Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 15th, 2004

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Synopsis

The two sisters from Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed are back,only this time Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins are 19th-Century versions of themselves. Lostin the snowy Canadian frontier, they arrive at Fort Bailey, only to find a rather chilly welcome.The fort is besieged by werewolves, and the starving, demoralized garrison is suspicious of anystrangers. The sisters do find shelter, along with rampant misogyny and racism. If those dangersweren’…
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Ghost Watcher

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 15th, 2004

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Synopsis

After being kidnapped and assaulted by a serial killer, Laura Kove (Jillian Byrnes) hasbecome acutely agoraphobic, to the point that she is physically unable to leave her apartment.This becomes a real problem when something begins to haunt her home, first by moving thingsaround, later by taking on terrifying physical shape. The ghost hunter she turns to in desperationis a scam artist, who in spite of herself becomes obsessed with solving the mystery and endingLaura’s tormen…
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Reversible Errors

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 14th, 2004

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Synopsis

Detective Tom Selleck investigates a triple-murder. The trail of evidence leads to a twitchy,obviously mentally incompetent small-time crook named Squirrel. Prosecuter Monica Porter putsSquirrel away, and he is sentenced to death. Years later, Squirrel’s final appeal lands on the deskof William H. Macy, who begins to find odd inconsistencies that point to the possibility that thewrong man is on death row.

Every frame screams “Network TV Mini-Series.” This is not a g…
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Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band – Tour 2003

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 12th, 2004

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What is Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band – Tour 2003? Well…The Last Waltz this ain’t. Ringo has been touring with his All-Starr’s since the 1990’s. And the 2003 version includes “stars” such as Colin Hay from Men at Work, Paul Carrack from Mike and Mechanics, John Waite and Sheila E. I suppose we’re in time warp because these are 80’s stars.

The DVD was shot on Digital Video and goes back and forth between live concert footage, “behind the scene” stuff, and interviews (mostly about the “s…
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Frankenstein

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2004

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Synopsis

The ice-locked crew of a ship searching for the Northwest Passage finds, to its collectiveastonishment, a near-dead man quite literally in the middle of nowhere. This individual is oneVictor Frankenstein (Alec Newman), and he recounts to the captain (Donald Sutherland) hishorrific tale of creating a monster (Luke Goss), and subsequently losing his family to themonster’s vengeance.

Of all the versions of Mary Shelley’s novel, this is probably the most faithful. The m…
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What’s Happening!! – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 9th, 2004

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What’s Happening!! (that’s right, 2 exclamation marks) had a three year run on ABC in the mid 70’s. The second season is now on DVD, all 22 episodes. The sitcom revolves around a “family” of sorts. The main characters are three best friends, Raj (the nerdy one), Dwayne (the cool one), and Rerun (the goofy one). There’s also Shirley, the waitress at the local soda shop. But Dee (Raj’s little sister) is a distraction. And I’m not talking about the character. The actor’s line readings are terrible and watc…
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Harvest, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2004

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Synopsis

Miguel Ferrer plays a screenwriter sent down to a rather rough Mexican city to research themurder his script is based on. He quickly discovers that the crime is not what was given out forpublic consumption, and he begins to rework his script in consequence. He also runs intoLeilani Sarelle. Smitten, he follows her to the beach, but is conked on the head and comes tominus a kidney. Then it seems that the organ thieves want his other one.

Writer/director David Marconi…
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Falling from Grace

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 7th, 2004

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Synopsis

John Mellencamp plays a darker, fictionalized (one hopes) version of himself as a rock starwho returns to his home town in Indiana. He is accompanied by his wife (Mariel Hemingway),and his journey stirs up a veritable hornet’s nest of resentments in his family and friends. KayLenz is married to his brother, but still resents Mellencamp for not choosing her, and the twobegin a very prickly flirtation and affair. As he begins to fall from grace, the question is whetherour her…
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Little Women (Classic DVD and Book Collection)

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 5th, 2004

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Synopsis

For the audience this film is aimed at, a synopsis should be superfluous. At any rate, this isthe tale of March family, consiting of mother Marmee (Susan Sarandon) and her four daughters:protagonist Jo (Winona Ryder), proper Meg (Trini Alvarado), delicate Beth (Claire Danes) andyoungest Amy (first Kirsten Dunst, cute as a button, then Samantha Mathis). We begin during theCivil War, with the father absent, and the family dealing with the privations of that time, andthen move…
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Sense and Sensibility (Classic DVD and Book Collection)

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 5th, 2004

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Synopsis

Jane Austen’s tale concerns the Dashwood sisters. Elinor (Emma Thompson) is sensible tothe point of excessive caution in matters of the heart. Marianne (Kate Winslett) is the opposite,so passionate that she might follow her heart into trouble. Their lives (and those of their littlesister and their mother) are made difficult by their loss of fortune. They are at the mercy ofselfish in-laws, though the brother of the gorgon-in-chief is the extremely likeable Hugh Grant(with w…
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Sanford and Son – The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2004

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This really was “The Big One”. Season 5 was probably my favorite year of Sanford and Son. Episodes like the Dickens-inspired Ebenezer Sanford, The classic Sanford and Rising Son and The Oddfather leave me laughing just to think about them. I can’t look at George C. Scott as Patton and not be reminded of the intrepid Sergeant Gork. George Foreman took a break from his fight schedule to appear as himself. Even the clip-loaded Camping Trip is a constant riot. In Season 5 the Sanfords discover NBC is making a TV show abo…
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Mr. Show – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 3rd, 2004

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For four seasons, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, along with a group of writers and comedians, served up comedy skits, parodies, and more, in the underrated but hilarious HBO late-night sketch comedy series Mr. Show.

Mr. Show is a smart comedy show, at least from what I can gather from the fourth season. The first thing to point out is every skit is somehow related to the next one by way of introducing a certain product, idea, or interstitial video. It’s as if each skit is part of one big narra…
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5ive Days to Midnight

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 28th, 2004

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Synopsis

On the tenth anniversary of his wife’s death (and his daughter’s tenth birthday), TimothyHutton finds a mysterious briefcase (we see it appear out of nowhere near his wife’s grave). Thecase has his name on it, and when he unlocks the combination, Hutton finds a file containing thedetails of his murder five days in the future. The clock starts ticking. Once he accepts that he isnot the victim of a hoax, will he be able to alter his destiny?

If the idea of a man inves…
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Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 26th, 2004

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Synopsis

These are the first eight installments of the slasher franchise, a franchise that is now bathedin the warm glow of nostalgia. The basic premise for all the movies is the same: a vengefulmaniac hacks up teenagers in retaliation for the drowning of little Jason Voorhees back in 1958.The films resemble each other so closely, and their plotting is so minimal, that viewers may beforgiven for having trouble keeping them straight. Herewith, a brief reminder of the salientdifferences.

Dark Heaven

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004

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Synopsis

Officer Gabriel Goodman (and yes, the name is supposed to be allegorical) comes to on thefloor of his precinct. He is alone, and his watch is running backwards. Strange enough, but thenhe stumbles outside to discover that the city is deserted. He follows a hooded figure, andencounters a priest who is locked out of his own church, and has apparently gone mad. Moreshadowy figures lure Goodman into a school, and he is soon locked in conflict with the priest,mysterious beings, …
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Alexander the Great

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004

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Synopsis

Philip, King of Macedonia (Fredric March) is busy conquering all of Greece when his wifebears him a son. There is no love lost between the couple, and the young Alexander (RichardBurton) grows up to be torn between the political machinations of his parents. His prowess inbattle threatens to make his glory overshadow his father’s, and conflict between them leadstemporarily to Alexander’s exile. When Philip is assassinated, Alexander ruthlessly consolidatespower, and then mar…
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Dream On – Seasons 1 & 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 22nd, 2004

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Synopsis

Brian Benben is a book editor. He is still madly in love with his ex-wife, but his dreams of getting back together with her are smashed by her upcoming marriage. And “dreams” is very much the operative term here, since Benben’s emotional reactions to the world around him are daydreams in the form of B&W clips from old films and TV shows. Exec-produced by John Landis, the series follows Benben’s misadventures (primarily with the opposite sex), and features plenty of Big Name guest appearances…
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Star Trek Voyager – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 16th, 2004

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Season 4 of Voyager is most notable for the addition of Jeri Ryan’s Seven Of Nine character. The stories grew a bit more complex. The season appears to have regarded style above substance in year 4. There is a modest attempt to develop a mother/daughter kind of relationship between Seven Of Nine and Janeway. The problem is that, like the potential for conflict inherent with the addition of the Maquis members of the crew, this conflict is all to often resolved in a Brady Bunch “What have you learned from this, Seven …
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Nightmare Boulevard

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2004

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Synopsis

A serial killer (whose methods, though gruesome, resemble in no way the atmospheric casefor this disc) is carving up women. Ron Perlman slowly investigates, but the main plot concernsignored housewife Claudia Christian. When her husband hares off again on another trip, she hasa torrid one-nighter with a pick-up at her tennis club. This is a bad move, since the toyboy is akiller, and he begins to stalk Christian Fatal Attraction-style, while the police begin tosuspect her hus…
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Wire — The Complete First Season, The

Posted in 1.33:1 Fullscreen, Box Set, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (French), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Spanish), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), DVD, HBO, Television by David Annandale on October 13th, 2004

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Synopsis

The setting is Baltimore, and the characters are on both sides of a battle between the cops anda drug-dealing ring. The narrative is that of one long mini-series, with the story spread over all 13episodes, rather than having self-contained units. The principles include Dominic West as thecop determined to bust the ring (though his reasons for wishing to do so are rather self-interested), and the prime target is Larry Gillard, Jr., a mid-level dealer who, after getting off a…
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Star Wars Trilogy

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2004

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How else am I to begin the review for the most anticipated films ever to be released on the DVD medium?

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”

Who among you doesn’t notice your pulse quickening and your breathing become more slightly more rapid when you see those infamous words appear on the screen? Anyone who has seen my basement will attest that my pulse and respiration don’t just quicken but enter into full anticipation mode (needless to say that a large percentage of my earnin…
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Barbie As The Princess and the Pauper

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 7th, 2004

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“Long ago and far away…”

So begins the latest direct-to-video CGI-animated Barbie movie, Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper. Based on Mark Twain’s classic tale, this video/DVD is a modern-retelling of the story. It’s Barbie’s first musical, and it does a fantastic job of both entertaining kids and giving them something to think about.

At the same moment, two identical baby girls were born. One, Princess Anneliese, had everything, while Erika, born to a poor village family, lived a li…
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Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004

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Synopsis

Nick Broomfield’s first documentary about Aileen Wuornos is a mixture of media clips andinterviews Broomfield conducted with Wuornos and the major figures in her trial, notably heradoptive mother and her unbelievably sleazy and incompetent lawyer (his “Dr. Legal” ad markshim as the legal equivalent of Dr. Nick Riviera). Then there’s the issue of police corruption. Allin all, essential viewing, especially in conjunction with the later film (which shows that, at thevery least said la…
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One Eyed King

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004

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Synopsis

William Baldwin is the leader of a group of friends in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen area. Theyare all on the periphery of the crime world, and the local kingpin is Armand Assante (with a mostsinister scar on his cheek). Two of the five become involved in a scheme that has them passingincompetently counterfeited hundred-dollar bills, and Assante demands their lives. Baldwininvestigates the death of one of them, and gradually realizes the depth of the betrayal.

The plot is rathe…
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Three Faces of Eve, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2004

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Synopsis

Psychiatrist Lee J. Cobb is visited by Joanne Woodward and husband David Wayne. She ishaving spells during which she cannot remember what she gets up to. It turns out that she has amultiple personality disorder, and when repressed, demure housewife Eve White fades out ofthe picture, teasing minx Eve Black steps out. Hubby, who is neither the most sympathetic northe smartest cookie going, cannot understand what’s going on, but Cobb does his best to help.Woodward’s wife spira…
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