David Annandale

About David Annandale

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Beyond Christmas

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2004

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Synopsis

Three philanthropic businessmen — the boisterous Irishman, the English Gent, and theOklahoman Grump — live together on Central Park South, tended to by exiled Russian countessMaria Ouspenskaya (best known today for her turn as Bela Lugosi’s mother in The WolfMan). One Christmas Eve, they experimentally toss wallets out into the snow to see if theyare returned. A young man (Richard Carlson) and a young woman (Jean Parker) turn up andunder the happy gaze of our lovea…
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Nightmare Boulevard

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2004

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Synopsis

A serial killer (whose methods, though gruesome, resemble in no way the atmospheric casefor this disc) is carving up women. Ron Perlman slowly investigates, but the main plot concernsignored housewife Claudia Christian. When her husband hares off again on another trip, she hasa torrid one-nighter with a pick-up at her tennis club. This is a bad move, since the toyboy is akiller, and he begins to stalk Christian Fatal Attraction-style, while the police begin tosuspect her hus…
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Wire — The Complete First Season, The

Posted in 1.33:1 Fullscreen, Box Set, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (French), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Spanish), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), DVD, HBO, Television by David Annandale on October 13th, 2004

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Synopsis

The setting is Baltimore, and the characters are on both sides of a battle between the cops anda drug-dealing ring. The narrative is that of one long mini-series, with the story spread over all 13episodes, rather than having self-contained units. The principles include Dominic West as thecop determined to bust the ring (though his reasons for wishing to do so are rather self-interested), and the prime target is Larry Gillard, Jr., a mid-level dealer who, after getting off a…
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Ghosts of Edendale, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004

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Synopsis

A young couple (Stephen Wastell and Paula Ficara) move from the East Coast to LA withdreams of writing screenplays. Their new house is on a hill that was once part of Tom Mix’sHollywood studio, and all their neighbours are in the movie business in one way or another.Ficara is recovering from a nervous breakdown, and when she begins to see ghosts, she assumes,at first, that she is having a relapse. But then Wastell not only becomes inhumanly productive,banging out a script i…
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In Praise of Older Women

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004

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Synopsis

Tom Berenger plays Andras Vayda, a young man growing up in post-war Hungary. He isboth precociously sexual and completely at sea with girls his own age, and at 16 becomes thelover of Karen Black. He then has a succession of older mistresses, including Susan Strasberg asa revolutionary in the heady days of the unsuccessful Hungarian uprising against the Communistsin the late 50s. He then moves to Canada, where his adventures continue.

The tale of sexual adventures pl…
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Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004

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Synopsis

Nick Broomfield’s first documentary about Aileen Wuornos is a mixture of media clips andinterviews Broomfield conducted with Wuornos and the major figures in her trial, notably heradoptive mother and her unbelievably sleazy and incompetent lawyer (his “Dr. Legal” ad markshim as the legal equivalent of Dr. Nick Riviera). Then there’s the issue of police corruption. Allin all, essential viewing, especially in conjunction with the later film (which shows that, at thevery least said la…
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One Eyed King

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004

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Synopsis

William Baldwin is the leader of a group of friends in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen area. Theyare all on the periphery of the crime world, and the local kingpin is Armand Assante (with a mostsinister scar on his cheek). Two of the five become involved in a scheme that has them passingincompetently counterfeited hundred-dollar bills, and Assante demands their lives. Baldwininvestigates the death of one of them, and gradually realizes the depth of the betrayal.

The plot is rathe…
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Three Faces of Eve, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2004

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Synopsis

Psychiatrist Lee J. Cobb is visited by Joanne Woodward and husband David Wayne. She ishaving spells during which she cannot remember what she gets up to. It turns out that she has amultiple personality disorder, and when repressed, demure housewife Eve White fades out ofthe picture, teasing minx Eve Black steps out. Hubby, who is neither the most sympathetic northe smartest cookie going, cannot understand what’s going on, but Cobb does his best to help.Woodward’s wife spira…
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Heartlands

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2004

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Synopsis

Michael Sheen plays Colin, a very ineffectual but well-meaning sort, who is obsessed bydarts and has a bored wife. When she takes off with the captain of Colin’s dart team, Colindecides to travel to Blackpool (“the Las Vegas of the North”) to win her back. He mounts hisscooter and heads off on a picaresque adventure, and each encounter he has along the way hasa transformative effect.

I confess, I had my reservations. The first act is set in what is rapidly becoming …
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War Room, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2004

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Synopsis

This is a fly-on-the-wall documentary that follows Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign fromDemocratic primaries to the White House. This piece also made stars of sorts out of campaignmanage James Carville and communications director George Stephanopoulos, with the formerbeing an especially larger-than-life character. There is no narration, and pretty good knowledgeof how the American political system works is helpful, not to mention a sharp memory of thecon…
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I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2004

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Synopsis

It’s 1964 and The Beatles are about to make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.Teenage girls are losing their minds. We focus on four (with two boys in tow) who head off toNew York to try to crash the show and meet the band. Our heroines are the Shrieking Fan, theWould-Be Photographer, the New-Fiancee-Who-Has-Other-Things-On-Her-Mind and theBeatles-Hater.

This was a bomb in 1978, perhaps because it wasn’t hugely different from the sort of thing…
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Breakin’ all the Rules

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 30th, 2004

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Synopsis

Dumped on the night he was to announce his engagement, Jamie Foxx turns his pain into abestselling breakup manual. When his cousin, Morris Chestnut, thinks his girlfriend GabrielleUnion is going to break up with him, Foxx is enlisted to help, which leads to a massive chainreaction of mistaken identities and misunderstandings.

The structure is clearly and consciously that of a classical farce. Though the film neverachieves the proper frenzy requires of a farc…
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You Bet Your Life — The Best Episodes

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 30th, 2004

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Synopsis

Groucho Marx hosted this popular game show for 14 years, and this set collects 18 episodes.The way the game works is as follows: a paired set of contestants comes out, and Grouchobanters with them, having fun with whatever way these people are unusual (and they frequentlyare). Then they are asked a series of questions. If they get four right, they win a thousand dollars,and have the opportunity to return at the end of the show to risk the money for a bigger pr…
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Track Down

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 30th, 2004

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Synopsis

Kevin Mitnick (Skeet Ulrich) is cyberoutlaw supreme, breaking into computer networksright, left and centre. The police are trying to catch him, but our hopelessly outclassed. Mitnickencounters an opponent more worthy of his talents when he hacks into the files of securityconsultant Tsutomu Shimomura (Russell Wong). The latter uses his own formidable computerskills to track Mitnick, but meanwhile Mitnick is busy trying to crack the encryption on one ofShimomura’s files, a pr…
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 27th, 2004

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Synopsis

Jim Carrey wakes up on Valentine’s Day in a funk. On the spur of the moment, he takes offto Montauk, where he meets Kate Winslet. Sparks fly, and a relationship seems about to be born.We suddenly flash back in time, and realize that, though they no longer remember it, these twohave previously had a relationship. When it collapsed, Winslet availed herself of the services ofLacuna, a company that erases unpleasant memories. Carrey has been removed from hermemory. Dist…
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Young Adam

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 27th, 2004

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Synopsis

Ewan McGregor and Peter Mullan are barge workers, and one morning they fish the corpseof a young woman out of the river Clyde. McGregor tries to put the body out of his mind byseducing Mullan’s wife, Tilda Swinton. We soon learn, however, that McGregor knows moreabout the body than he lets on: the dead woman’s name is Cathy, and she is an old girlfriend ofhis. In fact, he knows how she died, and he is even more disturbed when a man he knows to beinnocent is charged with mur…
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Alamo, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 26th, 2004

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Synopsis

Texas is in the middle of its revolution, beginning the break with Mexico. Santa Anna hasjust declared himself emperor, and is set on crushing the resulting rebellion. The crucialbattlefield is the Alamo, a former monastery, a hardly suitable for defense. Nevertheless, thatis where our band of heroes gather, including Davey Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), JamesBowie (Jason Patric) and Lt. Col. William Travis (Patrick Wilson). Personal animosities are setaside in the ensuing …
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Day After Tomorrow, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 26th, 2004

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Synopsis

Storms both freakish and intense devastate the planet. Climatologist Dennis Quaid realizesthat the world is on the brink of a sudden new ice age. As a freezing hurricane descends uponthe US, Quaid must struggle through the snow and killing cold to reach a crippled New YorkCity, where his son (Jake Gyllenhaal) is huddled with other survivors in the Public Library.

The science is preposterous rubbish from start to finish, the dialogue is laughable, and theplot…
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Ladykillers, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2004

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Synopsis

Into a sleepy town, and into the home of the formidable senior citizen Irma P. Hall comecriminal mastermind/Foghorn Leghorn impersonator Tom Hanks and his dastardly crew.Pretending to be musicians, the crooks use Hall’s basement to tunnel their way to a casino shipand a big heist. Their carefully laid plans naturally start going terribly awry thanks both to Halland to the incompetence of the gang.

The original Ladykillers is one of the greatest comedies every…
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My Name is Modesty

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2004

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Synopsis

An orphan who learned to survive in the cauldron of the war-torn Balkans, Modesty Blaise(Alexandra Staden) now runs a casino in Tangiers for kingping Mr. Louche. But her boss iskilled, and armed men invade the casino, taking Modesty and fellow employees hostage.Modesty plays for time by engaging the leader of the gang (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) in endlessrounds of roulette, with the prizes being the liberation of hostages versus the truth of herbackground.

This is an…
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Garfield – The Movie

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2004

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Synopsis

Garfield goes about his happy existence, scarfing lasagna, tormenting the neighbourhooddog, and taking advantage of fellow cat Nermal’s stupidity. Chaos arrives when Jon (BreckinMeyer), hoping to impress vet Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt) adopts Odie the dog. Garfield doesall he can to remove Odie from the home, but when Odie actually is kidnapped by an evil animalshow host, Garfield heads off to the city on a perilous rescue.

Other than Garfield’s look and an appropria…
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Felicity – Junior Year DVD Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2004

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Synopsis

Season Three is the junior year for Felicity, and her initial plans to move in with twogirlfriends take a turn when, on the spur of the moment, she rents a run-down apartment for herand Ben. Other storylines revolve around Richard’s sexuality (is he gay or just very shy?) andSean’s medical condition (which reaches a climax in the episode titled, with macabre humour,“One Ball, Two Strikes”).

In retrospect, what with the flood of box sets hitting the market, a series …
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Whacked!

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 23rd, 2004

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Synopsis

This is a tale of two adopted brothers. One (Paul Sampson) stayed home in Jersey, becominga hit man for the Mob. The other (Patrick Muldoon) tried to escape that life, and became anassassin for the CIA. When computer nerd Judge Reinhold discovers a crooked deal arrangedby a rogue CIA officer, a contract is taken out on his life, and Sampson gets the job. Reinholdruns to Muldoon for help, thus reuniting the brothers, who realize the Agency goon has beenmanipulating them. Now they fi…
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Lost Treasure

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 22nd, 2004

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Synopsis

An art-museum heist leads to the discovery of a map pointing the way to a treasure hiddenby Christopher Columbus. Two groups wind up on a remote island, racing each other and aferocious storm for the treasure. One group is a collection of criminals and crooked cops, eagerto kill our heroes in the second group (Stephen Baldwin, Nicolette Sheridan, and assorted comicrelief).

The director of this dead duck is supposedly someone named “Jay Andrews,” but withinmoments it is pa…
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Tess

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 21st, 2004

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Synopsis

The peasant father of Tess (Nastassja Kinski) discovers that their family is of noble descent,and, hoping to improve their fortunes, he sends Tess to work for a well-to-do family. Shebecomes a victim of the rakish son of the household. Abandoned, she eventually falls in lovewith parson’s son Peter Firth, but her past catches up with her.

As is typical of Thomas Hardy novels, the story is about a slow decline into misery anddeath. The intensity one associates with Po…
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