Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 27th, 2006
Synopsis
At West Valley High (how generic a name is that?), homecoming week is marked by a special challenge: can you perform ten outrageous dirty deeds in twelve hours. The record is eight. Zach (Milo Ventimiglia) has no interest in any of the school traditions, but when the younger brother of the girl he is sweet on volunteers to take the challenge, Zach steps in to save the boy from certain doom and do the deeds himself, in the process taking down the king of the jocks a few notches.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2006
No single television show defined the 1980’s as did Miami Vice. Did Vice influence the 80’s culture, or did the 80’s culture create Miami Vice? The line appears blurred. This much is unmistakable. Miami Vice dominated the pop culture of the time. The biggest names in music, from Joe Walsh to Phil Collins, have lent their music and (sometimes pitiful) acting skills. It was suddenly cool to walk around in pastel longboats. Don’t even get me started on the car. Were Ferraris ever not cool? Don Johnson was an overnight heartthrob to millions of teen girls across the nation. The show depicted a highly stylized Miami that is not quite recognizable to those of us who really live in Florida. At least the locations were often more real than in the current CSI: Miami, which uses only establishing shots of the Beach Metropolis.
Of course, buried somewhere in all of this style and sex appeal there was a fair share of crime fighting. Crocket and Tubbs were an 80’s retread of Starsky and Hutch. While the show sported far more action than the 70’s counterpart, the partner interaction was often amazingly familiar.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 23rd, 2006
Synopsis
Dean Stiffle (Jamie Bell) is a teenager in an affluent suburb who appears to be completely disconnected (due in no small part to the happy pills prescribed by his celebrity psychiatrist father). When he finds his best friend Troy dead (a suicide), he doesn’t even tell anyone about it. He is forced to become involved when three other teens kidnap a boy they think is Dean’s brother in order to force him to find Troy’s drug stash. Turns out they’ve kidnapped the wrong boy, and so begins a chain...reaction of events that might lift the lid off the smug, self-satisfied, oblivious community.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006
Having originally seen Underworld on HBO one summer night, I recall myself finding the film fairly dull and vapid. When I heard of a director’s cut coming out, I thought back to my original viewing of the film Daredevil, which was made that much better via more explanation of plot and the characters. Maybe this could occur for this film. Unfortunately, Underworld is not that much better this time around.
Underworld stars Kate Beckinsale as Death Dealer Selene. We learn, at the be...inning of the film, that there is a ancient blood feud that is occurring between vampies and Lycans (creatures we call werewolves). Unlike the typical werewolves we are use to seeing on screen, these Lycans can change form at will. Cue in the Death Dealers who try to kill off all of these Lycans. Why so much animosity toward the Lycans you may ask? Well, according to Selene, the Lycans are planning something big and this may be in correspondence to the ‘Awakening’. A vampire named Kraven (Shane Brolly) is in charge until the ‘Awakening’. Naturally Kraven doesn’t get along with Selene.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006
Hustle & Flow works because of one reason and one reason only. That reason is Terrence Howard.
Howard injects himself into the role of DJay, a Memphis pimp who stumbles across a church choir and then strives to put his daily experiences into rap music, hoping to break out of the lifestyle he has grown to hate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006
Hustle & Flow works because of one reason and one reason only. That reason is Terrence Howard.
Howard injects himself into the role of DJay, a Memphis pimp who stumbles across a church choir and then strives to put his daily experiences into rap music, hoping to break out of the lifestyle he has grown to hate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006
When I sat down with this title, I was all ready to breeze right through it, making comments about how this is a disc that will only appeal to kids, and that the quality was just enough to keep kids happy. Imagine my surprise when I really got into this little 70-minute film. This is actually a pretty entertaining cartoon, and I was surprised by its superior quality. Stanley is a little boy that gets easily lost in his imagination, and gets most of his ideas from his “Great Big Book of Everything”, which is something...of a living encyclopedia. In this film, Staley's family goes to visit his Uncle's dude ranch, only to find that the ranch isn't doing so well. Leave it to Stanley and his friends to save the day by raising enough money to pay off the bank and keep the ranch out of the hands of the evil corporate real estate mogul. Obviously, this is a story that has been told time and time again, but for a children's title, this is a quality program that is well told and entertaining for children and parents alike.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2006
2005 was definitely a big year for Tim Burton. He had the mega successful Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and ended the year with this film, Corpse Bride. Neither Charlie or Corpse deserved to be placed on the top of Burton’s best work list, but both are filled with typical Burton qualities from his funny jokes to interesting visuals.
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride is similar to The Nightmare Before Christmas via Burton’s usual trademarks. Corpse Bride features...Burton’s land of the dead from his very funny Beetle Juice, the dark tone of the film from Sleepy Hollow and the usual score by Danny Elfman. Oh and one more usual Burton quality. Johnny Deep adds in his voice portraying Victor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2006
Al Pacino is one of those actors who always seems to find himself in those type of roles that bring out the absolute best in him. In his last four films (Insomina, People I Know, Angels in America, and The Merchant of Venice) Pacino has brought the needed tension and power to his performances. Add 2005’s Two For The Money to that ever-growing list of excellent performances.
Pacino plays Walter who runs a sports betting hotline. Matthew McConaughey plays Brandon, the Vega... oddsmakers Walter brings to New York. Walter befriends Brandon and makes him a star by showing him how to act with an unleveled amount of confidence and exuberance. Rene Russo plays Toni, Walter’s wife.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2006
Synopsis
One of the memorable events of history that has gone unnoticed was the 1893 World’s Fair, held in Chicago. It was an elaborate event that transformed Chicago into several different metropolises (or is it metropoli?) like Venice, for instance. The result was a lavish, expensive journey that inspired many, among them, architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
