Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 17th, 2006
Synopsis
Untroubled by charisma, Jimmy Kimmel hosts this concertedly nasty roast of Pamela Anderson. The roasters include Tommy Lee, Adam Carolla, Sarah Silverman, Andy Dick, Bea Arthur, and Courtney Love. They all mangle each other as well as the guest of honour. So many jokes involve Anderson’s breasts and Lee’s penis that the they get rather boring (scratch that: EXTREMELY boring), but there are a few very funny bits. The highlight is Bea Arthur’s reading of Anderson’s novel Star. Arthur’s ...elivery, her constant disbelieving looks directed at the “author,” and the riotously awful prose itself make sitting through the more predictable moments worthwhile. Notable too is the spectacularly off-kilter Love. That woman needs help.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2006
Synopsis
Audrey Hepburn is Holly Golightly, a young woman to her name born. Flighty, hopping from party to party, she waits for her life to match her ideal. Into her apartment moves writer George Peppard, who is certainly not the millionaire our heroine imagines will sweep her off her feet. Peppard himself is a kept man, and his keeper is Patricia Neal. Peppard does have a more realistic view of how life works, in the long run, and that is a lesson that Hepburn must learn before romance can follow it... natural course.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 14th, 2006
Synopsis
Fred Astaire plays wealthy businessman and inveterate bachelor. On trip to France, his car goes into a ditch. Seeking help in a nearby orphanage, he catches sight of the vivacious Leslie Caron. Captivated by her joie de vivre, he arranges for her to receive a full scholarship and education in the states, and watches from the safety of anonymity as she flourishes. But then, whoops, he begins to fall in love with her.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Jane Fonda plays Lilliam Hellman. She is living in a beach house with Dashiel Hammett (Jason Robards), struggling with a play (The Children’s Hour, though the film is ridiculously coy about mentioning its title). She is also worried about her childhood friend Julia (Vanessa Redgrave), who is caught up in the struggle with the rising tide of fascism in 1930s Europe. Hellman loses contact with Julia, but on a trip to Europe in the wake of her play’s success, she is contacted by friends ...f Julia’s, asking her to take on the risky job of transporting bribes to Hitler’s Berlin.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 10th, 2006
Synopsis
These are the adventures of the Legacy (whose front is the Luna Foundation), a secret society dedicated to protecting humanity from the forces of darkness. And wouldn’t you know it, those pesky forces are present around every corner in the form of somewhat ramshackle special effects. The leader of the group lost his father to demons as a child, and now carries on the good fight. Every episode sees the group up against another nasty ghost or other supernatural force. Points must be given for ...heer creativity, even if the explanations as to what the nasty creatures are all about stretch credulity, even by the often flexible terms of the genre. If you can insert your tongue firmly into your cheek (necessary to put up with much of the dour and portentous dialogue), you might find some cornball entertainment here. And no, the series has nothing to do with the movies, other than the title.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 9th, 2006
Synopsis
FBI trainee and psychic Caterina Scorsone is suddenly graduated because her abilities are needed on a missing person case, and so begins her partnership with borderline rogue FBI agent Vivica A. Fox. And there’s the premise set up: each episode, someone else is missing, and CSI meets the X-Files, but with none of the panache of either show. The dialogue is pseudo-hard boiled, and Fox is no more an federal agent than I am the Pope (I highly doubt those stiletto-heeled, snakeskin boots are eit...er regulation or practical). The show is competently put together, but flat and uninspiring, the investigation feeling like tired motions being gone through. If the premise grabs you, you might find a modicum of entertainment here, but that’s about it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Though they span a mere five years of his career, these are some of Cary Grant’s best films. They are also among the directors’ best films. Viewers wanting to see comedy from Hollywood’s Gold Age at its best and most sophisticated will be amply rewarded by spending a few evenings with this collection.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 4th, 2006
Synopsis
Nine people are kidnapped and imprisoned inside a huge mansion. A voice informs them that only one of them will leave this place alive. That person will win five million dollars. But meanwhile, the owner of the voice will enjoy watching them kill each other. Present are a young dancer, a priest (Dennis Hopper, of all people), a cynical French music composer and his wife, a gay fashion designer, a runaway, a glamorous former tennis star, a cop, and a resentful rapper. The mix gets volatile ri...ht away, and their captor is in for plenty of entertainment via his innumerable cameras.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 2nd, 2006
Synopsis
Blair Underwood plays Bob Richardson, who moves from Alabama to California with his brother and parents. The African-Amercian family has high hopes of finding a new land of opportunity, but racism and poverty are just as prevalent here. Richardson becomes a reporter, and he is on the scene for the Watts riots of 1965. Families and friends are torn apart in that violence, but his reporting is a landmark work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Danny Glover is a Sergeant in a cavalry regiment of African-American soldiers. He and his men are tasked with tracking down Apache leader Victorio, who has proven himself to be a brilliant and dangerous fighter. This mission would be difficult enough, but there is also the deep prejudice of the white commanding officers to deal with.
