Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2010
When the original 1987 film The Stepfather came our way, the world was a very different place. Of course, that's true with any titles that are separated by nearly 25 years of time. When reboots or remakes are attempted, as they all too frequently are today, it is often true that some allowances must be made for those inevitable changes in our world. Filmmakers attempt to make whatever adjustments they deem fit and bring the old favorite, or not so favorite, into our current collective consciousness. Like all things, sometimes it works. More often it does not work. And then there are those occasions where it simply could never work. The Stepfather was released just at the dawn of this new instant information age. In 1987 most public records weren't available at the click of a mouse. There weren't social networks and Google options that allowed any normal person to become a private investigator. Put simply, it was a time when a person could still step into a new persona and leave his past acts behind him. Certainly, the ambitious could still research someone, but that required dusty basements in newspaper offices or library microfiche. The idea so essential to the suspense and thrill of The Stepfather simply no longer exists. The only way a remake could have really been effective was to make it a period piece and set it in the 70's or 80's, if not earlier. A ten year old kid can get the goods on you now. Here David doesn't appear to be concerned at all about fingerprints and DNA.
The original film had more than a slower information age going for it. Terry O'Quinn delivered one of the creepiest performances of his career. Yeah, that's the same Lost John Locke Terry O'Quinn, so it shouldn't be that hard for you to imagine an enigmatic performance. Even in 1987 the idea wasn't terribly original. There were enough stalker films by then that the concepts were already tired and worn. What made that film work more than anything was that performance. I remember particularly a moment, badly reproduced here, when O'Quinn's character stops and looks blankly at the camera and says, "Who am I here?" O'Quinn gives us a look that totally defines the hideous pathos of his character, and in that instant we realize how dangerously deluded he really is. It wasn't the back story. It wasn't the body count leading up to that moment. It was all in that look. It sent a shiver through the stoutest spine. And it is that element that is completely absent here. Dylan Walsh is a fine enough actor, and his performance is solid, but he never truly frightened me. Without that glue, the pieces of this remake simply cannot hold together.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2010
For ten years we watched Jack O'Neil, Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and the Jaff'a Tealc' enter the Stargate. Others would join the team over the years. Each week we would follow their adventures, first on Showtime and finally on the Sci-Fi (now Sy Fy) Channel. We watched with awe as they stepped through a portal that was in reality a wormhole transporting them instantly to another world, brought online by dialing the device like an old fashioned telephone. For another five years we traveled not only to another planet, but to the Pegasus Galaxy itself to the Atlantis Base, a bright floating city left behind by the ancients, the people who created the Stargate system millions of years before. On this show we met new friends, new bad guys, and had new adventures. The location might have changed. The faces might have, at first, been unfamiliar, but the missions and the entertainment value didn't let us down. For 15 seasons we enjoyed a spectacular tale to rival the myths of the Greeks and Romans themselves.
I'm told that all good things must come to an end. When Atlantis was finally cancelled, I was made almost immediately aware of the plans to continue the franchise. First reports started coming out that the show was going to be called Stargate Universe. Soon my inside contacts started giving me tidbits about the story. Details began to emerge about the Destiny, an ancient ship abandoned in another universe far away. The ship was on some kind of predetermined course and would sport an unsuspecting crew of humans that would be left stranded on the ship for an indeterminate amount of time. It was starting to sound a lot like Star Trek: Voyager to me. Of course, this is Stargate, so there has to be some gate travel, one would assume. The ship would come with a gate, and the vessel would come out of faster than light travel from time to time and dial up a local planet for exploration. The ship was ancient not only in its origin but in its duration in space. There were going to be a lot of system failures, as the equipment was long past its expiration date. The ship itself would know what resources it needed to continue to operate. Searching its vast planetary database, the ship would locate planets with the essential resources, allowing away teams to get such vital raw materials. Unfortunately, the ship didn't always give a good indication of what to find or where on the planet it might happen to be. Oh, and did I mention the countdown? The ship would decide how much time it would allot for each mission, instituting a countdown. When the clock reached zero, the ship goes back to FTL, and whoever's not back in time gets left behind.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 17th, 2010
Recently, I got married to the most wonderful woman in the world. Well, the most wonderful woman I ever met anyhow. Her name is Sarah. Then I got to thinking, wouldn’t it be awesome if I included her every once in a while in my reviews? She’s very opinionated but she speaks from the heart. When our webmaster sent me New York, I Love You, I knew it was the perfect vehicle to introduce her to a mass audience.
Most of you are quite aware how I start my reviews, but this is going to be something of a departure. Traditionally, I start with a long narrative about the movie. We describe the movie and then I offer some quips and informative points after that. The problem is if I sit here and explain all of the ten stories presented then I might as well compile a book on the subject. I really don’t want to torture my reading audience like that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 17th, 2010
Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) is the manager for the Leeds United soccer team, brought in to replace Don Revie (Colm Meaney), who is off to manage the England team. Clough is young, charismatic, brash, arrogant and opinionated, and has some pretty unflattering (and publicly aired) views about his predecessor and the thuggish style of play he fostered. So begin his 44 catastrophic days in 1974 as the unwelcome manager of United, and the film flashes back to the meteoric rise that brought him to this crucial pass.
This must surely be one of the best sports-related movies I have ever seen. Every conceivable sports movie cliché goes out the window. There are no extended sequences showing the games, just some quick, impressionistic shots that tell you all you need to know. This is not the inevitable story of the Underdog Making Good. It is the reverse: a rising star who takes over the most successful team in the country and becomes a legendary disaster. And yet the film is oddly triumphant. It is very much about Clough's relationships with two men: his obsessive rivalry with Revie, who isn't even aware of him, and his deep friendship with partner Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall), a friendship that might save him from himself, did he but realize it. The performances are superb, with Meaney looking uncannily like Revie (seen in footage at the end of the film), and Sheen astounding yet again, in the wake of his performances as Tony Blair and David Frost, cementing his position as one of the great actors of this generation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2010
So, this guy goes to see three rabbis....
No, that's not the start of some insensitive anti-Semitic joke. It's the rather offbeat idea behind the latest film by the Coen brothers. Of course, off the wall is business as usual for Ethan and Joel Coen. Fans of the brothers' work already know to expect the unexpected. You're likely not looking for the same kind of logical coherence that you might otherwise demand in your movies. The films often share a modern allegory to some classic fable or tale. There is certainly an element of a parable to this film in particular. It is not at all unlike the biblical tale of Job. Don't look for higher meaning in this tale of a man in search of a higher meaning. Instead, be prepared to become a fly on the wall in a life that is far from ordinary, yet anything but extraordinary.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2010
I have absolutely no doubt that Hilary Swank meant well, but we all know what wise men say about good intentions. It is likely that Amelia Earhart has been a hero and inspiration to the young actress as I know she's been to women of all professions throughout the years. There's no question that she is an influential historical figure and deserving of attention. Of course, she's had plenty over the years. There have actually been quite a few films and television shows dedicated to the heroine since her disappearance so many years ago. Like any subject, there have been some great efforts and some forgettable ones. Recently the character showed up in a much more frivolous and fictional way in the latest Night At The Museum film. From Star Trek to A&E documentaries, there is little danger that she will be forgotten in the world of entertainment. I suspect, from what I've seen from news reels, that she was a passionate and spirited woman full of life and heart. Unfortunately Amelia, the film, has none of that.
From the film's promotional campaign one is left with the definite idea that this is less about the aviatrix and more about the love story between Earhart and George Putnam, played by Richard Gere. At least that's the film I was most prepared to see. I suppose one piece of good news, at least for me, was that this love affair is played quite flatly. Who could have expected that from a Gere romantic film? If that really was the focus, someone forgot to tell the leads that they were in love. The portrayals are so matter-of-fact and dispassionate that you could debate whether there was indeed any love there at all. Perhaps that was the way the relationship was in reality. If that's true, it's a poor choice for a romantic film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 15th, 2010
“The Man Who Cannot Die”, better known as the Phantom was created by Lee Falk in 1936. The comic strip runs until this day, despite the creator dieing more than ten years ago. The Phantom was a costumed crimefighter that lived in the country of Bengalla. Bengalla was fictional but located in Africa. In 1996, they finally decided to create a movie based on the comic strip to find out what the “Ghost Who Walks” would do on the big screen.
The story starts when a young boy washes up on the shore of the African island known as Bengalla. He got there as the last survivor from a vicious pirate attack. In a ceremony with an ancient tribe known as the “Poison People”, he is dubbed the Phantom. The Phantom will devote his life to destroying piracy, cruelty and injustice. When the boy grows, he assumes the identity of a purple masked superhero with a brilliant horse to ride and a faithful wolf at his side.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2010
"There are many among us who in the past closed their eyes to the events of war, because they believed that what was taking place in Europe was none of our business. That we could maintain our physical safety by retiring within our continental boundaries. Obviously, a defense policy based on that is merely to invite future attacks. For those who would not admit the possibility of the approaching storm, the past weeks have meant a shattering of past illusions."
No, that quote wasn't George W. Bush. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 26th, 1941. And yes, it was over 6 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's unceremonious personal invitation to World War II.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2010
"There are stories a river can tell. And truths it cannot hide. There are ways it brings us together that we may never see, connecting us with places never suspected. Places like fear, like betrayal, like murder."
One thing you have to say for Clint Eastwood. In his later years as a director and producer of films, maybe from Unforgiven onward, he has selected some of the most compelling stories for his film projects. You get the sense that he hasn't been in this for the money in a long time. You easily believe that he doesn't make a film unless it reaches him completely and deeply. Think about his most recent films: Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags Of Our Fathers, Gran Torino, Unforgiven, and yes, Mystic River. He's turning 80 now, and so he's not what you would call prolific anymore. It's as if he understands there are only a finite number of films left that will bear his name, so he has decided to make every last one of them count. Someone once joked that when Clint Eastwood asked him to be in a movie, the actor asked how much money for the part. When Clint said, "Only $100,000." The actor quickly replied, "Who do I make the check out to?" There's a level of respect and reverence that goes beyond his steely look and terse one-liners. Getting a part in a Clint Eastwood movie seems to make everyone "feel lucky", and it always "makes their day". I'll never get to play a part in an Eastwood film, of course, but those same remarks apply to me or anyone who is about to sit down to an Eastwood film, whether he's actually in the movie or not. Mystic River is no exception.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 3rd, 2010
Planet Hulk started out as a storyline from Incredible Hulk #88-#95 (2006). The Hulk was too strong for the planet Earth and so the Illuminati under the direction of Iron Man and Doctor Strange sent him to a planet where he can cause harm to nobody except himself. Of course, things don’t go exactly as the Illuminati probably hoped for. The direct to video movie deals with Hulk’s stay on planet known as Sakaar.
Hulk is simply too strong. He is a danger to the earth and in such the New Avengers has sent him away to an abandoned planet. The Hulk wakes up and finds himself in the rocket. He listens to the words of Iron Man with Doctor Strange and what appears to be Reed Richards and the Black Bolt close by. The team thinks that they are sending him to an isolated planet devoid of life. However, the rocket actually passes through a portal and somehow Hulk ends up on the planet known as Sakaar.
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