Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 15th, 2005
Synopsis
Passed over for promotion to manager, SpongeBob SquarePants is ticked at Mr. Krabbs, butnot to the point of wishing him dead. That is the fate that awaits his employer, after he is framedby Plankton for the theft of King Neptune’s crown. SpongeBob and Patrick must brave no endof dangers on their long journey to Shell City to recover the crown. On the way, they encountereverything from a hit man named Dennis (voiced by Alec Baldwin) to monsters, to DavidHasselhoff (as himsel...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 13th, 2005
The Ring was an almost overnight success. Based on a Japanese horror film, it was “Americanized” and captured audiences with its creepy cinematography and wickedly sinister story. It was inevitable that the formula would be tried again.
You would think that The Grudge has everything necessary to continue that successful story. The Grudge is based on not one but a well known series of haunted house films in Japan. Spider Man’s own Sam Raimi teams up with Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Ge...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2005
Uma Thurman (Gattaca) plays the Bride, whose bloody and battered face we see at the beginning of the movie. She is pregnant, but is shot in the head and left for dead. She actually is comatose, and stays that way for four years, before waking up one night from a mosquito buzzing in her ear. The Bride’s name is inconsequential, as any mention of her name draws a loud beeping sound during the movie, and her rehabilitation is also fairly hard to believe also, as she “focuses” in order to use her legs again. Then ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2005
Arguably the last funny member of Saturday Night Live has picked some strange movies to be in since leaving the sketch comedy show. Appearing first as a co-star in Old School and then later in the kid-friendly (but cute) Elf, Will Ferrell took his time in getting to what fans wanted, a good PG-13 or better comedy for him to stretch his comedic talent.
By and large, Anchorman does deliver on that, though occasionally Ferrell himself isn’t the one causing the laughs. As 1970s San ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2005
After the Quentin Tarantino ode to kung fu chophouse films in Kill Bill Volume 1, Volume 2 shows us the substance behind the style. You see why a Hattori Hanzo sword is as prestigious as it is, you see how and why Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) lost her right eye, you even find out what the Bride’s (Uma Thurman) name is. But at the end of the day, this movie is about killing Bill, so you see Bill (David Carradine), in all his splendor and glory, and you see the relationship that the Bride and Bill share, both befo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 11th, 2005
Synopsis
The film opens at the very beginning of Ray Charles’ career, as he makes his way to Seattlefor his first paying gigs with an unscrupulous band leader and manager. We see him grow inconfidence and artistry, soon becoming a force to be reckoned with. Intercutting his rise areflashbacks to his childhood, and specifically the accidental death of his little brother and his ownloss of sight. In the present, we also see his womanizing personal life and his descent into drugaddicti...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 11th, 2005
Synopsis
A few months after the events of Mulan, the sequel picks up with our heroine aboutto marry General Shang. Their betrothal is interrupted, however, by an urgent request from theEmperor: escort his three daughters cross-country for their marriages, which have been arrangedfor political purposes. As the pair begin their mission, Mulan feels increasingly uneasy about theprincesses having to marry men they have never met. As well, the women are falling in love withthe thr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 10th, 2005
After hearing that Russell Crowe had decided to embark on a movie about an early 19th century sea captain whose character was written about in several books by an author I never heard about, there was a part of me that was intrigued. This feeling was elevated by the film receiving 10 Oscar nominations, second only to Return of the King. And perhaps in another year, Master and Commander would have won more awards than it did (just one), and perhaps may go down as one of the more underappreciated films i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2005
Synopsis
In the years leading up to the 1924 Paris Olympics, Ben Cross is Harold Abrahams, who useshis speed as a runner to fight back against the quiet but persistent anti-Semitism of Britishsociety. Ian Charleson is Eric Liddell, the profoundly religious Scot who runs for God. Wefollow their lives and training, along with those of Abrahams’ college friends, up to theOlympics, with a few smallish tribulations along the way.
And that’s about it, really. There are plenty of s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 8th, 2005
Admittedly when I first saw The Fifth Element, I wasn't too impressed by it, though Chris Tucker (Friday) did provide some good comedic moments, and it was nice to see Ian Holm (Lord of the Rings) return to major films also. I mainly thought that Bruce Willis had gone a bit silly with this one with dyed blonde head hair, in yet another action movie.
