Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 26th, 2004
Synopsis
Texas is in the middle of its revolution, beginning the break with Mexico. Santa Anna hasjust declared himself emperor, and is set on crushing the resulting rebellion. The crucialbattlefield is the Alamo, a former monastery, a hardly suitable for defense. Nevertheless, thatis where our band of heroes gather, including Davey Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), JamesBowie (Jason Patric) and Lt. Col. William Travis (Patrick Wilson). Personal animosities are setaside in the ensuing ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2004
Synopsis
Into a sleepy town, and into the home of the formidable senior citizen Irma P. Hall comecriminal mastermind/Foghorn Leghorn impersonator Tom Hanks and his dastardly crew.Pretending to be musicians, the crooks use Hall’s basement to tunnel their way to a casino shipand a big heist. Their carefully laid plans naturally start going terribly awry thanks both to Halland to the incompetence of the gang.
The original Ladykillers is one of the greatest comedies every...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 19th, 2004
Synopsis
James Bishop arrives at S. Andrew’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane to be a new intern.He suspects things are not as they should be. His clues include obviously mistreated patients,and an asylum director who is exaggeratedly uncaring and speaks with a sinister Britishaccent.
Meanwhile, in the audience, we’re waiting for old James to catch up, as the movie showed usa satanic cult at work in the hospital in the opening five minutes, complete with an extremelycheesy...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2004
Scooby-Doo 2 is pretty-much the same as the original film. Oh, sure, the plot differs slightly, but for the most part, this is the same film. If you liked the first one, you will like this one. However, if you hated the first one, like I did, then this is regrettably more of the same mindless fluff.
Recently, movie studios have caught on to the idea that if they make children’s movies with subtle in-jokes for adults, their profits will rise. This was the case with Finding Nemo, Shrek an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 11th, 2004
Synopsis
In a totally enclosed dystopia, THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) gradually begins to rebel againstthe completely controlled and drug-managed existence. He dares to think, and to have an affair,and, after a nightmarish imprisonment in a featureless white limbo, he attempts an escape.
It’s hard to believe that this dark, almost abstract film with its elliptical narrative approachcould have been made by the same man who has assaulted us with such pap as The PhantomMenace and
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 9th, 2004
Synopsis
The “Patch of Heaven” farm is about to be seized by the bank, unless $750.00 can be raised,and raised quickly. By lucky coincidence, that is precisely the reward being offered for thecapture of cattle rustler Alameda Slim. Three plucky cows (voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Denchand Jennifer Tilly) decide to capture Slim and win the reward, thus saving their home.
The opening moments, with a series of Tex Avery-style catastrophes befalling an unfortunaterabbit, are ver...
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 21st, 2004
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 19th, 2004
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 ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2004
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...
