Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 12th, 2003
Synopsis
Part documentary, and part (as Schwarzenegger points out in the extras) total fabrication,Pumping Iron follows Arnie as he prepares to compete for the Mr. Olympia title onemore time. His principle competitor, as presented here, is future Hulk Lou Ferrigno. All sorts ofmachinations ensue between the various body builders. Most of the character stuff is, it nowappears, pure fiction, but it serves the purpose of making the film more interesting. The freakshow qualities ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 11th, 2003
Synopsis
Dick Van Dyke, the unaccountably American father of two very English children and theson of the equally English (and doddering) Lionel Jeffries, retools an abandoned early-1900s racecar into the gleaming, flying Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Off they go on a series of adventures,most particularly involving the imaginary kingdom of Vulgaria. Based on a book by Ian Fleming,the creator of James Bond, the film is produced by Albert Broccoli (who also produced the Bondseries) and fea...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 10th, 2003
X2:X Men United is the follow-up film to the original X-men film from 2000. The original film did a good job of setting up the universe of the X-men and introducing us to the core characters that the comic books have always centered around. This film expands on this universe and brings along some of the coolest characters from the comics, this being Pyro, a brief glimpse of Juggernaut and lets not forget Nightcrawler. In this film we see the good and band mutants joining forces to defeat a common enemy. This is a little disappointing as we get to see cool new good characters but not really any super new baddies, but it also keeps the storyline fresh instead of it just being the good mutants versus the bad mutants.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 5th, 2003
Synopsis
The movie is exactly what the title suggests it is: we journey with various migratory birdsover their long, often hazardous voyages. We are intimately involved with the travels, flyingcheek by beak with the birds, right in the middle of the formations. The result is beautiful,compelling, moving, and utterly astounding.
Audio
The 5.1 sound does wonders for the you-are-there feel the movie is shooting for. The musicis very nicely rendered, but what st...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 5th, 2003
“All I Want” is a decent film that could have been great. Elijah Wood plays Jones Dylan (a quintessential Hollywood character name), a seventeen-year-old college freshman that decides that life has more to offer than formal education. Dropping out of college without attending a single class, he rents a nearby apartment and begins to get to know his neighbors. Before long, the underage Jones in enraptured in a tangled romance with two of his fellow boarders.
The plot of this film is interesting, but unfort...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Nicolas Cage is a fantastic actor. I will be the first to admit that he has had some mistakes (“Face/Off” and “Snake Eyes”, to name a few), but for the most part, his performances are gutsy and honest, with just a hint of cool 60’s Rat Pack style smoldering underneath the surface. My favorite Cage performance came in the fantastic film “Leaving Las Vegas”, where he brought the struggles of a dying alcoholic to life in beautiful and tragic detail.
Unfortunately, “Sonny” is no “Leavi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2003
Adam Sandler and his crazy antics are back… this time, he is animated. I went into the viewing of this film with very low expectations; and although this is not a quality movie, it did turn out to be mildly more entertaining then I expected. This film is over-the-top and childish at time, but Sandler is comical as the voices of the three main characters, and the musical numbers are entertaining in a manner in which only Adam Sandler can provide. This movie will not be for everyone, but die-hard Sandler fans will p...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 31st, 2003
Not since the height of the American Western has there been a film genre where we find ourselves rooting for the bad guys and booing the good guys. Yesterday’s Jesse James and Billy The Kid have become Michael Corleone and Tony Soprano. Add to the mix that The Sopranos have totally revolutionized the face of the television drama. It’s no fluke that this show dominates nearly every Emmy category there is. The cinematography is feature film quality. The cast is high end and the writing is gutsy and tight. Make no mistake about it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 29th, 2003
In his directorial debut, Matt Dillon gives us a character driven story with fantastic cinematography and numerous plot twists. Matt Dillon, better known for his role in teen flicks and his over the top performance in “There’s Something about Mary” definitely can add another credential to his Hollywood portfolio – actor and director. It just seems funny that in his directorial debut he features himself as the main character.
Dillon plays Jimmy Cremmins, a New York con artist, whom in the wake of a huge in...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 27th, 2003
Harrison Ford is the top selling actor in Hollywood these days. He owes this distinction in no small part to a couple of trilogies he did early in his career. While Star Wars might have been a chance for Ford to break out, Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels defined his abilities. Indiana Jones is the perfect hero. He’s strong, intelligent, and above all moral. Unlike the stereotypical hero Jones is also vulnerable and at times flawed. Credit Steven Spielberg for the iconic stature Indy occupies today.
