Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2005
What the Bleep Do We Know!? appears to be a New Age film without actually saying the words “New” or “Age.” Consider this, the film, produced by Captured Light & Lord of the Wind Films, is about “a life-changing journey with Amanda (Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser “God), a divorced photographer who tumbles down a metaphysical rabbit hole.”
Now, that premise sounds interesting enough, you’re unsure where Amanda will wind up or how she’ll get there. But read on…”Her mind-bending voyage throug... the worlds of science and spirituality includes revelations by quantum physics experts, playful animation and even a conversation with a 35,000 year-old being.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2005
For those of you who think that all foreign films are drab and dreary, Los Debutantes may reinforce that belief. Written and directed by Andres Waissbluth, it tells the story of two brothers in Chile who celebrate Victor’s (the younger brother’s) birthday by going to a strip club. He falls in love with one of the dancers there named Gracia and attempts to pursue her (even during her day job, when she is the attendant at an adult theater), despite the feelings his older brother Silvio has for her.
The...story shows several different points of view in 30-40 minute periods, first you see the Victor’s, then Silvio’s, then Gracia’s, followed by the dramatic and violent ending the film seems destined for. Granted, the plot twists are familiar to other nonlinear films like Rashomon or Pulp Fiction, but the characters, particularly Gracia, dream of lives beyond their current state, and look to do better. Victor goes to school, while Silvio works to make Victor’s life easier.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 8th, 2005
Farscape is an acquired taste. Honestly, it took me a few viewings to get hooked. It is unlike any sci-fi show ever produced, with stories that are often too complicated to follow with a casual viewing. It requires your full attention or you can become hopelessly lost. The characters are never cut and dried good or evil, and the stories do not always end on a happy note and seldom with all of the loose ends brought together. The Henson creature creations are the most outstanding examples of puppetry I’ve ever seen in television or the big screen.
The Sci-Fi Channel relied on Farscape for the first three years to anchor its original programming. Having a smart and totally original program elevated the once repeat wasteland to the ranks of a premier program outlet. After the third season Sci-Fi committed to a fourth and fifth season of Farscape. Unfortunately, Bonnie Hammer, the president at Sci-Fi, decided not to honor her commitments. Near the end of season four the station abruptly decided to end the show. Fans were angry and “save Farscape” campaigns began to pop up like Hynarians at a buffet. It seemed that Farscape was doomed to end with a cliffhanger fans would never see resolved. That was until Henson and his crew pushed hard enough to secure financing and eventually an airdate for a mini-series that would conclude at least this incarnation of Farscape.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 7th, 2005
Kiss the Bride tells the story of a fairly large Italian family living in Rhode Island as Danni (Amanda Detmer, The Majestic) is preparing to marry Geoffrey (Jonothon Schaech, That Thing You Do!) and her sisters come home for the wedding. You have Nikki (Brooke Langton, Swingers), the oldest daughter with a degree but yet still shows up in a belly shirt on the beach each week on a popular TV show. Chris (Vanessa Parise) is a New York financial manager/workaholic, and Toni (Monet Mazur) as ...he youngest who will do anything to get attention. The mother and father will look familiar to you, as they are played by Talia Shire and Burt Young, who played Adrian and Paulie in the Rocky films.
Produced, written and directed by Parise, the film has been slightly compared to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and may be, if that film had snorted a two foot line of cleanser, I could buy the comparison. This film is substantially darker and goes into each of the individual women’s conflicting emotions about the family and each other, but because the family’s so large, there’s nothing that carries out, or it’s left unresolved altogether. The scene that most typifies the movie is when Nikki and her boyfriend, whose relationship is deteriorating, are almost arguing (in between something between two other sisters), and the boyfriend asks if anyone wants to go out to play football, and everyone happily jumps at the chance. Just when you think the film may go somewhere, it goes into another direction.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2005
The third season of Starsky and Hutch offered some changes from the first two seasons. Two-parters were a little more prevalent, the tone was often more serious, and the light banter remained as did Huggy Bear’s schemes and dreams. Still, the actors were looking to stretch their thespian muscles in the third year.
The writers took more chances and the stories were far more intense. One of my favorite episodes begins the third season. The two-parter Murder On Voodoo Island featured prominent guest star Joan Collins. The body count on this one is likely one of the series’ largest, albeit without as much gunplay. In the 70’s this one was a bit spooky for the young crowd. Another intense two-parter was The Plague. Today the deadly disease plot is used by almost every series around long enough to run out of original ideas. In the 70’s this kind of epidemic scare was usually reserved to medical programs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005
When first reading the synopsis of Control I thought that it would be something similar to the Michael Keaton-Andy Garcia movie Desperate Measures, and how violent criminals can be reformed somehow. Lee Ray (Ray Liotta, Goodfellas), a convicted criminal sentenced to death, is offered the chance to start life anew with the help of counseling from Dr. Copeland (Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man), along with some behavior suppressing drugs.
And of course, Lee Ray resists at first, but soon g...ows to appreciate what the drugs can do for him. He eventually is released to the outside, where he finds a job and meets a girl he’s crazy about (Michelle Rodriguez, Girlfight). He finds remorse about a man he’d disabled and attempts to make peace with him, but the man’s brother (and other criminal elements), soon come back to haunt him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005
Very few sitcoms have the endurance to last nine seasons. Everybody Loves Raymond shares their long-running tenure with comedy heavyweight shows such as Friends, Frasier, & Cheers. Not even Seinfeld lasted nine seasons… it fell short, ending after eight. That says a lot for this show; I guess everyone does love Raymond.
All 26-episodes of the complete third season of Everybody Loves Raymond are included in this set. The episodes are all very entertaining; from “The Invitation” all the way to “How They Met”. If you haven’t had that chance to check out this show, now is your chance. So, what is this show about? I will let Warner Bros. give you a little synopsis… “Standup comedian Ray Romano stars as Ray Barone, a successful sportswriter who deals with his brother and parents, who happen to live across the street. Patricia Heaton ("The Goodbye Girl"), Peter Boyle ("While You Were Sleeping"), Doris Roberts ("Remington Steele"), and Brad Garrett ("Gleason") round out the stellar cast.”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005
E. B. E. was a first season X-Files episode. For the most part it was very much like any other episode in the early years of the hit series, except it wasn’t. The story introduced us to three of Mulder’s friends/contacts, The Lone Gunmen. Basically Frohike, Langly, and Byers were your typical 80’s dot com geeks who used their computer skills to seek out government conspiracies instead of striking it rich. They self-published a tabloid paper that revealed all to a small conspiracy obsessed following. The appearance was always intended as a one time deal. One of the show’s DP’s, Tom Braidwood, was tapped to fill the shoes of Frohike. Who could have imagined that these throwaway characters would become so popular that they would become a staple on the rising series. They were a perfect comedic touch to a series that often took itself too seriously. In their own words their ideas were even weirder than Mulder’s Finally in 2001 the boys got their own show. Unfortunately the series only lasted 13 episodes.
Note should be made of the pilot episode. If you are very sensitive to the events of 9/11 you should seriously consider not watching this episode. The plot involves a shadow element in the government attempting to crash a jetliner into the Twin Towers. The episode aired barely 6 months before the tragic reality. This sad coincidence has since delayed the release of this worthy show as studio execs debated the impact of the story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 24th, 2005
Elektra was pretty much a failure at the box office, bringing in just over half of its production cost. Add to this the raised expectations of comic characters in the movies and it’s a safe bet Elektra won’t return anytime soon. Although this was not a great film by any standards, it’s a shame it tanked so badly. I missed the film in its theatrical run, and I was actually expecting a far worse film.
Garner is quite good in the role; I thought she brought a ton of emotion to a difficult character. The biggest problem here is the script. Perhaps it was too ambitious, but it was just riddled with holes. The few provided flashbacks don’t serve to bring us from the Daredevil character to where she is now. At times it seems this story would have served better rewritten as an origin story, possibly a prequel to the Daredevil outing. The supporting cast, with the exception of Terrance Stamp, was very bland. The only other notable surprise here was Kristen Prout as the young Abby. The cinematography was wonderful and the locations were breathtaking. This could have been a much better film. Still, it’s worth a view.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2005
I don’t expect this film will appeal to any but the biggest Van Damme fans; even many of them will be disappointed. If you’re a Van Damme fan, you might not be looking for the most original of story ideas. What you want is good solid action and some sweet action f/x. This film simply doesn’t deliver the goods on any level. The action is too sparse for anyone looking for an adrenaline rush. The dialogue is entirely lame; I mean, does anyone talk like that? To be fair, it is possible the script is an English translation of a French work. The most unforgivable problem here, however, is the over- the-top-stylish cinematography. The angles and slow pans are a complete distraction from what little substance there is. Philippe Martinez is trying so hard to achieve a 70’s film noir feel that he ignores all of the basic rules of pacing. Even for a direct-to-DVD release, this one is a complete waste of your time.
Synopsis
