Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 9th, 2003
It seems that most people have strong opinions when it comes to Ellen DeGeneres. Of course, when you make yourself the first openly gay character on television, those opinions can be expected. Some feel that she is courageous, bravely stepping into the forefront of the gay rights movement. Others feel that her lifestyle is immoral, and that she should be shamed of her actions. Personally, I feel that it is unfortunate that her status as a gay woman is an issue at all. The desire of any true performer should be for th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 7th, 2003
MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is one of the most memorable TV series ever produced. It was on the air for 11 years (much longer than the Korean War in which it took place). For those of you that have never heard of the show, it followed the trails and tribulations of the 4077th, a battlefield hospital for the American Soldiers in the Korean War. Military settings don’t exactly make one think of a comedy series but it worked. The writing on the show was and still is amongst the best in television history – and ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Lumi Cavazos had great hopes for her marriage, but now it has gone spectacularly on therocks. Amanda de Cadnet, rather more cynical, is still trying to deal with her husband’s infedility,and one of her responses is to seduce a young student. Ione Skye, meanwhile, is involved withphotographer Steve Jones, whose relationship with his daughter is just a wee bit creepy.
Audio
The sound is 2.0, and barely qualifies as stereo. It is, but only just. T...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2003
Synopsis
We are at the end of high school. Jason Gedrick is the basketball star. Tracy Pollan is thecheerleader. Kiefer Sutherland is the sensitive loner. We see them all poised on the threshold ofthe next big step. Two years later, Sutherland returns to the home town, now in the company ofwild child Meg Ryan (and for those who keep track of these things, her turn puts the lie to thenotion that the recent In the Cut features her first nude scenes). The usual set of real-...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Three losers want to get on easy street. After being kicked out of a blood bank for trying tosell their blood too often, they steal a mail carrier’s load, hoping to score some cash in the letters.Instead, they discover that the daughter of a bible-thumping politician is apparently strugglingwith her sexual longing. They decide to deflower her, secretly film the deed, and sell the tapeto a tabloid publisher. Everything starts to go wrong, not the least of which is the d...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2003
Synopsis
London, 1944. Emily Lloyd thinks she’s a showgirl. She dreams of being a big star, orpossibly a gangster’s moll. Serviceman Kiefer Sutherland claims to be a gangster known asChicago Joe, heading up Al Capone’s outfit in London. Yeah, right. When these two meet, theyfeed each other’s fantasies. In order to live up to Lloyd’s image of a gangster, Sutherland letshimself be talked into ever more violent crimes, culminating in murder. Director Bernard Rosekeeps the movie ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Ray Greene wrote, directed and edited this documentary. He also narrates, and a fine guidehe is to the world of the exploitation film. He acknowledges such 30s classics as ReeferMadness, but his interest is primarily the 50s and 60s, tracing the post-WWII world of theindependent film, and ending with the 70s, as the major studios moved in on the market and theexploitationers became victims of their own success at challenging censorship laws. The filmis smart, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Audie England plays Elena Martin (i.e. Anais Nin), an American living in Paris at theoutbreak of World War II. She has a passionate affair with Costas Mandylor (the poor man’sAidan Quinn), but when he is unfaithful, she leaves him. Desperate for money, she undertakes acommission to write erotic stories for an anonymous collector. So begins her sexual and literaryblossoming.
This is all very high-end stuff, with sumptuous cinematography and jazzy editing. King...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 28th, 2003
Synopsis
Mandy Moore plays Halley, a teen having a rough year. Her parents have just gottendivorced, and her DJ father (Peter Gallagher) is about to marry a weather bimbo. Her best friendhas suddenly fallen in love, her sister is getting married, and she feels very alone. Enter theexaggeratedly cute Trent Ford, who slowly will turn Halley’s cynical heart around. Though everyconceivable teen trauma is bundled into the plot, solid performances, a more mature look at teensexuali...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 28th, 2003
Most fans of the NBA have strong feelings about Allen Iverson. While some feel that he his the most dominant player in the game today, others feel that he is selfish, a player who is more concerned with his own numbers than the welfare of his team. Iverson is usually embroiled in some sort of controversy, and I suspect that he likes it that way. While it is true that his rough image is probably not what the NBA has in mind as a league player, his talent simply cannot be denied.
This hour-long documentary ha...
