Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 17th, 2006
Can good acting make a film? Quite often it can. Dirty is a prime example of a film ending up better than it deserves to be by the powerful performance of a few good actors. Amando Sancho (Collins, Jr.) is an ex-gang kid from the mean streets of L.A. He thinks his street smarts and credibility can be an asset on the police force. Unfortunately we will never know, because he is partnered with corrupt cop Salim Adel (Gooding, Jr.). Both appear to require abject lessons in morality and loyalty, lessons that come too...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 13th, 2006
Certainly a surprise upon its initial release, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo exceeded so many box office expectations a sequel was inevitable. From what I've heard, European Gigolo represents everything wrong with movies today; however, I did not let that abysmal word-of-mouth prevent me from giving the first installment a chance. Unfortunately, after viewing the original, I can't see how the sequel could be any worse.
This film has its share of supporters, and I can't really come down on anyone ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2006
It’s rather stunning to discover that My Neighbor Totoro was made way back in 1988, long before the days of CG and all automatic illustration. And perhaps that animation does detract from the overall experience from the film, but if that’s the only reason that it would be a problem, then people simply need to get their taste in order.
In another film from legendary Japanese film director Hayao Miyazaki (who made the Oscar-winning film Spirited Away), the film follows sisters Mei and Satsuki, w...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 6th, 2006
Synopsis
Roy Scheider is the police helicopter pilot and Vietnam war vet (cue flashbacks) who is tapped to test Blue Thunder, a new helicopter equipped with every conceivable weapon and means of surveillance. He discovers that the machine is at the heart of a conspiracy to undermine all that is good and free, and chief bad guy here is Malcolm McDowell, for whom Scheider has a more than cordial dislike thanks to what happened back in 'Nam. The stage is set for high-tech showdown in the skies over LA....
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2006
Let me admit straight away, I generally do not watch very many foreign films with subtitles. If a film is not dubbed in English, I generally pass. It’s not for a lack of tolerance. When I watch a film, I immerse myself into what I’m seeing. Films are total escapist fun. I experience a film more than view it. Having to read the dialogue denies me the ability to experience rather than watch the film. I also find that while I am busy reading subs I will tend to miss some of the film’s subtleties, which are quite important to me.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 28th, 2006
Synopsis
Clive Owen is a man approaching the end of his tether. His marriage is becoming stagnant, his job at an advertising firm is no better, and he is worried about his daughter, who has type 1 diabetes. He and his wife have set aside a lot of money to pay for an experimental drug for her. One day, on a train, he meets Jennifer Aniston. A friendship is sparked, and then an affair begins, only to be violently disrupted by Vincent Cassel. He brutalizes both, and begins to blackmail Owen for ever-inc...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 27th, 2006
Synopsis
We begin with an ending: the final collapse of the marriage between Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney. He is a formerly renowned author who now can’t get himself arrested, let alone published. She is suddenly coming in to her own as a writer. He is pathologically self-obsessed. She is deeply insecure. Together, they spell bad news for their two sons, 16-year-old Jesse Eisenberg and 12-year-old Owen Kline. Both parents are a bit of a mess, but daddy is easily the worst offender, and is an absolut...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 24th, 2006
Synopsis
French nuclear testing (?!) in the Pacific leads to the mutation of iguanas (!?), and giant one makes its way to New York to nest. Scientist Matthew Broderick hooks up with old-flame TV journalist Maria Pitillo and French secret service guy Jean Reno to try to stop the rampage.
You’ll note that I did not refer to the giant iguana as “Godzilla.” The monster in question here, designated by Toho studios as “Zilla” and known in Godzilla fandom under the name GINO (“Godzilla In Name Onl...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 24th, 2006
After the transformation of the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings books into hugely successful films, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to tackle C.S. Lewis’s famous novels The Chronicles of Narnia. Both of the aforementioned books into movies were excellent because, even though they didn’t include every little detail presented in the novels, fans still embraced the films for what they were. They brought a majority of the presented themes and ideas in the books and showed u...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 19th, 2006
The genre of Thrillers and Suspense are usually categorized by types of films that the viewer watches and then wonders what they just watched. Films like Memento and The Machinist are prime examples of this. Both films, after many viewings, are excellent films solely because they require that the viewer think of each scene with careful scrutiny making note of each and everything on the screen. Both films end with the type of ending that doesn’t necessarily satisfy on the first viewing, but ultimately sa...
