Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Not unlike the New Mutants comic book, these are episodes which feature the heroes in thethroes of adolescence. Unlike the New Mutants, however, these are the X-Men themselves intheir youth: Jean Grey, Cyclops and so on. So in between fighting the Brotherhood of EvilMutants, they also have to worry about dating and homework and the whole bit. At least this discdoesn’t try to pretend it’s a feature film.
Audio
The sound is about par for TV cartoon tr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 30th, 2003
Synopsis
The Justice League is Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern,Martian Manhunter and the Flash. The first story, “In Blackest Night,” sees Green Lanternaccused of destroying an entire planet. “The Enemy Below” introduces Aquaman (a verydifferent one from the version older viewers might remember from their youth). The animation isa slight notch above the usual Saturday morning fare, and the look of the characters isinterestingly stylized, in the vein of the Ba...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2003
Synopsis
The revolution inspired by Paul Atreides has soured, turning into a galaxy-spanning crusadethat is not necessarily liberatory. Intrigue and conspiracy abound as various factions try toundermine Atreides, control him, or destroy him and his children. Combining the two books wasa smart move, since Dune Messiah on its own would be a rather unsatisfactory viewingexperience, and a bit of a downer. Combining the two makes for a much more completenarrative.
Audio< ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2003
Synopsis
I presume a synopsis of Cheers would be redundant, because if you’re not familiar with theshow, than this review would hold no interest. Anyway, this first season sets up the bar and thecharacters, in particular the feuding love-hate relationship between Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane(Shelley Long). In fact, in the pilot episode, we see how Diane gets hired in the first place.
Audio
The sound (in 2.0) breaks down pretty much into three categories. The mus...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Ana (America Ferrera) is 18. She has just graduated from high school, and wants to go tocollege. For the summer, though, she is going to have to work in the garment factory with hermother and sister. Her mother (Lupe Ontiveros), meanwhile, is determined to make her fit thetraditional role of a Latino daughter, and Ana rebels. Body image, tradition versus youth, theLatino experience in the US, sweatshops: all these themes are skilfully braided together.
Audio< ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Good Burger has been serving the community’s fast food need for years, but now, across thestreet, comes the colossal building that houses Mondo Burger, a mega-chain set on wiping outthe little guy. To Good Burger’s doubtful rescue come its employees, led by the clumsy Dexter(Kenan Thompson) and the sublimely stupid Ed (Kel Mitchell).
Audio
The stereo mix is in both 5.1 and 2.0 surround, and is very lively, especially when it comes tothe music. Thund...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2003
Synopsis
The Millennium Building in New York has a problem: its central express elevator hasdeveloped a mind of its own, and is killing people. Even as horror movie concepts go, this ispretty preposterous, but what saves the film is its very awareness of its own preposterousness,and its willingness to go insanely over the top. So, on the debit side: the plot makes virtually nosense at all, with a great many threads left dangling; the post-synch voices are often ratherawkward, with t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2003
Synopsis
Timothy Bottoms plays Hart, a first-year law student at Harvard. His existence centresaround a class taught by Kingsfield (John Houseman), a brilliant but utterly ruthless professorwho consistently humiliates his students, yet somehow acquires their unswerving loyalty. Hartalso begins an affair with a Susan (Lindsay Wagner), who turns out to be Kingsfield’s daughter.Though the film is never less than compelling, it does lack a centre. The characters are almostall cyphers or...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 12th, 2003
Synopsis
A group of extreme athletes and a professional skier set out on a remote Austrian mountaintop to shoot a stunt for a commercial. Unbeknownst to them a group of terrorists is in hiding at the mountain top resort. The film makers have a habit of filming everything that goes on and they accidentally capture one of the terrorists on film, now they must fight for their lives to survive the mountain and the terrorists.
Audio
Featuring your expected mix of rap and altern...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2003
Traffic sports an A cast and a pretty compelling story. The only real thing holding it back is that there are times the plot is too ambitious. It gets weary following the three distinct storylines. You might also find the ending a bit of a letdown. I was expecting something far more dramatic given the intense buildup over two and a half hours. Michael Douglas is the main star and gives us a fine performance, but I was more captivated by the character of Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez, played with excellent flair by Benicio Del Toro.
