Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)

Around the Bend

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

Michael Caine begat Christopher Walken, who begat Josh Lucas, who begat Jonah Bobo.Got that? Eccentric patriarch Caine is approaching the end of his days, and wants to bring theestranged Walken back into the family fold. After a tense family reunion at a KFC, Caine dies,but leaves behind an elaborate testament that sends the three other generations together on across-country trip. Tentatively, with many a misstep, Lucas begins to reconnect with the father hehasn’t seen sinc…
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Zelary

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 6th, 2005

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Synopsis

In 1943, medical student Aňa Geislerová is living the sophisticated life in Prague, carryingon with a doctor. She’s also working for the Czech resistance, and when her lover decamps andshe is betrayed, she is forced to seek refuge in the country. She poses as the wife of GyörgyCserhalmi, whose life she saved with a blood donation when he was in the hospital. At firstdismayed by her new surroundings, she gradually comes to love both the countryside and herersatz husband…
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Apollo 13

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2005

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What kid growing up in the 60’s and 70’s wasn’t totally and completely captivated by the moon landings? We were equally on the edge of our seats when, for a brief moment in time, it appeared we were going to lose our first men in space. Seldom can a film be successful when the audience has most of the story’s details burned into the core of their memory. After all, we know how this one comes out. Still, the film manages to create the intense tension and anticipation as if we were experiencing it all for the first time.
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Art Heist

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

After a daring art heist in Barcelona, Ellen Pompeo is ordered by her aggrieved client (EdLauter) to track down his lost paintings. Pompeo’s ex-husband, William Baldwin, arrives inSpain to protect his ex whether she wants his help or not. It looks like she’ll need it, as she findsherself up to her neck in conspiracies and being framed for the thefts herself.

Behind an utterly banal title lurks an utterly banal thriller. The opening shot is pretty nifty,but that’s mo…
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Amityville Horror Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 4th, 2005

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Synopsis

The Amityville Horror (1979) remains one of the most successful haunted house movies ever. Based on a supposedly true story (emphasis on “supposedly”), the film sees George and Kathy Lutz (James Brolin and Margot Kidder) buy their dream home, only to be driven out by supernatural events (little girl makes friends with demonic piggie, blood runs from the walls, and so on). In scenes that have so little to do with the rest of the action they might almost belong to a separate movie, Rod …
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Woodsman, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 4th, 2005

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The Woodsman is not a story for the faint of heart. The content is disturbing to say the least… it is a story of a convicted pedophile that has a “thing” for young girls. The story is actually much more then that… it has a strong focus on the inner demons that the pedophile faces in attempt to clean up his life.

After being released from a 12-year prison sentence, Walter Rossworth (Kevin Bacon) tries to re-enter society by getting a job at a lumberyard, and moving into his own apartment (coincident…
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Battlestar Galactica (2003 Miniseries)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2005

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This is a difficult review to write. The problem is approaching this miniseries and the subsequent new Sci-Fi Channel series without personal prejudice. I am a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica. While this incarnation has many redeeming qualities, I find it hard to consider it the same animal. The f/x are unquestionably some of the best yet seen on television. The action is ramped up many degrees from the original. The stories are, for the most part, more complex. So why do I hesitate in declaring this “reimagined” edition as superior?
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Crimson Rivers – Angels of the Apocalypse

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 2nd, 2005

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Synopsis

A monk is found walled up alive in an eccentric monastery, and Inspector Niemans (JeanReno) is on the case. Murders multiply around the country, connecting the cases worked on byNiemans and a young hotshot (Benoit Magimel, whose role is very similar to the one played byVincent Cassell in the original). The victims are all deeply religious, were all disciples of asurvivor who bears a more-than-passing resemblance to Jesus, and have the names andprofessions of the Disciples. They mur…
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Hotel Rwanda

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 30th, 2005

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Synopsis

Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, house manager of the luxury Hotel Mille-Collinesin Kigali. He does business with everybody, and strokes the egos of the powerful, and doesn’treally believe the anti-Tutsi sentiment being built up will really amount to anything. He is wrong,he discovers, when the genocide is unleashed. He gathers some 1200 refugees in the hotel, and,deprived of any help from the outside, must use all his wits to keep these people, along withhimself and hi…
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Lady in a Cage

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 29th, 2005

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Synopsis

Olivia de Havilland is recovering from a broken hip, and uses a home elevator to get to thesecond floor of her very big house. One this particular sweltering day, her smothered son drivesoff, accidentally bumping a electric pole with is car, and cutting off the power to the house justas the elevator is reaching the upper floor. De Havilland is trapped in a cage, suspended a goodfifteen feet off the floor. Then a wino discovers her predicament, and helps himself to some ofhe…
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Rushmore

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2005

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The sophomore effort of Wes Anderson, Rushmore brings together a 15 year old who flunked out of private school, and a steel tycoon in his 40s, and shows the lengths that people go to sometimes to try and win the heart of the one they love.

That would be too easy an effort, wouldn’t it? Well, Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman, I Heart Huckabees) is attending Rushmore Academy on scholarship, and he loves Rushmore. So much so, that he creates a club for just about everything that hasn’t had an esta…
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The Complete Monterey Pop Festival

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 28th, 2005

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The Monterey Pop Festival has been mostly ignored by a lot of people, compared to the two other two large concerts that occurred after it, Woodstock, and Altamont. Those who do remember Monterey always mention the one incident it is most known for, Jimi Hendrix’ appearance on the U.S. stage. Jimi had been tearing it up in England, and he ended by setting his guitar on fire, which turned out to be a defining moment in music history. Criterion brings this event and others back to life in a comprehensive 3 disc set which is designed not only to showcase Jimi’s set during the show, but also breathes new life into the festival in general.
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Miami Vice – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 28th, 2005

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What better a place to bring a city’s resurgence than Miami? The area would arguably look different if there was a different TV show that sparked a commerical revival. With Michael Mann in the producer’s chair, along with producing partner Anthony Yerkovich (whose only other cop drama he produced was Hill Street Blues), the flashy cop drama was the reason why a lot of people decided to stay home on Friday nights.

In terms of episode content, there was a lot of formulaic cop drama things, and the usua…
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Barbra Streisand Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 19th, 2005

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Synopsis

All three of thiese films have previous been seen release on DVD (one quite some time ago,from the look of things), and they are of varying importance to Streisand’s career.

The most notable of the bunch is The Way We Were (1973). Directed by SydneyPollack, this charts the relationship of Streisand (fiery activist) and Robert Redford (writer in theF. Scott Fitzgerald mould) from their college days in the 1930s to their inevitable breakup in1950s Hollywood. Th…
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Bright Young Things

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2005

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Bright Young Things is a sumptuous adapation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel “Vile Bodies”. The book is a cutting satire of British cafe society of the 1930’s. The director and adapter, Stephen Fry, retains much of the novels comic edge. I would expect nothing less from Fry, the noted British humorist and living embodiment of Oscar Wilde.

The movie is mostly about the posh lifestyle of novelist Adam Fenwick-Symes (played by Stephen Campbell Moore)and his lover Nina (played by Emily Mortimer). The circle …
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Hype!

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2005

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Hype! is a documentary of the “Seattle scene” of the early 90’s. Grunge was king. I remember wearing flannel shirts and listening to the big three: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. But what about the other bands? Hype! also talks about the lesser-known bands, like the Supersuckers and The Gits. Hype! is an examination of what went on underneath the “hype” of the Seattle music scene. This isn’t some VH1 doc. And it’s not all about Kurt Cobain either. Hype! covers it all, and cre…
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Band Wagon, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 14th, 2005

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Synopsis

Fred Astaire plays a song-and-dance man who has seen better days, and is past his prime asfar as Hollywood is concerned. He arrives in New York to star in a new show written by two oldfriends (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant). The project is taken on by a pretentiousproducer/director/actor (Jack Buchanan), who brings in ballet dancer Cyd Charisse. Astaire andCharisse clash initially, and Buchanan is intent on turning the sprightly musical comedy into amodern version of Faus…
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MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf (Xbox)

Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2005

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Day 1 Studio’s produced one of the most anticipated games associated with the early days of the X-Box; MechAssault. This original game captured gamers with in depth gameplay, excellent visuals and great sound. What’s not to like about jumping in a 40 ton carnage dealing machine and blowing up everything in sight? The only drawback to the first one was a lack of multiple modes of online play. Day 1 has returned with the sequel to the highly successful MechAssault with MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf and …
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Heat

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 11th, 2005

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I don’t remember hearing anything about Heat when it was coming out, but once I saw who was in it, I was hooked. With Al Pacino’s 8 Oscar nominations (with 1 award) and Robert DeNiro’s 6 nominations (and 2 awards), the two have had quintessential acting performances over the past 30 years, and the impact they have had on cinema speaks for itself.

The names of the characters are hardly consequential, as they are used to further storylines more than develop character. But Pacino plays a cop who is tr…
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Cat Returns

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 10th, 2005

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Synopsis

Poor Haru is have a rough day at school, and it isn’t like this is an exception. She can’t seemto fit in, and is filled with self-doubt. On her way home, she rescues a cat from traffic, and isastonished when the cat speaks to her. It turns out that she rescued the prince of the CatKingdom. By way of thanks, the Cat King decides she should become his son’s bride. Harudoesn’t like this idea. Coming to her aid is the Baron, an elegant cat figurine come to life, alongwith his f…
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Get Shorty

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 8th, 2005

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Synopsis

Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a loan shark, but his heart isn’t in it anymore. His boss hasdied, and the deeply obnoxious Dennis Farina has taken over. Sent to LA to collect on some baddebts, movie buff Chili finds himself right at home in the Hollywood scene, and decides to getinvolved in the business. The other major figures include Gene Hackman as a low-end producer,Rene Russo as the world-weary B actress, and Danny De Vito as the high-profile actor.

The above …
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Sideways

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 8th, 2005

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Paul Giamatti, in typically depressed form, is an aspiring writer (his unpublished manuscript looks twice the size of War and Peace) and wine connoisseur who heads out with best friend Thomas Haden Church for a road trip through wine country before the latter’s wedding.Church is far more interesting in getting laid than in tasting wine, however, while Giamatti is still agonizing over his failed marriage (not to mention his perception of a failed life). He allows himself to be dragged by Church into all sorts of misadventures, but one particular entanglement,with Virginia Madsen, might perhaps turn out to be something special.

MI-5, Volume 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 7th, 2005

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Five discs, ten episodes, one amazing show.

For those that are unaware, MI-5 (or Spooks, as it is called in the UK) is a popular spy series set in London. While some similarities will inevitably be drawn to ABC‘s Alias, MI-5 is an excellent show in its own right. I highly recommend that those that are new to the series start with Season One of the show and work their way up. Starting in the middle of a series cliffhanger is never a good idea, as I learned all-too-late. Of course,…
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Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 7th, 2005

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Synopsis

Two brothers, Jin-seok and Jin-tae, are drafted into the South Korean army when war eruptsin 1950. Jin-seok is bookish and has a bad heart — there is no way he can survive the war withouthis older, stronger brother’s help. Jin-tae takes on one insanely risky mission after another,having been given the hope that if he performs sufficient acts of bravery, his brother will be senthome. He begins to lose sight of this goal, however, as he starts to like the glory of being a hero…
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Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 6th, 2005

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I’m still trying to figure out why no one wanted anything to do with this project. Among some of the names I read that were attached to this in some fashion or another were Sean Penn, Mike Myers, Johnny Depp and Nicole Kidman. After what seemed like an eternity, George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven) decided to tackle the film as a first time director. The project seemed to roll from there, casting Sam Rockwell (Heist) as the lead, along with marquee names Drew Barrymore (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle…
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