Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)

Licence to Kill (Region 2)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 1st, 2007

Synopsis

Timothy Dalton might have endured a bit of grief for his short tenure as James Bond, enduring comments equating him to Connery and Moore plagued his two film run, with this one being the last. However, this one was quite the doozy, and almost in the area of “forgotten gem” status.

Written by Richard Maibaum (The Man With the Golden Gun) and producer Michael Wilson, and directed by John Glen (A View to a Kill), Dalton as Bond finds himself as the Best Man to the wedding of lo…
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Neverwas

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2007

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As you might imagine, I am often asked for my opinion on the films I see. Inevitably I’m called upon to compare the film with some other work, which is at best quite unfair and at worst simply impossible to do. But I’ve gotten good at the game. So let us play it now. We’ll call Neverwas One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest meets Alice In Wonderland. Unfair, some might say, for they are actually the very same story. When you look at it carefully enough, they really are, although important differences do exist. My point i…
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Trading Places: Looking Good Feeling Good Edition

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 28th, 2007

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Eddie Murphy has a ton of films under his belt. If you’re like most folks, his antics have long ago become tired and worn out. Come with me now to a time when Murphy was young and full of energy. Trading Places was really only Murphy’s second film after 48 hours. In Trading Places, we get vintage Eddie Murphy. You can tell he was still hungry. Today he simply calls too many performances in. Dan Aykroyd was also at a turning point in his own career. It hadn’t been too long since he lost his longtime partner Jim Belu…
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Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 28th, 2007

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I’ll admit it. I was taken in by The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico, for about five minutes. I’m not a follower of the country music scene, so it didn’t really bother me that I had never heard of Guy Terrifico before. The box art explained he came and went in the early 70’s, when I was just a kid myself, so none of this was the least bit suspicious to me at all. The film opens believably enough with Kris Kristofferson on stage dedicating his next song to this Guy Terrifico. When we get to that first interview…
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Thunderball (Region 2)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 27th, 2007

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Synopsis

In slowly but surely wrapping up my reviews of each and every Ultimate Edition James Bond title on DVD, coming to Thunderball, a sect of people say that this is the quintessential film for the man who quintessentially personified James Bond. So in his fourth outing as the man who likes martinis, cars and women, he encounters a large swath of them all over two hours.

Based on Ian Fleming’s story and directed by Terence Young (From Russia With Love), this installment in the se…
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Mission: Impossible – The Second TV Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 27th, 2007

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Mission Impossible didn’t really enter into its by now famous format until this, the second season. The IMF team was run by Daniel Briggs, played by Steven Hill. Hill was never really happy and left after the first season, citing a refusal to work on the Sabbath as his reason for leaving. While Hill was never bad in the role, his departure was our gain. Peter Graves immediately stepped up as the iconic Mr. Phelps, and Mission Impossible as we know it was born. I should add a word of caution and say this is really …
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Glastonbury

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2007

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Perhaps Woodstock is the best known music festival, but only one has kept strong for several decades and still going – Glastonbury. A small town in the southeast of England is the host to a sizeable music festival that spans for several days and attracts in excess of 150,000 people. Like a lot of you I’m sure, I had never heard of this music festival and after watching this once I’ll probably never get wind of it again.

The first disc of Glastonbury is a documentary on the festival it is not in chron…
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Snow Cake

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2007

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Snow Cake is a slow, quiet film that creeps up on you. You don’t realize it’s working for you until the end rolls around, and you’re left reflecting on its impact.

It’s about a lonely, middle-aged man whose life is changed by a car crash. Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman, Love Actually) is on a road trip across Canada. He reluctantly picks up a hitchhiker, a spunky teenage girl. Just as they’re developing a bit of a connection, they’re blindsided by a semi. This results in Alex making an unplanned st…
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O.C., The – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2007

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Four years ago when The O.C. came out it was a pretty big deal. I was finishing out high school back then, and like Beverly Hills 90210 did to the previous generation, The O.C. captivated the minds of the teenagers and young adults. I, like most people my age, watched the first season regularly. Back then I loved it and although some of its novelty has worn off, I can still really enjoy it. But as with most shows, as the years go on, the episodes become less entertaining – I watched much of the s…
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Shooter

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2007

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Shooter is closely based on Point of Impact, an excellent novel by thriller writer Stephen Hunter. I read the book in the late 90’s, and enjoyed it. A lot. When I began seeing trailers for this film last year, you can bet I was excited at the prospect of seeing Bob Lee Swagger come to life on the big screen, even if it had to be “Marky” Mark Wahlberg in the role.

The film updates Hunter’s story to present day, shifting Vietnam to Iraq and villains to mercenary pawns of thinly veiled Dubya coho…
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Bridge to Terabithia

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2007

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I’m not sure exactly what I expected going into this film, but whatever it was, the film I saw could not have been farther from it. What Bridge to Terabithia is, is a little hard to explain. It’s certainly a children’s fantasy, but not in the style most popular today with franchises like Harry Potter and Narnia. This film is actually wonderfully understated. It centers on two children who are misfits of a sort. Like many kids they feel alien in the world around them. They are at that awkward age where they are gett…
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Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The (The Friendship Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2007

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“Oh Bother”A.A. Milne was quite an eclectic writer. He wrote murder mysteries that even appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. From that fertile mind would also come a place known as the 100 Acre Wood. In that select place some of literature’s finest characters had the greatest adventures any boy could imagine. And adventures are certainly no fun on your own. Young Christopher Robin was joined by Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, and, of course, Winnie-The-Pooh. Who didn’t fall in love with that silly old bear…
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Secrets of the Code

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2007

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Since its release first as a Dan Brown novel and then as a less successful film, The DaVinci Code has stirred up more than its fair share of hornet’s nests. What most folks seem to be forgetting is that the stuff was fiction. Brown NEVER claims to be offering a secret look inside the workings of the Catholic Church. So why do we need this investigation? The self-professed documentary isn’t really a look at the story at all. It’s merely a lot of real wackos trying to fill our heads with their claptrap conspiracy the…
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Ghost Rider

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 19th, 2007

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Marvel Comics has certainly enjoyed a renaissance of late. There can be no question that this entire run of comic heroes on screen began with Spider-Man. Even the recent DC reimaginings might not have gotten this second chance without everyone’s favorite web slinger, or at least the gobs of money that franchise has pulled in. While none of these recent comic films have come close to the success of Spider-Man, the studios are determined to keep the trend alive and well. That translates to great news for us. The most…
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Black Snake Moan

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2007

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Watching the trailers for Black Snake Moan, I recall thinking it was going to drum up some outrageous controversy. I mean, the only thing we really knew about the film was that a big, scary black man chains up a half-dressed white girl in his home. Not exactly a wholesome image.

It’s a southern gothic parable, starring Samuel L. Jackson (Shaft) as Lazarus, a God-fearing man whose wife just left him for his own brother, and Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow) as Rae, a broken young woman wh…
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Seraphim Falls

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2007

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Seraphim Falls was a sparsely released film released early in 2007, recently finding its way to DVD. In addition to being the first film where two Irish stars – Pierce Brosnan & Liam Neeson – share screen time together, it also marks the directorial debut of David Von Ancken who also happened to be a co-writer. After watching this movie I can definitely tell you that I am looking forward to any future projects of Von Ancken’s. But that’s aside from the point, how was this film?

Before watching this m…
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Hard Easy, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2007

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Not all heist films are created equal. The Hard Easy is a poor man’s Ocean’s Whatever. Number. While that might appear more often than not a knock on the film, that would not be so in this case. Actually I rather liked the film, more for its nuances. The first thing that impressed me was the cast. This isn’t the gaggle of A listers found in the Ocean films. These are still some hard working craftsmen. Just because this isn’t as hyped or financed to the hilt doesn’t take anything away from the performances. It might…
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Miss Potter

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007

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Where was I when Miss Potter was in theatres last year? I don’t recall hearing much about it, and that’s a shame. This is one of the most charming, infectiously light-hearted films I’ve seen in long while.

It’s the story of Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger, Chicago), the 19th century British creator of the famous Peter Rabbit children’s stories. When we first meet Beatrix, she’s an unmarried woman in her early thirties, lugging her portfolio of paintings and a story to potential publishers.
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Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Adventures Of (Extra Frills Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 10th, 2007

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Synopsis

One of my favorite movies of all time is Rocky Horror Picture Show. My favorite character of that movie is Dr. Frank-N-Furter who is just a sweet transvestite transexual from Transylvania. So when I got Priscilla Queen of the Desert to review which had two cross dressers and a trannie and a grand helping of humor to boot, I was hoping it would become one of my favorite movies as well. The story behind Priscilla is that Tick Belrose (drag name: Mitzi) …
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Revenge (Unrated Director’s Cut)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2007

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Tony Scott’s controversial thriller, Revenge, is based rather loosely on a 1979 novella written by Jim Harrison for Esquire Magazine. I say loosely because the source material is quite short and was necessarily expanded for a feature length film. I never saw the 1990 theatrical release of the film, but research shows it did rather poorly. What I know of the difference between this cut and the original comes from Tony Scott’s commentary, which I’ll discuss in the audio portion of this review. I do know the changes m…
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Last Sin Eater, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 8th, 2007

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Having heard exactly zilch about The Last Sin Eater before receiving my review copy, I expected it to be a low-budget horror flick. Boy, was I wrong. This film is based on a bestselling novel by Francine Rivers, a popular writer of Christian-themed fiction. Produced under the 20th Century Fox FoxFaith brand, it’s intended for an Evangelical Christian audience.

The story is set in 1850’s Appalachia, where a group of early Irish settlers have made their home. When the grandmother of 10-year-old …
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Cowboys, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 7th, 2007

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Synopsis

When all his cowhands desert him to take part in a gold rush, John Wayne is left with no alternative but hire a group of schoolboys, between the ages of 9 and 15, to work for him on a long and dangerous cattle drive. Along with all the usual hazards of such a journey, they are also being stalked by Bruce Dern and his band of rustlers.

What a peculiar concoction. All the expected western conventions are present, but most of the cast is a half or a third of the age one would generall…
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Donnie Brasco

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 7th, 2007

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Pacino and Depp in a mob drama about an undercover fed and his unknowing Mafioso mentor? Fuggedaboudit.

Donnie Brasco is based on the true story of F.B.I. agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp, Blow), who spent six successful years undercover in the New York Mafia, as one Donnie Brasco. The film opens with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino, Heat), an aging made man, connecting with Donnie about a diamond ring. Donnie’s cover is he’s in the jewelry “business”, and Lefty wants to unload a ring some guy …
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Primeval

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2007

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The opening credits are a frantic run of images that is pretty hard to actually watch. The segment is made worse by the constantly changing images and strobe light f/x. At first you get the idea you’re in for just another horror film made in the modern deluge of images style. Fortunately this is not a portent of things to come. With a little patience, you’re safely beyond these trappings and find yourself in a rather good film. If you’re able to follow this montage, you’ll be introduced to the bloody history of Gus…
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Three Bad Men

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2007

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I should have known I was in trouble from the opening credits. The graphics are accompanied by some really cheap sounding synthesizer music. It sounds like they sprung for the $39 Casio. Beyond the crappy sound, the melody, if you can call it that, didn’t fit the western I was unfortunately about to see. Let’s keep this simple, shall we? If you pick this baby up at your local video store, I’m going to advise you to put it down and back away from the shelf. Now you owe me. I gave you back 2 hours of your life you we…
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