Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 19th, 2008
Resurrecting The Champ claims to be “inspired” by a true story written by J.R. Moehringer for the Los Angeles Times Magazine. I’m not very well versed in the original story, so I won’t bore you with any attempt to justify the film against actual events. I only hope that the real Moehringer wasn’t a tenth the idiot that Erik is in this film. Perhaps so close on the heels of the Tomase Spygate fiasco it’s not as hard to believe that a reporter could be this gullible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 22nd, 2008
Shattered, whose original (and more original) title was Butterfly on a Wheel, presents us with the household of Gerard Butler and Maria Bello. Life seems idyllic. They have a nice house, a lovely little girl, and the money is flooding in as Butler rises in his career (though his tactics don't always seem entirely fair). Into their lives erupts Pierce Brosnan, who kidnaps their daughter, then forces the couple to perform one strange act after another, each event destroying their lives further.
Butler's accent is erratic, but he does well as the rather too self-concerned husband. Bello turns in another performance that specializes in resiliance showing through extreme stress and distress, and Brosnan is clearly having a fine old time as an out-and-out villain. The scenario is, of course, utterly preposterous, but it trips along in a quick and entertainingly outlandish manner. Then the ending arrives, shattering the prepostero-meter with several twists that undermine much of came before. Oh well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 24th, 2007
In Belle Époque Paris, the can-can is all the rage but also illegal, and Shirley MacLaine’s nightclub is cracked down on by uptight judge Louis Jourdan. MacLaine is defended by libertine lawyer Frank Sinatra. Jourdan falls for MacLaine, who is waiting perhaps in vain for Sinatra to marry her. Maurice Chevalier shows up to chuckle indulgently.
The vision of Paris may be no more convincing than MacLaine and Sinatra playing characters named “Simone” and “François,” but this is a musical, so who cares? The sets are bright, the songs are catchy, and the dance numbers energetic. But the storyline itself is stultifying. Maybe Krushchev was right about this thing after all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2007
I love CSI and have been an avid fan from day one. I think it brought a fresh look to the procedural crime dramas that have long ago become just a little stale and predictable. The problem is that the series has gone the Dick Wolf route of branching out so that the final product might be a little diluted. Unlike the Law & Order franchise, each version of CSI has attempted to take on a unique look and style to reflect the location without giving up those elements which are the tradition of the series. CSI:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 6th, 2007
This was my first ever exposure to Grey’s Anatomy. Certainly I’ve followed the buzz the show has generated with its multiple awards and the feuding between two of the show’s actors. My first impression was not altogether a very good one. You see, season three begins with the aftermath of an obviously big ending from the previous year. From what I can gather, a character died and it left a void for a couple of the characters. I immediately began to feel like an outsider, a feeling I wasn’t very comfortable with. Fortunately, before I could give up feeling frustrated and hounded by an impending review deadline, something quite remarkable happened. Simply stated, I didn’t stop watching. In that moment of hesitation, I began to catch a glimpse of what everybody’s been going on about. The acting is surprisingly rock solid and not at all the flirty surface performances I had expected. So, for a short time, I was able to put aside my outsider feelings and begin to appreciate what I was watching. Before too long I was beginning to recognize the strong production values and clever writing which have been responsible for all that buzz I was hearing. While I avoided the needle scenes like the plague that spread through the hospital’s opening episodes, there is still a lot of high resolution f/x when it comes to wounds and surgery bits. This is by far the most realistic look I’ve seen in any medical show so far. The offbeat banter of the interns works well to offset the rather dramatic storylines hidden beneath this somewhat light series.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 14th, 2007
In the advertisements we are promised a thrilling heist film. I’m happy to report that those promises were quite wrong. The heist is pretty lame and never keeps up with the many superior attempts. Honestly, we’ve had too many of these multiple twist heist films, culminating in the Ocean franchise which went two films too long. Instead, what we get here is something far better. The Lookout is a compelling character study brought off entirely by a sweet performance by the lead. Who would have believed that Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the dweeb kid from 3rd Rock From The Sun, had pretty nice acting chops? Never a fan of the quirky series, I thought the acting considerably bad, so I certainly would not have been among the Gordon-Levitt faithful. The Lookout is a wonderful breakout performance that should, rightly enough, bring folks like myself into the fold. He carries the entire film on his shoulders. The entire success of this movie hinges on the emotional ride that Gordon-Levitt takes us on. This has to be one of the best portrayals of mental deficiency I’ve seen. Forget Forrest Gump or Rainman; this role isn’t cute or over the top. Here we’re confronted with a convincing enough performance that it might even be hard to watch if your own family has been touched in this way.
Writer/director Scott Frank doesn’t waste any time pulling us into his film. We start out with an adolescent midnight joyride that you just know will end badly for the passengers. Your prediction quickly proves correct, and Frank Scott is ready to move on. He doesn’t bother lingering on the tragic events, instead allowing us to see the tragedy not in the bloody remnants of the crash, but in the emotional aftermath for the driver. Chris (Gordon-Levitt) finds himself four years later scarred both physically and mentally. He has suffered brain damage, and this causes him difficulty in concentration and sequencing events. He has gone from a high school hockey hero from an influential family to a bank night janitor barely in control of his own life. Jeff Daniels spices up the film a bit as Chris’s roommate, Lew. Lew is blind and relatively cynical about most things in life. He offers a symbiotic relationship with Chris and both have obviously fallen into a routine. One of the best lighter moments in the film is Lew’s desire to open a café called “Lew’s Your Lunch”. Things change for Chris when a man who identifies himself as an ex boyfriend of his sister enters his life. Gary (Goode) invites Chris into his tight circle, which includes the attractive Luvlee Lemon (Fisher) who appears interested in Chris. Finding himself a part of a family, of sorts, creates a strong bond for Chris, until he discovers he was being recruited to rob the bank he works at. We are nearly an hour into the film before the mechanics of the heist begin and the action really starts. The true climax of the film, however, isn’t the bank heist; it’s Chris’s discovery that he has been manipulated into taking the fall for the crime. Now Chris must bring out whatever abilities his mind might still possess to get himself out of danger.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 16th, 2007
Following the success of back-to-back hits Forest Gump and Apollo 13, Tom Hanks wanted to shake things up. His project of choice? Writing and directing his first feature film.
The result was That Thing You Do!, a light, enjoyable comedy about a 60’s pop band that makes it big on the strength of one hit song. Barely together a few weeks, The Oneders (pronounced “Wonders”) win a small-town talent contest, which lands them their first gig, playing at a local bar. Before they can adjust to ...heir first taste of success, they land a touring deal with Play-Tone, a record label. Just like that, they’re on a whirlwind tour that echoes the success of The Beatles. But can they handle the big-time, or will fame tear them apart?
