Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Christine (Nancy Kelly) has a wonderful husband (William Hopper) and a perfect little girlin Rhoda (Patty McCormack). But when hubby is sent off to Washington for several weeks andChristine must hold the fort, her lovely little life cracks apart. During a school picnic, one ofRhoda’s classmates drowns. He had been the recipient of Rhoda’s anger, since he won apenmanship award she felt was rightfully hers. It doesn’t take long before Christine realizes thatthe death was not ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
Village of the Damned (1960) is the best of the films based on the novels of JohnWyndham (in this case the sources is The Midwich Cuckoos. At 11 o’clock onemorning, every living thing in Midwich falls asleep. Hours later, all awake, apparently none theworse. But shortly thereafter, it turns out that every woman capable of bearing children ispregnant. When the babies are born, they are all blond, eerily similar, and possessed offrightening intelligence and powe...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
By 1948, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s film career was in the doldrums. It was revived inthis year by an inspired melding of genres: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Moreon the importance of this film a bit later on. For now, its premise sees Bud and Lou asdeliverymen who unknowingly help bring Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and the Frankenstein Monster(Glenn Strange) into the States. Hot on the heels of the monsters, determined to destroy Dracula,is Larry Talbot (Lon C...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
The exploration vessel Palomino discovers the gigantic, long-lost Cygnus orbiting aroundthe edge of a massive black hole. Boarding the Cygnus after the Palomino suffers some damage,the crew discovers that the only human left aboard the Cygnus is the megalomaniacal MaximilianSchell. Aided by his army of robots, he is preparing to plunge into the black hole, and he willsacrifice anything and anyone to complete his goal.
On the positive side, the production design is m...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 1st, 2004
Synopsis
Anne Hathaway plays 15-year-old (yeah, right) Mia, whose life is a gawky teenagenightmare. Then her life is turned upside down by the arrival in San Francisco of hergrandmother (Julie Andrews), who is queen of the mythical country of Genovia, and she needsMia to shoulder her responsibilities as heir to the throne, or Genovia will cease to exist. Miaundergoes a radical make-over, and clumsily fumbles her way through lessons on how to be aprincess.
You have to wonde...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 31st, 2004
Synopsis
This is a tale of the next generation of Musketeers (can we hear Alexandre Dumas spinningin his grave?). France and Spain are at war, and things are not going well for the French. Youngking Louis XIV is not mature enough to take on his responsibilities, and he is being manipulatedby Cardinal Mazarin (an incomprehensible Gérard Depardieu). Valentine (Susie Amy), daughterof D’Artagnan (Michael York) takes up her father’s sword to fight for the king and Franceagainst corruptio...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 31st, 2004
Synopsis
Desmond Harrington plays Kenneth, a terminally shy, socially inept technical writer. Lonelybeyond words and attracted to temp Lisa (Melissa Sagemiller) but unable even to speak to her, heorders a $10,000.00 love doll. After some initial awkwardness, he develops a full-fledgedrelationship with doll Nikki, one that gives him more confidence at work and with Lisa. But evenas he begins a real-life relationship, things begin to fall apart, as he senses that the doll isbecoming j...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 30th, 2004
Synopsis
When Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos are emotionally devastated by the loss oftheir eight-year-old son Adam, scientist Robert De Niro approaches them with an alarmingproposition: he offers to clone Adam, so that they might have him again. While Kinnear isdoubtful, he eventually capitulates, and the operation is performed. Things go very well for thefirst eight years of the new Adam’s life. Then he begins to change, as if being taken over by ademonic presence.
...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 29th, 2004
Synopsis
Real political figures and fictional characters rub shoulders in this tale of a Washington-based political consulting office. James Carville and Mary Matalin play themselves (as doHoward Dean and others). The consulting firm runs into a crisis when some Saudi clients turnout to (perhaps) have terrorist links.
The concept is pretty much the last word in torn-from-the-headlines fiction. This is a seriesthat is almost concurrent with the headlines. The illusion of real...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 29th, 2004
Synopsis
Straight-arrow, straight-laced cop Starsky (Ben Stiller) is partnered up with the laid-back,ethically bent Hutch (Owen Wilson). Despite initial matter/anti-matter friction, the two soonbond (surprise!) and will stop at nothing to bring down vicious drug dealer Vince Vaughn.
Not much more of a storyline than that, and the point here is to revel in 70s kitsch. Thoughthere are a couple of very funny moments and lines, by and large the film just sits there, too staticto...
