Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 29th, 2004
Synopsis
A young boy is growing huge and foul-mouthed due to a growth hormone injection gonewrong. The scientist who injected him (Jackie Burroughs) gets in touch with fellow researcherPaul Coufos, reasoning somehow that he might be able to come up with an antidote. Before hisresearch at the university is complete, however, animal rights activists break into his lab andrelease injected rats. Soon rats the size of wolves are prowling about the campus tunnels,munching on all and sundr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 28th, 2004
I spent many an evening as a child watching the Peanuts gang in one of their famous holiday specials. I looked in my backyard for The Great Pumpkin at Halloween, and I often times decorated my very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree at Christmastime. Obviously, I was not alone in my enjoyment of these cartoons, as the very same shows are aired even now, during the appropriate time of year.
The popularity of these cartoons has not escaped the attention of the estate of Charles Schultz, either. In an attempt to...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 28th, 2004
When I first glanced over the cast of this film, I was certain that it was shot in the 80’s. These days, names such as Deborah Harry, Ally Sheedy, Ralph Macchio and Robin Givens just don’t show up together on a movie poster. Of course, this is no ordinary gangster film, either. In fact, for a director trying to make a name for himself, this casting strategy is pretty brilliant. If Quentin Tarrantino has taught us anything, he has taught us that old actors don’t lose their chops, they just become less fashionable. If ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 28th, 2004
Synopsis
After being stripped of his title by Norman baron Jeroen Krabbe, Saxon Robert Hode(Patrick Bergin) becomes Robin Hood, outlaw. He soon leads a large band of the dispossessed,and the battles with Krabbe become more and more pointed. Robin has also tumbled for MaidMarian (Uma Thurman), but she is promised to the evil Jurgen Prochnow.
In other words, all of the familiar incidents and story elements of the Robin Hood legend arepresent and correct. The film is grittier t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 27th, 2004
Ahh, those funny little Kids from Canada. I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point in the 90’s, The Kids in the Hall became North America’s answer to Monty Python. Now, that’s not to say that the Kids are as classically funny as the Pythons, but the similarities run rampant nonetheless. Both troupes had a very successful sketch comedy television series, in which many of the all-male cast dressed in drag. Following the success of their respective shows, they both explored what feature films might conta...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 27th, 2004
Synopsis
King Xerxes of Persia marches on Greece with his vast army. Greece’s city states are asquabbling, disunited bunch, but Athens and Sparta lead the way to co-operate against thecommon enemy. King Leonidas of Sparta (Richard Egan) must hold the pass of Thermopylae,but Spartan politics mean he has but 300 men to stand against Xerxes’ thousands. So begins oneof the most famous battles of antiquity.
The battle scenes are entertaining and easy to follow, though hardly eart...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 27th, 2004
Synopsis
When archaeologist Billy Connolly disappears, and his glasses and a parchment with hiswriting on it turn up in a ruins dating back to 1357, son Paul Walker and friends realizesomething weird is going on here. It turns out that weasel entrepreneur David Thewlis hasaccidentally tapped into a wormhole that permits time travel to that area of France, and in thatyear (smack in the middle of the Hundred Years’ War). Walker, Frances O’Connor, GerardButler and others travel back to...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2004
I remember all of the controversy and discussion that was stirred up when Judy Dench won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love. It’s not that the public felt that she didn’t do a great job, it’s just that she was only in the film for approximately six minutes. What’s more, Cate Blanchette was in a film called Elizabeth that same year, in which she played the same historical figure, and was nominated for the role of Best Actress, which sh...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 20th, 2004
What would prep school be like on December 7th, 1941? For those of you not historically savvy, 7/41 was the day of Pearl Harbor. December is about 5 prep school boys coming to terms with the patriotic and moral issues involved with the Pearl Harbor attack. I suppose the movie is timely in the sense that, ever since 9/11, people are still wrestling with the same questions. Unfortunately, the wrestling in this movie is more like tai chi.
Wil Wheaton (better known as Wesley Crusher Star Trek) is t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 20th, 2004
Film
Kata (Katrina Gibson) and Ana (Melida Prado) are best friends growing up on the streets of L.A. To pass time they steal cars, hang out with their fellow gang mates, and compete in dance contests against rival gangs. When Ana gets pregnant by a member of a rival gang, she must choose between the street life and a life where she leaves it all behind, including Kata, to raise her child.
The urban drama is a genre that may have been maxed out early on. We had amazing trendsetters in Bo...
