Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 26th, 2007
I have no idea what critics thought of this film. I don't know how it did at the box office. I can't even recall knowing anything about it, except for seeing its title on the showtimes board at the theatre. It doesn't matter. I'm telling you now, Reign Over Me is a wonderful film.
I'm in one of those situations when I've discovered a really special movie, and want to recommend it to everyone I know without telling them anything about it. I'm not sure whether I can get away with that here, but I'll try. Let's talk about the DVD. Does it give Reign Over Me a fair shake? Read on to find out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 25th, 2007
If you are a fan of the original Kolchak: The Night Stalker, you were more than likely disappointed in the remake a couple of years ago on ABC. Your hope is now once again restored. Supernatural is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to The Night Stalker. Like Kolchak, the
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 25th, 2007
Do you believe that a numbers wizard can predict the most random of human actions with mathematical equations so accurately as to know where and when such a person will be? If so, then I suggest you put down that letter you are writing to Santa, finish eating that egg a bunny left for you, go to your pillow and pull together all of the loot you got from the tooth fairy, and plunk it down on season three of Numb3ers. No, that’s not a typo, apparently they believe that letters aren’t good enough to stand on their own so they inserted a 3 where the e should be. Aren’t they so clever? Not. In the fairy tale world of Numb3ers, all you need is an almost obsessive knowledge of math and the crooks don’t stand a chance. It’s almost unfair, isn’t it. Those poor criminals go about their carefully plotted crimes, unaware that everything they do is controlled by math. They live their lives oblivious to the fact they are at the mercy of a diabolical equation which forces their every move. In fact, I suspect some clever attorney somewhere is already preparing the “math made me do it” defense at this very moment. Soon our justice system will be forced to account for this undeniable force on our very destinies. I would go on but I can’t… must… fight… numbers…
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 25th, 2007
If you told me about a film by the screenwriter of Forrest Gump, The Insider and Munich, and the director who brought us L.A. Confidential, I'd say bring it on. If you went on that it was set in the high stakes world of professional poker, I'd be excited. But then you'd say it's a romance starring Eric Bana (Troy) and Drew Barrymore (Never Been Kissed). I'd begin to doubt. Then I'd think back to The Insider, and tell myself a great script is the only way to make a great film.
Then I'd watch Lucky You and realize even a great screenwriter can turn out a clunker. But maybe there'd be hope for the DVD?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2007
“Here’s the thing about the future. If you look at it it changes, and every time you look at it it changes again…”
If Nicolas Cage had Chris Johnson’s ability to see into the future, he might have avoided his latest film, Next. At the very least he might have been tempted to monkey with it in order to get a better box office take than it ultimately received. The film was in and out of theatres faster than I could blink, let alone catch it. If Cage had foreseen the film’s demise, it would have been unfortunate for us who got to see this film on DVD for the first time. The fate of the film is a bit of a mystery. The sci-fi trade and fan magazines were all over this one in pre-release hype. One explanation can be found in the way the film depicts the flash forward moments. While I am aware it is intentional and I understand the purpose, it was often too difficult to get your bearings. An audience doesn’t like to feel stupid. We don’t mind being surprised, but we want to be able to figure it all out so that we can feel smarter. Films rarely succeed when they leave the viewer feeling like an idiot. A subtle hint as to “when we were” might have gone a long way in making this easier on the audience. I think I have more patience than most in this regard, but even I felt cheated sometimes by the presentation of the various timelines.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2007
Stop me if you’ve heard any of this before. Four teens set out on a road trip …
STOP.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 24th, 2007
2004 brought moviegoers two big-budget historical epics in Oliver Stone's Alexander and Wolfgang Petersen's Troy. One bombed. The other performed well, but was by no means heralded as a critical success. No, Troy was praised for slick production values and exciting battles, but derided for a lack of emotional depth.
Can it all be blamed on running-time constraints and compromises made for the ratings board? The answer is here, with the unrated Troy: Director's Cut, Petersen's second shot at eternal glory, this time with more than 30 minutes of additional footage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 22nd, 2007
It’s hard for me to believe that Darkman comes from a time when Sam Raimi was fresh off directing Evil Dead 2 and Liam Neeson was a little known Irish actor. A lot has changed since then, but a true classic can stand the test of time, and although I was very young when I first saw this movie, I remember it being very unique. Of course my perspective on films has blossomed since the time I was watching Rugrats, and it has literally been that long since I’ve seen Darkman. Nonetheless I’m pleased to finally get the chance to watch this Liam Neeson classic, and in HD to boot.
Darkman was hardly what I remembered it, but not in a bad way. I can understand it better now, and see there is more depth to it than I remember. It tells the story of scientist Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson, Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace) who is developing a synthetic skin that would allow burn victims to appear normal. That’s pretty handy considering Mr. Westlake is about to be hideously disfigured, but I’ll overlook that. Anyways, there is a flaw with the skin; it only lasts for slightly over 90 minutes before it disintegrates in the sun. In the dark it will stay intact. This all comes into play later, but in the meantime Westlake’s girlfriend and attorney Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand, Fargo) has found evidence incriminating a local developer and a mobster. This leads to Westlakes lab being blown up, with him in it. The Darkman is now born, the disfigured Westlake undergoes surgery that severs his nerves and his ability to feel anything, along with an overactive adrenal gland, and you got a pretty pissed off halfway superhero. He escapes from the hospital and hopes to rebuild his relationship with Hastings, and get his vigilante justice on those responsible for making him the way he is.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2007
It’s clear watching Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer that Tim Story and company spent lots of time on the Silver Surfer and little gags for the Four’s powers, and not so much time on the actual story.
The result is a shiny hunk of refuse. There are holes all over the place, and once again the filmmakers have failed to present characters and conflicts the audience will actually care about. The world’s going to end? Big deal. On the bright side, while the film sucks, this 2-Disc Power Cosmic Edition DVD set is pretty fantastic.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 20th, 2007
What would happen if a studio was so confident in a show that it offered the DVD’s at a reduced price and slapped on a money back guarantee? Universal has done just that with Friday Night Lights. There is a rebate program where you can turn your discs back in for a full refund if you’re not completely satisfied with the show. Couple that with the fact I picked up this entire season for only 20 bucks, and I’d say somebody is either really stupid, or they’ve got a hell of a television series. Friday Night Lights is the latter.
![Darkman [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/darkman-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
