Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2003
Synopsis
Young Father Amaro arrives in a small rural parish. He is an instant hit with the locals, inparticular the obsessively devout Amelia, who abandons her more secular boyfriend. Amarobecomes entangled in the power games between the church and a reform-minded newspaper,which outed Amaro’s superior as being in the pocket of the local drug lord. Amaro also findshimself more and more attracted to Amelia, and eventually succumbs to temptation. The Crimeof Padre Amaro makes for inte...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2003
Synopsis
A single mother, harried beyond all bounds and desperate for work, is forced to leave heryoung, resentful son in the care of his deaf-mute grandmother for a couple of months. The seven-year-old is mightily displeased, and repulses his grandmother’s attempts to create a bond.Gradually, however, she begins to win him over. A low-key, thoughtful film, The Way Homebenefits from very real performances, and a kid who is convincingly mean and spiteful in theearly goings.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 4th, 2003
Synopsis
The story opens in 18th-Century England. Jim Hawkins (played by the very American BobbyDriscoll) helps his mother run a tavern. One of their guests is William Bones, a old seaman whois being hunted by a group of former comrades. He dies of a heart attack, but not before givingJim a map of Treasure Island. The local squire, excited by the map, organizes an expedition tofind the treasure. Unfortunately, as ship’s cook he unknowingly hires notorious pirate Long JohnSilver. Fal...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
In 1868, ships are being sunk by what appears to be a monster. Investigating scientists PaulLukas and Peter Lorre discover that it is, in fact, a submarine, when their ship is struck. They arepicked up, along with sailor Kirk Douglas, by Captain Nemo (James Mason) of the Nautilus. IsNemo a genius or megalomaniac? Villain or hero? Both? Our heroes wrestle with these questionsover the course of their adventures. The special effects, almost 50 years old, still stand up well(wi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) beefs up his strip club business by publishing an explicitnewsletter. This newsletter becomes the glossy porn mag Hustler, and Flynt becomesstaggeringly rich. He also becomes the target of a serious of obscenity trials. Harrelson is terrific,and this was the film that confirmed that Edward Norton’s film-stealing performance in PrimalFear was no fluke. Courtney Love, as Flynt’s wife Althea, acquits herself well among theseheavyweights. Though ma...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner are pilot and co-pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Wagneris the sensitive type. McQueen, on the other hand “walks the thin line between hero andpsychopath” according the base doctor. Both men become interested in the same woman. Thoughthe film takes forever to get its plot in gear, and the bombing missions are very predictable (thefellow who shows Wagner photos and his wife and kid might as well be signing his own deathwarrant), the utter dist...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Welcome to the Tarrytown aerodrome, where Jay Jay The Jet Plane and his friends hang outand learn life lessons. These lessons (the importance of friendship, of overcoming your fears, andso forth) are presented in a clear, gentle way. The animation in these 5 stories is a bit on theeconomical side.
Audio
The audio is 2.0, but you wouldn’t know it in the first story. Here the result is effectivelymono, even when it comes to the music. The subsequent episodes ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
If you need a synopsis, why are you reading this review? The Bundys, for the uninitiated,are long-suffering boorish dad Al (Ed O’Neill), sex-deprived wife Peg (Katey Sagal), slut airheaddaughter Kelly (Christina Applegate) and cynical loser son Bud (David Faustino). Married withChildren definitely falls into the category into the category of acquired taste, and I’ll confess, Inever acquired the taste (I’ve always thought The Simpsons hit the same satiric targets -- andthen ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Jamal and Peanut get together to hang out and cruise Compton. At Jamal’s house, however,they interrupt a thief who has broken in. Confronted with a gun, the thief keels over from a heartattack. In a panic, our two heroes bundle the body into their car and continue on their way. Thisis one-man-show filmmaking (the director handled just about every behind-the-camera duty),and the cast is very natural. The script is entirely (and obviously) improvised, and so each scenegoes on...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Billy Bob and Preacher are two 13-year-old boys, best friends, on the verge of discoveringgirls. They both fall in love with Lily Jane Bobbit, the new girl in town, who dreams ofHollywood and speaks with extremely elaborate diction. Over the course of the summer, LilyJane will transform the entire town. You know how Michael Bay loved to sprinkle Armageddonwith slow-motion, anachronistic Norman Rockwell shots of boys in overalls running throughfields and small towns? Now ima...
