Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 12th, 2003
Synopsis
A group of extreme athletes and a professional skier set out on a remote Austrian mountaintop to shoot a stunt for a commercial. Unbeknownst to them a group of terrorists is in hiding at the mountain top resort. The film makers have a habit of filming everything that goes on and they accidentally capture one of the terrorists on film, now they must fight for their lives to survive the mountain and the terrorists.
Audio
Featuring your expected mix of rap and altern...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Chihiro is a ten-year-old girl moving to a new home. On the way there, her father takes awrong turn, and they find themselves in an abandoned amusement park. I really don’t want tosay too much, as this is a film whose wonders should be discovered without too muchforeknowledge. Suffice to say that Chihiro soon finds herself in a magical world of spirits,striving to free herself, her parents, and a new friend. Spirited Away is a stunning film, worthyof comparison to Alice in Wonderla...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) beefs up his strip club business by publishing an explicitnewsletter. This newsletter becomes the glossy porn mag Hustler, and Flynt becomesstaggeringly rich. He also becomes the target of a serious of obscenity trials. Harrelson is terrific,and this was the film that confirmed that Edward Norton’s film-stealing performance in PrimalFear was no fluke. Courtney Love, as Flynt’s wife Althea, acquits herself well among theseheavyweights. Though ma...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Tom (Gabriel Byrne) is adviser to Leo (Albert Finney), top boss of the Irish mob duringProhibition. Leo isn’t listening to Tom right now, and offends Johnny (Jon Polito), who leads theItalian gang. War between the rival mobs heats up, and Tom gets caught in the middle. I havejust oversimplified an incredibly complex plot, which you really should discover for yourself.Other discoveries that await are glorious cinematography by Barry Sonnenfeld, and endlesslyquotable dialogue...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 24th, 2003
Synopsis
In the 1970s, a young girl is brutally murdered in the exclusive town of Greenwich,Connecticut. Among the suspects are two young members of the Kennedy clan. The murder goesunsolved, and in the 1990s, Mark Fuhrman, disgarced-cop-turned-author, re-opens the case.Though the gore is sometimes beyond prime time levels, this is still very run-of-the-mill TVfodder.
Audio
The sound (limited to 2.0) is crisp and clear, and privileges the music. The sound ef...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2003
In this story, very loosely based on his own life, Eminem makes his acting debut. This is the story of Jimmy Smith Jr. a white boy born on the wrong side of Detroit’s 8 Mile divide. With an alcoholic white trash mother played by Kim Basinger, a dead end job and a trailer park for a home he does not have much going for him. His dreams fed by Detroit’s vibrant underground rap battle scene Jimmy tries to find himself and his voice in the world. This is a well written story about courage and not allowing one’s self to become a product of your environment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 17th, 2003
Synopsis
Gina Gershon is a prison psychiatrist. She is in the middle of a custody battle with her ex-husband, and she loses the case. The night her kids are taken from her, however, someone killsthe ex and his new wife. Gershon’s recently released patients are investigated by her newboyfriend, cop Michael Biehn. Looks like Sean Patrick Flanery is the one obsessively in lovewith Gershon, and will stop at nothing to bring them together. Competently staged, but no more.Nothing new here...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2003
Synopsis
Elected with the greatest majority of any US president, Lyndon Johnson (Michael Gambon,who will be replacing Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore) begins his administration withgreat hopes for the positive transformation of American society. But he listens to the wrongpeople about Vietnam (Alec Baldwin instead of Donald Sutherland), and little by little everythinggets swallowed up by the war. Though long, this is one compelling drama, and much of thedialogue is spooky in ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Owen Wilson is an agent for the fictional Bureau of National Security. He doesn’t have avery good track record, and so is constantly stuck with substandard equipment. He is sent toHungary to recover the Switchblade, a super-stealth plane stolen by Malcolm McDowell. He ispartnered up with egotistical boxer Eddie Murphy, and the usual buddy hijinks ensue. There issome fun to be had in the frantic action sequences, and in a Cyrano de Bergerac moment whenMurphy is trying to coa...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Nick Cannon plays Devon Miles, brilliant drummer with attitude to burn, who arrives at acampus with one of the most prestigious marching bands in the US. What follows is essentially atraining film, the kind of thing you see in To the Shores of Tripoli and GI Jane, only this timemusic, rather than war, is the goal. The usual ups and downs and character conflicts are present(you can set your watch by the predictability of the script), but the performances are engaging,and the...
