Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 31st, 2012
I think most of us can agree that being buried alive would be a horrible way to go. Several movies — Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Vanishing (not the soft American remake) and, of course, Buried — have exploited that terror to varying degrees of success. Though the action in A Lonely Place to Die centers around a girl found buried in the Scottish Highlands, the camera frequently pulls way back to show us the desolate beauty (and danger) of the mountainous setting. I really wish director Julian Gilbey had kept the action on those mountains.
A group of climbers, led by Melissa George (The Amityville Horror, TV's Alias), discover an Eastern European girl named Anna buried in an underground chamber. Anna is unable to explain what happened because she can't speak English, but the group correctly surmises that the girl was kidnapped and being kept alive by the breathing pipe sticking out of the ground. Eventually, the group has to deal with the vicious pair of kidnappers, as well as the mercenaries hired by the girl's war criminal father to get her back.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 30th, 2012
"It's going to be like old times..."
Well... not exactly. The Lion King began with The Circle Of Life and a newborn prince to the royalty of Pride Rock. That prince was Simba, and we all know by now how that ended up. The circle of life continues in The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride. Of course, it's not really the second Lion King film since the first sequel was cleverly called The Lion King 1 1/2 and pretty much covered the events of the first film from a different perspective. Now we get down to the real ongoing events, and once again a child to the Pride Rock royal couple is being presented to the kingdom. This time it's a princess, and her name is Kiara, voiced by Neve Campbell.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 29th, 2012
"We're going way back to before the beginning..."
In 1994 Disney's second golden age climaxed with, perhaps, their greatest animated film of all time. The Lion King broke every animation record, and those records still stand today. The film appealed to old and young alike and told a compelling story that included some rather memorable songs from Tim Rice and Elton John. It was never a question of if there would be a sequel, but merely a question of when and in what form that follow-up would take. There was simply too much money at stake for there to be any other outcome.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 28th, 2012
Frida Kahlo's life was tragic, romantic, epic, and inspiring. This film takes on the immense challenge of telling the story of such a complex life in the time frame of a stand-alone feature film. Frida is about art just as much as it is about an artist. Often stylized, but never unapproachable, Frida is a rare success by the way it managed to capture and display a part of Frida Kahlo's artistic soul.
Director Julie Taymor is widely known for her stylized approach to any production, be it on film (Titus, Across the Universe) or on stage (Lion King, Spiderman: Turn off the Dark). It is no small wonder that Taymor expresses her own artistic flair through her direction without comprising the work of her subject. Taymor uses dreams as her platform to inject the strangest visuals that are not the direct work of Frida. There is even one scene that is not the composition of Taymor or Frida, but the a dream sequence inspired by Mexico's day of the dead, created by the enigmatic animation duo, the Brothers Quay. As I suggested, the injection of other artist's unique style and creations into a film about an artist is not as disruptive as one may imagine. Both Taymor and the Brothers Quay honour Frida's life and work with their own contributions. Neither attempt to mimic Frida, save for one painting at the very end, but rather, they include something about Frida's life that she herself may not have expressed in her work. That is to say, not explicitly in any particular piece.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 26th, 2012
Released back in 1982, Treasure Train tries to capture the imagination of kids as Disney had for years but with a much smaller budget. Helmed by surrealist artist and director Fernano Arrabal, he crafts a film heavy on the power of a child’s imagination and sense of adventure. To be fair I had to give this movie a second viewing not because I liked it but because it was so weird I had to make sure what I saw was real.
The film opens with a beautiful overhead shot of a train barreling down the tracks. As the credits begin to roll the beautiful footage dissolves from the real train to a model train that is steaming ahead to collide with another train. As the toy falls to the ground a frustrated man scoops up the train only to yell at the children. This scene though on the surface is simple but represents what the film is about. Every child while growing up is excited about the prospect of being older and how great it all must be but the reality is never is as good as it was supposed to be.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on March 26th, 2012
“Ohh. Oh, Fritz? Fritz, get up for God's sake! Get up! They've killed Fritz! They've killed Fritz! Those lousy stinking yellow fairies! Those horrible atrocity-filled vermin! Take that! Take that! They killed Fritz!!!”
Ralph Bakshi is probably best known for his x-rated animated adaptation of R. Crumb’s Fritz the Cat, the first animated film to receive an x-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America and still turn into the most successful independent animated feature of all time. When his second and also x-rated animated feature, Heavy Traffic, a blacker than coal satirical comedy, became a hit (theaters were willing to take a chance on the x-rating due to the success of Fritz), Bakshi became the first person in the animation industry since Walt Disney to have two financially successful movies released consecutively.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Bob Ross on March 25th, 2012
The strangely compelling pop-rockers first played publicly in February 1977. Almost exactly 34 years later, the B-52s soared again into their hometown, delivering an exuberant, hit-filled set at the Classic Center in Athens, Ga. Fortunately for concert-party aficionados, the show was captured in high-def, widescreen glory for the Blu-ray winner, The B-52s With the Wild Crowd! Live in Athens, GA. If you’re already a fan of “the world’s greatest party band” (it says so right on the dust jacket), this 96-minute celebration is an obvious must-have. The old new-wavers haven’t lost a step as they crossed one at a time into AARP territory. But even first-time flyers will feel the power generated by the B-52s time-tested crew. This high-energy set kicks off with a driving kickoff of “Pump” and the ever-catchy hook of “Private Idaho.” The pace doesn’t seriously slacken for another 90 minutes of bouncy dance-rock, lively melodies and irresistible harmonies.
While lead singer Fred Schneider takes on key front-man duties, this expertly edited program shows that he’s the captain of a totally talented team. Schneider’s wit as a vocalist and emcee are charmingly apparent here, but we also get time to appreciate Kate Pierson’s far-ranging warble, Cindy Wilson’s rich vocal counterpoints, and Keith Strickland’s stinging guitar riffs. (Strickland was the band’s original drummer, who switched to guitar after the death of founding member Ricky Wilson, Cindy’s brother.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on March 22nd, 2012
Even though I'm guilty of doing it myself, I always laugh a little when I hear someone complain that certain actors "just play themselves": as if you or I actually know these celebrities personally and have the authority to say what they're like in real life. Of course, what we really mean is most movie stars have found a screen persona that has connected with audiences and — in the spirit of giving people what they want (or laziness) — tend to stick pretty close to that image, adding only a tweak when we catch on to their game. (I mean, do we really want to see Sylvester Stallone tackle Hamlet? Wait, that would be amazing!) This isn't a new development: it's been happening since the days of John Wayne, and it continues to happen today with the likes of Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Jennifer Aniston, Seth Rogen and others. (Ok, so Seth Rogen probably is just playing himself.)
Few actors are "playing themselves" to as much critical and commercial success today as George Clooney, a handsome, articulate, serious-minded charmer who looks great in a suit. So when he plays handsome, articulate, serious-minded charmers who look great in suits, I can understand why some people may shrug their shoulders, no matter how excellent the performance is. You think it's an accident he won an Oscar for gaining some weight and covering his face with a scraggly beard in Syriana, but was shut out for superior work in Michael Clayton and Up in the Air?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on March 22nd, 2012
“Chill out? Am I the only one hearing this? This thing attacks people, Jane, and she wants to go looking for it, because she has deranged fantasies about the unexplained!”
In Splintered a group of teens go seek the truth behind the northern Wales urban legend known as the Beast of Bodmin, a creature who may be responsible for the death of a bunch of livestock and the disappearance of a number of tourists and citizens. Sophie (Holly Weston) lives with unsuppressed childhood memories of being assaulted in her bedroom by some kind of beast man. It drives her to seek out the unknown with a particular obsession with the Beast of Bodmin. Sophie tricks John (Sol Heras) a boy crushing on her, her best friend Jane (Sadie Pickering), Jane’s boyfriend Sam (Sacha Dhawan), as well as Jane’s brother Dean (Jonathan Readwin) into join the hunt without really ever telling them what they were doing. So what should be a weekend romp turns into an investigation of a deadly urban legend. Gee, never heard of that plotline before.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 21st, 2012
“It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight…”
What do the following huge stars all have in common: Elton John, George Burns, Peter Sellers, Don Knotts, Bob Hope, John Cleese, Madeline Kahn, and Milton Berle? They all were guests on The Muppet Show. It would be pretty hard to argue that the series didn’t became the in place for A-list entertainers to have a little fun. Like a neighborhood clubhouse, the top stars would come to the show and allow themselves to be often upstaged by Henson’s cute little creatures. They would place themselves in ridiculous situations and often allow themselves to be lampooned and ridiculed, and they always appeared to have a blast while they were doing it. Elton John singing his Kiki Dee duet, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, with Miss Piggy has to be one of television’s most memorable moments. Not only do you have a guest list that would make Saturday Night Live envious, but you have something they never had, namely Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Gonzo providing their special brand of Muppet madness.
