Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 27th, 2003
Harrison Ford is the top selling actor in Hollywood these days. He owes this distinction in no small part to a couple of trilogies he did early in his career. While Star Wars might have been a chance for Ford to break out, Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels defined his abilities. Indiana Jones is the perfect hero. He’s strong, intelligent, and above all moral. Unlike the stereotypical hero Jones is also vulnerable and at times flawed. Credit Steven Spielberg for the iconic stature Indy occupies today. Left to his own devices, George Lucas would have given us Tom Selleck as the cigarette-smoking morally bankrupt Indiana Smith.
Raiders of the Lost Ark brought back the cinematic tradition of the 2-reel serials. These shorts would combine with a newsreel, a cartoon, and a feature film to provide a splendid moviegoing event in the early days of talkies. To those of us too young to remember them, the Indiana Jones saga is a time machine to a much simpler day of good guys and bad guys. While even Spielberg himself admits that Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom was inferior to the rest of the trilogy, even this weaker film provided a historic filmmaking moment. Because of its dark nature and gore elements the film did not fit neatly into the PG rating. The filmmakers did not want this “family” adventure labeled with R, so the ensuing conflict brought us PG-13, now the most widely used rating on films. Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade dared to show us a much more vulnerable hero with the addition of his father. The relationship is a complicated one, but a relationship every father and son can instantly recognize and relate to. Right Dad?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2003
William Shatner refused to reprise his role of Kirk in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home without a promise to write and direct the next film in the franchise. Against their better judgment Paramount agreed, and to this day wish they had not. The story is absolutely silly and the direction very one-dimensional. The truth is, however, that there still are some very endearing Trek moments in the film. DeForest Kelly gives a superb performance as McCoy must face his past decision to allow his terminal father to die. Even the Kirk / Spock moments are often quite compelling. Unfortunately Shatner couldn’t help but show with how little regard he held his minor cast mates. Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov are reduced to comic parodies of themselves. The f/x are some of the franchise’s weakest.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 16th, 2003
“Say hello to my little friend!”
This is just one of the many cultural references that have come out of Brian DePalma’s 1983 epic film, Scarface. Al Pacino plays Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee that arrives in the United States with nothing, and leaves with everything. It’s a story about the American Dream, about excess, and about ambition. A fantastic supporting cast (including Michelle Pfeiffer, F. Murray Abraham and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), and a script by Oliver Stone makes Scarface one of the...greatest gangster films of all time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 13th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2003
Often family Christmas movies, while ambitious, often miss the mark with a weak story or bad acting. I was worried that a Muppet Christmas movie would follow in these footsteps. Additionally, some of the previous Muppet movies fell short of the comedic styling that resonated within a generation of kids like myself whom grew up with the Muppet Show. Thankfully I was disappointed on both accounts.
It’s a Very Merry Muppet Movie holds it’s own against the best of the family Christmas movies and in my mind riv...ls, if not surpasses, the best family Christmas flick ever – A Christmas Story. What makes a great family movie? A film that has something that appeals to the kids and their parents alike. This movie delivers on both and actually if there is a criticism to be made – it may appeal more to the adults than the kids with numerous pop culture references that a kid just may not get. For example, the Muppet Christmas production is a very funny parody of Moulin Rouge called Moulin Scrooge. I laughed far more watching that scene than my daughter did.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2003
I had never heard of this movie before and when I first saw it I thought, well here’s a Steve Martin comedy that I’ve never heard of (probably because it is really bad…). However, Steve Martin plays this role straight and in doing so brings a lot of presence to the screen. Leap of faith tells the story of a con man named Reverend Jonas Nightengale who has made a career of separating the poor and uneducated from their money. He is in the midst of a tour when his tour bus breaks down in the backwater town of Rustwater,...Kansas. While awaiting for replacement parts, Nightengale decides to practice his trade with the local townspeople. The local sherrif (Liam Neeson) tries to halt the proceedings and protect his town but his attempts are slowed by Nightengale’s manager (Debra Winger). In addition Nightengale tries to convince a beautiful skeptic (Lolita Davidovich) of his abilities; however her interest is with her young son whom is crippled. As the movie reaches the end, the preacher actually tries to talk the boy out of having faith in his made-up abilities. This leads to a very unexpected climax which is supposed to teach us the real meaning of faith.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 5th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 3rd, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 2nd, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2003
Disney has done a very good job bringing the children’s novel Hoels to the big screen (or little screen for this DVD release). This film contains a good story with some solid moral values being taught to the young viewers. The story and acting are both quite good, creating a film that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
