Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 23rd, 2003
Synopsis
Brittany Murphy is the orphaned daughter of rock star parents. She has been living a fairy-tale existence in Manhattan, and hasn’t had the slightest need to grow up. When her lawyerabsconds with her 100 million bucks, however, she is forced to find work, and becomes the newnanny for the uptight, precociously mature Dakota Fanning. Murphy will learn to grow up, andFanning will learn to be a kid. There will be a little bit of tragedy tossed in along the way.
Ut...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 22nd, 2003
Synopsis
Our quartet continue to get laid, or not, depending on the ups and downs of decreed by thefates. There is a baby among them now (whose baptism or not is a point of contention), andCarrie gets a book deal. As the appeal of this series remains utterly mystifying to me, I shallrefrain from further comment.
Audio
The audio is in 5.1 and 2.0, but hardly strains the capabilities of either format. The music getnice treatment, but it is virtually the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 15th, 2003
Show
It would be a boldfaced lie to say that Alias is the best show of its kind on television. The truth is that it is the ONLY show of its kind on television. Alias certainly contains writing that rivals even the award-gobbling Sopranos. The photography is film quality. The character chemistry, which I rank as the most important element in any show, is wonderful. The characters are compelling. You really start to care about these guys; even the villainous Sloan demands sympathy at times.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 11th, 2003
Synopsis
Every 23 years, a monster known as the Creeper lives and feeds on humans for 23 days. Weare at the end of the current cycle. After killing a farm boy on day 22, the Creepers spends hislast day disabling a school bus and tormenting the athletes and cheerleaders on board.
That’s about all you’ve got for a plot, but for this kind of horror film, that’s all you reallyneed. Oh sure, there are all sorts of side issues like the racism of the team captain, and theher...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Sean Young and Richard Lewis, two penniless Americans in Rome, meet when they bothhappen upon a dachshund for whom a large reward is posted. They make their way to MonteCarlo to return the dog and collect the reward, but arrive to discover the dog’s owner murdered.They become prime suspects. So do James Belushi, Cybil Shepherd, John Candy and GeorgeHamilton as the various characters cross paths with each other in hotels and casinos. There’s a lotof energy being expen...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 26th, 2003
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG) might best be described as a Movie of Bizarre Moments. Attempting to blend Gothic Batman imagery with an Indiana Jones cast, director Stephen Norrington shows his relative newness to directing. The film is at times awkward and unbalanced, but overall entertaining and visually impressive enough to justify watching.
The Plot: The story of LXG is an interesting one. A band of miscellaneous folk hero’s and mythological urban characters are brought together to f...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2003
Tim Allan is back as Santa Clause, and this time he is on a mission… to find a wife. The Santa Clause 2 is a good family Christmas tale, and though it is not as effective as its predecessor, it still has Christmas charm and a number of cute scenes. The story is a little flawed, and many scenes rely on childish antics to survive, but those elements add to the family-friendly nature of the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 23rd, 2003
So, it’s like a… Space Western?
Having never seen this show, this was the question posed to me by my wife halfway through the pilot episode. Honestly, I wasn’t sure myself. It certainly appeared to be a space western, but the characters were randomly speaking in Chinese. It was drama, yet it was dark humor. This was a truly odd program indeed.
By the third episode, however, we were both hooked. The genius of this show is that it was a typical sci-fi show with one major twist; sitcom-quality...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 18th, 2003
Synopsis
Any synopsis is probably beside the point. If you haven’t been watching Buffy by this season,your chances of understanding what the hell is going on will be severely curtailed. Highlights ofthis season include Buffy’s encounter with Dracula, and the moving episode (“The Body”) aboutthe death of her mother.
Audio
The sound is 2.0, but is a pretty energetic mix all the same. As with most television shows,the music dominates the mix, especially at the s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 18th, 2003
Synopsis
