Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 15th, 2007
Adapted from the hit stage musical, Norman Jewison's film version of Fiddler on the Roof has established itself as a classic over and over again since its release in 1971.
"He loves her. Love, it's a new style... On the other hand, our old ways were once new, weren't they?" I'll hardly be the first to write it, but the reason Fiddler on the Roof, a story about Jewish people and their culture, is so popular, is that its themes have universal appeal. In fact, in a way it hardly matters th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 13th, 2007
Let me tell you something about myself. I am surrounded by hundreds, sometimes thousands, of snakes every day. As I write this review, there are about 500 snakes just a couple hundred feet away. I'm not on a plane, of course, but snakes are a big part of my life. I'm a snake breeder. I'm also a musician who has just released an entire CD of reptile tracks (see footnote). So it was with more than the little bit of curiosity that I just had to see this film. I knew everybody would be asking me what I thought. So what did I think?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2007
Pulse is a remake of the 2001 Japanese film Kairo which was based on a novel of the same name. The movie opens with Josh entering a dark university library looking for someone named Zieglar, where he is instead met by some creepy old man and an entity that sucks life out of him. At this point everything seemed to be promising, although a bit out there. We soon find out that Josh was the boyfriend of Mattie (Kristen Bell) who is now worried as to where their relationship stands because Josh isn�t speaking with her anymore.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2007
Written by Jason Smilovic, Lucky Number Slevin is an adaptation from the 1961 Japanesse film Yojimbo. Maybe a more referable title, 1964�s A Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood which was also based on Yojimbo, or even another film starring Bruce Willis, Last Man Standing. Basically Lucky Number Slevin keeps the main plot elements, a protagonist playing off both sides of a gang rivalry, but retells the story in modern times along with a handful of notable actors. Among them...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2007
Certain Christian churches and organizations in North America preach something often called �the prosperity gospel.� In a nutshell, this refers to the idea that God wants us to be rich, physically, emotionally and materially.
It�s a pretty controversial message, but also a very attractive one. After all, what could be better than marrying Christianity to the American dream?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 9th, 2007
Four years after Jackass: The Movie took the popular MTV franchise to the big screen, Johnny Knoxville and his gang returned to theatres with Jackass - Number Two. The sequel is bigger, bolder and much more disgusting. But is it better?
In my humble opinion, the sequel equates to more of the same. If you loved the original, you'll eat this up. If you hated it - and we both know those are the only two options - you can happily make indignant remarks to any friends or family in the "love it" camp.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 9th, 2007
Victor (Greg Bryk) is one piece of work: a millionaire playboy with a taste for torture and absolutely no regard for anyone but himself. Who wouldn’t want this guy dead? His wife Elizabeth (Kristy Swanson, emerging from the where-are-they-now file) and his lawyer Roman (Josh Peace) are having an affair and plan to knock him off. They poison him, but it turns out the drug only creates a death-like stasis. He is still fully conscious, even as he’s about to be dissected. Understandably, when he regains mobility, his disposition has in no way been improved.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 9th, 2007
When you consider the huge amount of acting inherent to the WWF, you might expect acting talents to dominate this WWE horror production. OK, of course you wouldn't. Still, acting is not where this film shines. The tired formula of teens in an isolated location who get picked off one by one is certainly nothing original, so the script doesn't offer any real shining moments either. So where exactly does this film take on a luster of its own? Truth be told? It doesn't. Of course, looking at the target audience, the film doesn't really need to.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2007
After seeing Casino Royale it's hard to look at a Bond film the same way, and when Roger Moore inhabited the guy who likes martinis, fast cars and dangerous situations, it may have been a little cheesy. Granted, Moore did appear in a couple of notable Bond misses, but in the tenth release of the James Bond franchise, The Spy Who Loved Me stands as one of his best, if not the best Moore film.
From a screenplay by Richard Maibaum (his 7th Bond film) and Christopher Wood (his first) and directed by Lewis Gilbert (his 2nd Bond film), this new situation finds James at first in Austria, being chased by assassins, with everyone on skis.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 8th, 2007
Sven Garrett plays the Photographer, who, when not exercising his profession of photographing beautiful women, is busy torturing and killing them. His girlfriend’s little sister (Jade Risser) thinks there’s something creepy about him, but isn’t listened to. Meanwhile, the bodies pile up.
There’s not a heck of a lot more to the plot than that. The title is an apt description of the film: it is basically a collection of set pieces. References to Nazi Germany and footage of 9/11 are tossed in to no very compelling purpose.
![Pulse [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/pulse-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
