Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2009
For many, Saving Private Ryan has been the measure of the perfect war film in the modern era. Without question the Steven Spielberg film is a milestone in depicting battle on the screen. But I’m going to make the possibly unpopular statement that Enemy At The Gates is a better film, and the standard by which war films should now be measured. The movie is at least almost as good technically as Private Ryan. There are battle scenes that offer the same caliber of shocking reality. And even if this movie falls a little short of the technical marvel that Private Ryan was, this movie captures the human element of war time in a way I hadn’t seen before or since. Certainly all of the necessary hallmarks of the war picture formula are intact. There are plenty of battle scenes and enough ultra realistic bloodletting to satisfy the most insatiable aficionado. But Enemy At The Gates refuses to rely on such brutality to make its point. Instead the hazards of war are merely the atmosphere that allows an excellent cast, under brilliant direction, to bring to life an inspired script.
It’s the heart of World War II. Hitler and his Third Reich are marching across Europe spreading their shadow of fascism and tyranny wherever they go. They have now begun their assault on the young Soviet Union. For the Soviets, troops are weary and supplies are scarce. For the beleaguered soldiers of the Red Army, it is a matter of being shot by the enemy or by your own field commanders should you even think about a retreat. Their mission now is to defend the city of Stalingrad, which bears the name of “The Boss” and stands as a symbol of nationalism to the infant nation. But things are not going well at all. Only every other soldier is armed. The unarmed soldier is admonished to wait until the one holding the rifle is killed to take up arms himself. For these Russian men it is not a matter of if they are killed, but merely when. After a heavy day of fighting, a political officer, Danilov (Fiennes) finds himself pinned down with another young soldier, Vassili (Law). Vassili manages to take out the officers who stand in their way of escape. Danilov decides that Vassili could well be the hero that the Soviet soldiers need. He realizes that fear is not as good a motivator as inspiration. Before long he has written news articles that chronicle the exploits of Vassili as he takes his positions in the city and racks up an impressive score of German officers. Unfortunately, it is not only the Soviet soldiers who hear of these adventures. Vassili comes to the attention of the German brass who bring in their own sharpshooter, the decorated officer, Major Konig (Harris). The two play a dangerous game of cat and mouse in the ruins of Stalingrad. Vassili must also contend with his feelings for an intelligence officer, a young woman named Tania (Weisz). The three become engaged in a love triangle of sorts, causing Danilov to attempt to take down the hero he created. He also begins to doubt the figure he has become to the Soviet people. Konig and Vassili will eventually face each other, and only one of them can survive.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2009
“Don’t expect too many mistakes from this man. After all he does seem rather more interesting than just another reader researcher. For example; has he gone into business for himself? Was he turned around? Does someone operate him? Is he homosexual? Broke? Vulnerable? Could he be a soldier of fortune? Did he arrange the hit? Is that why he’s still in flight? Still, he may be innocent. But why didn’t he come in gently?”
Sydney Pollack might have been channeling the essence of Alfred Hitchcock when he directed 3 Days Of The Condor. It’s hard not to see the similarities to some of Hitch’s work. But he might also have been having a bit of precognition at the same time. The later novels and films about Jason Bourne bear a striking resemblance to this 1975 thriller. Whatever connection Pollack might have been making, he managed to direct a film that was timeless while being very much a product of its time. We are reminded of that long gone era of the 1970’s with generous shots of the just built World Trade Center towers. Ads and shots of Eastern Airlines planes bring back some memories. These images securely place the action in a specific time. Still, it works maybe even more today than it did in 1975.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2009
Uncle Walt knew he had an artistic talent early in his life. He was originally determined to become a commercial artist. But one fateful day he saw a newspaper ad in a Kansas City paper for a company then called The Kansas City Slide Company. Walt got the job. The marketing firm was making theater ads that consisted mostly of stop motion films. It was there, at just 18 years old, that Walt Disney heard his true calling. He soon formed his own company which was called Laugh-O-Grams. It was there that he developed his first fairy tale short on Cinderella. By 1923 Walt had developed a method of combining live action shots with his animation. This first effort, Alice’s Fishy Story would be a breakthrough release. Later a character called Oswald The Lucky Rabbit would lead to the creation of an American icon… Mickey Mouse. The mouse would appear in the very first film ever to feature fully synchronized sound, Steamboat Willie. From that point on, Walt and his stable of elite animators and technicians would revolutionize animation and the motion picture industry time and time again for decades, until his death. The studio that bears his name continues the tradition today. Now let’s go back to some of those roots.
The legacy of Walt Disney and the studio he created requires little explanation. The studio invented the idea of a feature length cartoon and has been on the cutting edge of animation since the 1930’s. No other studio can claim ownership of as many animated classics as Disney. From Mickey Mouse to Pixar, the studio has churned out one masterpiece after another for over 60 years. What tends to get lost in this great body of feature length classics is that the studio was also producing some very high quality shorts over these years. Whether it’s Disney favorites like Mickey, Donald, Minnie, or Goofy or it’s strictly one-off characters gathered to tell a wonderfully animated story, Disney has a record that simply hasn’t and likely will never be matched.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 21st, 2009
“Donnie Darko was killed when a jet engine fell from the sky and crushed him while he was sleeping. The government never located the plane from which the engine fell, nor did they even admit the incident ever occurred. But that was just the beginning of the tragedy… and the mystery”
No truer words were ever spoken. First of all, this prologue is about as close to the original Donnie Darko film that this movie ever gets. S. Darko is indeed the beginning of a tragedy. It’s more a disaster than a tragedy, really. It involves a loss of life -- your life. 103 minutes of your life to be exact, unless of course you’re stupid enough to watch the extras as well. That’s not a tragedy. I’d call that a self inflicted wound. The mystery? That’s an easy one. It’s a mystery to me that this film ever got off the ground, let alone released, albeit as a direct to video affair. Donnie Darko wasn’t a great film, but it was an intriguing one that left the audience with some thought provoking images. But there appears to be a fine line between thought provoking and mind numbing. S. Darko is mired in its own abstractness, a serious movie not to be taken seriously at all. In the end, I’m not even sure what the filmmakers were trying to do. I heard them try to explain it, justify it is likely the more accurate term. Still, I can’t help but suspect that whatever it was they were trying to do they failed miserably. And if you end up watching this film it will be you who pays for their shortcomings. Good cinema deserves to be rewarded. Bad cinema deserves simply to be ignored.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 20th, 2009
“I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”
That pretty much sums things up quite nicely for you. The filmmakers must agree, because the scene figured prominently in their marketing campaign for the film. In the end it’s not really anything that we haven’t seen before with Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, or a handful of other actors in the role. What might make the whole experience somewhat unique is that Liam Neeson isn’t usually associated with this kind of a character. You usually find him more on the cerebral side of things. He plays the part well in spite of the handicap that he never really looks quite right for the part. Give the thespian credit for making the whole idea at least somewhat believable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 20th, 2009
“They're the world's most fearsome fighting team. They're heroes in a half-shell and they're green. When the evil Shredder attacks these Turtle boys don't cut him no slack! … Splinter taught them to be ninja teens. Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines, Raphael is cool but crude, Michelangelo is a party dude… Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, heroes in a half shell. Turtle power!”
What started as a low budget comic has grown into quite a sensation. The Turtles are everywhere. There are cartoons, books, comics, movies, and thousands of toys. They’ve been translated into just about every language in the world. The 1980’s and 1990’s were alive with Turtle power. With yet another film now in the works, the Turtles are about to make a comeback. While the characters might not have started with the 80’s cartoon series, that’s where it made its greatest leap in popularity. The show ran for over a decade, a rare record for cartoon shows of the era. Here Lionsgate has accumulated all 27 half hour episodes from the 7th season in this 25th anniversary set of 4 discs. Each disc represents a different Ninja Turtle. And like so many of those Playmate television commercials used to warn, they’re each sold separetly.The discs come in a larger box which contains a small action figure of that featured Turtle. Collect all 4 to get the complete season and all 4 turtle characters.
Posted in: Podcasts, Random Fun, Uncategorized by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2009
I had the chance to chat with Kane Hodder on the phone today.
He agreed to talk with me for Upcomingdiscs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2009
John Ritter never really had much of a chance in his early career to show just how good his acting chops could be. Let’s face it. While Three’s Company had quite a loyal following, it was never mistaken for anything more than a parody. Ritter was never asked to stretch himself here, and the role likely cost him better opportunities over the years. Fortunately, while 8 Simple Rules wasn’t a great show either, it did offer quality enough work to allow Ritter to thrive. Unfortunately he would not live long enough to reap the rewards he was earning for himself. Who knew Katey Segal wasn’t a one trick pony riding on the coattails of Peg Bundy? Who also knew you could find teenage girls who could act and satisfy the “other” attributes often necessary from female actors on television these days. The casting on this show is well above average. The supporting cast also includes James Garner, in a very refreshing role for the aged icon. David Spade joined the show halfway through this season as Cate’s nephew C.J. He’s the kind of guy who can’t stop getting in trouble.
There is nothing worse than forced comedy. You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you? You can see a character reaching so far for a joke, it’s a wonder their lips don’t have stretch marks. Good comedy flows naturally. You don’t have to work the jokes into the tapestry; the tapestry is the joke. Family sit-coms have been done to death. There isn’t an angle that hasn’t been explored from the Father Knows Best all American family to the dysfunctional Bundy family from Married With Children. We’ve had the musical Partridges and the 2 dads nontraditional families popular in the 1980’s. So how do you make a tired old concept work? You don’t try so hard, that’s how. Let the dynamic between the characters sell the story. There aren’t any gimmicks here, and sometimes plain vanilla tastes like heaven on a hot summer afternoon.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2009
“So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye. So you think you can love me and leave me to die. Oh Baby, just can’t do this to me baby. Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here… Nothing really matters. Anyone cane see. Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me.”
I don’t think I can ever listen to Bohemian Rhapsody without conjuring up the image of the gang in the Mirth Mobile bobbing their heads up and down and singing to the Queen classic song. It’s one of those iconic moments in cinematic history that will be with us long after Wayne’s World is forgotten. Too bad the rest of the film hasn’t aged as well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2009
“White supremist world was cancelled.”
When you talk about Wayne’s World 2 you can’t help but talk about disappointment. I mentioned in my review for the first film that over the span of nearly 20 years the skit had lost some of its luster. I certainly wasn’t nearly as entertained now as I had been when I first saw the film in the early 1990’s. That same principle appears to have been true just a year later when Wayne’s World 2 was released. It gathered in a disappointing $48 million off a $40 million budget. While there was talk of a continuing franchise at the beginning, there wasn’t any interest in a third film by the time the second film had crashed and burned. The fact is, I know many fans out there that didn’t even know a second film existed.
![Enemy at the Gates [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/enemy-at-the-gates-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![3 Days of the Condor [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/3-days-of-the-condor-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/s-darko-a-donnie-darko-tale-blu--large.jpg)
![Taken [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/taken-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Wayne's World [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/waynes-world-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Wayne's World 2 [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/waynes-world-2-blu-ray-large.jpg)
