Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2005
Uma Thurman (Gattaca) plays the Bride, whose bloody and battered face we see at the beginning of the movie. She is pregnant, but is shot in the head and left for dead. She actually is comatose, and stays that way for four years, before waking up one night from a mosquito buzzing in her ear. The Bride’s name is inconsequential, as any mention of her name draws a loud beeping sound during the movie, and her rehabilitation is also fairly hard to believe also, as she “focuses” in order to use her legs again. Then ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 7th, 2005
Synopsis
Denzel Washington plays Malcolm X, the black leader white folks DIDN’T feel comfortableabout. Beginning in the 1940s, when Malcolm is a zoot-suited cool cat with best friend Shorty(Spike Lee), the film then flashes back to just before his birth, and proceeds in properly epicfashion to trace the life of the charismatic, and extremely controversial, leader.
Questions can, and have, been asked about some aspects of the film. Time Out, for instance,raises the issue of t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2005
Written by Jason Franz
Synopsis
Without a Paddle is the story of three childhood playmates (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard), re-united by the death of a close friend. The four young boys dreamed of one day finding the lost fortune of legendary hijacker, D.B. Cooper. After the funeral of their friend, the trio discovers that their departed friend had kept the dream alive and was hot on the trail of Cooper's treasure before he died.
In memory of their friend, the three continue whe...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 30th, 2005
Predator vs. Alien was not as successful at the box office as was hoped. It seems that this 2-disc edition of Predator 2 might be intended to build interest for the troubled fusion of the two popular space creatures.
This film has had its share of detractors since its release in 1990. I, for one, find it to be as good as, if not better than, the original film. Watching the two governors Arnold and Jesse take on the Predator in the Columbian jungles was certainly a hoot. Let’s be honest...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 25th, 2005
Written by Jason Franz
Synopsis
First Daughter is a coming of age drama/comedy about Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes), the Presidents daughter, who is eager to start her college/adult life. Directed by Forest Whitaker and based on a story co-written by Jerry O'Connell, I had no idea what I was in for.
The flim starts with a quick montage of Samantha's childhood growing up with political parents. We're looped into the story as she heads towards her first year in college, and her first...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 25th, 2005
Synopsis
Stephen Dorff (adopting a most convincing accent) plays Iain Softley, bass guitarist in a banddriven by best pal John Lennon (you may have heard of the group). The lads leave Liverpool forHamburg, where they become house band for a strip club, and gradually build a following.Softley is more of a painter than a guitarist, and his commitment to the band is furtherundermined when he falls for photographer Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee).
Dorff is excellent, and Ian Hart ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 24th, 2005
Written by Jason Franz
Synopsis
In Taxi, Jimmy Fallon plays a bumbling big city cop (Washburn) that has an extremely bad driving record, trying to catch a big case. Queen Latifah plays a bicycle messenger (Belle) trying to make it as a New York cabbie in her home-made "super cab". The two meet up when Fallon comes accross a robery while walking the beat. Hilarity does not ensue.
Taxi tries to do it all. Deliver laughs, action and a bit of drama and manages to fail on every attempt. From the unbelievable "...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 22nd, 2005
To put it succinctly, HBO has done it again. The network simply has no fear. It prides itself on bringing groundbreaking programming to the masses, laughing in the face of such cookie-cutter faire as American Idol and Two And A Half Men. First there was Sex and the City, then the behemoth that is The Soprano’s, and now we have Carnivale.
I love TV shows that feel they don’t have to explain themselves, and this series is certainly that. Think “David Lynch vs. the Jim Rose C...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 22nd, 2005
Synopsis
Charlize Theron doesn’t play Aileen Wuornos, she incarnates her. At the end of hertether, highway prostitute Aileen meets 18-year-old Selby (Christina Ricci) when she accidentlywalks into a lesbian bar. They click, and suddenly, Aileen has a reason to live. She tries to turnher life around, but with the implacability of Greek tragedy, her attempts end in failure and shereturns to turning tricks. One date goes turns ghastly, and she kills the brutal john in self-defense...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 14th, 2005
First off, let me say that if you have only seen Showgirls on VH-1, then you haven’t had the full experience. It’s bad on network television, but the sheer scope of how truly awful it is can only be experienced in the full, uncut version. Laughing at an idiot is one thing. Laughing at a naked idiot is something else entirely. It’s amazing how un-sexy this film really is. Showgirls is funny in the same way that it was funny to make fun of the fat kid riding in the front of the bus in Junior High. ...
