Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Pauly Shore’s career spirals down into the toilet in the wake of a disastrous Fox sitcom.Desperate, he fakes his own death, thus boosting his popularity. His plan seems to be working,until the terrible backfire when he is caught and sent to jail.
There’s a halfway clever conceit here, given that Shore co-wrote, co-produced and directedwhat plays partly as an exercise in self-loathing, a perspective that viewers can only heartilysupport. There are some amusing cameos...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 13th, 2005
Synopsis
In his patented style (plenty of vintage stills and, in this case, vintage film footage combinedwith compelling narration and actors voicing the actual words of the subjects), documentaristKen Burns unveils the story of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion. Histriumph was intolerable for white society, and that included the American government. Narratedby Keith David, with Samuel L. Jackson providing the voice of Johnson, this is a powerful lookat the r...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2005
A vehicle for Hilary Duff, “A Cinderella Story” is a modern updating of the classic fairy tale. Set at a high school in the San Fernando Valley, a "dorky" girl, Hilary Duff, comes to terms with her “wicked” stepmother, Jennifer Coolidge, and evil stepsisters, played by Madeline Zima and Andrea Avery. Duff meets her “prince” and well….there’s a Halloween Dance….well…I think you get it.
This movie does exactly what you expect it to do. No surprises or inventiveness. Fans will enjoy, but to the “layperson” t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2005
De-Lovely is a musical bio-pic based on the life of Cole Porter. Now, Porter was an American genius, responsible for writing such song classics as “Love for Sale” and “Anything Goes”. Porter’s personal life was also legendary. He had a wife, but also had affairs with men. Porter also suffered a horse riding accident in the late 1930’s that debilitated him for the rest of his life (to his death in 1964). Sounds like the great makings of a movie, right? Well….
Kevin Kline plays Cole Porter, and h...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2005
The story of Troy and the warrior Achilles is the stuff of legends now brought to life by Wolfgang Peterson. With an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Peter O’Toole, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson and Sean Bean there are only two things that can happen, magic or mediocrity. In this case I think we end up somewhere in between. Some scenes like the battle between Achilles and Hector is incredible while the storming of the beach at Troy is almost downright laughable. Overall though the film works I just wish it ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 9th, 2005
I started watching this movie expecting something akin to a National Lampoon episode – a goofy motorcycle road trip populated by harmless and amusing stoners. Those of you who are Easy Rider fans, or who have seen and appreciated the film should be chuckling now at my ignorance. This film, as well as Rambo: First Blood and Vanishing Point have now made it adequately clear to me that I’ve completely missed an entire genre of filmmaking. For those who share my ignorance, what I’m referring to is th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 8th, 2005
Synopsis
David Strathairn is a melancholy children’s magician. He is stuck looking after his irritablewife’s deaf father, because she wants nothing to do with him. His day is complete after a fender-bender with pawn shop owner Nicky Katt. And, as it happens all the time in real life, the twodrivers soon become fast friends. One of their bonds is that Katt’s daughter is also deaf. Whata coincidence! The performances are all agreeably low key, and the dialogue and editing havesome occ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 6th, 2005
Synopsis
Jim Carrey wakes up on Valentine's Day in a funk. On the spur of the moment, he takes offto Montauk, where he meets Kate Winslet. Sparks fly, and a relationship seems about to be born.We suddenly flash back in time, and realize that, though they no longer remember it, these twohave previously had a relationship. When it collapsed, Winslet availed herself of the services ofLacuna, a company that erases unpleasant memories. Carrey has been removed from hermemory. Distraught, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 4th, 2005
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is the sequel to the popular Disney feature The Princess Diaries. How is our princess (Anne Hathaway) now? Well, life isn’t so easy in Gevonia. While trying to dodge Machiavellian plots and ill-suited suitors, the princess Mia tries to find love and (more importantly) herself.
The Princess Diaries 2 feels like one of those “phoned-in” sequels. All the notes are there, but none of the music. Veteran director Garry Marshall does a poor job o...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 31st, 2004
On the DVD cover of The Door in the Floor, the writing promises “surprises”, “shocks”, and “cuts like a knife”. One would think this movie would be a thriller. False advertising can get you nowhere. The Door in the Floor is far from a thriller, but more in the meditation on love, loss, and loneliness genre. Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger star as a dysfunctional married couple. Things are far from blissful. Bridges is a writer of children’s fiction; Basinger is, well, I’m not sure what she does. Bu...
