Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)

Boston Strangler, The

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

Synopsis

Boston is in a panic as a maniac stalks the streets, strangling women in their own homes. Thefirst half of the film follows the police investigation, headed up by Henry Fonda and GeorgeKennedy. A huge task force tracks down lead after lead, picks up suspect after suspect, all to noavail. The second half of the film shifts to Tony Curtis, who is the killer, only he doesn’t knowit: he suffers from a multiple personality disorder. The question, when he finally is caught, iswhe…
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Angels in America

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 2nd, 2004

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Synopsis

A sprawling tale/fable/meditation centred on the early AIDS plague and the American dream,Angels in America is set in 1985, and traces hypocrisy and courage, disillusion and faithin the face of the disease. Prior (Justin Kirk) reveals to his lover Louis (Ben Shenkman) that hehas AIDS. Louis leaves him, and takes up with lawyer (Patrick Wilson), who, as a Mormon, ispretty damn closeted. His wife Harper (Mary-Louise Parker) spirals into depression. Meanwhile,spectacula…
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Boy Meets World – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 29th, 2004

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Synopsis

Our protagonist is Cory (Ben Savage), a Grade Six student, and we see the world through hisfrequently puzzled eyes as he moves on the cusp between childhood and adolescence. This is asitcom, and it is by no means any kind of radical new groundbreaker in the field. For one thing,smart-aleck kids a dime a gross in this genre, and there isn’t the surreal comedy that would comein the later Malcolm in the Middle. Still, the writing is several notches above most othershows…
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ALF – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 28th, 2004

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ALF stands for Alien Life Form, but anyone who has seen this hit 1980’s comedy knows ALF stands for “Laughing your ass off funny”. OK, so the letters are out of order, but you know I’m right. It’s no surprise our favorite Melmac dude has made the DVD scene. The real shocker is that it took so long. Who remembers comedy from the 1980’s? There just wasn’t an awful lot to laugh at. ALF was the “muppet-like” creation of Paul Fusco, who also provides the wise-cracking voice of ALF. ALF’s making a comeback these days with …
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Chris Rock – Never Scared

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 28th, 2004

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Chris Rock is quite possibly the most important comic of all time. There are quite a few entertainers that have shown up in the public spotlight over the past few years that have blurred the lines between comic, social satirist and political lecturer. Bill Maher and Dennis Miller come to mind. However, Chris Rock is a special comedian, due to his masterful knowledge of how to manipulate an audience. Anybody can make wise cracks about racial differences, but it takes a special person to be able to change the minds of …
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Alligator People, The

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

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Synopsis

Beverly Garland (who was, with Allison Hayes, one of the queens of 50s SF) is on ahoneymoon train ride with her new husband Richard Crane. A telegram makes Crane blanch,and he hops off the train at the next stop, disappearing form Garland’s life. She searches for him,finally tracing his last address to The Cypresses, a plantation deep in the Louisiana swamp. Itturns out that Crane is slowly turning into an alligator due to the well-intentioned experimentsof scientist George…
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Lion in Winter, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 27th, 2004

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Synopsis

Patrick Stewart is King Henry II of England. He is on the verge of announcing the heir tohis throne. Trouble is, none of his sons are fit to rule, and two of them previously were part ofa rebellion against him, led by his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Glenn Close). He summons hisfamily to his seat of power, and the stage is set for all sorts of palace intrigue.

The screenplay is the same one used in the original film — James Goldman’s adaptation ofhis play. As present…
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Jim Henson’s Storyteller: Greek Myths (The Complete Collection)

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 27th, 2004

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Synopsis

Michael Gambon narrates four tales from Greek mythology: Daedalus and Icarus, Orpheusand Eurydice, Perseus and the Gorgon, and Theseus and the Minotaur. Gambon is the Storytellerof the title. Clad in toga and moving about his workshop, he tells the stories to a talking dog. Thestories themselves cut back and forth between the tales and Gambon, and are a mixture of humanactors and Jim Henson Creature Shop creations. The result is rather ambitious, and the tone israther oddly…
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From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 27th, 2004

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Synopsis

This is a four-part series that aired on PBS’s Frontline. Four hours long, it is ahistorical/archaeological look at Jesus’ life and that of his early followers. The series has time todelve into detail, and so the whole context of the era, political and otherwise, is presented. Ratherthan use cheesy recreations, the documentary shows us actual settings and interweaves these withinterviews with experts in the field.

Audio

Obviously, this isn’t a relea…
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Blindness

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

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Synopsis

Pity poor Daniel Hong (Chin Han), a mild-mannered eye surgeon who is buffeted at homeby the war between his wife Natalie (Vivian Wu) and blind mother Mrs. Hong (Lisa Lu). His lifeisn’t going to get any easier, however. This night, while he is called away to the hospital, his oldfriend Patrick (Joe Lando) descends on the house. Patrick has spent the last ten years in prison forthe murder of his parents. He has escaped from custody, and he arrives at the Hong residence,hungry…
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Soap – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 25th, 2004

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Sometimes, the craziest ideas are the best ones. In the world of television (and movies as well), there seems to be a constant struggle between playing it safe and gambling on a big return. For instance, when it comes to sitcoms, stories about a family plus one or two outside characters are sure-fire hits. Just look at Family Matters, The King of Queens, The George Lopez Show, Cosby, Frasier and My Wife and Kids. Shows about work, such as Newsradio, Suddenly Susan, Veronica’s Closet, Scrubs and < ...
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King Kong Lives

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 21st, 2004

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Synopsis

Turns out Kong didn’t die at the foot of the World Trade Center. He’s been kept alive(though in a coma) in a University lab for the last ten years. Linda Hamilton has designed a hugeartificial heart for him, but he needs a massive blood transfusion. By lucky coincidence,adventurer Brian Kerwin is wandering around a set that is supposed to be Borneo, and hestumbles upon a female Kong. A half-dozen tribesmen with blowdarts promptly sedate her (asimple solution to monster trou…
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Doing Time on Maple Drive

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 21st, 2004

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Synopsis

The Carter family might appear to have it all. But as this is a Movie of the Week, we knowthat these people are really a dysfunctional calamity. And so they are: Dad is a tyrant, Mom isa social-climbing bitch-on-wheels, daughter is terrified of becoming like her mother and so hasan abortion behind her husband’s back rather than risk being a mother, older son (Jim Carreyin a supporting role) is a disappointment in every aspect, and Perfect Younger Son turns out tobe gay. My …
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Alexander’s Ragtime Band

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 20th, 2004

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Synopsis

Tyrone Power comes from a good family and a has a fine future as a concert violinist, but hedreams of leading a band. A chance encounter in a bar leads to the formation of Alexander’sRagtime Band, with the brassy Alice Faye as singer. Power and Faye are at it hammer and tongs,so you know they’ll wind up falling in love, and so they do. But the road they must travel is notan easy one, as Faye is hired away from the band to Broadway, and Power is recruited into thearmy just i…
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Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 19th, 2004

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Synopsis

The most unholy of characters from the Conan O’Brien show, this rubber dog has reallytaken on a life of his own. You either love this guy, or you can’t stand him. Me, I’m still laughingas I try to write this review. Included in this compilation are such routines as the controversialQuebec City visit, and Triumph’s appearance on The Hollywood Squares. Extremely rude andnasty, but quite appallingly funny too.

Audio

The 2.0 audio is certainly adequate …
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Late Night with Conan O’Brien 10th Anniversary Special

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 19th, 2004

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Synopsis

Conan O’Brien’s 10th anniversary show is pretty much what you’d expect: lots of highlightclips from the past, old friends and guests showing up on-stage (Will Ferrell, Mr. T, AndyRichter, etc.), and so on. Though the format is hardly revolutionary, the fact remains that a lot ofthese routines are extremely funny, and the parade of characters highlights just how one-of-a-kind the Conan show is, not to mention how much network TV has relaxed over the decades (justtry to imagi…
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Candyman

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 18th, 2004

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Synopsis

Virginia Madsen and Kasi Lemmons are working on a thesis on urban legends. They haveheard several version of the Candyman story, and they trace it back to its origins at the horrificChicago housing project Cabrini Green. Madsen destroys the legend by exposing the truth, whichforces the legend to become real. Candyman (Tony Todd) frames Madsen for his own crimes,and threatens worse unless she voluntarily surrenders to be his victim.

Writer/director Bernard Rose (whos…
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Sugarland Express, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 18th, 2004

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Synopsis

Goldie Hawn plays Lou Jean, a woman as hysterical as she is stupid (she makes the bag ofhammers look like Kierkegaard), descends on her slightly more intelligent husband, Clovis(William Atherton). Clovis is four months from release from prison, but she insists he break outRIGHT NOW and come with her to fetch their baby Langston from his foster home in Sugarland.They wind up taking Texas State Trooper Michael Sacks hostage, and travel across Texas,pursued by what looks like …
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Laws of Attraction

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 17th, 2004

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Synopsis

Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan are two formidable divorce attorneys. Neither has losta case prior to meeting each other. Thereafter, they wind up taking turns going down to defeat. Adrinking contest leads to a night together, one that Moore would rather forget, but we know thesetwo are going to wind up together even as they spar in court. When another drunk binge leads tothe two getting married, they must pretend to love each other, even if they don’t. Or do they?

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Jeff Foxworthy Show – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 16th, 2004

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Jeff Foxworthy has experienced something of a renaissance as of late. In the early 90’s, this loveable redneck burst on to the comedy scene with his southern style of humor, driven by the ever-popular series of “…you might be a redneck” jokes. Living in the south myself, I was both entertained and angered by his routine. On the one hand, it kind-of made me angry that he was making Southerners sound so stupid. On the other hand, it was funny because it was true. Such is the dilemma of living in the South.

An…
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Sliders – The Complete First & Second Seasons

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 15th, 2004

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While Sliders may not rank in the upper echelon of sci-fi/fantasy series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel or its predecessor Quantum Leap, it is a very watchable show with endearing characters and witty writing at times. Quinn (Jerry O’Connell), a brainy San Francisco physics student, has perfected a device – in his mom’s basement, no less – that opens up a temporary wormhole between alternate Earths. By leaping into the wormhole, one can “slide” between worlds; but of course there’s …
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Air America

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

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There was a time, even as late as the 90’s, when making an anti-American film was still taboo in Hollywood. Of course today, movies like Fahrenheit 9/11 are big money makers, but for many years, such films were discouraged. Air America is one of the rare exceptions to this rule. This may be due to the fact that it was disguised as a comedy about the Vietnam conflict, but no matter how you look at it, the film is quite critical of the US government, and it makes some pretty scathing accusations about our…
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Highlander 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2004

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Synopsis

In 2024, the Earth’s ozone layer has been depleted (or so most assume), and life is protectedby an electromagnetic shield designed by Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). Eco-crusaderVirginia Madsen, however, believes that the ozone layer has restored itself, and the corporationthat runs the shield is maintaining it for its own purposes. Meanwhile, back in the past, villainMichael Ironside sends assassins to the future to kill Lambert, who is an aging man as the filmbegins…
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Sweet Potato Pie

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2004

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Synopsis

Three friends head out planning to lose their virginity. Misadventures ensue. You really don’tneed to know anymore about the plot than that, because you really, really, really don’t want towatch this amateurish, shot-on-video attempt to be an “urban” American Pie. Theassumptions behind the film seem to be that the target audience is completely stupid andundiscriminating, and will laugh uproariously at jokes lifted completely from other movies.Dreck of the lowest orde…
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Judas

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 11th, 2004

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Synopsis

It’s the story of Jesus one more time (stop me if you’ve already heard it), in this instance seenthrough the eyes of Judas (Johnathon Schaech). Enraged by the oppression of his people, Judasis a would-be revolutionary who believes he sees in Jesus the leader he has been hoping for, onewho will lead the Jews in a revolt against the Romans. He is increasingly disillusioned by Jesus’lack of commitment to armed resistance, and the bitter disappointment he feels ultimately leads…
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