Dolby Digital 5.1 (French)

Bad Boys II

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 23rd, 2004

Synopsis

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith are squabbling away, as partners in cop movies of this kinddo. Lawrence is trying to achieve inner peace, while Smith is trying to hide the fact that he issleeping with Lawrence’s sister. Said sister is also a DEA agent, and all our heroes are trying totrack down a Cuban drug lord who seems to have cornered the market on Ecstasy. Theinvestigation proceeds with as much colossal property damage as possible.

Are we seeing the death spiral of Mich…
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Three Musketeers, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 21st, 2004

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Synopsis

Mickey, Donald and Goofy aspire to being Musketeers, but their respective weakness,cowardice and stupidity stand in their way. All seems lost, until Peg-Leg Pete, the evil captain ofthe Musketeers, finds a use for them for his own dastardly ends: the deposing of Minnie so hecan take the throne himself. Our heroes, of course, rise to the occasion.

Plenty of songs here (some quite witty), and some sharp gags too. The Useful Lessons,however, seem to me rather more hamf…
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New York Minute

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 19th, 2004

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Synopsis

Ashley Olsen is the anal-retentive honour student who is off to New York to give a speech.Rocker bad-girl sister Mary-Kate is skipping school in order to hit the Big Apple also, hoping tocrash a music video shoot for the benefit of her band. Everything conspires against their success,with the principle antagonists being Eugene Levy as the obsessive truant officer after Mary-Kate,and Andy Richter (sporting a Chinese accent) as a music pirate whose crucial computer chipwinds …
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Black Hole, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2004

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Synopsis

The exploration vessel Palomino discovers the gigantic, long-lost Cygnus orbiting aroundthe edge of a massive black hole. Boarding the Cygnus after the Palomino suffers some damage,the crew discovers that the only human left aboard the Cygnus is the megalomaniacal MaximilianSchell. Aided by his army of robots, he is preparing to plunge into the black hole, and he willsacrifice anything and anyone to complete his goal.

On the positive side, the production design is m…
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Princess Diaries, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 1st, 2004

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Synopsis

Anne Hathaway plays 15-year-old (yeah, right) Mia, whose life is a gawky teenagenightmare. Then her life is turned upside down by the arrival in San Francisco of hergrandmother (Julie Andrews), who is queen of the mythical country of Genovia, and she needsMia to shoulder her responsibilities as heir to the throne, or Genovia will cease to exist. Miaundergoes a radical make-over, and clumsily fumbles her way through lessons on how to be aprincess.

You have to wonde…
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Hellboy

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2004

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Comic book characters have provided a large slate of movie productions in recent years. This really isn’t anything new; both Superman and Batman have each fueled successful film franchises (It should be noted that both are soon to return). Spider-Man’s record take opened a new floodgate. Some have been quite disappointing (The Hulk and The Punisher) while a few (X-Men and Spider-Man) have provided outstanding products. Hellboy fits somewhere in the middle. The character is somewhat lesser known and considerably more …
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Reality Bites

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 29th, 2004

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Synopsis

The title says it all as far as our principle characters are concerned. They are coming of age ina world so inimical to them (thank you, Baby Boomers) that their survival response is cynicismand disengagement. The leads are Winona Ryder as a would-be filmmaker in a humiliating job,Ethan Hawke as the slacker who can’t express his true feelings for Ryder, and Ben Stiller as thecareer guy who also courts Ryder. Also here are friends Janeane Garofalo and Steven Zahn asequally c…
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Starsky & Hutch

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 29th, 2004

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Synopsis

Straight-arrow, straight-laced cop Starsky (Ben Stiller) is partnered up with the laid-back,ethically bent Hutch (Owen Wilson). Despite initial matter/anti-matter friction, the two soonbond (surprise!) and will stop at nothing to bring down vicious drug dealer Vince Vaughn.

Not much more of a storyline than that, and the point here is to revel in 70s kitsch. Thoughthere are a couple of very funny moments and lines, by and large the film just sits there, too staticto…
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Peter Pan (2003)

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 28th, 2004

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Synopsis

Surely we all know the story. The Darling children — Wendy, Michael and John — are visitedby the ever-young Peter Pan, and they fly off with him to Neverland. There they battle thevillainous Captain Hook, and deal with the fact that, sooner or later, everybody (with oneexception) has to grow up.

Infinitely better than the bloated Hook, this is a first-rate adaptation of the tale. Theartistic design and cinematography are glorious, and the film is constant f…
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Bourne Identity, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2004

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Synopsis

An wounded amnesiac (Matt Damon) is fished from the Mediterranean. He travels acrossEurope searching for his identity, only to discover that he has several, one of which is “JasonBourne.” He is, in fact, a CIA super-assassin who has slipped his leash, and the Agency isdetermined to take him down. Dodging killers, he travels to Paris in the company of Marie(Franka Potente), still searching for the key to his memory and a way to escape the implacablepursuit.

Easily …
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Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 14th, 2004

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Synopsis

Life is hard for Mary (Lindsay Lohan). In the first place, she feels her name should actuallybe “Lola,” and that is how she introduces herself to all and sundry. Then her mother goes andmoves the family from exciting Manhattan to less-than-exciting New Jersey. As if things weren’trough enough, her favourite rock group is about to break up. She is determined to keep glamourin her life, however, not to mention getting to see the band’s farewell concert. Along the way,she will…
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Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 12th, 2004

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There is an interesting trend that seems to be going on in Hollywood right now. Contrary to the record of history, sequels are starting to turn out better, not worse, than their original productions. X2 was better than X-Men, Spidey 2 was better than the first, and each installment in the The Lord of the Rings trilogy built upon the previous episode to an eventual Best Picture climax. I am thrilled that this is the case, since there are more sequels being made now than ever before.

Nest, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 11th, 2004

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Synopsis

On July 14, Bastille Day, a group of small-time hoods stage a daring warehouse robbery.Meanwhile, a brutal Albanian mafia kingpin is being transported to Strasbourg for trial. Theconvoy is ambushed by what looks like an entire battalion of heavily armed men, and thearmoured car winds up taking refuge in the warehouse. The soldiers and the thieves, massivelyoutgunned and outnumbered, band together to hold off the enormous siege.

The jacket copy calls this film “Th…
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Monsieur Ibrahim

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 29th, 2004

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Synopsis

In Paris of the early 60s, a young Moise (Pierre Boulanger) is coming of age. He tends housefor his sullen father, loses his virginity with the help of the local prostitutes, and shoplifts the oddtin from the store of Mr. Ibrahim (Omar Sharif). The older man befriends the boy, and throughhis kindness and wisdom, becomes, effectively, the boy’s true father.

Sharif’s turn as Ibrahim is a performance of immense warmth, one that suffuses the entirefilm. Very welcome to…
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Perfect Score, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 28th, 2004

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Synopsis

Tormented by the tyranny of SAT scores, which will determine university acceptance andfuture opportunities, six high school students band together to steal the answers to the dreadedtest. Personalities clash, but their common need unites the unlikely band (mixing basketball star,cynical rich girl, class brain, stoner, and so on). The night comes for the big heist, and by the nextmorning, everyone will have learned Valuable Life Lessons.

The Perfect Score trip…
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Secret Window

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 12th, 2004

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Synopsis

Six months after the collapse of his marriage, writer Johnny Depp is secluded in his lakecottage, completely blocked. Then his life takes a sinister turn when a menacing John Turturroarrives on his doorstep, claiming Depp plagiarised his story. Unsatisfied with Depp’s response,Turturro begins a campaign of terror and escalating violence, perpetually eluding ineffectivepolice and private investigators.

I will not indulge in the spoiler that most plagued most reviews …
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Along Came Polly

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2004

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Synopsis

Risk assessor Ben Stiller believes his life is unfolding according to plan. But then his newwife (Debra Messing) leaves him on their honeymoon for a French scuba instructor (aterrifyingly ripped Hank Azaria). Trying to put his life back together (with dubious help fromslob friend Philip Seymour Hoffman), Stiller runs into old classmate Jennifer Aniston (the Pollyof the title). Her bohemian character is the polar opposite of his, which leads to many dismayingsituations for h…
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50 First Dates

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2004

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Synopsis

Adam Sandler is a Hawaii-based veterinarian and swinging bachelor, seducing one touristafter another. His pleasure in short-term flings comes to a crashing end when he meets DrewBarrymore, who is physically incapable of anything but a short fling: she has no short-termmemory, and begins every morning with no recollection of the day before. Sandler, however,is smitten, and puts himself through all sorts of contortions to win the girl of his dreams. Againand again and again.< ...
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Mystic River

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 7th, 2004

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Synopsis

This is the story of the tragic arc traced by the relationship of three friends. Kevin Bacon isa cop, Sean Penn is a shady grocery store owner, and Tim Robbins is a hollow man, irreperablydamaged after being kidnapped by paedophiles as a youth. The three had grown apart, but theirlives intersect fatefully when Penn’s daughter is murdered. Bacon investigates the case, andRobbins cannot satisfactorily account for his actions the night of the murder, much to themounting distre…
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Saving Private Ryan

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 20th, 2004

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Synopsis

The plot is as simple as that of any 40s or 50s World War II movie: in the immediateaftermath of the D-Day invasion, eight men (led by Tom Hanks) are sent on a dangerous missionto find the only surviving son of a decimated family and send him home.

On this simple framework, Spielberg hangs the most viscerally intense evocation of theSecond World War yet committed to film. The exhausting Omaha Beach sequence that opens thefilm has been justly celebrated, but there ar…
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Paycheck

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 18th, 2004

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Synopsis

Ben Affleck is a brilliant reverse engineer. He is hired by different companies to puzzle outand improve on their competitors’ technologies, then has his memory of his work wiped so hecannot divulge what he knows. His current job is something big. In exchange for a couple ofyears of his life, he will be granted huge stock options. But when he collects his paycheck, all hegets is a collection of mundane objects in a manilla envelope. And then everybody is trying tokill him. …
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Miracle

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 10th, 2004

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In 1980, the United States was in need of something to give hope to its citizens. What it got was a miracle.

Now, hockey has never really been a major sport in the United States. While it is played feverishly in many of the Northern states, those in the rest of the country are just not as passionate about it. Basketball, baseball and football are the big three in this country. This fact just goes one step further to show just how unbelievable the Miracle on Ice really was. I am sure that most people already…
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Honey

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 8th, 2004

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Synopsis

Jessica (Dark Angel) Alba hangs up her guns to play Honey Daniels, cutting edgehip-hop dancer looking to be discovered. Soon enough, a big-shot video director spots her andshe revitalizes his videos. Before long, she’s also in charge of choreography. Meanwhile, sheis becoming involved with street kids, trying to save them from lives of crime and abuse bygetting them involved in dancing. A test of her values looms too: will she succumb to the slickdirector’s wiles, or…
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Code, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 7th, 2004

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Synopsis

Samula Le Bihan is an ex-con trying to go straight. He and his partner are trying to have anormal life, and trying to have a child. Unfortunately, the old life won’t let go. His youngerbrother is a hot-head looking to make his mark in the organized crime scene, and his best friend(Samy Naceri), the local gang leader, is a little bit TOO attached to him, and is determined to pullhim back into the life.

The scene is very gritty, and the dialogue is extremely naturalis…
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Timeline

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 27th, 2004

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Synopsis

When archaeologist Billy Connolly disappears, and his glasses and a parchment with hiswriting on it turn up in a ruins dating back to 1357, son Paul Walker and friends realizesomething weird is going on here. It turns out that weasel entrepreneur David Thewlis hasaccidentally tapped into a wormhole that permits time travel to that area of France, and in thatyear (smack in the middle of the Hundred Years’ War). Walker, Frances O’Connor, GerardButler and others travel back to…
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