Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 18th, 2006
In the era we live in, the eventuality of a movie about a soldier’s experience in war was going to come, whether or not we wanted to see the film. Since the war in Iraq is such a hot button topic with a majority of people, regardless if you were for the war or against the war, Universal thought this would be the perfect moment to capture our interest in war. Enter director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) and Academy-Award winning Actor Jamie Foxx (Ray) ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 18th, 2006
I think all true DVD fans have a list in their mind of movies or television programs that they find to be utterly captivating, and simply cannot fathom why the rest of the world doesn't feel the same. I have some products on that list in my mind, and MI-5 may very well be on the top.
I first discovered MI-5 when I was sent Volume 2 to review. Upon watching the first episode of that season , I was so completely blown away that I promptly sent away for Volume 1 before proceeding any farther. I was...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2006
Synopsis
Audrey Hepburn is Holly Golightly, a young woman to her name born. Flighty, hopping from party to party, she waits for her life to match her ideal. Into her apartment moves writer George Peppard, who is certainly not the millionaire our heroine imagines will sweep her off her feet. Peppard himself is a kept man, and his keeper is Patricia Neal. Peppard does have a more realistic view of how life works, in the long run, and that is a lesson that Hepburn must learn before romance can follow it...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2006
Disney's Valiant is a film by the producers of Shrek, but it is certainly not up to the same caliber of filmmaking. Still, it has a certain charm despite its rather obvious humor. Also, the animation is excellent. Children are sure to love this story of a young pigeon named Valiant, who wants to join the Allied Forces in the fight during World War II. He's a cute little guy, but he's too small to reach his lofty aspirations... or so all those close to him say. But when every squad of carrier pigeons is ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 8th, 2006
One of the unfortunate responses to the emergence of a successful movie is the appearance of copycat films. When Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture, all these sword and sandal flicks went into production. Now we have epics such as Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and Alexander to show for it. Sometimes, the backlash is even worse when the hit film is a bit of a surprise hit. Such was the case with The Fast and the Furious. Now, I really enjoyed Furious, but I knew on the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2006
The most amazing thing about this one-joke movie is that it was based on a John Grisham novel: Skipping Christmas. Chris Columbus certainly does not display his biting wit and the skills he debuted with Gremlins 20 years ago. It’s hard to imagine this is the same guy who kicked off the Harry Potter series.
When their daughter joins the Peace Corps and leaves for South America during the Holidays, the Kranks decide to skip Christmas altogether and go on a cruise with the money they save. Why these altern...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 6th, 2006
Synopsis
At first glance Once Upon a Mattress would appear to be a bit of a Disney cash grab, an often performed musical featuring a couple of aging comediennes, one of which had performed a role in the musical for decades.
Based on a musical by Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer and directed by Kathleen Marshall, Once Upon a Mattress is a musical and hilarious take on The Princess and the Pea. Sir Harry and Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel, Elf) are in love with one another, b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 6th, 2006
Synopsis
For awhile, Jim Carrey looked to be taking the career path that Michael Keaton had previously established. Start off with strong, hilarious comedic performances, attempt to get into dramatic roles with some critical success, and fade into the sunset, with the occasional bad script choice. While Carrey hasn’t dipped into the Jack Frost period yet, with The Truman Show and Man on the Moon, Carrey had established the fact that he could pull off carrying a dramatic movie, and do it...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 5th, 2006
Judd Apatow and Paul Feig may have been stung by the criticism and cancellation of their show Freaks and Geeks back in 2000, but that did not deter them from pressing forward with another project. Freaks and Geeks was about a group of kids growing up in high school in the 1980s, while Undeclared is about the first year of college for a group of kids.
Now there are a lot of similiarities between Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, but I’ll focus on some of the bigger things, b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 4th, 2006
Synopsis
Nine people are kidnapped and imprisoned inside a huge mansion. A voice informs them that only one of them will leave this place alive. That person will win five million dollars. But meanwhile, the owner of the voice will enjoy watching them kill each other. Present are a young dancer, a priest (Dennis Hopper, of all people), a cynical French music composer and his wife, a gay fashion designer, a runaway, a glamorous former tennis star, a cop, and a resentful rapper. The mix gets volatile ri...
