Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)

Vanilla Sky

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2002

Synopsis

Tom Cruise is the deeply shallow David Aames, who undergoes a conversion when he falls in love with Penelope Cruz (repeating her role from the original). This upsets Cameron Diaz, who commits vehicular suicide with Cruise in the passenger seat. Horribly disfigured, he nevertheless re-establishes his relationship with Cruz. And then reality starts coming apart at the seams.

The film looks terrific, and has an interestingly eclectic soundtrack (I’m amazed that they dug up “Doot Doot”…
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Yank in the RAF, A

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2002

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Synopsis

Tyrone Power is the intensely irritating American flyboy who flies a delivers a bomber to England to earn some money. Once there, he spots old flame Betty Grable, and enlists in the RAF so he can woo her back. Grable is also being courted by Power’s commanding officer, who possesses all the decent qualities Power lacks (i.e. just about everything).

The romance, which central to the film, is not exactly enthralling, since you’re rooting for the wrong man. The combat scenes, however,…
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Mr. Saturday Night

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 5th, 2002

Synopsis

Buddy Young Jr. (Billy Crystal) is in the twilight of his career. Once he had his own television show, but his self-destructive impulses and violent temper torpedoed that (not to mention increasingly alienating his loved ones). Now a senior citizen, he is still trying to make a go of it, still making life miserable for his long-suffering brother. The film flashes back and forth, showing us Buddy’s rise and fall in the past, and his current attempts to make something remotely resembling a com…
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2002

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Synopsis

A synopsis is pretty pointless. Either you watch the series or you don’t. But for what it’s worth, Buffy is a high-school student who is also one of the chosen heroes of history whose purpose in life is to combat and destroy vampires. The big complication this season is the fact that she’s fallen love with one (Angel).

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 audio is acceptable, but nothing special. While generally clean, the dialogue does occasionally have some buzz to it. The music …
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Monster’s Ball

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2002

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Monster’s Ball is a very raw and powerful film. The story and the cinematography are wonderful, as is the acting… thus the Best Actress Academy Award for Halle Berry.

“MONSTER’S BALL is a hard hitting Southern drama tempered by a story of powerful, life-changing love. It is the story of Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), an embittered prison guard working on Death Row who begins an unlikely, but emotionally charged affair with Leticia (Halle Berry), the wife of a man he has just executed.” – Lions Gate

Audio

This film sounds great on DVD. The subtle soundtrack is smooth, and the soundstage is used wonderfully. The sound dispersion and separation is very clean, and the dialog is precise.

Video

The video quality on this DVD is also very good. There is very little damage to the print by the way of debris and grain, and the raw feeling of the film is maintained nicely. The skin tones look natural and both the colors and darks are very accurate.

Special Features

This disc does not contain lots of special features, but it does contain very good special features. The menus are very nice… clean and theme oriented, with a solid score, animated menus, and smooth page transitions.

This disc contains two separate audio commentaries. The first commentary features the films director (Marc Forster) and Director of Photography (Roberto Schaefer) in which is a very informative, but somewhat dry track. The second commentary includes Director Marc Forster, as well as co-star’s Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton. This track, though it started of very disjointed and awkward, turned into quite an interesting track. If you have to choose one of these two commentaries to listen to, pick the second.

This disc also includes two featurettes – Behind the Scenes & Scoring the film. The behind the scenes featurette is quite non-conventional for the fact it does not focus on interviews, but rather actual shot footage of behind the scenes film stock. The featurette on the score is one of the best “scoring” features I have ever seen… it is 8 minutes in length, and it really teaches how and why the film sounds as it does. The features are rounded off with 4 deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer.

Final Thoughts

This is a very solid film and DVD. Lions Gate has created a DVD of very high quality, and has crafted some very nice special features. This disc should be owned, or at least seen by all.

Special Features List

Director’s Commentary
Actor’s Commentary w/ Director
Deleted Scenes
Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
Scoring the Film Featurette
Theatrical Trailer

Agnes of God

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 30th, 2002

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Synopsis

Child-like nun Meg Tilly is found one night lying on the floor of her cell, covered in blood, a strangled newborn in her wastebasket. Psychiatrist Jane Fonda is called in to determine whether or not Tilly is fit for trial. Mother Superior Anne Bancroft is convinced that she is not, and does not want skeptical Fonda destroying Tilly’s innocence. Meanwhile, Tilly, it seems, cannot remember anything about that night, and certainly denies ever having been pregnant.

Audio

Verdict, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 25th, 2002

Synopsis

Paul Newman’s Frank Galvin has seen better days. Now he’s a broken-down, alcoholic ambulance-chaser. But then his last chance arrives in the form of a negligence case being brought against two doctors who gave a young woman the wrong anaesthetic, reducing her to a vegetable. Though Galvin at first is planning to settle out of court, he changes his mind, and the result is a David-and-Goliath courtroom struggle.

Though a 1982 release, The Verdict still has much of the feel of a 70s f…
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Rambo Trilogy

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2002

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The Films

Guilty as charged. Yes, it is true… until now, I had never seen any of the Rambo films. Sure, these films are all now somewhat dated, but they sure are fun to watch.

Rambo: First Blood – Sylvester Stallone stars as ex-Green Beret John Rambo, a shell-shocked Vietnam vet adrift in the Pacific Northwest. Harassment by an unsympathetic small-town sheriff brings on nasty flashbacks of torture at the hands of the Viet Cong; after busting out of the jail where he has …
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To the Shores of Tripoli

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2002

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Synopsis

Randolph Scott is a young man who refuses to live up to his potential. Though very skilled, and possessing every attribute necessary to excel as a marine, he refuses to do so. When not training, he does one of two things: engage in a battle of wills with the crusty sergeant (John Payne) who knows what Scott should be capable of; or court sensible nurse Maureen O’Hara (who also expects more of Scott than he does of himself).

Don’t approach this hoping for an action flick. Despite t…
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Desert Rats

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2002

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Synopsis

1941. Field Marshal Rommel’s forces are sweeping across Africa. The only thing blocking him from the Suez Canal is Tobruk. The British and Australian forces are hopelessly outmanned and outgunned, but their orders are to hold out, and hold out they will. Richard Burton is placed in charge of a battalion of green Australians. Though his toughness doesn’t endear him to his him, Burton nevertheless whips them into combat and commando troops.

The characters are familiar. Burton’s comm…
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Belphegor – Phantom of the Louvre

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2002

Another recent big-budget French production to hit these shores, this, along with Brotherhood of the Wolves, makes for an interesting comparison with American blockbusters.

Synopsis

A sinister mummy case is discovered in a disused vault of the Louvre. The expedition that originally found the mummy was decimated, and now the mysterious deaths begin again. Living across the street from the Louvre is Sophie Marceau (most recently seen by North American audiences in The World Is Not Enough), wh…
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Memento

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 8th, 2002

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WOW! This is one of the most unique and fascinating films ever made… and this DVD release is equally as amazing. If you have never been introduced to Memento, this is your chance. This film works like no other (not counting “The Following” – Christopher Nolan’s first film), running backwards rather then sequentially. And let me tell you, once you have found the Easter egg that contains the film played sequentially, this film will take on a whole new life.

“In MEMENTO, Guy Pearce (“L.A. Confidential”)…
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Frequency

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 4th, 2002

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Time travel stories and their inevitable paradoxes have been with us since Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. This film takes a fresh approach to the subject. Instead of the characters moving through time, they are afforded the chance to communicate through time. Frequency is both engaging and often emotional. There is an amazing chemistry between father and son even though for most of the film they are never actually together. The baseball theme, for me, adds warmth that makes the relationship play out like a common memory.
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Stargate SG-1 – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2002

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Let me start off by being very honest. I was not a huge fan of the Devlin and Emerich film version of Stargate. And because I wasn’t into the film, I did not bother to watch the Showtime original series when it first debuted. That was a major mistake on my behalf. The series is closer to Star Trek than Stargate (the movie). The cast is excellent beginning with Richard Dean Anderson taking over the Mike Douglas role of Col. O’Neal. With a refreshing blend of wit and tough guy, Anderson is everything you want in a le…
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X-Files – The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 14th, 2002

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The X-Files is one of those TV shows that lends itself very well to the DVD format. Its insanely complicated mythos and attendant continuity makes it a show where extras actually make sense. (Does anyone REALLY need Ally McBeal commentary?)

Synopsis

The fifth season is the one that led up to the release of the feature film, so it functions something like an extended prologue. Among the notable stand-alone stories, however, is “Kill Switch,” scripted by William Gibson. This season also saw the Lone …
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Thief of Hearts

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 12th, 2002

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Let’s take a little trip down memory lane, shall we? Follow me back to that bygone era known as the eighties. Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer were consolidating their formula for slick, commercial fluff, Harold Faltermeyer’s synthesized scores were inescapable, and Steven Bauer actually rated star billing.

Synopsis

Steven Bauer is a professional cat-burglar, aided and managed by cocaine-sniffing restaurant employee David Caruso (looking geekily young). On one particular job, Bauer finds, amid hi…
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The Cell

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 10th, 2002

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Let me start off by saying that “The Cell” is not for the timid. It can be as disturbing as it is visually stunning. On the surface this is a serial killer thriller but in reality the film is much more. Elements of suspense and graphic horror combine with a science fiction premise that one can enter the dreams of another person. It’s hard not to make comparisons with the 1980’s film “Dreamscape”; both have created elaborate larger than life dream worlds where if you die in your dream you die in reality. “The Cell” goes much further with its stark contrasts of often gritty environments followed by lavish and brightly colored settings.

Independence Day

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2002

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This film has been met with mixed but mostly rave reviews (Maltin only gives it 2.5 stars) since it was released. I loved it. It wasn’t just the spaceships and groundbreaking effects but the well-rounded cast that makes this film a future classic for me. Goldblume’s quirky nerd works perfectly here (more than it did in Jurassic Park), Quaid is a simple joy, Will Smith showed that he has grown out of the “Fresh Prince” stereotype, and anyone who thought Judd Hirsh wasn’t anything more than Taxi’s Alex must have been awed by his performance.
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Bar Girls

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2002

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Intro

It is interesting to see a film with such a tiny budget ($500,000) on the MGM label.

Synopsis

The film is centred around a Girl Bar, and follows the trials and tribulations in love of a group of lesbians. Loretta, a TV cartoon writer, is the central figure (though this is pretty close to being an ensemble piece), and is something like a cross between Bette Midler and Bridget Jones. Bar Girls was originally a play, and a good job was done of opening the story up – the film does no…
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Spongebob Squarepants: Nautical Nonsense

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 11th, 2002

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Intro

The hero is a kitchen sponge. I think I’ve seen everything now.

Synopsis

Ten episodes of the Nickelodeon cartoon series, starring the terminally nerdy Spongebob Squarepants. He lives in the Goo Lagoon, and has a thing for Sandy, a squirrel in a diving outfit. The humour will either work for you or it won’t.

Audio

The sound is clear, but a bit thin. The surround effects are limited almost entirely to the music, and even that isn’t as rich as it might be. The big…
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Wilde

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 9th, 2002

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Intro

An ambitious, intelligent, serious look at the life of Oscar Wilde, this is a first-class biopic.

Synopsis

Stephen Fry is Oscar Wilde, the role he was born to play. The film begins with Wilde’s triumphant lecture tour of the US, and we pick up his life from there, seeing his marriage, his seduction by Robbie Ross, and the flowering of his talent, even as his downfall becomes inevitable through his relationship with the callow Lord Alfred Douglas (Jude Law). Fry is surrounded by a…
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Traffic

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 6th, 2002

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Starting a few years back with Out of Sight and continuing on with The Limey and Erin Brokovich, director Steven Soderbergh had been riding a remarkable streak of winning films that fulfills the blazing promise of his first film, sex, lies, and videotape. With his most complex film to date, Traffic, Soderbergh once again proved that he is one of America’s most inventive filmmakers. He doesn’t play it safe – with each and every new outing, Soderbergh proves that he’s not afraid to …
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Barabbas

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 5th, 2002

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Intro

We’re approaching the Easter season, which means it’s time for Biblical epics to hit the new release shelf (whichever ones haven’t been put on DVD yet). This one puts its emphasis on spectacle and action.

Synopsis

Anthony Quinn plays Barabbas, the thief freed in Christ’s place. Though he initially goes back to his drunken, thieving, carousing ways, he is rattled by the events surround the crucifixion. He successively discovers his faith and loses it over the course of a tumultuou…
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Barcelona

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2002

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Film

Genuinely witty comedies with an idea or two in their heads are rare enough that each one that shows up is cause for celebration. So go ahead. Celebrate.

The set-up is familiar: the romantic misadventures of two mismatched friends. The odd couple are Ted (Taylor Nichols), basically a yuppie Woody Allen, and Fred (Chris Eigeman), who cheerfully admits to being every European’s worst assumptions about Americans. The objects of their affections are Tushka Bergen and Mira Sorvino. What’s d…
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Terminator 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2002

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The most basic rule in Hollywood seems to be that a sequel can never be as good as the original. If you’ve seen enough Police Academy films you know the rule by heart. This rule has been broken with Terminator 2. Not only is it better then the original, it is so much better that it has become “the” Terminator film. It’s no surprise that the DVD would have to be something special right down to a metal cover for the box. This is an ultimate edition that truly lives up to the name, and will make you forget about all previous issues of the film.

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