Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 3rd, 2002
It’s one of the oldest childhood nightmares: your parents die, and evil guardians take over your life. The story has been told by countless fairy tales. The Glass House transposes the tale to contemporary California.
When Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) and Rhett (Trevor Morgan) are orphaned, they are taken into the care of Terry and Erin Glass (Stellan Skarsgård and Diane Lane). This couple seems to good to be true, and, of course, they are. Erin is a junkie, and Terry is in hock to the mob.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2001
Intro
This is a deeply, deeply silly film. But it takes being silly deeply, deeply seriously.
Synopsis
Peter Weller is Buckaroo Banzai: brain surgeon, physicist, rock star, fighter of evil. He and his merry men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, fight to save the world from destruction caused by a war between the Black Lectroids (good aliens) and the Red Lectroids (bad aliens). The deadpan cast includes good guys Jeff Goldblum and Ellen Barkin, and, on the side of evil, John Lilthgow and Christ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2001
Intro
Ouch… this movie carried such high expectations that its failure on so many levels came as a major disappointment. After such remarkably entertaining schlock-horror epics (and legitimate cinematic masterpieces) as “Hallowe’en,” “ In the Mouth of Madness,” and “Escape from New York,” “Ghosts of Mars (GoM)” came of as a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 4th, 2001
Intro
1993 isn’t that long ago, but watching this film makes that year seem much further back than it is, given the subsequent career paths of some of the cast.
Synopsis
Johnny Depp is Gilbert, our hero and narrator. He lives in the US heartland small town of Endora, with a family that includes his mentally impaired brother Leonardo DiCaprio (in a performance that reminds us that yes, he really is a good actor) and his enormous mother (Darlene Cates), who has not been out of the house ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 3rd, 2001
Intro
I Loved Jurassic Park. I was extremely disappointed with Jurassic Park II. Jurassic Park III fell right in the middle. This film is good, but really cannot compare to the greatness of the original. The story is a bit better then the second installment and it is still fun to see Dinosaurs come to life.
Synopsis
Desperate to fund research for his new theory of Velociraptor intelligence, Grant is particularly vulnerable when wealthy adventurer Paul Kirby (William H. Macy) and hi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2001
Intro
This quirky little Christmas film will really put the holidays into perspective for you. The cast of Mixed Nuts contains a who’s who of comedy… Steve Martin, Gary Shandling, Adam Sandler, Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson, Etc. This is not the best Holiday comedy ever made, but it should bake you chuckle.
Synopsis
Funnyman Steve Martin leads an all-star cast in this cracked-up comedy about a suicide hotline where the only people crazier than the clients are the ones answering the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2001
Intro
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the first Horror/Suspense film to hit the SuperBit Circuit. This film is quite good, and the disc is another great release.
Synopsis
“Sumptuous retelling of the Dracula legend as originally conceived by Stoker in his 1897 novel. Avenging the death of his beloved wife, a 15th-century Romanian warrior lives on through the ages... and sets his sights on Victorian London. Sexual, sinuous, exquisitely realized (using every movie artifice imaginable); o...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 26th, 2001
Intro
The timing on this release is just about perfect: close enough to the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings for people to be eager for some high fantasy, but far in advance enough that comparisons will be less likely.
Synopsis
The story, by George Lucas, should be familiar to followers of his work. Once again, there is the promised deliverer, this time in the form of a baby girl. A quest ensues to save her, and the leader of this quest is Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a Lu...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2001
Intro
Once a franchise is launched, it seems, it is by definition unstoppable, even when, as is the case for this series of films involving a large St. Bernard, the franchise has moved into the direct-to-video realm.
Synopsis
Beethoven, with his slobbery, chaotic ways, is making life impossible for the Newton family. He is thus packed off to obedience school. Meanwhile, we are introduced to Michelangelo, the impeccably behaved St. Bernard owned by the impossibly rich Sedgwicks. The Sed...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 24th, 2001
Intro
From 1971, a newly restored “Dirty Harry” has been returned to the screen. This is a fantastic DVD release in every way – as either a solitary disc, or as part of the Dirty Harry box set. The video looks fantastic, the audio sounds good, and the disc is packed with valuable features. Beyond the quality of the DVD presentation, the movie itself is a classic – “Dirty Harry” is a seminal detective story in the annals of Hollywood - Harry Callahan is one of the original disaffected anti-heroes, a traum...
