Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2003
Well, this movie was a let down, and the DVD release is nothing special. Not one of Fox’s better efforts.
The Plot: The Order, disappointingly, turned out to be not much more than a Heath Ledger vehicle, apparently targeted at Goth teenage girls with vaguely Euro pretensions. Without letting out any spoilers, trust me when I say that you’ll be disappointed if you expect anything like what the trailer portrays. The trailer says implies that the Vatican is “..using a killer with supernatural powers to ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2003
I often wonder what would make a good actor star in a bad film. Of course, the true answer almost always involves money, but I still hold out the hope that there is a greater purpose behind these little thespian mysteries. Did the actor know ahead of time that it was going to be a bad film? Was it a risk that just didn’t pay off? Did he owe someone a favor? Just what exactly would cause an actor to put his career at risk for a paycheck?
Shadow Fury boasts Karate Kid’s Pat Morita on it’s front-...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2003
I hate to see great ideas go to waste. These days, it's rare that anyone ever has any new ideas in Hollywood. Everything has been done before, usually more than once. Sometimes concepts are adapted, and sometimes whole films are re-done… the most blatant slap in the face of creativity. When a film comes along that actually is original, I get excited. In fact, I'll even settle for a new twist on an old story. I get so tired of the same old thing, that even an ounce of creativity goes a long way with me.
It i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2003
The Pat Metheny Group is one of those bands that I have heard of, but that's about all. I seem to recall the name, but I couldn’t tell you what kind of music they play, or if they are any good. They seem to fall into the "miscellaneous information" bin of my brain.
After viewing this DVD, at least one of those questions has been answered. While I still have a problem defining their style of music (progressive/new age/jazz?), their level of musicianship cannot be denied. These are wonderfully talented musici...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2003
Generally speaking, I am not a fan of trendy relationship films. Cameron Crowe's Singles aside, they are just not my kind of thing. They typically embody too much neurosis and whining from the female characters, and either overly sensitive or overly dense men. Plot elements are rarely believable (the two main characters often bump into each other at some all-too-fortuitous locale), and I frequently leave the theater feeling as if I have been manipulated into believing the story would actually be possible if it...
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2003
While out on a romantic walk with your girlfriend, she's grabbed by a group of ghoulies. Now you've got to rescue her, not the most original storyline out there but it works for the type of game that this is. On your search-and-rescue mission, you take the role of a young boy named Cooper who needs to go to Ghoulhaven Hall, a haunted house to rescue the fair damsel. Pretty simple stuff.
Graphics
The game uses cel-shading graphics which create a comic type feel for it which works well for ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 11th, 2003
I don’t know what it is that makes men enjoy stupid comedies so much. Maybe it is our inner bully, lashing out at the weaknesses of those around us, and thus proving our superiority. Maybe it's because it's such a relaxing break from the stress of our busy working lives. Maybe it is because laughing at idiots makes us feel better about our own questionable level of intelligence. Whatever it is, it is clear that laughing at the ignorance of others is a basic male trait. There is a point, however, when the subject of o...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 11th, 2003
Based on a ride at Disneyland, you probably would not have expected much except for the fact that you have Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush cast as the leads. The Black Pearl is a mysterious pirate ship half old-wives-tale half ghost story. Geoffery Rush plays Captain Barbossa the captain of the Black Pearl he sails the seas in search of every last piece of cursed Aztec gold to try and free himself and his mates. Johnny Depp plays the roguish Captain Jack Sparrow (the acting for this part was based on Keith Richards) on...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2003
NASA's Gemini project is filled with some of the most overlooked missions of the early days of space flight. The previous Mercury missions had yielded the first American in space, and the following Apollo missions included the famous Apollo 11 moon landing, and the subsequent Apollo 13 near-disaster. The Gemini missions, however, were a crucial stepping stone in the process, which perfected the challenges of orbital mechanics as well as overcoming the limitations of working outside of the spacecraft.
This ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 9th, 2003
How quickly we forget our accomplishments. It was not long ago that the thought of sending a man into space was a far-fetched concept. The thought of landing a man on the moon was pure science fiction. Once the space race heated up, however, all boundaries were eclipsed. We succeeded in reaching the moon, and eventually space flight became a regular occurrence. It is easy to take for granted the miracles that were performed during the early days.
Thankfully, the folks at Spacecraft Films are here to remind ...
