Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2004
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 11th, 2004
Jack Black has mainly played smaller bit parts in movies and the problem has always been that whenever he is on screen he steals the show. He has had a starring role in one film (Shallow Hal) but as you will quickly learn from this film they kept him on a pretty short leash. This guy is on overdrive whenever there is a camera anywhere within a hundred feet.
Jack Black is Dewey Finn the down on his luck wannabe rock god. His roommate’s new girlfriend threatens to kick Dewey out if he doesn’t come up with som... rent money and then he gets kicked out of his band for sucking and playing 20 minute guitar solos. Out of luck and options he gets a phone call for his roommate, it is a prestigious prep school who wants him to temp for them for $600 a week. Dewey senses an opportunity to make some easy money and you can just imagine what happens next.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 10th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 8th, 2004
Jimmy Coy is some kind of freelance operative, specializing in explosives and enforcement,for organized crime. He is ashamed of his line of work, however, and wants out. He and his twobuddies are hired but a sneering, Snidely Whiplash villain to torch an arena full of spectators.Jimmy refuses to cause any casualities, but our villain won't take no for an answer. Meanwhile,Jimmy falls in love with Cassandra, the stepdaughter of one of the head thugs. Cassandra is hersister's skating coach, which means that w... get to see a lot more figure skating than is usual for amob film.
I wouldn't have minded the clumsy, beyond-rudimentary characterizations and cliche-riddendialogue quite so much if the pace weren't so plodding. After a decent opening shoot-out andmedley of kabooms, the story settles down to sadly amateurish gangland shenanigans.Yawn.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2004
Film
Sin suffers from a severe case of identity crisis. The film opens with a wide western vista and a lone grave in the wilderness. The music is soft and the atmosphere Unforgivenesque. The peace is rudely crashed with a quick cut to an urban techno-dance club. Ving Rhames plays a one-armed vigilante, but if you watch close enough you can see him cheat and use the “useless” arm. Gary Oldman is the only bright performance in the film. Be warned the central theme of the film involves a brutal gang-rap... that is not only disturbing in its depiction, but forced on us several times throughout the film. I really didn’t need to be hit that hard on the head with it. I got it already.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 22nd, 2004
The third and hopefully final entry in the American Pie series, American Wedding keeps with the sweet charms and gross out comedy of the first two movies, but can’t live up to the humor of the original or its sequel. Average Joe Jim, (Jason Biggs) and former band geek Michelle, (Alyson Hannigan) are now engaged to be wed and must decide whether raucous Stifler (Seann William Scott) should be invited to the wedding. Shenanigans ensue involving a night out at a gay club, a bachelor party, pleasing the in-laws, and pubi... hair on a wedding cake.
Sure, Stifler eats dog poop and does for curse words what bullet time did for special effects, but missing characters and lack of novelty cannot lift this one into the rare category of sequels being as good or better than the previous installments. While it offers plenty of funny moments, most courtesy of Stifler, the movie just seems tired and worn out. The filmmakers should excuse themselves from the table after this. No more pie for them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2004
The third season of South Park was a bittersweet one. It seemed that season 2 had floundered just a little. Most of us wondered if the talents of Stone and Parker had already run out of gas. Season 3 turned out to be one of the funniest yet. This was also the year that Mary Kay Bergman committed suicide. Mary Kay had provided ALL of the female voices for the show. This left the crew in a scramble to deliver episodes before they could find a replacement. This unfortunate turn did produce some memorable episodes, howev...r.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 22nd, 2004
Season three sees Futurama cooking on gas. This is THE SIMPSONS on some mind-altering substance. For the uninitiated (and if you have never watched the series before - watch seasons 1 and 2 first…duhhh!) pizza delivery boy Fry has awoken from cryogenic suspension and finds himself in the year 3000. Here he teams up with the girl of his dreams, one-eyed space captain Leela, the hard-drinking, wallet-lifting robot Bender (he bends things for a living), the frankly barmy Professor Farnsworth and an assorted bunch of ge...ks and aliens who tag along for the ride.
The reason Futurama is an acquired taste is because, as its creators intended, it uses every opportunity to parody and poke fun at the conventions of practically every science-fiction show and film ever made. By season three the writers are in full flow and watching these episodes is an exhausting experience because they are so packed with visual gags and brilliant one-liners. By the time you've realized the significance of the hypno frog you've missed a dozen other quips and in-jokes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2004
Synopsis
Danny (Greg Kinnear) and his wife Jennifer (Lauren Holly) are a happily married couple. They have reached the point in their marriage that they are now ready to start a family. The only problem is that for whatever reason, they are unable to conceive. Jennifer goes to her physician for a work up and is found to be healthy and able to conceive. Therefore she concludes that the couple problems are due to Danny. She tricks Danny into going a fertilization clinic to be examined. It turns out tha... his boys are the reason for the couple’s baby making problems. They then try IVF (in vitro fertilization) given that the likelihood of success is low but still higher than the good old fashioned way.
