Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 7th, 2005
Synopsis
Jean Reno plays Léon, a preternaturally gifted hit man. Shortly after taking down a smallarmy of goons in a high rise, he finds himself having to look after 11-year-old Mathilda (NataliePortman), whose family has been wiped out by Gary Oldman (whose performance goesshamelessly over the top). In between mega-massacres at the beginning and end of the film, wesee the development of the relationship between precocious Mathilda and child-like Léon.
And that is where many...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 7th, 2005
Synopsis
Denzel Washington plays Malcolm X, the black leader white folks DIDN’T feel comfortableabout. Beginning in the 1940s, when Malcolm is a zoot-suited cool cat with best friend Shorty(Spike Lee), the film then flashes back to just before his birth, and proceeds in properly epicfashion to trace the life of the charismatic, and extremely controversial, leader.
Questions can, and have, been asked about some aspects of the film. Time Out, for instance,raises the issue of t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 1st, 2005
Synopsis
Coalwood, West Virgina, is a typical mining company town in 1957. For most of the malepopulation, the only future is a descent into the mines, with all the hardships and early death thatentails. Jake Gyllenhaal hopes for better, and he is inspired by the launch of Sputnik to build hisown rocket, a project which involves three of his friends, and is encouraged by teacher LauraDern. Against Gyllenhaal are the skepticism of the town, the difficulties of the project, and thetro...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 30th, 2005
Predator vs. Alien was not as successful at the box office as was hoped. It seems that this 2-disc edition of Predator 2 might be intended to build interest for the troubled fusion of the two popular space creatures.
This film has had its share of detractors since its release in 1990. I, for one, find it to be as good as, if not better than, the original film. Watching the two governors Arnold and Jesse take on the Predator in the Columbian jungles was certainly a hoot. Let’s be honest...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2005
Written by Jason Franz
Synopsis
Without a Paddle is the story of three childhood playmates (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard), re-united by the death of a close friend. The four young boys dreamed of one day finding the lost fortune of legendary hijacker, D.B. Cooper. After the funeral of their friend, the trio discovers that their departed friend had kept the dream alive and was hot on the trail of Cooper's treasure before he died.
In memory of their friend, the three continue whe...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 30th, 2005
In Season Seven, Voyager returns home and like Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation, the third Star Trek spin-off wraps up. The final episode “Endgame” is not as dramatic as the finales for the other shows. I guess it becomes anticlimactic when you have known for 7 years how this was going to end. The f/x are some of the best in Trek TV history, however. This is truly a visually stunning episode. The season is about on par with Season 6. Stories continue to grow stale. Even the Seven of Nine s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 28th, 2005
Synopsis
Julianne Moore plays Telly, who, fourteen months after the death of her son in a plane crash,is still in deep mourning, obsessively looking at pictures and videotapes of the boy. Then thepictures disappear, and no one believes that she ever had a son. She tracks down Dominic West,who lost a daughter in the accident, but doesn’t remember her existence. Moore makes himremember, and then the two are suddenly being pursued by the NSA.
SPOILER ALERT. Well, not really, th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 25th, 2005
Written by Jason Franz
Synopsis
First Daughter is a coming of age drama/comedy about Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes), the Presidents daughter, who is eager to start her college/adult life. Directed by Forest Whitaker and based on a story co-written by Jerry O'Connell, I had no idea what I was in for.
The flim starts with a quick montage of Samantha's childhood growing up with political parents. We're looped into the story as she heads towards her first year in college, and her first...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 25th, 2005
Synopsis
Stephen Dorff (adopting a most convincing accent) plays Iain Softley, bass guitarist in a banddriven by best pal John Lennon (you may have heard of the group). The lads leave Liverpool forHamburg, where they become house band for a strip club, and gradually build a following.Softley is more of a painter than a guitarist, and his commitment to the band is furtherundermined when he falls for photographer Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee).
Dorff is excellent, and Ian Hart ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 24th, 2005
Written by Jason Franz
Synopsis
In Taxi, Jimmy Fallon plays a bumbling big city cop (Washburn) that has an extremely bad driving record, trying to catch a big case. Queen Latifah plays a bicycle messenger (Belle) trying to make it as a New York cabbie in her home-made "super cab". The two meet up when Fallon comes accross a robery while walking the beat. Hilarity does not ensue.
Taxi tries to do it all. Deliver laughs, action and a bit of drama and manages to fail on every attempt. From the unbelievable "...
