Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2002
Jason is resurrected by an unfortunate accident involving a boat anchor and a power cable.He climbs aboard a ship carrying a graduating class to New York City, and proceeds to do his stuff. While those of us who caught this on its original theatrical run were disappointed that we had to wait a full hour before Jason reached NYC (or, more accurately, Vancouver), a return trip reveals this as one of the better made entries in the franchise. The characters, though thin, make are a bit more coherent than in Part VII, the action is competently staged, and once Jason hits Manhattan, much is made of the fact that he can chase and slaughter in full public view, and no one wants to get involved.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2002
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2002
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2002
Long before tough cop Dirty Harry made our day, Clint Eastwood defined the modern western with his Spaghetti Westerns. It is no surprise that a Western would define Clint Eastwood as an Academy Award winning producer and director. Unforgiven is unlike any movie Eastwood has ever done. It is loaded with extraordinary actors surrounding his own stellar performance. Names like Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris are rarely found in such supporting roles. Unforgiven also sets itself apart from Eastwood’s previous films in the way it portrays the West that Eastwood glorified for so many years. This film is dark and foreboding and offers no redemption by the end of the story.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 29th, 2002
Swingers originally debuted on DVD when the format was still in its infancy. As with most titles released during that time, it suffered from a lackluster 2.0 audio track, non-anamorphic transfer, no trailers and hideous packaging. Now roughly five years later, Swingers has returned to DVD, this time in a spiffy new Collector’s Series edition from Miramax. With every issue the first release was plagued by addressed, this release is everything a fan of Swingers could ever hope for.
Swingers' story focuses on...the misery of Mike (John Favreau, writer), an aspiring actor/comedian whom is lovesick after leaving his girlfriend in New York six months prior. Encouraged by Trent (Vince Vaughn) and several other friends, Mike sets out to reluctantly conquer women on the Hollywood lounge scene. Unfortunately for Mike, it's not always "On" and he is humiliated time after time again. It takes the fancy swing dance moves of Loraine (Heather Graham) to finally rid Mike’s brain of the haunting memories with his ex.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2002
Changing Lanes never appealed to me during its theatrical run and I blame that entirely on Paramount’s marketing department. The commercials were not enticing in the least and quite frankly made me forget the film in a matter of minutes after viewing them. With the release of the DVD, I was willing to give Changing Lanes a try and am I glad I did. Propelled by a dynamic script and stellar performances, Changing Lanes gives life to an urban drama which tests the ideals of two men on the brink of insanity.
T...e story centers around Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck), a corporate attorney who realizes he takes advantage of others but has never confronted himself about the moral implications of the life he lives. While trying to rush to a court appointment, he is involved in a fender-bender accident on the FDR with Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson), also on his way to court but as a defendant in a child custody battle. This encounter appears harmless at first, outside of Gavin wanting to pay for the damage in cash and Doyle demanding to do the right thing and exchange insurance information. But when Gavin realizes he left Doyle with a vital court document to win his case and keep himself out of jail, his skirmish with Doyle to retrieve the document by close of business crescendos in a series of violent and disturbing incidents.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 31st, 2002
Pam Grier, in a superb performance that sadly did not revitalize her career to the same degree as happened with co-star Robert Forster (and with John Travolta in Pulp Fiction), plays a flight attendant who is being used as a pawn by both bad guy Samuel L. Jackson and FBI guy Michael Keaton. Grier, with the help of bail bondsman Forster, sets up an elaborate counterattack. While Jackie Brown lacks the propulsive intensity of Reservoir Dogs, and Tarantino's reliance on 70s-dominated soundtracks is getting annoying, the...writing is still very strong, Tarantino gets ace performances out of his cast, and the climax is a rather striking piece of bravura filmmaking.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 22nd, 2002
Sleepy Hollow is certainly not your father’s version of the Washington Irving tale. Sleepy Hollow is enshrouded in patented Tim Burton darkness and rich gothic atmosphere. Johnny Depp continues to amaze... although his performances never appear extraordinary, they are nonetheless almost always wonderful immersions in character. Christina Ricci proves that her inspired deadpan performance in the Addams Family films was no fluke. I think you will find this to be one of the finest contemporary horror films to come along in years.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2002
After a dismal resurrection on film with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, it appeared that the crew of the good ship Enterprise was finally stilled forever. Enter two heroes to rival Kirk and Spock in Harve Bennett and Nicholas Myers. Star Trek II is everything that shines about Star Trek. Finally the triumvirate of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy dazzle longtime fans with the chemistry that made the original series so enduring. In The Motion Picture, the characters come off stiff and cold. They hardly seem to know each other. In Wrath of Khan we believe these old friends haven’t missed a beat. Add to all of this perhaps the greatest Star Trek villain of all time in Ricardo Montalban’s enigmatic and obsessive Khan and you truly see Star Trek at its very best.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 7th, 2002
The Show
