Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 31st, 2006
Synopsis
Sarah Miles is the spoiled young daughter of Leo McKern. In the troubled Ireland of 1916, she falls in love with, and marries, middle-aged schoolteacher Robert Mitchum. Their marriage hits troubled waters when she begins a passionate affair with a young English officer, which is a politically delicate move, to say the least.
Ach and begorra, but ‘tis a wee long, the story is, to be sure. This simple love triangle is stretched out over a mind-boggling 206 minutes. Everything is Oiri...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 30th, 2006
Synopsis
Summarizing this puppy is a bit of a challenge. But here goes: a nameless young woman (Samara Golden) moves into a dingy apartment located in the middle of an urban hellscape. The place is a mess, with the previous owner’s possessions scattered everywhere. There are plenty of messages on this guy’s answering machine, too, some plenty aggressive (and these messages are the only dialogue in the film). Is the man still alive, and watching her from the ventilation duct? Has she killed him? How m...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 25th, 2006
Synopsis
The second season begins with the aftermath of the apparent demise of Lex Luthor (John Shea). His ex-wife picks up the slack in trying to eliminate Superman (Dean Cain) and Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher). Luthor himself comes back in Episode 13. Meanwhile, such classic comic book characters as Metallo make their appearance, and the odd triangle romance between Lois, Clark and Superman continues its tantalizing way.
This is a much more light-hearted approach to Superman than the rather mo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 16th, 2005
Synopsis
The oppressive Parliament controls human civilization, willing to engage in any atrocity for the sake of a dubious greater good. A teenage girl, developed as a psychic super-weapon and traumatized by some mysterious event, is broken out of Parliament custody by her brother, and the two become part of the fractious crew of the mercenary ship Serenity. This crew is made up of veterans of independent colonies who fought in an unsuccessful war against the Parliament. Captain Malcolm Reynolds is ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Subtitled “The Best of the Tony Awards,” this is a collection of 23 performances from the Awards show broadcasts. The net is cast pretty wide here as far as the years are concerned, so you get to see a young Jerry Orbach (for instance) performing “Promise, Promises” from 42nd Street. Carol Channing, Robert Goulet, Tommy Tune and Harvey Fierstein are the hosts. Fans of musical theatre should expect miracles here, but this is of considerable archival interest.
Audio
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 16th, 2005
Viva La Merte (1970) was surrealist playwright and all-around provocateur Fernando Arrabal's feature film debut. Set during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, this is the deeply autobiographical (no matter how bizarrely presented) story of the a young boy whose father was betrayed by his mother to the security forces of the Fascist General Franco. Oedipal nightmares, extreme violence and brutal eroticism are present in force.These elements are present in the other two films as well. I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse (1973) has a man suspected of killing his mother flee into the desert, where he falls in love with a holy man, and when the two return to society, our hero is disgusted by what he finds.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 31st, 2005
The Mother Superior of a medieval convent is tormented by visions. Torn by her own desires, she sees herself confronted by Mary Magdalen on a throne with a demon by her side. Magdalen challenges the nun's beliefs that sex is bad, but this notion is reinforced by another vision, this one of a skeleton in nun's habit. The poor nun's torment is compounded by other visions of all sorts of carnal hell breaking loose.This is a real oddity. The writer/director is Nigel Wingrove, who, the case informs us, is the founder of Redemption Films.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 28th, 2005
Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney are a couple whose marriage appears to be reaching its end. They travel through France, which was the scene of so many other memories, and they (and we) experience, through interlocking flashbacks, the history of their relationship.From the moment the animated credit sequence and Henry Mancini score begin, one is clearly watching a Stanley Donen film from the peak of his career (the presence of Hepburn is yet another reminder of Charade from just a couple of years prior).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 27th, 2005
George Montgomery plays the lead trumpet for the "Gene Morrison Band" (the Glen Miller Band). As they set out on tour, he falls in love with, and marries, audience member and big fan Ann Rutherford, much to the displeasure of Lynn Bari. The film then uses the tensions between the various significant others during the tour to cobble together a plot that connects the various musical numbers.From the point of view of plot and character, this is nothing to write home about. But as a record of one of the greats of the Big Band era in action, it is a valuable document, and certainly manages to entertain, if not much else.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 3rd, 2005
Synopsis
The son of Seth Brundle, the unfortunate man-fly, is born with his mixture of human and fly DNA. He turns out to be uncannily brilliant, but also reaches adulthood (played by Eric Stoltz) in only five years. He grows up in the Bartok Industries facility, and is asked to carry on his father’s work. Inevitably, the fly genes make themselves felt, and he begins to transform, and love interest Daphne Zuniga wants to save him.
The director is Chris Walas, who handled the makeup FX in th...
