Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2003
Synopsis
Jean Reno, playing a Hard-Boiled Cop Who Plays By His Own Rules, is put on forcedvacation, having punched out one person too many. During this break, he finds out that thewoman he loved in Japan 19 years ago has died. Travelling to Japan for the funeral, he discoversa daughter he never knew he had. She happens to be worth $200,000,000, and bad guys are outfor the money. Something like The Professional Lite, Wasabi plays its action strictly for laughs,and it is pretty funny....
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 5th, 2003
Synopsis
A multi-character tale of working class families, All or Nothing’s emotional centre isTimothy Spall’s Phil (a taxi driver) and Lesley Manville’s Penny (a Safeway cashier). They, theirchildren and their friends live lives of quiet desperation and plenty of bleakness, but a certainwry humour lurks just under the surface.
Audio
This is a very quiet film, by and large, so there isn’t a lot by way of sound effects. The musicis very important, however, an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 5th, 2003
Synopsis
On a luxury ocean liner, playboy Cary Grant meets singer Deborah Kerr. Each is involvedwith someone else, but they fall deeply in love with each other. Upon arriving in New York, theydecide to part and, if all goes well, reunite in six months at the top of the Empire State Building,by which time their lives should be in order. If you’ve seen Sleepless in Seattle, you know whathappens next. Though this is one the most celebrated weepies ever, I found it curiouslyuninvolving....
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 5th, 2003
Synopsis
Covering the years of the Napoleonic Wars in Russia, War and Peace follows the lives ofNatasha (Audrey Hepburn), Pierre (Henry Fonda) and his best friend Andrei (Mel Ferrer). Thiscombination of stars, not to mention Anita Ekberg as a gold-digger and Herbert Lom asNapoleon, takes a bit of getting used to, but you do find yourself caught up in their lives andloves. The battle scenes, particularly at the end, are quite impressive, and if the cheese factor ispretty high, so is ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Goldie Hawn plays Suzette, aging groupie. Fired from her bartending job, she decamps fromLA for Phoenix, there to track down old pal Vinnie (Susan Sarandon), who has, of course,morphed from party girl to Mrs. Establishment. Along the way, Hawn picks up neurotic writerGeoffrey Rush. (A screwed up writer who is sexually devoured by a hot babe? Could this be thecreation of a male writer?) Hawn proceeds to cure everybody of uptightness. Gosh, aren’t theBoomers fascinating? They...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
The setting is an exclusive college, and the action covers one school term. We move fromone party to another (very little education of any kind takes place here, what with the professorsstoned or absent), and see the intersections of doomed romantic hopes. These hopes belong toSean Bateman (brother of American Psycho Patrick), who longs for the virginal Lauren, and is inturn longed after by Paul. Lauren, meanwhile, is saving herself for Victor, who doesn’t evenknow she exis...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Danny Glover takes over from Arnold Schwarzenegger as the chosen opponent of theextraterrestrial big game hunter. In a Los Angeles driven mad by heat and violence, Glover is thehard-bitten cop fighting for some for of order. The Predator arrives and starts offing drug gangsand cops, all of which leads to the eventual final battle. We’ve been here before, obviously, butthe sense of heat is almost palpable, the action is non-stop, and the ending is very cool. Look fora famili...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Nick Nolte, hulking and brutal, is a top NYC cop. The first thing we see him do isassassinate an unarmed man, then plant evidence to cover up his guilt. Timothy Hutton, a newassistant to the district attorney, is given the job of closing what is supposed to be a simple caseof self-defence. Naturally, he finds all sorts of loose ends and hints of top-level corruption. Whilethe romantic subplot is pointless, the investigation is gripping, and Nolte, Hutton, ArmandAssante (as ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Our guide to the Manchester movement 1976-1992 is Tony Wilson (a mesmerizingly goodSteve Coogan), TV personality and would-be music impresario. Blown away by an earlyperformance by The Sex Pistols, Wilson sets about forming his own music club and record label(The Factory). Central to his enterprise’s rise and fall are Joy Division/New Order and the HappyMondays. Wilson addresses the camera constantly, as if we were watching a documentary onhis life, and the result is as fun...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2003
Not since Scarface with Al Pacino has there been a film that captured the world of the drug lord as well as Blow. The style is reminiscent of Goodfellas with its character-driven narrative and snapshot photography. Taken from the real-life story of George Jung who is still serving a 30-year sentence for drug trafficking, Blow explores the evolution of cocaine as the drug of choice for the American elite. Ted Demme manages to give us an honest portrayal of Jung that does not glorify or justify his evil deeds.
