Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 12th, 2003
This is the story of Frida Kahlo, now recognized as one of Mexico’s greatest artists. Most particularly, the film is the story of her tempestuous love affair with fellow artist Diego Rivera --their loves, their clashes, their politics, their infidelities, their betrayals, and so on. So much attention is paid to this relationship that Kahlo’s art itself slips into the background, which is too bad. That said, this is a tremendously engaging film, with great performances all round.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Synopsis
Topper tells the tale of Cosmo Topper (Roland Young), a repressed, middle-aged banker,and his liberating encounter with the ghosts of Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. Grant andBennett, irresponsible socialites, die in a car accident without ever having done a good deed.They must make up for this before they can move on, and their good deed is to shake upTopper’s life. This is a gentle comedy, with fabulous character work from Young (who richlydeserved his Oscar nomination)...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Synopsis
This is essentially Twilight Zone or Outer Limits with a rock angle. There are four stories,each a mild horror tale. The format might be rather limiting, though there are some clever ideas.“Disco Inferno,” for instance, posits what hell would be like for headbangers. That’s a cutenotion, but is hard to sustain, even over 22 minutes.
Audio
No surprise that the music dominates the soundtrack, though even then it isn’t quite aspowerful as one might thi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Melina Mercouri plays Illia, a character who makes prostitution seem like a carefree Utopia.She lives in a version of Greece where there only appear to be 5 women, and they are all ladies of the night. Into this extraordinarily male fantasy comes Jules Dassin, a deluded American idealist who wants to save Illia from herself. Naturally, he doesn’t have a hope, and Greek enthusiasm (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding on steroids) will inevitably overcome his anti-fun attitudes. Obviously, the picture has dated quite noticeably, and makes Pretty Woman look like a gritty expose.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Eric Roberts, miles away from direct-to-video action fodder, plays Nick, a man in the terminal stages of AIDS. Over the opening credits, we see his long-term relationship with Gregory Harrison rise and disintegrate, and in the present, this relationship and its fallout will have a major role to play at Nick’s party. This party, the heart of the film, is an event he throws to say goodbye to all his friends and family. The story has added poignancy since this is based on an actual event.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
Synopsis
Fans of blue-collar/redneck humour are in for a treat here. Comics Ron White, Larry theCable Guy, Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy (in that order) perform their routines to a largeconcert hall audience, then team up for a comedy jam. Whether the humour works for you willdepend on your personal taste, of course, but there is some pretty funny material here.
Audio
Dolby 5.1 Surround is arguably overkill for a stand-up routine. Hell, mono would get the jo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
The topic for this documentary are the Shakers, more properly the “United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.” The Shakers weren’t around that long: they were celibate, which meant no offspring. However, as the film explores, that didn’t stop them from having a profound impact on American life (they were, for instance, feminist and anti-slavery well ahead of the game).
Audio
A mono soundtrack. Though it might have been nice to hear the Shaker songs in stereo, the sound is still very clean, and without distortion.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
A history and a meditation on the American Congress, both at the institutional and at the architectural level -- there are many beautiful shots of the Capitol, and the building becomes as much a character as any of the politicians who strode the stage within its walls. A fascinating documentary, enlivened not only with Burns’ usual fine use of period paintings and photographs,but also with film clips from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Advise and Consent.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
The film opens with Gary Busey (playing a blind man with the world’s biggest cane)investigating a vampire killing. An elaborate flashback then begins, telling us how a vampire came to be among us. Among American mercenaries in Afghanistan back in 1989 are Jack Frost and Nat McKenzie. The latter is bitten by a Russian vampire, and gradually begins to change,going over to the dark side. Frost eventually realizes him must hunt his best friend down. I’ll say this for the film: it is very ambitious on a very small budget, globe-hopping from Afghanistanto Mexico to the States, and is filled with combat and vampire CGI.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
Synopsis
The film is set during American Thanksgiving, and follows the holiday experience of fourseparate families. The effect is not unlike Robert Altman Lite, as all four families live in thesame neighbourhood, and sometimes cross paths, though these interfamily connections remaintangential. This is a vision of melting pot LA, with our families being Latino, Vietnamese,African-American and Jewish, each re-interpreting the WASP holiday through the prism of theirown experiences.
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