the novel and this adaptation is a coming of ag... tale. On the brink of World War II, prep school boys are coming to terms with growing adulthood. The private school "feel" is just right, and the director (Peter Yates) is an old vet. He directed Steve McQueen in Bullitt for crying out loud. Yates also directed the masterful film The Dresser, guiding great peformances by Albert Finney and Tom Courtney. Yates direction here is graceful. He gets excellent performances from his cast.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2005
Swimming Upstream is one of those "small" sports underdog films. It's a true story about Aussie Tony Fingleton, a swimmer who vies to be National champion. Is he racing against all odds? Well...the odds are in the form of family. Geoffrey Rush plays Fingleton's father, an abusive alcholic. So...not only is Fingleton trying to achieve athletic glory, but also trying to win the heart of his father. This is a paint by numbers sports story. The performances are the saving grace, however. Rush, Jesse Spencer ...playing the swimmer), and the always wonderful Judy Davis are all excellent.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2005
Lindsay Lohan plays sassy Nancy Drew wanna be Lexy Gold. When one of her teachers goes missing (played by Ian Gomez), Lexy enlists her "hip" friends to help her crack the case. Another vehicle for Lohan. It's a little boring, and the mystery plays out on the level of a Saved By the Bell episode. The point of the movie is to point out they sassiness of Lohan. She's sooo hip. Like...totally.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2005
The Parent Trap is a remake of the Hayley Mills classic. It stars none other than Lindsday Lohan. She's actually pretty good here. In a pre-sex appeal role, Lohan plays two twins who have never met, but then do. They concoct a plan to switch identies on their respective divorced parents. Lohan pulls off both twin personalities quite well. The movie also stars the always reliable Dennis Quaid and the extremely talented Natasha Richardson. It might be fun for kids, and Lohan fans, but this is NOT a case of...the remake being better than the original. It's an okay movie, and way too long.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 5th, 2005
Synopsis
Without a doubt, Bob Hope was one of (if not) the best comedic actors of his era. During a time after Charlie Chaplin had peaked in silent films, Hope picked up the comedic torch, and during a time where actors consistently appeared in 3-5 films a year, and an early recognizable title was 1940’s Road to Singapore, the first of several Road To films with him and friends Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 2nd, 2005
Man on Fire is a stylish thriller with excellent performances at the heart. Denzel Washington plays Creasey, an ex CIA/assassin who is too tired of the killing. Now out of the game, Creasey sticks to drinking in Mexico City. Enter Rayburn, an old buddy (played by the wonderful Christopher Walken). He has a potential job for the down and out Creasey. A string of abductions and kidnappings in the city (Mexico City is the real life kidnap capital of the world) forces a young industrialist (Marc Anthony)and h...s wife (Radha Mitchell)to hire Creasy as a bodyguard for their 10 year old daughter Pita (played by Dakota Fanning). Well...let's just say...the bodyguarding doesn't go too well. And Creasey needs to find Pita before it's too late.
Man on Fire is directed by Tony Scott. Scott is a stylist, and the movie definitely has stylistic excess. But this is the man who invented stylistic excess with Top Gun. But Scott is more successful when he has great actors to inhabit his stylish canvas, True Romance and Crimson Tide are great examples. Scott has become more "modern" with his use of jump cuts and freaky camera angles. It's a dizzying experience, but thankfully this over the top effort is fleshed out by the excellent performances of Denzel and Dakota Fanning (she will be a star one day). The movie is way too long (2 and a half hours for a genre thriller??). But the peformances and the script (by Mystic River's Brian Helgeland) hold Scott's over direction in check.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 31st, 2005
We now have the full I, Robot experience with this new “All Access Collector’s Edition”. We have more a lot more supplements but, unfortunately, the movie is not improved. It’s still a fun couple of hours though. I, Robot follows the story of Will Smith (and his character name, if that matters, is Detective Spooner) as he tries to solve the murder of a robotics scientist (James Cromwell). Smith must overcome his prejudice against robots, as he tries to solve the case.
There are a lot of “c...ol” scenes, and I really enjoyed the universe created by Alex Proyas. One of Proyas’ previous films, Dark City, is a startling work of imagination. The special effects are very modern, but the story is as creaky as an old rocking chair. We’ve seen all this before: the chases, the one note characterizations, the one-liners, the Will Smith-ism. This is ain’t Bad Boys. The movie is caught between an intelligent futuristic tale and a Will Smith vehicle. The two cancel each other out. What’s left is a watered down film that’s only “suggested” by Isaac Asimov’s original work. Fans didn’t seem to mind though. The excellent box office summer receipts proved that Will Smith is still a force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed I, Robot, but I took it for what it was…and not as it should be.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on May 31st, 2005
On March 30th, Universal will release the 25th Anniversary Edition of the John Belushi &Dan Aykroyd film The Blues Brothers. This disc will include the theatrical version (2:13) as well as an expanded edition (2:28) of the film, both presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers along with English Dolby Digital 5.1 (Extended) & English Dolby Digital 2.0 (Theatrical) audio tracks. Extras will include an introduction by Dan Aykroyd, a Behind-the-Scenes Documentary, Concert Footage and more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2005
Guilt’s a bitch. It can drive you down the road to insanity, and turn your life upside-down. The Machinist is an interesting story that leaves you guessing right until the end. The story moves a little slow, but the performances are impressive and the cumulative tale is well done. Watching Christian Bale portray lead character Trevor Reznik is both impressive and disturbing. Bale looks like a shell of himself; shedding an astounding 63 pounds to play this role. Bale is so thin that you can see every rib ...nd every vertebra of his spine. Comparing his appearance in this film to his role in American Psycho will blow you away.
The story of The Machinist centers around the progressively dwindling life of Trevor Reznik (Bale). Resnik is an insomniac who claims to have not slept in a full year. He works in a machine shop, has a hooker that he regulars, and nightly visits the same waitress at an airport-based coffee shop. Everyday brings with it a new paranoia. When he mysteriously finds a “hangman” sticky-note on his refrigerator, Resnik starts a journey to discover who is playing this sick game with him, or if it is just his sleep-starved mind playing tricks on him. A hallucination of a mysterious co-worker causing a workplace accident drives Resnik to evaluate everyone around him. The more he digs, the more crazy everything seems… it is real, or is it all in his head?
