Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 13th, 2006
When Ridley Scott’s latest epic Kingdom of Heaven was released for common viewing in May 2005 at 145 minutes, critics either really liked the film, or where really dissatisfied with the film. Audiences, it seemed, tended to agree with the latter critics as the film only grossed $47 Million Dollars, which was a dissapointment considering the film had a budget well over $100 Million. Rumors started to fly, as with any big epic, that Scott was forced to slash the film’s running time to not only make audiences ha...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 12th, 2006
Diane Keaton and Tom Everett Scott star in Surrender, Dorothy, a predictable, over-the-top melodrama plagued with unsympathetic characters, clichés, and unbelievable plot developments. The plot centers on Keaton as she copes with a car accident, which claims the life of her daughter. There is a lot of venom and hostility inside her, as the rest of the world takes a back seat to her own grief. As someone, who has lost a loved one prematurely, I take offense to the behavior of this central character. She’s a sel...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 11th, 2006
From reading the back of the box, one would think that this film was one of the true Disney animated classics. Phrases like “digitally remastered for the first time on DVD†and “the original Disney classic†would certainly lead one to believe such a thing. The fact of the matter is, however, that this “classic Disney film†was just originally released in 1997. Sure, it's remastered, but we're talking about remastering a print that is less than a decade old. Improvements were undoubtedly made, but this re...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 11th, 2006
Synopsis
Felicity Huffman plays Bree, formerly Stanley, who, after years of therapy, surgery and hormone replacement, is one week away from undergoing the operation that will finally and definitively make her a woman. Out of the blue, a phone call comes revealing that Stanley fathered a son seventeen years ago. Bree’s therapist won’t let the surgery go ahead until Bree comes to terms with her past and her responsibilities. She travels to New York City to bail out Toby (Kevin Zegers), a street hustler...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 11th, 2006
Whisper of the Heart follows Shizuku, a young girl on the cusp of womanhood as she learns to realize her talents and follow her dreams. She harbors deep admiration for Seiji, a mysterious young man, who shares a strange kinship with her that soon blossoms into love. From the start, Shizuku isn’t sure who she is. She indulges in songwriting and reading. It’s the latter hobby that first links her to Seiji. She starts to notice his name in the histories for every library book she checks out. It seems he’s always ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 10th, 2006
If Only is a romantic drama, which too often goes for the cheapest emotional reaction out of its viewers, without incorporating logic or common sense into such decisions. Jennifer Love-Hewitt and Paul Nicholls star as a couple of young lovers, who represent the prototypical female and male, with very little surprises in their characterizations. In the beginning, we see Nicholls is a bit invested in his work, and, while adoring his singer-songwriter girlfriend, he instinctively keeps her and the rest of the wor...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 9th, 2006
Harrison Ford stars as Jack Stanfield, an online security chief for a mid-sized baking chain. One day, he is introduced to a new possible candidate in Bill Cox (Paul Bettany). We learn this turns out to be a setup. Cox and his men are holding Stanfield's wife (Virginia Madsen) and their two children hostage. In return, Cox demands that Stanfield hack into his bank's computers to transfer a fortune into Cox's offshore accounts.
Firewall, in whole, contains a smart plot, one that makes you think. The ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 8th, 2006
First off, let me say what a great idea it was to remake this film. The original has enjoyed elevated status far too long based only on an intense 23-minute opening sequence. And as good as that opening piece of suspense is, the same exact premise punctuates Bob Clark’s earlier 1974 masterpiece Black Christmas – so even what When a Stranger Calls does well owes a debt of gratitude to an overall better film. Still, I’ll give the Devil his due – knock-off or not, that sequence stands as an effective, inte...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Game tester Allen Covert is evicted from his apartment, and winds up rooming with his grandmother (Doris Roberts) and her two friends, the stone-on-meds Shirley Knight and the sexually predatory Shirley Jones. He attempts to keep this rather humiliating set-up secret from co-workers and sexy new boss/potential love interest Linda Cardinelli.
All of this is tied in with game development, and the film is essentially an extended product placement for the Xbox, thus making one question...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 3rd, 2006
Synopsis
FBI agent Martin Lawrence has given up the dangers of field work because of his family responsibilities. Now he’s a safety mascot. But when his first partner is killed, Lawrence surreptitiously dons his Big Momma persona gain, posing as a nanny in the family of the chief suspect, a man who is developing software that could compromise national security.
All of the above, of course, is mere pretext to set up all sorts of kute kid komedy as Big Momma tries to play nanny, and romantic ...
