Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
George Sand is a documentary filmmaker, and quite conceited about the fact. He comes tothe US from the UK to shoot a documentary about the 2nd Mike Wong Film Festival. Curiously,all of the competitors at the festival, each of which worked on Wong’s last movie before he died,start being murdered one by one. Sand decides to uncover the murderer. This is a cheerfully sillylow-budget film, loaded with hilarious send-ups of student films. The sense of the absurd isnicely underst...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
For the first twenty-five minutes, we are in 1950 Havana, where a typical noir tale of crimeand betrayal unfolds. Then we shift into colour, and discover that the hero of the first film, EricA. Leffler, is actually a writer of pulp fiction, and what we saw was the first part of his currentnovel, one that he doesn’t know how to finish. Before long, he gets caught up in a “real-life” noiradventure. This is a very, very low-budget exercise, but its ambitions are admirable, and i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Brooklyn-to-the-core thief Nick (Charlie Mattera) is betrayed by his friend Manny (PeterGreene), who is jealous of his love with Maria (Justine Miceli). Released from prison years later,Nick moves to LA, where he re-connects with Maria. Maria had married Manny (who is nowa brutal cop), but the two have since split. Nick is also taken under the wing of Harry (EdLauter), an aging gentleman bandit, who trains Nick to be a more elegant criminal than he hasbeen until now. The fi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
An ancient clock is has almost finished its countdown to the return of Lucifer to Earth.Helping out is a cult led by an over-the-top Maximilian Schell. Schell and company have theireyes set on Rachael Leigh Cook as the vessel who will facilitate the devil’s return. What youhave here is recycled Omen crossed with Rosemary’s Baby, and a bit of cloning thrown in forgood measure. We’ve been here before, in much more elaborate films. Still, the film is ratherengaging in its very...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Young Matt Howard’s father goes off to help the British fight the French and Indian Warsin Ohio, apparently in the cause of liberty, and is killed. Years later, Matt has grown up into CaryGrant (hellishly miscast and looking utterly ridiculous in his Daniel Boone getup). He becomesa surveyor, still imbued with his father’s political ideals and marries into an aristocratic andconservative family. Tensions rise and decisions must be made once the War of Independencebegins. Th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2003
Synopsis
We’re a long way from the escapist song-and-dance numbers that characterize so manyIndian films. Salaam Bombay! is set on the mean streets of Bombay, with special focuson the street children living there. The main character is Krishna, who tries to make a life forhimself, but circumstances push him towards crime. Many of the roles are actually played byhomeless children.
Audio
The soundtrack (in Hindi) comes in both the original mono and in a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Peter Firth is a young man who has just blinded six horses. Institutionalized, he comes underthe care of psychiatrist Richard Burton. As he digs away, slowly uncovering what led Firth tothis breakdown, Burton comes perilously close to a breakdown himself. Though much-lauded,this is really a rather silly film, with the performances pitched way over the top, and thepsychodrama truly hysterical (when it isn’t hilarious). The stage origins are painfully obvious,and what worked ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Martha is the highly strung, control-freak chef at a top restaurant. Her organized life isthrown into chaos when her sister is killed in a car accident, leaving Martha to look after her littleniece Lina. Lina, understandably traumatized, refuses to eat. Meanwhile, Martha feels that herposition at the restaurant is threatened by newcomer Mario. Soon, though, she realizes that Mariohas other, more romantic goals in mind. Though witty, the film does not shy away from the realp...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Welcome to Oceania in 1984, the last word in totalitarian regimes. Winston Smith, a lowlevel functionary, engages in two kinds of thought crime: he falls in love, and he questions BigBrother. The film is as compellingly and utterly bleak as the novel. The vision of future isactually a vision of the past: Oceania is a worst-case version of late-40s Britain. This approach isbrilliant, because, as a result, the film does not date, and its chilling warning, in these days ofTota...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Jia Hongsheng was a rising actor in the Chinese film scene, until drugs derailed his life. Thefilm chronicles his struggle to break his addiction to heroin, and the role his family plays in thisstruggle. What makes this film unique is that not only is the story factual, but all of the charactersare played by the actual people in question: that’s the real Jia Hongshen, those are his realparents, those are his real friends. Fascinating.
Audio
Very nic...
