Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 19th, 2005
Synopsis
A gang of thieves using telekinetic powers is on the loose. They are the result of CIA experiments decades ago, but only about-to-retire Louis Gossett, Jr. (remember when he had a theatrical release career?) takes the threat seriously. He enlists a similarly powered young physics professor to infiltrate the gang. Meanwhile, FBI agent Teri Hatcher is also on the case. The poor prof is soon in over his head.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2005
Season Two of Star Trek Enterprise was without a doubt the weakest of the series. It’s no mystery that the show’s demise was already being talked about by the time Year Two was finished. The stories were unoriginal and it appears budgetary concerns often meant unimaginative bottle shows. The words Star Trek were finally added to the title. Rick Berman has always tried to distance himself from Gene Roddenberry. When Enterprise was first released he felt it was time to finally cut the umbilical cord and drop the franchise tag. If that doesn’t tell you something about his level of respect for Star Trek, then the countless instances of disregarding traditional Trek continuity should. The franchise officially jumped the shark with the episode “A Night In Sickbay”. Come on, Berman, that cute puppy in a fight for its life is so... Lassie.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 12th, 2005
This is one of those films that is depressing solely for the sake of being depressing. There was a string of these kinds of films in the 90's, but they have gone out of style as of the past seven years or so. This particular film tells the story of what happens to a dysfunctional family when one of the members commits suicide. Apparently, each member of the family grieves in his or her own way, all of which are wildly dangerous. Sexual promiscuity, substance abuse, lawlessness and despair abound in this tale of miser... and woe. In fact, just when you don't think this film can get any more screwed up, it goes one step further.
The acting is top-notch, but the script is painfully sub-par. Plot twists are easily perceived way in advance, and the inevitable questions that arise after a suicide are addressed in a way that, quite frankly, seems to make the answers a bit to easy. Let's face it, suicide is an extremely heavy subject, and one that is very hard to discuss. This film attempts a monumental task, and gives it an admirable try, but just doesn't quite live up to the goals it sets for itself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2005
Synopsis
In the 1930s, the dreaded Axe Gang is taking over all organized crime, terrorizing the city. One of the only places they don’t control is a slum complex ruled by a formidable landlady and her henpecked husband. Into this place come a couple of con artists, who pretend to be members of the Axe Gang. They set in motion an chain of events that leads to one apocalyptic battle after another, with ever more bizarre and powerful Grand Masters of Kung Fu turning to fight either for or against the Ax... Gang.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2005
The term Reivers, it is explained, is a turn of the century word for thieves. From that explanation one might expect an action adventure heist film. What you get instead is a Faulkner coming of age story. While the film has quite a few memorable moments of pure Americana, there seems little point in anything that happens on screen. Even the wonderful acting of Steve McQueen leaves most of the film muddied in a period piece about nothing at all. Burgess Meredith does a fine job of narrating the film from the point of view of an old man recalling a moment in his 11th year. I think I would have rather had Meredith providing a books on tape version of the original Faulkner work. The cinematography appears older than its 1969 production year implies. I don’t feel like I got to know these characters enough to simply want to be with them. The adventure is anything but. There’s a questionable moral character to the entire premise.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2005
Synopsis
The surviving characters from the cliffhanger ending of Dracula II: Ascension pick up the chase. Pursuing Dracula (or rather, the much-older being who uses that name, and who was said to be Judas in earlier installments, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, either) are Jason Scott Lee as Uffizi, the vampire-killing priest now slowly turning into a vampire himself, and Jason London, whose girlfriend was snatched at the end of the last film. They travel through a Romania beset ...y civil war, where vampires run rampant not only through the countryside, but apparently in the government as well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 7th, 2005
Synopsis
Lately various studios have been releasing films with Gene Hackman onto DVD, films like Scarecrow and Twice in a Lifetime. And after a run in 1983’s Uncommon Valor, he teamed with Matt Dillon (The Flamingo Kid) in 1985’s Target, the proverbial Cold War spy thriller.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 3rd, 2005
Synopsis
Jeremy Northam plays the rather insecure Morgan Sullivan, who applies for a job as a corporate spy for Digicorp. His first few missions under the identity of James Thursby go well, but he is tormented by headaches and strange nightmares. Then he encounters Lucy Liu, who reveals that his missions are a sham and that Digicorp is brainwashing him to believe that he really IS Thursby, and so will be the perfect double agent to spy on another company.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 31st, 2005
On the one hand, I have pretty low expectations for movies that were made for TV. On the other hand, this is an HBO film, so my expectations are just a bit higher than normal. My interest was further peaked when I saw that this was a romantic comedy. It is nice to see the network famous for drama branch out into comedy, and I was curious to see the results.
The plot of this film reminded me somewhat of the Keanu Reeves sleeper hit A Walk in the Clouds. In this case, however, the family business is not ...ine, but fireworks. The always-fantastic Stanley Tucci plays an Italian from the old country that comes to America to work for his distant cousins making fireworks. Naturally, he falls in love with a girl (Bridget Fonda) once he gets there, and both drama and hilarity ensue.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 30th, 2005
Synopsis
The frustrating thing in watching Gas is just how familiar it is to The Cookout, Barbershop, Beautyshop, and other films that involve groups of African-American men getting together in the neighborhood and having fun, and getting the most successful family member in touch with their roots. What’s next, Sunday Church? Or Night at Silver Diner?
