Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 28th, 2003
Synopsis
Mandy Moore plays Halley, a teen having a rough year. Her parents have just gottendivorced, and her DJ father (Peter Gallagher) is about to marry a weather bimbo. Her best friendhas suddenly fallen in love, her sister is getting married, and she feels very alone. Enter theexaggeratedly cute Trent Ford, who slowly will turn Halley’s cynical heart around. Though everyconceivable teen trauma is bundled into the plot, solid performances, a more mature look at teensexuali...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Sean Young and Richard Lewis, two penniless Americans in Rome, meet when they bothhappen upon a dachshund for whom a large reward is posted. They make their way to MonteCarlo to return the dog and collect the reward, but arrive to discover the dog’s owner murdered.They become prime suspects. So do James Belushi, Cybil Shepherd, John Candy and GeorgeHamilton as the various characters cross paths with each other in hotels and casinos. There’s a lotof energy being expen...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 26th, 2003
Synopsis
The pathologically shy Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) lives a life from Hell. His mother isa domineering invalid. (Played by Jackie Burroughs as the most horrific mother since AnneRamsey in Throw Mama from the Train, she resembles nothing so much as NormanBates’ stuffed mother come to life.) His boss (R. Lee Ermey) is an abusive bully. But thenWillard befriends the white rat Socrates, and things begin to look up. Socrates brings more andmore friends into the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 25th, 2003
Synopsis
Ex-Lance Corporal Goerge Moran (Peter Weller) has a fairly comfortable life, if you leaveaside his disturbing dreams of his part in the military intervention in the Dominican Republic in1965. He has a slightly run-down beachfront hotel, and he takes it easy. His past won’t leave himalone, however. Not only does he make a return trip to the Dominican Republic, he renews hisrelationship with Kelly McGillis, wife of a former Dominian strongman. This brutal character isa...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 23rd, 2003
Synopsis
In a lush Hawaiian resort, someone is killing off strippers and nude models. Security officerTraci Bingham investigates. You don’t really care about the plot, do you? Because no oneinvolved with this film did. The lackluster investigation fills in time between numbingly dullsoftcore couplings. Bad Bizness even has the nerve to recycle at least one sex scene fromFinal Examination, never mind that it has nothing to do with anything. Fred Olen Raydirected ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 23rd, 2003
Synopsis
Uma Thurman plays Laura, a young woman who picks older men, drugs them, and robsthem. Her little schemes go awry, however, when she starts being stalked. There is more,involving a relationship with a loser played by Paul (brother of Matt) Dillon, but none of it isinteresting. Deeply, deeply dull.
Audio
The sound is, apparently, 2.0 stereo, but it certainly isn’t surround. What it sounds like isextremely muzzy mono. The music is muddy and unex...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 22nd, 2003
Synopsis
In contemporary New York City, a young man named Edge breaks into an old woman’sapartment. Far from helpless, she wallops him and, at gunpoint, forces him to listen to her tale.She wants him to bury her where she was born. Her story is of two brothers at the start of the 20thCentury: the violent Luke (David Wenham) and the religious Elijah (Joseph Fiennes). A fightover a woman leads Luke to leave the States, and he winds up in Macedonia, a member of aviolent gang of ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 21st, 2003
Synopsis
Ben Affleck plays the title character, a none-too-bright mob goon ordered to kidnap theautistic son of a federal prosecutor. Jennifer Lopez is the considerably brighter and lesbian mobenforcer ordered to team up with Gigli to make sure nothing goes wrong. Sound like a promisingset up for a romantic comedy? Apparently, the movie doesn’t think so either, as it doesn’t playlike a romantic comedy. In fact, the film doesn’t seem to have to the faintest idea as to what the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 21st, 2003
Synopsis
A British agent is killed trying to get information back to England, information that mightconfirm or refute the presence of a Russian nuclear missile at a particular location in EastGermany. The British Secret Service, operating on a budget, decides to recruit a Polish civilian,offering him asylum if he will travel to East Germany to find out in person if the missile is thereor not. Much of the film is taken up by his training. Our hero is extremely cynical, and the o...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 21st, 2003
Synopsis
Pauly Shore is a lazy, terminal loser who needs to find a home while his parents are offgetting married. Summoned for jury duty, he seeks out the trial that will last the longest andinvolve sequestering. He lands the trial of “the Drive-Thru Killer.” Also on the jury are hisformer principal and lust-interest Tia Carrere. Let me put it this way: Schindler’s List isfunnier.
Audio
The soundtrack is clear enough, but limited to 2.0 (get th...
